There may be regular guys but there are no regular native speakers: lexis and native-speaker-like competence.

An analysis of different dimensions of meaning available to a native speaker (though with some variation across any given population of native speakers) in making judgments about English usage. Argues that research into such intuitions is essential in understanding lexis, alongside the kinds of electronic corpus analysis favoured by Swedish scholar Moira Linnarud to whom the Festschrift is dedicated

What future for interpretive work in Film and Media Studies?

Beginning with the commonplace that acts of interpreting individual films and other media works are central to media studies, this article argues that if such accounts are to be presented as interesting, or as the principal evidence for theoretical positions, then more serious engagement with mechanisms involved in meaning production is needed than is common in the field. The author traces interpretive approaches in media studies from various forms of textual determinism (e.g. approaches associated with ‘Screen theory’) through to reader-response criticism, appeals to interpretive communities, and New Audience Studies. Core issues in ascribing meaning to texts are outlined, in belated celebration of the detailed critique of film interpretation in David Bordwell’s often overlooked 'Making Meaning: Inference and Rhetoric in the Interpretation of Cinema' (1989). Proposing ways in which greater interpretive reflexiveness can be developed, the article concludes by discussing difficulties with the idea of ‘exemplary readings’: readings which are simultaneously exceptional or outstanding and yet at the same time examples of interpretive processes which are interesting precisely because they are assumed to be followed by any average or ordinary reader

Using literary texts in ELT: retrospect and challenges

This chapter uses reflection on the author’s involvement in the movement known as ‘language through literature’ or ‘pedagogical stylistics’ as a way into describing how the field emerged, its relations with different theoretical positions in English Language Teaching (ELT), and its main achievements as regards syllabus reform and methodological innovation. Arguments now made in favour of incorporating the study of literary texts into second-language (L2) English programmes are assessed, as well as some arguments commonly made against. The chapter concludes by identifying present and future challenges, ranging from specifics of course design and pedagogy through to a need to respond to the political imperative of vocational relevance in nearly all fields of education. Each kind of issue, the chapter argues, must be a concern for teachers and others who believe that both a cultural and a professional dimension in English language education are essential, if linguistics is to be ‘applied’ in socially relevant ways

HAVE A BREAK and the changing demands of trademark registration

This article explores, from the point of view of both law and linguistics, how far the application and effect of the law of registered trade marks is shaped not only by legislative initiative but also by changing consumer behaviour and the shifting linguistic currency of the particular signs used (or proposed for use) as marks. It does so by focusing on the thirty-year campaign to register HAVE A BREAK for a chocolate bar, marketed as ‘KitKat’. It considers the changing approach of courts both to inherent distinctiveness and to distinctiveness acquired through use. It also considers the relationship between the average consumer test for distinctiveness and the public interest in leaving certain signs free. It suggests that while the present trade mark regime is open to the registration of slogans, it is not clear that courts have sufficiently considered the public interest implications of increasing trade mark protection in this way

Media stylistics

In this chapter we review the concept of ‘media stylistics’. In particular, we disentangle the polysemy of these two terms which, when combined, describe but can also obscure work in this area; and we discuss key themes and concerns which emerge. Through analysis of two short extracts of media discourse in English, we elaborate a distinction between two alternative emphases: study of media language as concerned with the capabilities associated with changing technologies for conveying linguistic messages (e.g. language use in telegraphy, radio, or instant messaging); and study of media language as commentary on modern society’s dominant communication forms, which tend to take an electronic ‘media’ form. In the first emphasis, media discourse is important in understanding the social functions of language and as regards social change. In the second emphasis, media language is more a matter of linguistic resources being used to communicate within an array of contemporary media choices whose availability is simply taken as a social fact. In later stages of the chapter we examine interaction between these different emphases at the level of media ‘genres'. In the formation of media genres, we argue, patterns of linguistic choice are superimposed on a given technical infrastructure and history of media capabilities. Distinctive media styles gradually evolve from each such combination to serve specific and changing expressive and communicative purposes. We conclude with discussion of the implications of this view of media technologies and forms as regards the development of new communicative styles on the Internet

Chapter A7 The Vocabulary of Legal Power

Language plays an essential role both in creating law and in governing its implementation. Providing an accessible and comprehensive introduction to this subject, Language and Law:describes the different registers and genres that make up spoken and written legal language and how they develop over time; analyses real-life examples drawn from court cases from different parts of the world, illustrating the varieties of English used in the courtroom by speakers occupying different roles; addresses the challenges presented to our notions of law and regulation by online communication; discusses the complex role of translation in bilingual and multilingual jurisdictions, including Hong Kong and Canada; and provides readings from key scholars in the discipline, including Lawrence Solan, Peter Goodrich, Marianne Constable, David Mellinkoff, and Chris Heffer. With a wide range of activities throughout, this accessible textbook is essential reading for anyone studying language and law or forensic linguistics

Chapter C9 Language Data as Evidence

Language plays an essential role both in creating law and in governing its implementation. Providing an accessible and comprehensive introduction to this subject, Language and Law:describes the different registers and genres that make up spoken and written legal language and how they develop over time; analyses real-life examples drawn from court cases from different parts of the world, illustrating the varieties of English used in the courtroom by speakers occupying different roles; addresses the challenges presented to our notions of law and regulation by online communication; discusses the complex role of translation in bilingual and multilingual jurisdictions, including Hong Kong and Canada; and provides readings from key scholars in the discipline, including Lawrence Solan, Peter Goodrich, Marianne Constable, David Mellinkoff, and Chris Heffer. With a wide range of activities throughout, this accessible textbook is essential reading for anyone studying language and law or forensic linguistics

Chapter B9 Techniques in Forensic Linguistics

Language plays an essential role both in creating law and in governing its implementation. Providing an accessible and comprehensive introduction to this subject, Language and Law:describes the different registers and genres that make up spoken and written legal language and how they develop over time; analyses real-life examples drawn from court cases from different parts of the world, illustrating the varieties of English used in the courtroom by speakers occupying different roles; addresses the challenges presented to our notions of law and regulation by online communication; discusses the complex role of translation in bilingual and multilingual jurisdictions, including Hong Kong and Canada; and provides readings from key scholars in the discipline, including Lawrence Solan, Peter Goodrich, Marianne Constable, David Mellinkoff, and Chris Heffer. With a wide range of activities throughout, this accessible textbook is essential reading for anyone studying language and law or forensic linguistics

Chapter A5 Persuasion in Court

Language plays an essential role both in creating law and in governing its implementation. Providing an accessible and comprehensive introduction to this subject, Language and Law:describes the different registers and genres that make up spoken and written legal language and how they develop over time; analyses real-life examples drawn from court cases from different parts of the world, illustrating the varieties of English used in the courtroom by speakers occupying different roles; addresses the challenges presented to our notions of law and regulation by online communication; discusses the complex role of translation in bilingual and multilingual jurisdictions, including Hong Kong and Canada; and provides readings from key scholars in the discipline, including Lawrence Solan, Peter Goodrich, Marianne Constable, David Mellinkoff, and Chris Heffer. With a wide range of activities throughout, this accessible textbook is essential reading for anyone studying language and law or forensic linguistics