Studies in Language and Linguistics Selected Readings for Students of English Philology

editors Piotr Cap and Magdalena Kozanecka

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

PART ONE

PART TWO

CHAPTER TWO

PART ONE

PART TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

PART ONE

PART TWO

Foreword 5 (Piotr Cap and Magdalena Kozanecka)

English sentence: syntax-semantics interface

Analysis o f a simple sentence 9 (Szymon Pedziwiatr)

Analysis o f a complex sentence 27 (Piotr Cap)

Language in action: pragmatic and social aspects of language use

The pragmatics o f interpersonal communication 39 (Piotr Cap)

Analysis o f cultural texts 57 (Magdalena Nowacka)

Methods of teaching English as a foreign language Selected aspects of classroom discourse and their impact

on language development in the torelgn language context 69 (MirosCaw Pawlak)

Introduction to translation theory 11 1 (Magdalena Kozanecka)

Introduction to Cognitive Grammar (Kamila Turewicz)

Cognitive Grammar: the nature of language and meaning 171 Cognitive Grammar: semantic structure o f grammatical categories 185

Foreword

The present volume contains contributions by the staff of the English Department at

the Academy of Humanities and Economics (AHE) in t od i . The aim of the volume is to

present students, in a clear and consistent form, with reading material as used during most

of the undergraduate and graduate courses in English language and linguistics at the AHE.

However, the addressees of the material are also students of English at other higher-educa-

tion institutions, both state and private, such as teacher training colleges or translation and

interpreting centers.

The material has been selected and arranged according to the teaching curricula fol-

lowed by most philological departments in Poland. Chapters 1-111 deal with issues which

students are faced with during the first three years of academic instruction, and chapters IV-V tackle topics which students encounter later, e.g. during M.A. seminars. For that reason, the

consecutive chapters and chapter parts can be characterized as getting increasingly more

difficult and specialized.

Chapter One provides students with material concerning English syntax and semantics.

The first part of the chapter deals with the syntax of the simple sentence, while the second

discusses the structure of the complex sentence. Both parts can be successfully used during,

for instance, descriptive grammar courses, esp. in the first two years of instruction.

Chapter Two positions selected observations from chapter one, in interpersonal and

intercultural contexts of 'real-life' discourse. In the first part, the discussion is centered

around concepts of linguistic pragmatics. Among traditional topics, students are offered

a look at how language can be used to accomplish concrete goals in face-to-face persuasion.

In the second part, students are familiarized with broader, sociolinguistic issues which con-

cern relationship between language and culture. The second part of chapter two also brings

up some notions which have to do with English language teaching, and thus provides a feasible

introduction to the next chapter.

Chapter Three contains an in-depth overview of English teaching methods and strate- gies; it also discusses the development of English teaching over years. This material is of a special importance to those students who, in their careers, intend to become teachers of English, whether on a classroom or tutorial basis.

Chapter Four is a more difficult and specialized contribution, dealing with the many domains of translation and translation theory. Included in the discussion are such concepts as translatability, equivalence, and evaluation, as well as a number of the most typical trans- lation strategies at the word, phrase and sentence level. This material should, in principle, be used by students attending graduate seminars in translation and translation theory.

Chapter Five is again devoted to complex, specialized issues which are normally under- taken not sooner than during M.A. research. The chapter describes and evaluates a relatively novel development in linguistics, which has come to be termed as Cognitive Grammar. The discussion tackles the profound questions of the nature of language and cognition, and the relationship holding between them. 'This relationship is shown to determine the structure of particular grammatical categories in a language, of which English is an example.

The authors wish to extend multiple thanks to all those who submitted their contribu- tions to the volume. Also, we owe a debt of gratitude to Professor Kamila Turewicz, the Pro- Rector in Charge of Development of the AHE, for her continuous support underlying the project. We are equally indebted to Professor Piotr Stalmaszczyk from the University of tbdz, for reviewing the text. Finally, words of thanks go to Dr Monika Gregorowicz-Cap for editorial help.

Piotr Cap, Magdalena Kozanecka t b d i , August 2002

CHAPTER ONE

English sentence: syntax-semantics interface

(Szymon Pqdziwiatr and Piotr Cap)

PART ONE

Szymon Pqdziwiatr The Academy of Humanities and Economics in l o d i

Analysis of a simple sentence