Many of us view language as a tool, a means by which to communicate our thoughts and emotions. But is there more to language than just "talk"? Can learning languages actually change the way you think? In The Language Imperative, best-selling author and linguistic scholar Suzette Haden Elgin examines the power of language to shape our lives. She confronts some of the most pressing issues parents and educators face today: Is it a good or bad idea for Americans to have command of more than one language? Should learning languages be a luxury for only the rich? Or should it be a goal of the public educational system as well? Based on solid science and filled with personal insights, The Language Imperative is required reading for anyone interested in how words shape our lives, both as individuals and as a nation.
In this dystopian science fiction classic set in a world where women have no rights, the patriarchy sends a covert female agent to take down the resistance. In the second entry of the Native Tongue trilogy, the time has come for Láadan—the secret language created to resist an oppressive patriarchy—to empower womankind worldwide. To expand the language’s reach, female linguists translate the Bible into Láadan, and a group of Roman Catholic nuns are tasked to spread the language. But when outraged priests detect their sabotage, they send a double agent to infiltrate and destroy the movement from the inside… Originally published in the 1980s, the Native Tongue trilogy is a classic dystopian tale: a testament to the power of language and women's collective action. “This angry feminist text is also an exemplary experiment in speculative fiction, deftly and implacably pursuing both a scientific hypothesis and an ideological hypothesis through all their social, moral, and emotional implications.”—Ursula K. Le Guin “Less well known than The Handmaid's Tale but just as apocalyptic in their vision…Native Tongue along with its sequel The Judas Rose . . . record female tribulations in a world where…women have no public rights at all. Elgin's heroines do, however, have one set of weapons—words of their own.”—Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, New York Times Book Review “A pioneering feminist experiment.”—Literary Hub “A welcome reminder of the feminist legacies of science fiction…Explores the power of speech, agency, and subversion in a work that is as gripping, troubling, and meaningful today as it has ever been.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Don't turn the other cheek and fume quietly; know what to say when someone throws out the snide backhanded "compliment," subtle insult, cruel criticism, or outright verbal blow. Inside these pages is an arsenal of tools for fending off that attack and neutralizing the harm spiteful words inflict. Learn to identify modes of verbal assault, such as laying blame, and to recognize when someone is about to launch a linguistic strike and the motivation behind it. Sample scripts prevent you from getting tongue-tied, and a progress journal helps you use voice and body language for maximum effect. Find out how to handle the eight most common types of verbal violence, and redirect and defuse potential verbal confrontations so skillfully that they rarely happen. Special suggestions are included for college students, men, and women, and for handling emergency situations such as an angry crowd.
For some employees, verbal abuse can be the everyday language of doing business. Defending yourself from these verbal abusers—calmly, professionally, and successfully—can be crucial to your on-the-job success. Nationally recognized linguistics expert and author Suzette Haden Elgin applies her acclaimed techniques for combating verbal attacks to common workplace situations. Powerful yet unthreatening, her proven strategies will help you recognize and defend yourself from verbal abuse—everything from casual obscenities and racist or sexist language to sarcasm, cutting jokes, and subtle put-downs. Richly illustrated with fully dramatizes scenarios and real-world examples, Dr. Elgin’s communication techniques will help you instantly take control of any verbal confrontation. You’ll also learn how to avoid “malpractice of the mouth” and sexual harassment; communicate sensitively and clearly with non-native English speakers; and project a strong, straightforward, and trustworthy image. You’ll find tips for handling sensitive issues via email and voice mail, advice on meeting the communication challenges that face home-based and virtual businesses, and plenty of “workouts” placed throughout the book to give you valuable opportunities to practice your new skills. The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense at Work is your roadmap through the potentially career-threatening minefields of workplace communication.
Examines the power of language to shape our lives. Confronts some of the most pressing issues parents and educators face today: Is it a good or bad idea for Amer. to have command of more than one lang.? Should it be a goal of the public educational system? Drawing on examples from the worlds of med., bus., religion, and family life, Elgin examines the complex relationship between lang. and culture. She provides a wide range of cases to show that lang. has extraordinary power to affect our perception of reality; learning a lang. gains another worldview. Learning more than one lang. enhances rather than stunts intellectual develop. The very process makes the brain more receptive to new ideas.
Based on Ozark Mountain folklore, this fantasy recounts the adventures of the Brightwater family, who seek revenge when a guest's baby is kidnapped and encased in a life-support bubble hung from a churchyard tree
The Ozark Trilogy (previously published in 1981, Doubleday) is a widely acclaimed fantasy/science fiction story with, as the title suggests, very strong ties to the Ozark region. Twelve Fair Kingdoms, The Grand Jubilee, And Then There'll Be Fireworks--the books that comprise the trilogy--chronicle life on the planet Ozark and its Confederation of Continents, which are appropriately named Arkansaw, Oklahomah, Mizzurah, Tinaseeh, Kintucky, and Marktwain. However, the story told here involves much more than a mere transplant of Ozark culture and heritage onto a new planet. While this new Ozark culture maintains and even intensifies many of the "real" Ozark traditions and customs (for instance, "Grannys" hold significant, stabilizing social roles and are important sources of wisdom), the planet Ozark combines many new, fantastical elements with traditional ways. Mules on Ozark fly, and the wise "Grannys" also work magic. The protagonist of The Ozark Trilogy, Responsible of Brightwater, appears at the center of Ozark society, a society she must save from evil magic, civil war, and, ultimately, alien invasion. As Responsible travels from continent to continent in an attempt to discover and squelch the evil magic and calm the civil unrest, we are witness to many dangerous and sometimes comical adventures along the way, including a spectacular flying Mule crash and a magic duel with a Granny gone bad. Elgin has created a fantastic world infused with the folk traditions, social and familial hierarchies, and traditional dialect of the Ozarks. While parallels might be drawn between, for example, the break-up of the Confederacy of Continents on planet Ozark and the American Civil War, Elgin comments on aspects of Ozark history and tradition in a non didactic way. The trilogy, with its strong heroine and witty engagement of tradition, is a classic of Ozark literature.
Dr. Elgin shows you how to arm yourself with verbal strategies to defuse hostile situations. These techniques will help you stop arguments before they start, effectively allowing you to " turn the other cheek.
The Castle Brightwater is determined to celebrate the five-hundredth anniversary of the Confederation of Continents even though others on the planet Ozark have threatened to sabotage the Jubilee with magic
From the author of The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense comes this new book on how to control language behavior advantageously and trigger positive responses from listeners.
According to the author, "Grandmother skills" are disappearing because in our highly mobile society, women may now remain in the workforce or live far from their grandchildren. Elgin (The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense), herself a grandmother to 10, attempts to fill this gap by providing grandmothers of all types and ages with this chatty and good-natured guide to successful grandmothering. Included among Elgin's 21 sensible principles are advice for mediating family disputes, tips for helping grandchildren with money problems while maintaining one's own financial solvency, as well as the importance of passing down family myths and stories to the next generation. Elgin also discusses family crises or illnesses when it may become necessary for a grandmother to take over the running of the household of one of her children (whom she coyly refers to as a "chadult"). Elgin firmly believes that once the emergency is over, a grandmother must return the household to the parents as soon as possible and gracefully return home. Elgin includes lots of nitty gritty advice but most of her book is aimed at reminding readers how to give families the advantage of their experience without giving in to the frailties of age. “ 35 b/w illustrations
Have you ever worked hard to put together a business strategy or innovative new plan, and then worked hard to explain it to those around you - only to discover, too late, that what everyone heard you say was very different from what you're sure you said? If so, you're one of millions of business professionals who may be far more successful at coming up with good ideas than in communicating them to others." "Fortunately, this groundbreaking book can change all that! In it, the internationally acclaimed author of The Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense series takes the same powerful techniques that have already helped more than 800,000 people communicate more positively and effectively in their personal lives, and shows you how to apply them to the workplace." "Going far beyond the platitudes about communication generally found in business books - such as "Be clear" and "Don't bore your audience" - Suzette Haden Elgin shows you how to get other people to feel the same commitment and passion for your strategy that you feel. Each chapter presents a real-life business scenario in which a proposal that is being presented is not going over well. The author analyzes the scenario to explain what went wrong, and why. (There may be more than one person at fault in each scenario.) Dr. Elgin then replays the situation using proven remedies that yield understanding and commitment."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
With the passage of the twenty-fifth amendment, which denies women equal rights, a cold war between the sexes ensues for several hundred years in a world that relies on interplanetary trade. Reissue.
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