Lessons on the English Verb: No Expression Without Representation - Hardcover

Hirtle, Walter

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 077353198X ISBN 13: 9780773531987

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2007

Synopsis

Guillaume's theory of psychomechanics views language as systematic and semiotic, with the use of verb forms governed by the meaning we want to express, which is embedded in the unconscious resources of one's native tongue rather than in rules. Through his application of Guillaume's framework Walter Hirtle provides original insights on such topics as the treatment of the progressive and the perfect in English, the use of 'do' as an auxiliary in questions and negations, and tense and its relation to aspect and mood. Hirtle is the former director of the Fonds Gustave Guillaume, an archive of 60,000 manuscript pages of the theorist's work, housed at Laval University, the world centre for the study of psychomechanics.

About this title

About the Author

Walter Hirtle is associate professor, Laval University, and the author of several books including Time, Aspect, and the Verb.

Review

"This book is far superior to standard reference grammars of English, even the best ones. Particularly valuable is the reliance upon authentic linguistic data." Joseph Davis, The City College, The City University of New York "Remarkable in its scope and ambition. Hirtle is one of the few 'Anglo-Saxon' linguists not only to have attained a profound understanding of the workings and implications of psycho-mechanics but also to have succeeded in rendering it accessible to non-French-speaking readers and to students, whether of ESL or of English grammar in general. This is no minor achievement." Dennis Philps, Universit de Toulouse-Le Mirail

Edition details

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 077353198X
• ISBN 13: 9780773531987
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 360