Subject: books on the history of linguistics

john benjamins publishing would like to call your attention to the following new titles in the history of linguistics : the emergence of semantics in four linguistic traditions hebrew , sanskrit , greek , arabic wout van bekkum , jan houben , ineke sluiter , kees versteegh 1997 ix , 322 pp . studies in the history of the language sciences , 82 us / canada : cloth : 1 55619 617 2 price : us $ 99 . 00 rest of the world : cloth : 90 272 4568 1 price : hfl . 198 , - - john benjamins publishing web site : http : / / www . benjamins . com for further information via e-mail : service @ benjamins . com the aim of this study is a comparative analysis of the role of semantics in the linguistic theory of four grammatical traditions , sanskrit , hebrew , greek , arabic . if one compares the organization of linguistic theory in various grammatical traditions , it soon turns out that there are marked differences in the way they define the place of 's emantics ' within the theory . in some traditions , semantics is formally excluded from linguistic theory , and linguists do not express any opinion as to the relationship between syntactic and semantic analysis . in other traditions , the whole basis of linguistic theory is semantically orientated , and syntactic features are always analysed as correlates of a semantic structure . however , even in those traditions , in which semantics falls explicitly or implicitly outside the scope of linguistics , there may be factors forcing linguists to occupy themselves with the semantic dimension of language . one important factor seems to be the presence of a corpus of revealed / sacred texts : the necessity to formulate hermeneutic rules for the interpretation of this corpus brings semantics in through the back door . the noblest animate motion speech , pysiology and medicine in pre-cartesian linguistic thought jeffrey wollock 1997 xlvi , 470 pp . studies in the history of the language sciences , 83 us / canada : cloth : 1 55619 620 2 price : us $ 160 . 00 rest of the world : cloth : 90 272 4571 1 price : hfl . 320 , - - john benjamins publishing web site : http : / / www . benjamins . com for further information via e-mail : service @ benjamins . com the body of theory on speech production and speech disorder developed prior to descartes has been so neglected by historians that its very existence is practically unknown today . yet it provides a framework for understanding the speech process which is not only comprehensive and coherent , but of great relevance to current debates on issues of language performance and applied linguistics . this is because , the author contends , current theoretical difficulties stem largely from initial errors of descartes ; whereas earlier theoretical formulations , while outlining a bio-mechanics of speech , retain the central role of the human agent . the discussions explicated in this book come mainly from the natural - philosophic and medical literature of greco - roman antiquity , the middle ages , and the renaissance and early 17th century . this uncharted territory is mapped for the first time by tracing its textual history and diffusion as well as explaining the theory on its own terms but in language that will be clear and comprehensible to non-specialists . interdisciplinary in perspective , the book encompasses topics of interest not only to the language sciences , but also to the biosciences , medicine , philosophy of human movement , psychology and behavioral sciences , neurosciences , speech pathology , experimental phonetics , speech and rhetoric , and the history of science in general . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - bernadette martinez - keck tel : ( 215 ) 836-1200 publicity / marketing fax : ( 215 ) 836-1204 john benjamins north america e-mail : bernie @ benjamins . com po box 27519 philadelphia pa 19118-0519 check out the john benjamins web site : http : / / www . benjamins . com
