Words

Russian Learner's Dictionary: 10,000 Russian Words in Order of Frequency

2009-11-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

The huge and amorphous nature of the Russian vocabulary has made the acquisition of new words difficult for the beginner. Russian Vocabulary-Building Dictionary meets this challenge by presenting a comprehensive guide to 10,000 Russian words. Arranged in order of frequency, the dictionary takes the student from the beginner's level through that of the postgraduate.

Indexed alphabetically and containing instructions on syntax and grammar, the Dictionary includes the core vocabulary of the most important Russian words. The result of five years of research and testing by the author to determine the most successful techniques for learning Russian, a familiarity with all or most of its contents will greatly assist the learner in acquiring a practical mastery of the language.

Electronic English Chinese Translator / Dictionary - Translates English Sentence / Phrase / Words to Chinese and Vice Versa

2009-11-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

Electronic English Chinese Translator / Dictionary - Translates English Sentence / Phrase / Words to Chinese and Vice Versa

For Chinese speaker learning English,including TOFEL,GRE GMAT,IELTS dictionary.Translates English sentences/phrases/words to Chinese sentences/phrases/words, and vice versa. Convenient travel functions: Calendar, World Clock, Alarm, Calculators, and Metric/Currency Converters. size: 4 X 3 inches

Features

* For Chinese speaker learning English
* Translates English sentences/phrases/words to Chinese sentences/phrases/words, and vice versa
* including TOFEL,GRE GMAT,IELTS dictionary
* Convenient travel functions: Calendar, World Clock, Alarm, Calculators, and Metric/Currency Converters
* size: 4 X 3 inches

Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language

2009-06-12T20:05:00.000-07:00

Human languages are capable of expressing a literally endless number of different ideas. How do we manage it--so effortlessly that we scarcely ever stop to think about it? In Words and Rules: The Ingredients of Language, a look at the simple concepts that we use to devise works as complex as love sonnets and tax laws, renowned neuroscientist and linguist Steven Pinker shows us how. The latest linguistic research suggests that each of us stores a limited (though large) number of words and word-parts in memory and manipulates them with a much smaller number of rules to produce every writing and utterance, and Pinker explains every step of the way with engaging good humor.

Pinker's enthusiasm for the subject infects the reader, particularly as he emphasizes the relation between how we communicate and how we think. What does it mean that a small child who has never heard the word wug can tell a researcher that when one wug meets another, there are two wugs? Some rule must be telling the child that English plurals end in -s, which also explains mistakes like mouses. Is our communication linked inextricably with our thinking? Pinker says yes, and it's hard to disagree. Words and Rules is an excellent introduction to and overview of current thinking about language, and will greatly reward the careful reader with new ways of thinking about how we think, talk, and write. --Rob Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

MIT linguist Pinker builds on his previous successes (How the Mind Works; The Language Instinct) with another book explaining how we learn and deploy word, phrase and utterance. Some linguists (notably Noam Chomsky) have argued that everything in speech comes from hidden, hard-wired rules. Others (notably some computer scientists) claim that we learn language by association, picking up raw data first. Pinker argues that our brains exhibit both kinds of thought, and that we can see them both in English verbs: rule application ("combination") governs regular verbs, memory ("lookup") handles irregulars. The interplay of the two characterizes all language, perhaps all thought. Each of Pinker's 10 chapters takes up a different field of research, but all 10 concern regular and irregular forms of words. Pinker shows what scientists learn from children's speech errors (My brother got sick and pukeded); from survey questions (What do you call more than one wug?); from similar rules in varying languages (English, German and Arapesh); from theoretical models and their failings and from brain disorders like jargon anomia (whose victims use complex sentences, but say things like "nose cone" when they mean "phone call"). Sometimes Pinker explains linguists' current consensus; at other times, he makes a case for his own theoretical school. His previous books have been accused of excessive ambition; here he largely sticks to his own fields. The result, with its crisp prose and neat analogies, makes required reading for anyone interested in cognition and language. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Morphological Theory: An Introduction to Word Structure in Generative Grammar

2009-06-12T20:02:00.000-07:00

Morphological Theory: An Introduction to Word Structure in Generative Grammar

This is the first near-exhaustive introduction to the burgeoning field of morphology in generative grammar. Presupposing very little prior knowledge of linguistics, the book guides the reader from absolute basics to the most recent theoretical developments. Written in an accessible style, and including a wealth of exercises, this textbook is designed so that it can be used either on courses explicitly focused on morphology or as an adjunct to other courses, particularly in generative syntax and in phonology.

The book opens with an account of the phenomena studied by morphologists, an outline of classical problems and an introduction to the earliest models of morphology proposed within the generative paradigm. Its second part deals with the interface between morphology and phonology and includes a detailed discussion of lexical Phonology, and related models, as well as a variety of types of nonconcatenative morphology.

Part III begins with a comprehensive introduction to more recent theories of word structure, including inflectional morphology. Subsequent chapters examine the interface between morphology and syntax, exploring the processes which affect grammatical relations, such as passives and causatives. Further chapters examine compounding processes and the morphology, phonology and syntax of clitic systems. The final part of the book includes a full discussion of "bracketing paradoxes" and closes with a survey of models of morphology and competing views of the place of morphology in linguistic theory.

Vocabulary Development: A Morphological Analysis (Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development)

2009-06-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

Vocabulary Development: A Morphological Analysis (Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development)

This monograph studies research conducted for the purpose of investigating the relationship between vocabulary recognition and morphological knowledge during the early and middle elementary school years. The findings suggest that lexical development can be characterized in terms of increasing morphological complexity, and as a child ages, the proportion of known complex words that the child figured out by analyzing their morphological structure increased.

This monograph studies research conducted for the purpose of investigating the growth of recognition vocabulary during the early and middle elementary school years in relation to the development of morphological knowledge. The children were tested on a selection of main entry words from a recent unabridged nonhistorical dictionary by means of definition, sentence, and multiple-choice questions. The focus of the present study, however, was on the contribution made by different morphologically defined word types and by knowledge of morphology and word formation to total recognition vocabulary at different age and grade levels. The findings suggest that lexical development can be characterized in terms of increasing morphological complexity. Further, it was found that the proportion of known complex words for which there was evidence that children figured them out by analyzing their morphological structure increased with age and grade.

Morphological Productivity: Structural Constraints in English Derivation (Topics in English Linguistics, 28)

2009-06-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

Morphological Productivity: Structural Constraints in English Derivation (Topics in English Linguistics, 28)

On the basis of a survey of a wide range of English derivational affixes it is proposed that the productivity and combinability of a given affix are primarily the result of its individual structural, i.e., phonological, morphological and semantic, properties and not due to more general mechanisms of the various kinds proposed, for example, by proponents of Lexical Phonology/Morphology.

This point is further developed in an in-depth structural analysis of the rival verbal affixes -ize, -ate, -ify, en-, em-, be-, -en and conversion. First, the productivity of these processes is assessed, using both text-based and dictionary-based measures (Cobuild corpus vs. Oxford English Dictionary). Implementing Optimality Theory and Jackendoff’s Lexical Conceptual Semantics, a large number of 20th century neologisms extracted from the OED are investigated with regard to their phonological, morphological and semantic characteristics. Bridging the gap between broad empirical coverage and significant theoretical insights, the analysis leads to new findings concerning both the structural properties of derived verbs in English and the role of these properties in restricting productivity. It is argued that the choice of a particular affix can be largely predicted on the basis of the affix’s individual properties, without any additional machinery besides token-blocking and local analogy. On the theoretical level the proposed analysis presents evidence against the separation of meaning and form in derivational morphology and for a sign-based, output-oriented model instead.

morphological rules

2009-06-12T19:40:00.001-07:00

Important Vocabulary : The Word of God in English: Criteria for Excellence in Bible Translation

2009-05-20T02:31:00.000-07:00

With so many Bible translations available, how do you make a choice between them? How do you even know what the criteria should be for making a choice?

As an expert in English literature and literary theory, Leland Ryken approaches the translation debate from a practical artistic viewpoint. He believes that many modern translations take liberties with the biblical text that would not be allowed with any other type of literary work. Also, what readers are presented with as biblical text is actually far from the original text. In literature, a simplified version of Milton’s work is not Milton, and neither is an edition written in contemporary English. Anyone who is interested in Milton would find any version that changes his words unacceptable for serious study. Ryken argues that the same dedication to reproducing literature texts as closely as possible needs to be present in biblical translation. To do so it is necessary to take into account the difficulty of working with original languages. Only an essentially literal, "word for word" translation of the Bible can achieve sufficiently high standards in terms of literary criteria and fidelity to the original text.

Ryken does not contest that many modern translations have been used for good, and believes that there is a place for a range of Bible translations, including children’s Bibles and Bible paraphrases. His purpose is not to say that the only Bible available should be one that is essentially literal. Instead, he defines the translation theory and principles that would result in the best Bible for English-speaking people and serious students of the Bible, and also for the English-speaking church as a whole. He believes that an essentially literal translation is the natural result of following these principles.

Along with a short history of translation, Ryken evaluates presuppositions that impact translation theory. He also examines fallacies about the Bible, translations in general, and Bible readers that influence what translation decisions are made. Believing that those who undertake the serious work of translating God’s Word have an obligation both to God and to others, he assesses the theological, ethical, and hermeneutical issues involved and surveys difficulties with modern translations. Ryken’s literary expertise gives him the perspective needed to provide Christians with a standard for comparing contemporary Bible translations, as well as an understanding of why some translations may not convey the very words of God.

American English Idiomatic Expressions in 52 Weeks: An Easy Way to Understand English Expressions and Improve Speaking

2009-05-20T01:47:00.002-07:00

his week-by-week calendar of idioms will assist learners of English to understand the meanings of American idioms found in common usage. The American English Idiomatic Expressions in 52 Weeks consists of 3,300 frequently used idioms, provides concise and clear definitions of each idiom, and includes examples to show the context in which particular idioms are used.

About the Author

Dr. John Holleman is the director of MBA Program Administration at the University of Mississippi.

Englisg idiomatic words

2009-05-20T01:47:00.001-07:00

Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction

2009-05-09T02:14:00.000-07:00

Review
"Vocabulary is the bedrock supporting academic language proficiency. Without any doubt, speech-language pathologists recognize the critical importance of vocabulary learning for children and adolescents struggling with language and literacy learning. The challenge is how we can better support genuine vocabulary learning so that struggling students will be better positioned to meet the new reading and writing standards. This book offers speech-language pathologists a strong conceptual framework and evidence-based strategies for achieving the goal of functional
vocabulary learning. The rich and detailed strategies are presented in a highly readable way. This accessibility allows the creative speech-language clinician to find many ideas that can easily be adapted into meaningful strategies for boosting the authentic word knowledge that most students with language learning disabilities urgently need for attaining academic language proficiency."--Elaine R. Silliman, PhD, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Florida

"This little book is a gem. It shows how teachers can teach word meanings so powerfully that students of all ages will be able to grasp an author's meaning or communicate their own more effectively. The book offers a well-organized and first-rate plan for teaching vocabulary, presented by a team of researchers with a genuine grasp of the practical."--Timothy Shanahan, PhD, Center for Literacy, University of Illinois at Chicago

"This book succinctly addresses the challenges of teaching and developing vocabulary, providing research-based, clearly spelled-out strategies and many, many rich examples. It gives teachers the tools they need to effectively increase students' vocabularies. Reflecting the authors' own expertise with words, the book is written clearly enough for undergraduates, yet has a level of depth that will lend new insights to even the most advanced student of language and literacy. This book should be required reading in teacher and reading specialist preparation programs and should be used in in-service programs with reading, language arts, and English teachers as well as with content area teachers. If the strategies and suggestions offered in this book were widely and intensely implemented, we would see significant increases in students' verbal abilities and reading comprehension scores."--John J. Pikulski, PhD, School of Education, University of Delaware

"Bringing Words to Life lives up to its title. It made me want to gather a group of kids immediately, so I could start putting these sensible, practical, novel, and intriguing ideas about building vocabulary into practice. Beck, McKeown, and Kucan show how much fun learning words and teaching words can be. Every early childhood and elementary teacher should have this book on their bedside table for inspirational reading."--Catherine E. Snow, PhD, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University
-- Review

Review
"Vocabulary is the bedrock supporting academic language proficiency. Without any doubt, speech-language pathologists recognize the critical importance of vocabulary learning for children and adolescents struggling with language and literacy learning. The challenge is how we can better support genuine vocabulary learning so that struggling students will be better positioned to meet the new reading and writing standards. This book offers speech-language pathologists a strong conceptual framework and evidence-based strategies for achieving the goal of functional vocabulary learning. The rich and detailed strategies are presented in a highly readable way. This accessibility allows the creative speech-language clinician to find many ideas that can easily be adapted into meaningful strategies for boosting the authentic word knowledge that most students with language learning disabilities urgently need for attaining academic language proficiency."--Elaine R. Silliman, PhD, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of South Florida

"This little book is a gem. It shows how teachers can teach word meanings so powerfully that students of all ages will be able to grasp an author's meaning or communicate their own more effectively. The book offers a well-organized and first-rate plan for teaching vocabulary, presented by a team of researchers with a genuine grasp of the practical."--Timothy Shanahan, PhD, Center for Literacy, University of Illinois at Chicago

"This book succinctly addresses the challenges of teaching and developing vocabulary, providing research-based, clearly spelled-out strategies and many, many rich examples. It gives teachers the tools they need to effectively increase students' vocabularies. Reflecting the authors' own expertise with words, the book is written clearly enough for undergraduates, yet has a level of depth that will lend new insights to even the most advanced student of language and literacy. This book should be required reading in teacher and reading specialist preparation programs and should be used in in-service programs with reading, language arts, and English teachers as well as with content area teachers. If the strategies and suggestions offered in this book were widely and intensely implemented, we would see significant increases in students' verbal abilities and reading comprehension scores."--John J. Pikulski, PhD, School of Education, University of Delaware

"Bringing Words to Life lives up to its title. It made me want to gather a group of kids immediately, so I could start putting these sensible, practical, novel, and intriguing ideas about building vocabulary into practice. Beck, McKeown, and Kucan show how much fun learning words and teaching words can be. Every early childhood and elementary teacher should have this book on their bedside table for inspirational reading."--Catherine E. Snow, PhD, Graduate School of Education, Harvard University

"All educators who are lovers of the English language will thoroughly enjoy and reap the benefits of this articulate book. The authors present a brilliant rationale for delivering lively and direct vocabulary instruction. They offer excellent advice on how to select rich words, present them to students, and help them revel in their usefulness!"--MaryAnne Rossbach, MEd, sixth-grade teacher, Sunrise Valley Elementary School, Reston, VA

"This wonderful book provides a very practical introduction to effective vocabulary instruction....This book is an excellent example how 'research-into-practice' should be done -- it is very readable, informative, practical, and concrete."--BalancedReading.com

The Boy Who Loved Words

2009-05-09T02:13:00.001-07:00

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-4-Schotter blends magical realism with a tongue-tingling narrative to create an ode to the power and purpose of language. Selig is passionate about words-their sounds (tintinnabulating!), their taste (tantalizing!), and the way they moved his heart. An avid word-hoarder, he delights in discovering new terms, recording them on paper scraps, and stowing them in pockets. Unable to comprehend their son's strange predilection, his practical-minded parents worry about his future, and his
classmates cruelly add oddball to his collection. After dreaming about a Yiddish Genie who advises him to embrace his passion and seek his life's poipose, Selig embarks on a journey of self-discovery. Feeling weighted down by his vocabulary slips, he climbs a tree and carefully attaches them to the branches. Fantastically and fittingly, several of them blow into the hands of a poet who is struggling for the right adjectives to finish his verse. Selig realizes that his mission is to bestow his word wealth upon others. He tosses out luscious to accentuate a baker's wares, halts an argument with harmony, and invigorates an elderly man with spry. He grows up to find personal fulfillment and even true love. The author shares her own affection for language through the descriptive, lyrical text, italicizing particularly delectable but possibly unfamiliar terms and defining them in a two-page glossary. Potter's folk-art paintings echo the story's whimsy and set the action in an idyllic-looking, early-20th-century past. An inspiring choice for young wordsmiths and anyone who cherishes the variety and vitality of language.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
Gr. 2-4. Some people collect shells or stones; young Selig collects words. Whenever he hears a new one he likes, he jots it down on a slip of paper and stuffs it into a convenient pocket, a sock, a sleeve, or a hat. When you're a kid, such eccentric behavior doesn't go unnoticed, and soon his classmates have given him a new name, "Wordsworth," and a new word to add to his collection, oddball. Ouch! But with the help of a friendly genie, who calls him "Voidsvoith, a lover of voids," Selig finds his life's purpose and romance, to boot. Potter's signature naive-style art is light and comical, while Schotter's words are a lovely celebration of the power and the music of language. A glossary of Selig's favorite words--from aflutter to windmill--adorns the book's endpapers. Michael Cart
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Every Word Has Power: Switch on Your Language and Turn on Your Life

2009-05-09T02:11:00.000-07:00

Words have power. The very words we say and think not only describe our world but actually create it. They have a profound impact on our lives; in fact, our self-talk produces 100 percent of our results. In this pioneering, practical book, Yvonne Oswald teaches us how to fi lter unsupportive words to produce outstanding results, changing our perspective, relationships, and ability to manifest our deepest
desires. The easy-to-follow formula holistically blends the science of language, physical well-being, and emotional cleansing. The "Keys to Success and Happiness" reconnect you with your original empowerment blueprint and develop your understanding for a lifetime of success.

Every Word Has Power charms all of the senses and delivers powerful, easy tools for change. Tips, exercises, scripts, stories, metaphors, and science are interwoven to create a dynamic blend of quantum self-growth that immediately jump-starts your transformation.

Review
"Yvonne's compelling techniques help transform your life using the language of success. When you change your words you change your life."- John Gray, Ph.D., author of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus

"Of the thousands of words you use today, why not make all of them work for you? Direct your destiny now with your thoughts and language and be prepared for measurable and amazing results!" -- Raymond Aaron, The New York Times top ten-bestselling coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul

"In this fast-forward world, where geographic boundaries are erased via instant communication, there is nothing more vital to success in life than win-win dialogue. Read and internalize [Oswald's] teachings, and you will realize, as well as materialize, your loftiest goals." -- Denis Waitley, author of The Psychology of Winning

"Yvonne Oswald's book will change your life. She takes the complicated world of metaphysics and interpersonal relationships and puts it in a language that even the most novice of readers can absorb and be transformed by. I loved it." -- Master Cameron Shayne, Budokon creator

"In Every Word Has Power, Yvonne Oswald tells us, 'true success is when you feel great about who you are, what you do, and what you have.' This book can help you get there."- Ric Giardina, author of Becoming a Life Balance Master, creative director of The Spirit Employed Company

"Master your spoken words and you direct your life. Master your internal thoughts and you direct your destiny! Take your success to the next level with Every Word Has Power. Yvonne answers questions you didn't even know you had to ask!"- Marcia Martin, BSc, Power Speaking Seminars, transformational trainer

"Every Word Has Power is a must read for anyone that is working with the Law of Attraction. It truly is THE handbook to teach you how to apply the laws in order to create what you desire. It provides easy, simple, and practical ways to raise your vibration. I will recommend it to all my clients!"- Christy Whitman, bestselling author, professional speaker, and certified Law of Attraction coach

"Changing my words consciously has changed my whole attitude and that of my clients. I have seen miraculous results in depression and amazing, healing results from inviting clients to 'switch' their words. The significant changes that I observe daily in my practice is that I achieve results far more quickly, and people appear to be so much more optimistic."- Dr. Ebi Taebi, doctor of naturopathic medicine and specialist in cancer, chronic disease, and depression

"Yvonne Oswald is a brilliant teacher and healer. I highly recommend this book...a truly transformative read."- Colette Baron-Reid, bestselling author of Remembering the Future: The Path to Recovering Intuition

"Being aware of my language has transformed my life in unexpected ways. It has shown me where I need to heal. I learned that any unpleasant thought I had came with a corresponding unpleasant feeling. As I consciously began to change my thoughts, my feelings towards my husband grew more loving and accepting. It felt like my heart was expanding, and I saw him through compassionate eyes. Our interactions became more positive because he was open to using the same tools. Happily, we have fallen in love all over again."- Dr. Carrie Bailey, PhD, psychologist, Connect Department, Canadian Hearing Society

The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English

2009-05-09T02:09:00.000-07:00

This historical tour of the English lexicon considers words as etymological �fossils of past dreams and traumas,� revealing the preoccupations of the ages that produced them. The nineteenth century�s �cult of fine feelings� gave currency to �sensibility� and �physiognomy�; �popery� and �libertine� sprang from the religious skepticism of the sixteen-hundreds. Many such relics began as imports: centuries of Anglophone empire-building have occasioned borrowings from some three hundred and fifty languages, including Arabic (�sash�) and Sanskrit (�pundit�). The chapters are loosely focussed on different themes, but trade is a constant thread: �tycoon� comes from taikun, a Japanese honorific picked up on Commodore Matthew Perry�s eighteen-fifties mission to open the ports of Japan. Hitchings offers a rich array of anecdotes and extracts, but the absence of a strong over-all argument deprives his account of momentum.
Copyright ©2008 Click here to subscribe to The New Yorker

From Booklist
What Hitchings shows us is that the history of our vocabulary is the history of who we really are. Playing up the “acquisitiveness of English,” which has proved hospitable to words from more than 350 other languages, his book has a wide sweep, from pre-Roman Britain to online communities. Each chapter tends to address a particular influx of words, whether rooted in invasion and conquest or in the innovative use of the language by gifted writers. A chapter called “Angst” not only covers the twentieth century’s contribution to the vocabulary via the military, advertising, technology, and the business world, it also incorporates, in digressive but entertaining fashion, the history of coffee, a caustic evisceration of “management speak,” and an explanation of why purists are so resistant to new words. Ever ready with an apt quote, Hitchings makes a delightful and knowledgeable guide, privy to many fascinating facts about the language—those averse to the increasing power of technophiles are given a handful of pithy put-downs, including dot snots and entrepenerds. A well-researched, fluidly written book that wears its scholarship lightly. --Joanne Wilkinson

100 Words To Make You Sound Smart

2009-05-09T02:03:00.000-07:00

The newest title in the popular 100 Words series is an informative and entertaining resource that can help anyone be right on the money when looking for words that will make a point, seal the deal, or just keep folks listening. Chosen by the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries, these words will appeal to anyone who wants to be a more compelling communicator—as a worker, consumer, advocate, friend, dinner companion, or even as a romantic prospect.

The book includes a colorful variety of words, including handy words of just one syllable (such as glib) and words derived from the names of famous people (such as Freudian slip and Machiavellian).
There are expressions from popular culture (Catch-22) and words that date back to classical civilization (spartan and stoic). Each word is clearly defined and shown in context with quotations from contemporary sources: magazines, newspapers, broadcast media, movies, and television. For many words, quotations from distinguished authors and speakers are also given and word histories are explained.

Like its predecessors in this successful series, 100 Words to Make You Sound Smart provides an affordable and enjoyable way to communicate more effectively. It offers the coveted gift of gab to anyone who needs to “say it right”—and to anyone who wants to sound more articulate.

About the Author
The Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries and of other reference titles published by Houghton Mifflin Company are trained lexicographers with a varied array of interests and expertise. Most of the editors hold graduate degrees and have studied at least one foreign language. Several have degrees in linguistics or in the history of the English language. Others have degrees in science or sometimes other disciplines. All the editors familiarize themselves with the vocabulary in specific subject areas, collect materials on new developments and usage, and work in association with consultants to ensure that the content of our publications is as accurate and as up-to-date as possible.

SPEAK E-Z CHINESE In Phonetic English

2008-11-15T06:26:00.000-08:00

Now readers can by-pass the complex Pinyin system in favor of user-friendly words and sentences provided in straightforward phonetic English. Packed with humorous slang and favorite Chinese idioms, only SPEAK E-Z CHINESE provides the means to communicate in fresh, contemporary Mandarin at only a glance. Free audio companion offered online at www.CathayCafe.com.

Review
Authors Timothy Green and Zhao Fang worked for two years to create a language book that made learning Mandarin easy and fun. It also had to contain words and phrases that travellers would use. The pair have a sense of humor as the book contains off-colour or potentially offensive phrases that, let's be honest, you might have to use in China. The book is timely. -- Calgary Herald

Concerned about language barriers? Worry no more! SPEAK E-Z CHINESE In Phonetic English (cathaycafe.com) by Zhao Fang and Tim Green is sure to turn a potentially frustrating experience into an enjoyable journey. -- DreamScapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine

If you have never been to Mainland China, please remember this is not Hong Kong SAR, while 80% of Hong Kong speaks English; crossing the border results in only 20% of the population speaking it. Please bring a Mandarin Phrase Book with you. If you want the best one we have come across, then we recommend Speak E-Z Chinese. -- New Step International

The revolutionary book, Speak E-Z Chinese, definitely does its job of teaching a tough language in a fun and realistic manner. Within about 30 minutes of reading you can learn all the basics to hit the ground running in China. If your goal is to get up to speed on basic Chinese as fast as possible, Speak E-Z Chinese is perfect. -- Tango Diva Reviews

This amazing and delightful book serves up a generous amount of helpful travel information, as well as a revolutionary technique for learning the Chinese language easily in phonetic English. -- Travelvideo.TV

A Short History of Chinese Philosophy

2008-11-15T05:54:00.000-08:00

This is a chronicle of Chinese thought from the third millennium sage-kings to the 1911 overthrow of the oldest monarchical system in the world. The book illuminates the most commonly known schools of Confuciansim and Taoism, and it acquaints readers with Mohism, Yin-Yang, Legalism, Neo-Taosim, Neo-Confucianism, and the introduction of Western philosophy.

For the people who want to understand chinese philosophy, it is a positively simple text that allows to pinpoint all the important issues about each person that mattered in History. I recomend it to every student, every person that wants to know about philosopy and even those who are determined to elaborate deeper studies, as a start on the matter.

101 American English Idioms: Understanding and Speaking English Like an American

2008-10-23T17:29:00.000-07:00

American idioms can cause confusion and frustrate many English language learners. This thin, delightful collection 101 idioms uses humor, clear drawings, and witty captions to illustrate the real meanings of odd phrases. Many English teachers love the verbal and visual humor, and add it as a supplemental text for intermediate or advanced ESL students. The mocking tone, however, probably annoys the more prudish folks. Other adult educators might also feel that their precious class time is better spent on more practical life skills.

I understand their reservations, but still strongly recommend it as a real treat. The author, Harry Collis, deserves great praise for creating a very entertaining, informative ESL book.
This satisfying collection seems ideal for self-study, college students, and tutors. Do yourself a favor - read this book!

The Penguin Dictionary of English Idioms (Penguin Reference Books)

2008-10-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

"Power nap," "the Oprah effect," "girl power"-these are just some of the recent figures of speech to have entered our language. This dictionary has been completely revised for its second edition and includes 2,000 new idioms. It provides clear and concise definitions and explains how the idioms should be used. At the same time, the dictionary's thematic arrangement makes it possible not only to study and compare all the idioms in a given subject area, but to match the right one to the right occasion.

A New Chinese-English Dictionary of Function Words

2008-10-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

chinese language
dictionary
chinese
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etymology
chinese flash cards
learn chinese
german vocabulary

mandarin
language learning

Word

2008-10-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Word is a sound or a group of sounds that expresses a meaning and forms an independent unit of a language (Hornby, 1995-1374). Fuad mas'ud classifies word into some types, namely nouns, verbs, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interconjunctions (1987:63)

A word at least consists of one morpheme which has a lexical meaning. A word can also consists of two or more morphemes. go, book, good are the examples of the word consisting of one morpheme. books, cooks, beautiful are the examples of words consisting of two morphemes. books consists of the morpheme book and the morpheme -s ; cooks consists of the morpheme cook and the morpheme -s ; and beautiful consists of the morpheme beauty and the morpheme -ful.

References:
Hornby, A.s. 1995. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English. Fifth edition. Great Britain: Oxford University Press.

Mas'ud Fuad. 1987. Essentials of English Grammar. Yogyakarta: BPFE

Derivations: Exploring the Dynamics of Syntax (Routledge Leadinglinguists)

2008-09-24T02:54:00.000-07:00

Description
This book presents an analysis of a variety of central linguistic notions, such as case agreement, obviation, and rigidity, from a derivational perspective.

Derivations in Minimalism (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics)

2008-09-24T02:39:00.000-07:00

Description
This pathbreaking study presents a new perspective on the role of derivation, the series of operations by which sentences are formed. Working within the Minimalist Program and focusing on English, the authors develop an original theory of generative syntax, which provides a pioneering challenge to fundamental assumptions in syntactic theory

Description
This pathbreaking study presents a new perspective on the role of derivation, the series of operations by which sentences are formed. Working within the Minimalist Program and focusing on English, the authors develop an original theory of generative syntax, providing illuminating new analyses of some central syntactic constructions. Two key questions are explored: first, can the Extended Projection Principle (EPP) be eliminated from Minimalist analysis without loss, and perhaps with a gain in empirical coverage; and second, is the construct 'A-Chain' similarly eliminable? The authors argue that neither EPP nor the A-chain is in fact a property of Universal Grammar, but rather their descriptive content can be deduced from independently motivated properties of lexical items, in accordance with overarching principles governing derivation. In investigating these questions, a range of new data is introduced, and existing data re-analyzed, presenting a pioneering challenge to fundamental assumptions in syntactic theory

Morphological Productivity: Structural Constraints in English Derivation (Topics in English Linguistics, 28) (Topics in English Linguistics)

2008-09-17T02:00:00.000-07:00

Description
This book deals with one of the central problems for theories of word-formation, the productivity of morphological processes. On the basis of a survey of a wide range of English derivational affixes it is proposed that the productivity and combinability of a given affix are primarily the result of its individual structural, i.e., phonological, morphological and semantic, properties and not due to more general mechanisms of the various kinds proposed, for example, by proponents of Lexical Phonology/Morphology.

This point is further developed in an in-depth structural analysis of the rival verbal affixes -ize, -ate, -ify, en-, em-, be-, -en and conversion. First, the productivity of these processes is assessed, using both text-based and dictionary-based measures (Cobuild corpus vs. Oxford English Dictionary). Implementing Optimality Theory and Jackendoff’s Lexical Conceptual Semantics, a large number of 20th century neologisms extracted from the OED are investigated with regard to their phonological, morphological and semantic characteristics. Bridging the gap between broad empirical coverage and significant theoretical insights, the analysis leads to new findings concerning both the structural properties of derived verbs in English and the role of these properties in restricting productivity. It is argued that the choice of a particular affix can be largely predicted on the basis of the affix’s individual properties, without any additional machinery besides token-blocking and local analogy. On the theoretical level the proposed analysis presents evidence against the separation of meaning and form in derivational morphology and for a sign-based, output-oriented model instead.

Word by Word Picture Dictionary: English/Chinese Edition

2008-09-09T22:15:00.000-07:00

Review : By Eddie Landsberg

By the authors of SIDE BY SIDE this is a much more colorful and better organized picture dictionary than the formerly more popular OXFORD PICTURE DICTIONARY. Whenever I bring it to class, if the students don't have it, the first thing atleast 70% will ask me is "Where can I get it ?"

- - used with the accompanying flash cards (not included) you can teach entire (and substantive) lessons with just those two things alone... and even without it, you can use it to expand amply from whatever text book you're using. The chapters on the household, occupations, places around town, work activities are especially useful. In my begining classes we learn how to ask each other questions about these subjects, and begin all our classes discussing what we did over the weekend, what we did at work etc. etc. We talk about our house, our family... and all these topics are with Level 1 students, eye to eye (pair work, group work, class discussion)and facilitated by lessons from this book. - - Pictures get students talking and open them up and this is the ultimate resource ! ! !

As a tip, the students love looking at the pictures and discussing them, so to keep activities interactive, have students share books... or make worksheets where the students have to exchange information ! ! !