Human beings have an intrinsic need to be with people who are similar to themselves. This is because they share the same ways of doing things, the same values, and function according similar rules. When one is with people who tend to be similar, human behavior is normalized, and one’s actions appear to be in accordance with those exhibited by others in one’s social circle. However, sometimes it becomes apparent that the situation is somewhat more complex. When this happens, one realizes that the issues that have been taken for granted about human interaction are not necessarily the same for everyone. This book elucidates what happens in the processes of communication when people from different cultural backgrounds experience other cultures. Emphasis is also given to the issue of interaction between people from various cultures. The book highlights the aspects that are recognized to posit difficulties in conveying messages from one culture to another. The notions of schemata, frames, scenarios and cultural scripts are outlined. The third part of the book examines some principles of critical discourse analysis, including, for instance, socio-political attitude, as well as concentrating on the notion of power relations of groups, legitimated by text as well as speech. This part also describes the concept of persuasion, as well as persuasive communication. The fourth part of the book is analytic. Attention is given to various discourses one encounters in everyday life and to the examination of various kinds of discourse, including for instance, complimenting, as well as political, discourse. As such, this book provides a new point of view for linguists as well as those interested in communication practice. The empirical part of the book will help shed some light on dilemmas people may be obliged to face in their career, and should be especially useful to students of intercultural communication.

The first social history of disability and difference in American adoption, from the Progressive Era to the end of the twentieth century. Disability and child welfare, together and apart, are major concerns in American society. Today, about 125,000 children in foster care are eligible and waiting for adoption, and while many children wait more than two years to be adopted, children with disabilities wait even longer. In Familial Fitness, Sandra M. Sufian uncovers how disability operates as a fundamental category in the making of the American family, tracing major shifts in policy, practice, and attitudes about the adoptability of disabled children over the course of the twentieth century. Chronicling the long, complex history of disability, Familial Fitness explores how notions and practices of adoption have—and haven’t—accommodated disability, and how the language of risk enters into that complicated relationship. We see how the field of adoption moved from widely excluding children with disabilities in the early twentieth century to partially including them at its close. As Sufian traces this historical process, she examines the forces that shaped, and continue to shape, access to the social institution of family and invites readers to rethink the meaning of family itself.

Shortlisted for BAAL (British Association for Applied Linguistics) Book Prize 2022 The Routledge Handbook of Language, Gender, and Sexuality provides an accessible and authoritative overview of this dynamic and growing area of research. Covering cutting-edge debates in eight parts, it is designed as a series of mini edited collections, enabling the reader, and particularly the novice reader, to discover new ways of approaching language, gender, and sexuality. With a distinctive focus both on methodologies and theoretical frameworks, the Handbook includes 40 state-of-the art chapters from international authorities. Each chapter provides a concise and critical discussion of a methodological approach, an empirical study to model the approach, a discussion of real-world applications, and further reading. Each section also contains a chapter by leading scholars in that area, positioning, through their own work and chapters in their part, current state-of-the-art and future directions. This volume is key reading for all engaged in the study and research of language, gender, and sexuality within English language, sociolinguistics, discourse studies, applied linguistics, and gender studies.

This is an essential read for anyone interested in the way language is used in the world of politics. Based on Aristotle's premise that we are all political animals, able to use language to pursue our own ends, the book uses the theoretical framework of linguistics to explore the ways in which we think and behave politically. Contemporary and high profile case studies of politicians and other speakers are used, including an examination of the dangerous influence of a politician's words on the defendants in the Stephen Lawrence murder trial. International in its perspective, Analysing Political Discourse also considers the changing landscape of political language post-September 11, including the increasing use of religious imagery in the political discourse of, amongst others, George Bush. Written in a lively and engaging style, this book provides an essential introduction to political discourse analysis.

This accessible textbook offers balanced and uniformly excellent coverage of modern linguistics.