Wine and Conversation
Author: Adrienne Lehrer
The vocabulary of wine is large and exceptionally vibrant -- from straight-forward descriptive words like "sweet" and "fragrant", colorful metaphors like "ostentatious" and "brash", to the more technical lexicon of biochemistry. The world of wine vocabulary is growing alongside the current popularity of wine itself, particularly as new words are employed by professional wine writers, who not only want to write interesting prose, but avoid repetition and cliche. The question is, what do these words mean? Can they actually reflect the objective characteristics of wine, and can two drinkers really use and understand these words in the same way?
In this second edition of Wine and Conversation, linguist Adrienne Lehrer explores whether or not wine drinkers (both novices and experts) can in fact understand wine words in the same way. Her conclusion, based on experimental results, is no. Even though experts do somewhat better than novices in some experiments, they tend to do well only on wines on which they are carefully trained and/or with which they are very familiar. Does this mean that the elaborate language we use to describe wine is essentially a charade? Lehrer shows that although scientific wine writing requires a precise and shared use of language, drinking wine and talking about it in casual, informal setting with friends is different, and the conversational goals include social bonding as well as communicating information about the wine. Lehrer also shows how language innovation and language play, clearly seen in the names of new wines and wineries, as well as wine descriptors, is yet another influence on the burgeoning and sometimes whimsical world of winevocabulary.
Table of Contents:
Preface and Acknowledgments
Part I. The Wine Vocabulary
1. The Early Wine Words
2. Extending the Vocabulary
3. New Wine Words
4. Aromas and Wine Wheels
5. Evaluating Wine: Scoring Systems
6:. Semantic analysis
Part II. The Experiments
7. Experiments and Subjects
8. The Stanford Subjects
9. The Tucson Subjects
10. The Davis Subjects
11. Later Experiments
12. Research on Taste and Smell
Part III. Functions of Wine Talk:
13. Functions of Language
14. Scientific Language
15. Non-Scientific Language
16. Snobs, Anti-Snobs, and Marketing
17. What Else is Like Wine Talk?
18. Conclusion
Appendix - A Semantic Theory by Adrienne Lehrer and Keith Lehrer
Endnotes
References
Go to: The Myth of a Christian Nation or The Culture of the New Capitalism
Just 24 Days till Christmas: Act 1: Old and New
Author: Mylinda Butterworth
Here's a remedy for what ails the modern Christmas. Just 24 Days Till Christmas, a book for all ages which delivers what today's Santa's can't-the directions and fun to be found in celebrating Christmas as a family with a smorgasbord of activities for everyone, young and old, children and adults. Popular with busy families who want to find ways to build traditions with their children. Individuals who want to find new ways to celebrate the holiday. Teachers for all the stories and activities they can use in their classrooms.
Heartland Reviews says, "It is more than a recipe book or a storybook or even a activity book to keep the kids occupied. It is all three wrapped into one. With stories, activities and recipes for each of the 24 days leading to Christmas. An advent calendar with a twist. Destined to be a Perennial Favorite!"
Internet Book Watch
Just 24 Days Till Christmas is a combination recipe, story, and activities book filled with things to do and make for each of the twenty-four days leading up to Christmas. MyLinda Butterworth has created a kind of 212-page advent calendar that parents can use to create Christmas traditions with their children, individuals can share seasonal comraderies with friends, and teachers can draw upon for classroom activities. From Cinnamon Crunch Nuts and German Chocolate Pie, the recipes are nutritious and delicious. From holiday banner decorations to Christmas ornaments for birds, the crafts-based activities are totally entertaining. The stories are inspiring and engaging. Just 24 Days Till Christmas is a welcome addition to any family, school or community library Christmas celebration ideas and references collection.
No comments:
Post a Comment