N.J. Enfield's Books

Linguistics Epidemiology

Semantics and Grammar of Language Contact in Mainland Southeast Asia

By: N. J. Enfield

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Linguistics Epidemiology

Semantics and Grammar of Language Contact in Mainland Southeast Asia

By: N. J. Enfield

The book makes a significant contribution to empirical work on semantic and grammatical change in a linguistic area, as well as representing theoretical advances in cognitive semantics.

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413

Publisher

Psychology Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0415297435

ISBN 13

9780415297431

Consequences of Language

From Primary to Enhanced Intersubjectivity

By: N. J. Enfield,Jack Sidnell

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Consequences of Language

From Primary to Enhanced Intersubjectivity

By: N. J. Enfield,Jack Sidnell

What is it about humans that makes language possible, and what is it about language that makes us human? If you are reading this, you have done something that only our species has evolved to do. You have acquired a natural language. This book asks, How has this changed us? Where scholars have long wondered what it is about humans that makes language possible, N. J. Enfield and Jack Sidnell ask instead, What is it about humans that is made possible by language? In Consequences of Language their objective is to understand what modern language really is and to identify its logical and conceptual consequences for social life. Central to this undertaking is the concept of intersubjectivity, the open sharing of subjective experience. There is, Enfield and Sidnell contend, a uniquely human form of intersubjectivity, and it is essentially intertwined with language in two ways: a primary form of intersubjectivity was necessary for language to have begun evolving in our species in the first place and then language, through its defining reflexive properties, transformed the nature of our intersubjectivity. In the authors’ analysis, social accountability—the bedrock of society—is grounded in this linguistically transformed, enhanced kind of intersubjectivity. The account of the language-mind-society connection put forward in Consequences of Language is one of unprecedented reach, suggesting new connections across disciplines centrally concerned with language—from anthropology and philosophy to sociology and cognitive science—and among those who would understand the foundational role of language in making us human.

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253

Publisher

MIT Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0262544865

ISBN 13

9780262544863

Natural causes of language

Frames, biases, and cultural transmission

By: N. J. Enfield

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Natural causes of language

Frames, biases, and cultural transmission

By: N. J. Enfield

What causes a language to be the way it is? Some features are universal, some are inherited, others are borrowed, and yet others are internally innovated. But no matter where a bit of language is from, it will only exist if it has been diffused and kept in circulation through social interaction in the history of a community. This book makes the case that a proper understanding of the ontology of language systems has to be grounded in the causal mechanisms by which linguistic items are socially transmitted, in communicative contexts. A \textit{biased transmission} model provides a basis for understanding why certain things and not others are likely to develop, spread, and stick in languages. Because bits of language are always parts of systems, we also need to show how it is that items of knowledge and behavior become structured wholes. The book argues that to achieve this, we need to see how causal processes apply in multiple frames or ``time scales'' simultaneously, and we need to understand and address each and all of these frames in our work on language. This forces us to confront implications that are not always comfortable: for example, that ``a language'' is not a real thing but a convenient fiction, that language-internal and language-external processes have a lot in common, and that tree diagrams are poor conceptual tools for understanding the history of languages. By exploring avenues for clear solutions to these problems, this book suggests a conceptual framework for ultimately explaining, in causal terms, what languages are like and why they are like that.}

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Language Science Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

3944675509

ISBN 13

9783944675503

A Grammar of Lao

By: N.J. Enfield

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A Grammar of Lao

By: N.J. Enfield

Lao is the national language of Laos, and is also spoken widely in Thailand and Cambodia. It is a tone language of the Tai-Kadai family (Southwestern Tai branch). Lao is an extreme example of the isolating, analytic language type. This book is the most comprehensive grammatical description of Lao to date. It describes and analyses the important structures of the language, including classifiers, sentence-final particles, and serial verb constructions. Special attention is paid to grammatical topics from a semantic, pragmatic, and typological perspective.

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594

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Walter de Gruyter

Published Date

ISBN 10

3110207532

ISBN 13

9783110207538

How We Talk

The Inner Workings of Conversation

By: N. J. Enfield

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How We Talk

The Inner Workings of Conversation

By: N. J. Enfield

An expert guide to how conversation works, from how we know when to speak to why huh is a universal word We all had teachers who scolded us over the use of um, uh-huh, oh, like, and mm-hmm. But as linguist N. J. Enfield reveals in How We Talk, these "bad words" are fundamental to language.Whether we are speaking with the clerk at the store, our boss, or our spouse, language is dependent on things as commonplace as a rising tone of voice, an apparently meaningless word, or a glance -- signals so small that we hardly pay them any conscious attention. Nevertheless, they are the essence of how we speak. From the traffic signals of speech to the importance of um, How We Talk revolutionizes our understanding of conversation. In the process, Enfield reveals what makes language universally -- and uniquely -- human.

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210

Publisher

Basic Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0465093760

ISBN 13

9780465093762

Relationship Thinking

Agency, Enchrony, and Human Sociality

By: N. J. Enfield

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Relationship Thinking

Agency, Enchrony, and Human Sociality

By: N. J. Enfield

In Relationship Thinking, N. J. Enfield outlines a framework for analyzing social interaction and its linguistic, cultural, and cognitive underpinnings by focusing on human relationships. This is a naturalistic approach to human sociality, grounded in the systematic study of real-time data from social interaction in everyday life. Many of the illustrative examples and analyses in the book are a result of the author's long-term field work in Laos. Enfield promotes an interdisciplinary approach to studying language, culture, and mind, building on simple but powerful semiotic principles and concentrating on three points of conceptual focus. The first is human agency: the combination of flexibility and accountability, which defines our possibilities for social action and relationships, and which makes the fission and fusion of social units possible. The second is enchrony: the timescale of conversation in which our social relationships are primarily enacted. The third is human sociality: a range of human propensities for social interaction and enduring social relations, grounded in collective commitment to shared norms. Enfield's approach cuts through common dichotomies such as 'cognitive' versus 'behaviorist', or 'public' versus 'private', arguing instead that these are indispensable sides of single phenomena. The result is a set of conceptual tools for analyzing real-time social interaction and linking it with enduring relationships and their social contexts. The book shows that even - or perhaps especially - the most mundane social interactions yield rich insights into language, culture, and mind.

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297

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199338736

ISBN 13

9780199338733

Mainland Southeast Asian Languages

A Concise Typological Introduction

By: N. J. Enfield

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Mainland Southeast Asian Languages

A Concise Typological Introduction

By: N. J. Enfield

A concise introduction to the languages of mainland Southeast Asia that provides a new look at this unique area.

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281

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0521765447

ISBN 13

9780521765442

Saving Britain's Art Treasures

By: N. J. McCamley

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Saving Britain's Art Treasures

By: N. J. McCamley

This book explains for the first time the full story of the wartime adventures of Britain's greatest art treasures. At first the pictures and other artifacts were distributed amongst a number of large country houses. Initially the owners of these houses almost fought one another for the right to house the Treasures. Later, when further accommodation was needed for treasures from the provincial museums, the tables turned and the Office of Works was reduced to bribing owners by promising that they would be spared billetees, and that their houses would be immune from requisitioning. By mid 1940 however, circumstances transpired that made the country houses untenable. German air bases in northern France made the whole of Britain vulnerable. Eventually two deep underground repositories were constructed, one in Wales and one in Wiltshire, and by the end of 1942 virtually all the cultural heritage of the nation was concentrated there. Building and operation of these underground treasure houses did not, however, go smoothly, as described here.

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Page Count

273

Publisher

Casemate Publishers

Published Date

ISBN 10

1783379049

ISBN 13

9781783379040

The Nigerian Army

1956-1966

By: N. J. Miners

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The Nigerian Army

1956-1966

By: N. J. Miners

Originally published in 1971, this book is an account of the development of the Nigerian Army in the critical ten years spanning independence. It describes the transformation of a despised colonial defence force into a Nigerian army with a popularly recognized reputation. On the eve of the first military coup, the Army stood at the pinnacle of popular esteem. It had been modernized and expanded, had served with distinction in the Congo and elsewhere, and all its officers were Nigerian. The first half of the book traces the stages of this transformation and reveals the difficulties which had to be overcome. The second part examines the increasing tension and political manoeuvring which exploded into the military coups of 1966.

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232

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Published Date

ISBN 10

1003804810

ISBN 13

9781003804819

Facing Fascism

The Conservative Party and the European Dictators, 1935-1940

By: N. J. Crowson

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Facing Fascism

The Conservative Party and the European Dictators, 1935-1940

By: N. J. Crowson

This book provides a complete history of the Conservative party from 1935 to 1940 and explores its responses to the problems of fascism.

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286

Publisher

Psychology Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0415153158

ISBN 13

9780415153157

The Conservative Party and European Integration Since 1945

At the Heart of Europe?

By: N.J. Crowson

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The Conservative Party and European Integration Since 1945

At the Heart of Europe?

By: N.J. Crowson

This volume provides an up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to British policy in Europe. By exploring the schisms within the party over Europe, through primary source-based history and theoretical discourses of political science, N.J. Crowson gives the reader the best sense of understanding of how and why the Conservative party’s policy attitudes to European integration have evolved. The Conservative Party and European Integration since 1945 adopts a thematic line based around two chronological periods, 1945–75 and 1975–2006, and uses different methodological approaches. It explores the shifting stances amongst Conservatives within an economic, political and international context as the party adjusted to the decline of Britain’s world role and the loss of empire. Crowson analyzes Britain’s role and relationship with Europe together with the study of the Conservative Party, and deals with economic, commercial and monetary issues, successfully bridging a serious gap in any discussion of the UK’s relations with the European Union and appreciation of the political world in which Conservative European policy has been framed and pursued since 1945. This book is recommended for background reading in undergraduate courses in British politics and European history.

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321

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

113414704X

ISBN 13

9781134147045

The Utility of Meaning

What Words Mean and why

By: N. J. Enfield

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The Utility of Meaning

What Words Mean and why

By: N. J. Enfield

This book argues that the complex, anthropocentric, and often culture-specific meanings of words have been shaped directly by their history of 'utility' for communication in social life, and explores relations between language, communication, culture, and mind. It contains extensive data from the author's fieldwork on language and culture in Laos.

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217

Publisher

Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0198709838

ISBN 13

9780198709831

How We Talk

The Inner Workings of Conversation

By: N. J. Enfield

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How We Talk

The Inner Workings of Conversation

By: N. J. Enfield

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210

Publisher

Basic Books

Published Date

ISBN 10

0465093760

ISBN 13

9780465093762

Relationship Thinking

Agency, Enchrony, and Human Sociality

By: N. J. Enfield

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Relationship Thinking

Agency, Enchrony, and Human Sociality

By: N. J. Enfield

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297

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Oxford University Press, USA

Published Date

ISBN 10

0199338736

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9780199338733

Mainland Southeast Asian Languages

A Concise Typological Introduction

By: N. J. Enfield

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Mainland Southeast Asian Languages

A Concise Typological Introduction

By: N. J. Enfield

A concise introduction to the languages of mainland Southeast Asia that provides a new look at this unique area.

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281

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0521765447

ISBN 13

9780521765442

Language vs. Reality

Why Language Is Good for Lawyers and Bad for Scientists

By: N.J. Enfield

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Language vs. Reality

Why Language Is Good for Lawyers and Bad for Scientists

By: N.J. Enfield

A fascinating examination of how we are both played by language and made by language: the science underlying the bugs and features of humankind’s greatest invention. Language is said to be humankind’s greatest accomplishment. But what is language actually good for? It performs poorly at representing reality. It is a constant source of distraction, misdirection, and overshadowing. In fact, N. J. Enfield notes, language is far better at persuasion than it is at objectively capturing the facts of experience. Language cannot create or change physical reality, but it can do the next best thing: reframe and invert our view of the world. In Language vs. Reality, Enfield explains why language is bad for scientists (who are bound by reality) but good for lawyers (who want to win their cases), why it can be dangerous when it falls into the wrong hands, and why it deserves our deepest respect. Enfield offers a lively exploration of the science underlying the bugs and features of language. He examines the tenuous relationship between language and reality; details the array of effects language has on our memory, attention, and reasoning; and describes how these varied effects power narratives and storytelling as well as political spin and conspiracy theories. Why should we care what language is good for? Enfield, who has spent twenty years at the cutting edge of language research, argues that understanding how language works is crucial to tackling our most pressing challenges, including human cognitive bias, media spin, the “post-truth” problem, persuasion, the role of words in our thinking, and much more.

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Page Count

309

Publisher

MIT Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0262368773

ISBN 13

9780262368773

A Grammar of Lao

By: N.J. Enfield

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A Grammar of Lao

By: N.J. Enfield

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594

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Walter de Gruyter

Published Date

ISBN 10

3110207532

ISBN 13

9783110207538

The Anatomy of Meaning

Speech, Gesture, and Composite Utterances

By: N. J. Enfield

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The Anatomy of Meaning

Speech, Gesture, and Composite Utterances

By: N. J. Enfield

How do we understand what others are trying to say? The answer cannot be found in language alone. Words are linked to hand gestures and other visible phenomena to create unified 'composite utterances'. In this book N. J. Enfield presents original case studies of speech-with-gesture based on fieldwork carried out with speakers of Lao (a language of Southeast Asia). He examines pointing gestures (including lip and finger-pointing) and illustrative gestures (examples include depicting fish traps and tracing kinship relations). His detailed analyses focus on the 'semiotic unification' problem, that is, how to make a single interpretation when multiple signs occur together. Enfield's arguments have implications for all branches of science with a stake in meaning and its place in human social life. The book will appeal to all researchers interested in the study of meaning, including linguists, anthropologists, and psychologists.

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253

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Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1139478699

ISBN 13

9781139478694

Linguistic Epidemiology

Semantics and Grammar of Language Contact in Mainland Southeast Asia

By: N.J. Enfield

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Linguistic Epidemiology

Semantics and Grammar of Language Contact in Mainland Southeast Asia

By: N.J. Enfield

This important new study examines in detail a semantic-pragmatic pattern surrounding the basic verb 'acquire' in nearly 30 Southeast Asian languages, concentrating on Lao, Vietnamese, Khmer, Kmhmu, Hmong, and varieties of Chinese. The book makes a significant contribution to empirical work on semantic and grammatical change in a linguistic area, as well as representing theoretical advances in cognitive semantics. Gricean pragmatics, semantic change, grammaticalization, language contact, and areal linguistics. The book also examines how changes in the speech of individuals actually become changes in large-scale public convention, 'language contact' is reconsidered, and traditional distinctions such as that between 'internal' and 'external' linguistic mechanisms are challenged. This groundbreaking new book is for specialists in Southeast Asian linguistics as well as scholars of descriptive semantics and pragmatics, grammaticalisation, linguistic change and evolution, areal linguistics and language contact, history and linguistic anthropology.

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413

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1135144699

ISBN 13

9781135144692

The Concept of Action

By: N. J. Enfield,Jack Sidnell

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The Concept of Action

By: N. J. Enfield,Jack Sidnell

A new theory of human behaviour, with three core ingredients: language, interaction, and social accountability.

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245

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0521895286

ISBN 13

9780521895286

Is the Language Faculty Non Linguistic?

By: Umberto Ansaldo, N. J. Enfield

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Is the Language Faculty Non Linguistic?

By: Umberto Ansaldo, N. J. Enfield

A line of research in cognitive science over several decades has been dedicated to finding an innate, language-specific cognitive system, a faculty which allows human infants to acquire languages natively without formal instruction and within short periods of time. In recent years, this search has attracted significant controversy in cognitive science generally, and in the language sciences specifically. Some maintain that the search has had meaningful results, though there are different views as to what the findings are: ranging from the view that there is a rich and rather specific set of principles, to the idea that the contents of the language faculty are - while specifiable - in fact extremely minimal. But other researchers rigorously oppose the continuation of this search, arguing that decades of effort have turned up nothing. The fact remains that the proposal of a language-specific faculty was made for a good reason, namely as an attempt to solve the vexing puzzle of language in our species. Much work has been developing to address this, and specifically, to look for ways to characterize the language faculty as an emergent phenomenon; i.e., not as a dedicated, language-specific system, but as the emergent outcome of a set of uniquely human but not specifically linguistic factors, in combination. A number of theoretical and empirical approaches are being developed in order to account for the great puzzles of language - language processing, language usage, language acquisition, the nature of grammar, and language change and diversification. This research topic aims at reviewing and exploring these recent developments and establishing bridges between these young frameworks, as well as with the traditions that have come before. The goal of this Research Topic is to focus on current developments in what many regard as a paradigm shift in the language sciences. In this Research Topic, we want to ask: If current explicit proposals for an innate, dedicated faculty for language are not supported by data or arguments, how can we solve the problems that UG was proposed to solve? Is it possible to solve the puzzles of language in our species with an appeal to causes that are not specifically linguistic?

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Page Count

125

Publisher

Frontiers Media SA

Published Date

ISBN 10

2889199142

ISBN 13

9782889199143

Natural Causes of Language

Frames, Biases, and Cultural Transmission

By: N J Enfield

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Natural Causes of Language

Frames, Biases, and Cultural Transmission

By: N J Enfield

What causes a language to be the way it is? Some features are universal, some are inherited, others are borrowed, and yet others are internally innovated. But no matter where a bit of language is from, it will only exist if it has been diffused and kept in circulation through social interaction in the history of a community. This book makes the case that a proper understanding of the ontology of language systems has to be grounded in the causal mechanisms by which linguistic items are socially transmitted, in communicative contexts. A biased transmission model provides a basis for understanding why certain things and not others are likely to develop, spread, and stick in languages. Because bits of language are always parts of systems, we also need to show how it is that items of knowledge and behavior become structured wholes. The book argues that to achieve this, we need to see how causal processes apply in multiple frames or 'time scales' simultaneously, and we need to understand and address each and all of these frames in our work on language. This forces us to confront implications that are not always comfortable: for example, that "a language" is not a real thing but a convenient fiction, that language-internal and language-external processes have a lot in common, and that tree diagrams are poor conceptual tools for understanding the history of languages. By exploring avenues for clear solutions to these problems, this book suggests a conceptual framework for ultimately explaining, in causal terms, what languages are like and why they are like that. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

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ISBN 10

1013284976

ISBN 13

9781013284977

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