Linear Unit Grammar

Integrating speech and writing

Authors

John McH. Sinclair | Tuscan Word Centre

Anna Mauranen | University of Helsinki

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027222985 | EUR 95.00 | USD 143.00

Paperback – Available

ISBN 9789027222992 | EUR 33.00 | USD 49.95

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027293060 | EUR 95.00/33.00*
| USD 143.00/49.95*

People have a natural propensity to understand language text as a succession of smallish chunks, whether they are reading, writing, speaking or listening. Linguists have found that this propensity can shed light on the nature and structure of language, and there are many studies which attempt to harness the potential of natural chunking.

This book explores the role of chunking in the description of discourse, especially spoken discourse. It appears that chunking offers a sound but flexible platform on which can be built a descriptive model which is more open and comprehensive than more familiar approaches to structural description. The model remains linear, in that it avoids hierarchies, and it concentrates on the combinatorial patterns of text.

The linear approach turns out to have many advantages, bringing together under one descriptive method a wide variety of different styles of speech and writing. It is complementary to established grammars, but it raises pertinent questions about many of their assumptions.

[Studies in Corpus Linguistics, 25] 2006. xxii, 185 pp.

Publishing status: Available

https://doi.org/10.1075/scl.25

Table of Contents

Dedication | p. vii

Acknowledgements | p. ix

Preamble | pp. xi–xiii

Introduction | pp. xv–xxi

Section A: Preliminaries

Setting the scene | pp. 3–22

Background | pp. 23–40

Data description | pp. 41–45

Section B: Analysis

System of analysis | pp. 49–54

Provisional Unit Boundaries | pp. 55–58

Types of chunks | pp. 59–70

Types of organisational elements | pp. 71–78

Types of increments to shared experience | pp. 79–89

Synthesis | pp. 91–103

Section C: Theory and follow-up

The example texts analysed | pp. 107–127

Theoretical synopsis | pp. 129–144

Looking ahead | pp. 145–166

Appendix | pp. 167–173

Index of names | pp. 181–182

Index of subjects | pp. 183–185

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This list is based on CrossRef data as of 13 november 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.

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