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This book introduces a new tool for improving communication and promoting clearer thinking in a world where the use of Global English can create numerous comprehension and communication issues. Based on research findings from cross-linguistic semantics, it contains essays and studies by leading experts exploring the value and application of 'Minimal English' in various fields, including ethics, health, human rights discourse, education and international relations. In doing so, it provides informed guidelines and practical advice on how to communicate in clear and cross-translatable ways in Minimal English. This innovative edited collection will appeal to students and scholars of applied linguistics, language education and translation studies.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Introduction; Cliff Goddard.- Chapter 2. Minimal English and How It Can Add to Global English; Cliff Goddard and Anna Wierzbicka.- Chapter 3. Minimal English: The Science Behind It; Cliff Goddard.- Chapter 4. Minimal English and Diplomacy; William Maley.- Chapter 5. Internationalizing Minimal English: Perils and Parallels; Nicholas Farrelly and Michael Wesley.- Chapter 6. A Charter of Global Ethic in Minimal English; Anna Wierzbicka.- Chapter 7. "Torture" laid bare; Annabelle Mooney.- Chapter 8. Talking about the Universe in Minimal English: Teaching Science Through Words That Children Can Understand; Anna Wierzbicka.- Chapter 9. Big History Meets Minimal English; David Christian.- Chapter 10. Introducing the Concept of the "65 Words" to the Public in Finland; Ulla Vanhatalo and Juhana Torkki.- Chapter 11. Narrative Medicine Across Languages and Cultures: Using Minimal English for Increased Comparability of Patients' Narratives; Bert Peeters and Maria Giulia Marini.
About the author
Cliff Goddard is Professor of Linguistics at Griffith University, Australia, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. His research interests lie at the intersection of language, meaning and culture. He has published widely in descriptive and theoretical semantics, language description and typology, ethnopragmatics and intercultural communication.
Summary
Explores the idea that Global English is not an unmixed blessing as far as intercultural understanding is concerned by demonstrating the values and applications of Minimal English as a communicative toolDraws on findings from the Natural Semantic Metalanguage research projectExamines all aspects of Minimal English including its scope and history, as well as how it can be applied to varied domains including politics, diplomacy, education and human rights discourse
