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Beyond Words

Beyond Words Sobs, Hums, Stutters and Other Vocalizations

Hardback (15 Feb 2014)

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Publisher's Synopsis

In Beyond Words, Steven Connor seeks to understand spoken human language outside words, a realm that encompasses the sounds we make that bring depth, meaning, and confusion to communication. Plunging into the connotations and uses associated with particular groups of vocal utterances-the guttural, the dental, the fricative, and the sibilant-he reveals the beliefs, the myths, and the responses that surround the growls, stutters, ums, ers, and ahs of everyday language.
 
Beyond Words goes outside of linguistics and phonetics to focus on the popular conceptions of what language is, rather than what it actually is or how it works. From the moans and sobs of human grief to playful linguistic nonsense, Connor probes the fringes and limits of human language-and our definition of "voice" and meaning-to challenge our basic assumptions about what it is to communicate and where we find meaning in language. By engaging with vocal sounds and tics usually trivialized or ignored, Beyond Words presents a startling and fascinating new way to engage with language itself.

About the Publisher

Reaktion Books

Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture and design - its first book was Ian Hamilton Finlay: A Visual Primer by Yves Abrioux. In recent years Reaktion's list has broadened substantially, and now also encompasses animal studies, Asian art and culture, biography, cultural studies, current events, fashion, film, food history, geography, general history, music, philosophy, photography, politics, sports history and travel writing. Reaktion now produces around 80 new titles each year, and has about 600 titles in print.

Book information

ISBN: 9781780232584
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Imprint: Reaktion Books
Pub date:
DEWEY: 306.44
DEWEY edition: 23
Language: English
Number of pages: 239
Weight: 448g
Height: 220mm
Width: 152mm
Spine width: 23mm