Re: OT: Good Books?

> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Fri, 5 Mar 2004 12:35:47 -0500
> From:    John Quijada <jq_ithkuil@...>
> Subject: Re: OT: Good Books?
> All three books (Lakoff, Wierzbicka, and Whorf) can be read by intelligent
> laypersons with little formal training in linguistics (there are a few
> essays in the Whorf book where this does not apply, but he usually explains
> and illustrates his terms and concepts pretty well).  The Lakoff book,
> while not requiring formal linguistic training, is still pretty intense
> reading, simply because it's loaded with new ideas coming from cognitive
> science that leave your head reeling.  The Wierzbicka book explores the
> culturally-based differences in the meanings of words from one language to
> another, and essentially shows how semantic concepts which we might
> initially think of as being "universal" (e.g., the emotion of "anger") in
> fact vary from language to language.  She utilizes a metalinguistic
> approach to this analysis, i.e., she analyzes these semantic differences
> using a descriptive approach that is not biased toward English or any
> particular language.
>
> --John Quijada
>
Well, I bought _Fire, Women, and other Dangerous Things_ last night.
But, you tricksey Hobbitses have convinced me to order _Describing
Morphosyntax_.  Hmph.  I'm still put off by the name, but when so many
conlangers offer such emphatic encouragement to get that book, well....
  There must be *something* to it!

Thank you *everyone* for your input on this.  I'm glad I generated a
little bit of discussion with my question.  I hope some other lurkers
benefit as well.
Thanks again,
Jim

--
"What is impossible today may suddenly become possible tomorrow."
- Thomas Merton