From pragmatics to syntax: Modality in second language acquisition Ed. by Anna Giacalone Ramat and Grazia Crocco Galeas (review)

Abstract

220 LANGUAGE, VOLUME 74, NUMBER 1 (1998) language. This volume is a collection of chapters on the application ofdynamics to various aspects ofcognition . In the introduction, the editors outline the approach , suggesting that its real strength lies in the ability to account for processes and contexts which unfold continuously and simultaneously in real time (1-43). Such an account lays the groundwork not only for the explanation ofcognitive phenomena, but also for their implementation in a dynamic neural substrate and for their embeddedness in human bodies and the physical environment. Language is the subject of many of the chapters. In 'Dynamics and coordinate systems in skilled sensorimotor activity', Elliot L. Saltzman explores task dynamics for speech production (149-73). The model he uses is integrated with the model ofCatherine P. Browman and Louis Goldstein in the following chapter, 'Dynamics and articulatory phonology' (175-93). Human natural language processing is the subject of a chapter by Jeffrey L. Elman entitled 'Language as a dynamical system' (195-225). Jean Petitot combines the perspective of cognitive grammar with work by René Thom in 'Morphodynamics and attractor syntax: Constituency in visual perception and cognitive grammar' (227-81). In a paper reprinted from Machine learning , Jordan B. Pollack investigates "The induction of dynamical recognizers' (283-312). In the following chapter, 'Growth dynamics in development', Paul van Geert models the child's lexicon (313-37). Finally, a paper by Robert F. Port, Fred Cummins, and J. Devin McAuley looks at temporal information in audition ('Naive time, temporal patterns , and human audition', 339-71). Many of the papers make use of mathematics beyond the level most linguists are comfortable with. A chapter by Alec Norton (45-68) sketches some of the background, but the serious reader will want to supplement this chapter with other books; Mind as motion has a guide to further reading at the end of each chapter. Recognizing the potential difficulty ofthe subject, the editors have also provided an introduction to each chapter and a glossary of terms (573-77). Contributions on other topics in cognition allow the reader to get a feeling for the scope and unity of the dynamical approach. These chapters are: Esther Thelen, 'Time-scale dynamics and the development of an embodied cognition' (69-100); James T. Townsend and Jerome Busemeyer, 'Dynamic representation of decision-making' (101-20); Randall D. Beer, 'Computational and dynamical languages for autonomous agents' (121-47); M. T. Turvey and Claudia Carello, 'Some dynamical themes in perception and action' (373-401); Geoffrey P. Bingham, 'Dynamics and the problem ofvisual event recognition' (403-48); Stephen Grossberg, 'Neural dynamics ofmotion perception, recognition learning, and spatial attention' (449-89); Mary Ann Metzger , 'Multiprocess models applied to cognitive and behavioral dynamics' (491-526); Steven P. Reidbord and Dana J. Redington, "The dynamics of mind and body during cUnical interviews: Research trends, potential, and future directions' (527-47); and Marco Giunti, 'Dynamical models of cognition ' (549-71). Mind as motion is a difficult but rewarding book which outlines and exemplifies a powerful alternative to the computational approach in cognitive science . It is highly recommended for anyone with an interest in language as a cognitive phenomenon. [William J. Turkel, University of British Columbia .] From pragmatics to syntax: Modality in second language acquisition. Ed. by Anna Giacalone Ramat and Grazia Crocco Galeas. (Tübinger Beiträge zur Linguistik.) Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, 1995. Pp. vii, 440. This volume comprises papers presented at a conference held at the University ofPaviain 1993. It contains abriefintroductionbytheeditors, 21 articles, and asubjectindex. SixofthecontributionsareinEnglish, three in French, and thirteen in Italian (with no summary or abstract in another language provided). Most of the papers deal with modality in Italian, but other languages are also considered in the contributions by Grazia Crocco Galeas (Modern Greek), Daniel Véronique (French andFrench-basedcreóles), Monique Lambert (English, French), Mireille Prodeau (French, German), and Norbert Dittmar and Bernt Ahrenholz (German). As is often the case with a collection of conference papers, the content is not tightly coherent. The first ofthe three sections is mainly concerned with general theoretical and descriptive issues in the study of modality . The second is devoted to modality in first language acquisition and to the similarities and differences...