Bøker i Europaische Hochschulschriften/European University Studies/Publications Universitaires Europeennes Reihe 21: Linguistik/Series 21: Linguistics/Serie 21: Linguistique-serien

This book explores the gap that has developed between two sides in linguistics: the formal tradition and the functional tradition. It discusses fundamental issues such as tense, aspect and action by examining and comparing insights from the two traditions with a view to determining whether there are any possibilities of future bridge-building between the two approaches. This study focuses on comparing the actual output of different linguistic approaches and examines their ¿usefulness¿. A major aim is, therefore, to evaluate and identify the most useful approach.

This book explores the semantic properties of verbs expressing human locomotion and investigates their sense relations in German and English diachronically. For this purpose a model was developed which is related to revised versions of Lutzeier (1981) by linking it with a context-dependent analysis, hence combining a paradigmatic with a syntagmatic approach. Within this approach the influence of contexts on verbs is investigated, and it is illustrated to what extent syntagmatic constraints play a part in establishing features in verbs. Semantic changes holding between members of this lexical field are shown in tables and diagrams. A comparison of morphologically related verbs is conducted, and qualitative and quantitative differences in the lexical representation of meaning concepts are analysed. In addition, it is demonstrated what notions are lexicalised in each linguistic period.

The book adopts a crosslinguistic and crosscultural approach to narrative analysis. Concepts of narrative are explored through a contrastive study of its expressions in English and Chinese and through a comparison of the contexts of production. Narratives written by Grade 5/6 students were collected from primary schools in Sydney and in Hong Kong. Their structural, ideational and stylistic characteristics were contrasted within a synthesized framework of Western and Chinese narrative traditions, the Labovian model, Halliday¿s systemic functional grammar, critical discourse analysis and genre theory. The socio-cultural context was analyzed by examining curriculum documents and by investigating teachers¿ beliefs and teaching practices through surveys, interviews and observations. The book shows that the meaning of narrative has to be interpreted within a suprastructure which embodies the expectations, norms, and values of a specific culture. It is a powerful statement of how schools as social and cultural institutions mediate the production of narrative texts and transmit larger cultural values through specific practices. The study makes a substantial contribution to the field for its combination of empirical detail and theoretical breadth, and for its demonstration of how textual and linguistic structures arise from, and make sense within, divergent social and institutional contexts.