The Linguistics of Lying And Other Essays (Literary Conjugations) [Paperback]

Harald Weinrich (Author), Jane K. Brown (Translator), Marshall Brown (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0295985496 | ISBN-13: 978-0295985497 | Publication Date: December 30, 2005 | Edition: Tra

Can language hide thoughts? This question, posed by the German Academy for Language and Literature in 1965 as the topic of its first essay competition, was taken up by the philologist Harald Weinrich, with far-ranging results. The most immediate was his claiming first prize with this volume's title essay, published the following year as "Linguistik der Luge". Weinrich's influential essay, now in its sixth printing in Germany, is presented here for the first time in English, with an updated preface by the author and additional essays selected by him.With wit and clarity, Weinrich brings sophisticated thinking about semantics to bear on the question of how, and how much, language corresponds to thought. He argues that lying is a function not of words but of sentences; it belongs to the semantic aspect of language. His survey of the different ways in which language is untrue forges striking links between linguistic and literary categories on the one hand and ethics and even good manners on the other. In contrast with scholars of an earlier generation, for whom literary and cultural theory circumscribed the issue of style within a fixed aesthetic framework, Weinrich demonstrates that stylistic analysis is closely linked with analysis in the domains of sociology and anthropology.The essays "Jonah's Sign: On the Very Large and the Very Small in Literature", "Politeness, an Affair of Honor", "Politeness and Sincerity", and "The Style Is the Man Is the Devil" complement "The Linguistics of Lying" in their focus on real and false representations in literature and in life, and notably on the immensely destructive lies, Adolf Hitler's in particular, that marked the politics of the twentieth century. Harald Weinrich's economical, highly original writings, available in many languages, are read and discussed all over the world, but this is only the second volume of his work to be published in English. Now, with a translation that captures the wide appeal of the original texts, Jane and Marshall Brown have opened a path to the broader recognition that Weinrich's work so richly deserves.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Harald Weinrich, one of Europe's most eminent scholars, has served as chair for European studies at the Collège de France, chair of Romance philology and literature at Christian-Albrechts-University in Kiel and at the University of Cologne, and chair of linguistics at Bielefeld University, where he also directed the Center for Interdisciplinary Research. Jane K. Brown is professor of Germanics and comparative literature and Marshall Brown is professor of English at the University of Washington.

Product Details

• Paperback: 148 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Washington Pr; Tra edition (December 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0295985496
• ISBN-13: 978-0295985497
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,143,092 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Small gems of great value, January 18, 2006

By 

James Flynn (Eugene, OR USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Linguistics of Lying And Other Essays (Literary Conjugations) (Paperback)

This is a very fine collection of five short essays dealing with how the context of language determines understanding and shapes human knowledge. Weinrich is a philologist, linguist,and commentator on human behavior of great insight, learning, and rhetorical skill. The title is clever but the first essay ("The Linguistics of Lying") should be read as only an introduction to the pleasure of reading the other four essays, each of which provides concise insights into language, communication, and human understanding. I hope this translation is but the first of many works by Weinrich that will become available in English.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great work, December 28, 2008

By 

Michael A. Scarpitti (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Linguistics of Lying And Other Essays (Literary Conjugations) (Paperback)

The title of the book is more properly translated as "Linguistics of the Lie", but this is a quibble.

I read this book in its original German form about 13 years ago and found it immensely helpful and insightful. Now that it has been translated into English (by Jane K. Brown) it has become accessible to the English-speaking world. Weinrich's book is too valuable to have been neglected so long.

The translation is very good: clear and straightforward. Weinrich's distinction between Bedeutung and Meinung is translated as 'lexical meaning' and 'textual meaning', respectively, by Jane K. Brown, and I'm not sure I agree with these choices, but in any event having the translation is overall of great importance.

Highly recommended!