Books & Magazines

Book & Magazines resources in the
Madison Area

• The Digital Cardinal - The Daily Cardinal Online.
• The Daily Page - The Isthmus Online, Madison's Weekly Newspaper.
• The ONION - No explanation would do this justice......

Other Selected Web Sites

• The Alternative Bookshop - The Alternative Book Shop specializes in unique and hard to find books from Independent, Small and Self-Publishers. Each book is vividly presented for your review. It's almost like browsing in a bookstore.

Synaesthetic metaphors exhibit a robust, universal, tendency to use the `lower-tohigher' structure more frequently than the inverse one. This robust pattern was found across genres (poetic and non-poetic discourse), language boundaries (e.g. English, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian) and historical periods. A cognitive account of this pattern is introduced, according to which this lower-to-higher mapping reflects a cognitively simpler and more basic directionality than the inverse one. Several predictions that follow from this account were tested, using various psychological measures (recall, difficulty in context generation, and naturalness judgments). In accordance with the present account, it was found that the lower-to-higher structure is judged as more natural than its inverse, is better recalled and is judged as easier to construct a context for.

In this article, I demonstrate how an examination of the pragmatics of the pseudo-cleft in the fiction of Flannery O'Connor can do more than simply illustrate the precise manner in which she employs and patterns a given linguistic structure. Such an examination can also provide persuasive evidence of the overall value of literary language for the study of linguistics. That is to say, a careful, complete analysis of the pragmatics of the pseudo-cleft in O'Connor's fiction not only shows how linguistics can be used to enrich our understanding of literature, but, more importantly, how literature can be used to enrich our understanding of linguistics. More specifically, though previous linguistic definitions of the pseudo-cleft differ in a variety of ways, to my knowledge none of those definitions have ever discussed the pseudo-cleft as a given + given (presupposition only) information packaging structure. Since 18 of the 79 pseudo-clefts in O'Connor's canon do, in fact, pattern as given + given structures, I will argue that, at the very least, O'Connor's use of the pseudo-cleft challenges existing linguistic accounts of the structure. Based on the results of my analysis, I therefore argue for what I call a `bidirectional stylistics' — a broader approach to stylistics that emphasizes its ability as a discipline to expand and complete existing linguistic explanations that are based only on non-literary data.

In this article, I explore issues of commitment to truth in dating ads that use apparently impossible categorizations to project identities for ad writers and their desired others. The article begins with a brief overview of relevant aspects of Text World Theory (especially Gavins's work on dating ads), Sinclair's model of fictional worlds and Routledge and Chapman's account of truth-commitment in discourse, and proposes the need for a framework that allows for a partial suspension of commitment to truth. I then draw on the work of Ivanic and Weldon on identity in writing, in order to develop an account that offers a discourse- and genre-based discussion of how the intertextual metaphors in such ads are interpreted in relation to truth values. I suggest the default stance is that of positive commitment to literal truth and that, when this is not possible, a fall-back mode of negative commitment to metaphorical truth is preferred over an interpretation in which questions of truth are truly suspended. Finally, I consider a related category, of apparently negative dating ad identities, in order to suggest a functional motivation for the inclusion of elements that cannot be interpreted in truth-committed mode.

Much of the reaction, both positive and negative, to the publication of Alan Duff's novel Once Were Warriors centred on its language. This article analyses the ways in which characteristic linguistic features of New Zealand English are represented in the novel, in particular by its Maori protagonists. It also draws stylistic comparisons with other writers, such as Scotland's James Kelman, who have attempted to give their characters a particular local voice outside of, or in opposition to, Standard English by having them speak in their own language or variety of English.

In an earlier article ( Language and Literature, 11(4)) the author argued that Hanson and Kiparsky's parametric theory failed to account for some statistically verifiable features of the English iambic pentameter, in particular, the far from random distribution of mid-line word boundaries in this metre. The present article argues that there are a series of other features of English binary metres that can only be identified and explained if parametric theory is supplemented by quantitative techniques borrowed from Russian linguistic metrics. It analyses samples of verse in various binary metres by Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Pope, Wordsworth, Tennyson, Longfellow, and Browning, and identifies some peculiar properties of each poet's use of tension. It measures inversion and erosion in iambic pentameters, and in iambic, trochaic and mixed tetrameters, and concludes that: (1) more than 85 percent of strong positions in the English iambic pentameter contain a stressed syllable; (2) English iambic verse contains a constraint against two consecutive strong positions lacking stress; (3) the tetrameter is more regularly iambic than the pentameter; (4) the English trochaic tetrameter allows up to half of its lines to have a non-trochaic opening; and (4) Milton's `L'Allegro' and `Il Penseroso' contain a balanced mixture of the metrical features of iambic and trochaic verse.

This article describes a metonymic process which is common in skaldic verse, but rare in everyday language. This process allows one member of a category to stand for another (for example, SEA is referred to by the name of another member of BODIES OF WATER, such as `river' or `fjord'). This process has previously been called `metaphor' (cf. Fidjestøl, 1997). However, I show that the process lacks several characteristics of metaphor as defined in cognitive linguistics, including multiple mappings and the creation of target-domain inferences. I suggest that the process is more similar to metonymies such as Category for Member (cf. Radden and Kövecses, 1999), and should be called `Member for Member' metonymy.

I argue that Member for Member metonymy is rare in conversational language because it fails to generate the inferences and cognitive benefits provided by most metaphors and metonymies. However, Member for Member is abundant in skaldic verse, because the aesthetic and sociolinguistic goals of this genre outweigh the considerations of clarity and efficiency imposed on conversation by the Gricean Maxims. I furthermore propose that Member for Member metonymy is a defining feature of classical skaldic poetry, and one that distinguishes this genre from later, more naturalistic styles such as hrynhent.

The observation that Member for Member occurs in a specific literary genre like skaldic poetry — even though it is normally barred from conversational language — indicates that cognitive linguists must study the full range of linguistic genres in order to document the cognitive processes that underlie language use.

This article focuses on the rhetorical effects of structures that involve the apposition of two (or more) segments with similar, but not identical, interpretations — for example, He felt depressed, flattened. Building on existing relevance theoretic accounts of poetic effects, it aims to show how these structures can be used to communicate an impression of emphasis or intensification that can be compared with the effects achieved by repetitions. It argues that these effects are not achieved in the same way, and that three different cases can be distinguished. First, the use of this structure may lie in the way it encourages the reader to explore the differences between the interpretation of the second segment and the interpretation of the first. Second, it may encourage the reader to explore the total set of contextual assumptions made accessible by both (or all) segments for the derivation of an interpretation that cannot be derived from any one segment alone. Finally, the article considers the use of these structures by authors who use free indirect style to represent a character's struggle to identify an emotion s/he is experiencing.

In Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale, uncertainty has continually hovered over the pivotal role occupied by the eighth function in what the Russian theorist suggested was a single invariant wondertale structure. In this article, I suggest that this discrepancy can be resolved: there are in fact two major types of wondertale, with their separate structures pivoting on the choice of one or other of the two eighth function options. By analyzing the Preparation and Complication sections of Charles Perrault's Cinderella, or the Little Glass Slipper and Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm's `The Robber Bridegroom', I suggest further that the notion of a pivotal eighth function requires the positing of the complementary notion of a pivotal fourth character. In conclusion, I briefly examine the introduction of four pivotal fourth characters in four canonical texts in order to pose the question: do such celebrated texts exhibit canonical ordering?

In this article, I aim to identify and explicate stylistic distinctiveness in the use of -ed clauses in parts of Milton's Paradise Lost, in the process testing findings outlined in a 1968 article by Seymour Chatman. I compare the frequency of occurrence of the clause type in the Milton texts with that in a constructed corpus of Early Modern English poetry, and with that in the Helsinki corpus. I measure differences in usage of the clause type by focusing on the use of -ed clauses in stretched chains of control, and on the way adverbially functioning -ed clauses map onto conceptual semantic space. I demonstrate how literary effects are conditioned and enabled by the clause type's properties as outlined in cross-linguistic studies. I prove that in the data analysed Milton's use of -ed clauses is a distinctive feature of his style.

Modern urban regions are highly complex entities. Despite the difficulty of modeling every relevant aspect of an urban region, researchers have produced a rich variety of models dealing with interrelated processes of urban change. The most popular types of models have been those dealing with the relationship between transportation network growth and changes in land use and the location of economic activity, embodied in the concept of accessibility. This article reviews some of the more common frameworks for modeling transportation and land use change, illustrating each with some examples of operational models that have been applied to real-world settings. It then identifies new directions for future research in urban modeling and notes the important contributions of the field to date.

Concern over the threat to wetlands from urban development has increased with rising levels of suburbanization. This article provides an extensive overview of the literature on the history and structure of U.S. wetland conservation policy. The authors focus on regulations that permit wetland destruction in return for mitigation of wetland damage and highlight concerns that current wetland mitigation policies may lead to the redistribution of wetland benefits among specific population groups. Researchers and planners have yet to construct systems that enable them to answer a very basic question : Does wetland mitigation contribute to social disparity and inequity? The authors outline a data collection framework for use in determining if and how social disparities may occur during mitigation. They also discuss the use of spatial and temporal preference measures as a tool for addressing these considerations. Finally, they discuss how recent Supreme Court limitations on federal jurisdiction over wetlands may alter the roles and responsibilities of planners, arguing that these new roles may provide the opportunity for planners to fully incorporate social considerations into mitigation decisions.

Scholarship on Latino communities in the United States has yet to catch up with the rapid growth of this ethnic population in the country. Understanding the Latino urban experience and developing plans to better respond to both the needs of Latino communities and their integration within society is not only relevant, but also urgently necessary. Using the city of Los Angeles as a main lens, in addition to a general look at the urban Southwest, we contribute to the scholarship on the subject with a review of literature on Latino communities. We structure the review as an assessment of the various challenges and opportunities for urban Latinos in the pre-war, postwar, and contemporary city. Focusing on space, culture, economy, and governance, we chart the various roles both the private and public sectors play in meeting these challenges. Our reading of the literature shows that particular government actions in the economic and governance domains in the past had positive impacts on Latino integration, and we call for a similar effort today in addressing contemporary challenges. We conclude by suggesting that future planning scholarship on Latino communities engage the wider urban studies literature, focus on emerging forms of urbanization, and call on planners to sustain increased academic and practical interest in the topic.

Land readjustment (LR) is an important technique for urban land development in both developed and developing countries. This technique is used for both development of new areas and reorganization of structured areas in urban regions. The efficient application of LR may provide a planned urban development, production of a serviced urban plot, a supply of technical infrastructure and service areas for public use, a significant ease in the solution of ownership problems, the supply of subdivisions with good standards, the possibility of readjustment of land ownership and plot borders, and other benefits. However, the efficient application of LR is contingent on certain basic conditions. In this article, the basic conditions are defined and examined for the successful and efficient application of the LR method within the frame of international literature. The provision of benefits expected from LR rests on the availability of LR models that include the foregoing basic conditions.