Louise Cummings
Louise Cummings is Professor in the Department of English at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She teaches and conducts research in pragmatics and clinical linguistics. She also pursues research in informal logic and argumentation theory. She is the author of several books: Pragmatics: A Multidisciplinary Perspective (Edinburgh University Press, 2005), Clinical Linguistics (Edinburgh University Press, 2008), Clinical Pragmatics (Cambridge University Press, 2009), Rethinking the BSE Crisis (Springer, 2010), Communication Disorders (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), Pragmatic Disorders (Springer, 2014), The Communication Disorders Workbook (Cambridge University Press, 2014), Reasoning and Public Health (Springer, 2015), Pragmatic and Discourse Disorders: A Workbook (Cambridge University Press, 2015) and Case Studies in Communication Disorders (Cambridge University Press, 2017). She has also edited The Routledge Pragmatics Encyclopedia (Routledge, 2010), The Cambridge Handbook of Communication Disorders (Cambridge University Press, 2014) and Research in Clinical Pragmatics (Springer, 2017).
Phone: Hong Kong 2766 7978
Address: Department of English, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Phone: Hong Kong 2766 7978
Address: Department of English, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
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The chapter will also address some of the implications of pragmatic disorders for the many verbally mediated interactions that defendants and inmates must comply with in the criminal justice system. These interactions include police arrest and interviews, legal examinations in courtrooms and prison rehabilitation programs which aim to reduce rates of re-offending behaviour. The specific pragmatic demands of these interactions will be considered, as will the ability of defendants and inmates with pragmatic disorders to meet these demands. Examples of the types of pragmatic skills which are integral to these interactions will be examined. The chapter concludes by arguing for an improved level of clinical language services with a focus on pragmatic language skills in prisons and other correctional facilities. It is contended that the substantial investment, which would be needed to achieve this improvement, would be offset by significant gains in the rehabilitation outcomes of incarcerated adults and young people.
“The book has been translated into several languages, its implications for pragmatic theory have been explored in a growing number of books and articles; it has inspired work in neighbouring disciplines, including linguistics, literary studies, psychology and philosophy.” (Sperber and Wilson, 1995: 255)
The appeal of relevance theory within certain academic circles is beyond doubt. Its acceptance within pragmatics and related subjects is to be expected given the scientism which pervades cognitive disciplines. The scientism of these disciplines, scientific reductionism, has in recent years come under increasing attack in the form of the philosophical arguments of Hilary Putnam. Putnam's (1981) critique of the logical positivist account of rationality is particularly pertinent to this discussion. In this paper I demonstrate the exact nature of the reductionism within Sperber and Wilson's account of relevance. To this end, I examine their description of (1) the logical or analytic entries of concepts, (2) the deductive device, and (3) the functional concept of confirmation. In each case I will indicate how a reductionist analysis brings about the destruction of the very notions which demand explanation.
The chapter will also address some of the implications of pragmatic disorders for the many verbally mediated interactions that defendants and inmates must comply with in the criminal justice system. These interactions include police arrest and interviews, legal examinations in courtrooms and prison rehabilitation programs which aim to reduce rates of re-offending behaviour. The specific pragmatic demands of these interactions will be considered, as will the ability of defendants and inmates with pragmatic disorders to meet these demands. Examples of the types of pragmatic skills which are integral to these interactions will be examined. The chapter concludes by arguing for an improved level of clinical language services with a focus on pragmatic language skills in prisons and other correctional facilities. It is contended that the substantial investment, which would be needed to achieve this improvement, would be offset by significant gains in the rehabilitation outcomes of incarcerated adults and young people.
“The book has been translated into several languages, its implications for pragmatic theory have been explored in a growing number of books and articles; it has inspired work in neighbouring disciplines, including linguistics, literary studies, psychology and philosophy.” (Sperber and Wilson, 1995: 255)
The appeal of relevance theory within certain academic circles is beyond doubt. Its acceptance within pragmatics and related subjects is to be expected given the scientism which pervades cognitive disciplines. The scientism of these disciplines, scientific reductionism, has in recent years come under increasing attack in the form of the philosophical arguments of Hilary Putnam. Putnam's (1981) critique of the logical positivist account of rationality is particularly pertinent to this discussion. In this paper I demonstrate the exact nature of the reductionism within Sperber and Wilson's account of relevance. To this end, I examine their description of (1) the logical or analytic entries of concepts, (2) the deductive device, and (3) the functional concept of confirmation. In each case I will indicate how a reductionist analysis brings about the destruction of the very notions which demand explanation.
• Key points boxes at the end of each section which summarize main points
• Special topics boxes for further exploration of SLT and communication disorders
• Case studies which encourage discussion of assessment and intervention practices
• Group exercises which permit reflection and problem-solving among students
• End-of-chapter questions with answers to test knowledge
• A glossary with over 600 entries
• Bold terms throughout the text which relate to entries in the glossary
• Annotated suggestions for further reading
• A website with 140 self-test questions and answers and other resources
• A detailed index
This introductory textbook presents the full range of developmental and acquired communication disorders, including specific language impairment, dysarthria, apraxia of speech, aphasia and stuttering. Covering clinical features, diagnosis and treatment, the book is an indispensable resource for students of linguistics, and speech and language therapy.
Communication Disorders also:
- includes clinical linguistic data throughout to illustrate specific features of communication disorders
- discusses disorders often neglected in introductory books, such as glossectomy and gender dysphoria
- contains in-text references to a companion website which has colour photographs, audio and video files, and 200 self-test questions
- provides exercises with answers, key point boxes, case studies, suggested readings and a glossary
This book also presents a critical evaluation of our current state of knowledge of pragmatic disorders. The author focuses on the lack of integration between theoretical and clinical branches of pragmatics and argues that the work of clinicians is all too often inadequately informed by theoretical frameworks. She attempts to bridge these gaps by pursuing a closer alliance of clinical and theoretical branches of pragmatics. It is claimed that this alliance represents the most promising route for the future development of the field. At once a yardstick measuring progress thus far in clinical pragmatics, and also a roadmap for future research development, this single-author volume defines where we have reached in the field, as well as where we have to go next.
The book explains how scientists and lay people routinely resort to the use of these strategies during consideration of public health problems. Although these strategies are not deductively valid, they are nevertheless rationally warranted procedures. Public health professionals must have a sound understanding of these cognitive strategies in order to engage the public and achieve their public health goals.
The book draws upon public health issues as wide ranging as infectious diseases, food safety and the potential impact on human health of new technologies. It examines reasoning in the context of these issues within a large-scale, questionnaire-based survey of nearly 900 members of the public in the UK. In addition, several philosophical themes run throughout the book, including the nature of uncertainty, scientific knowledge and inquiry.
The complexity of many public health problems demands an approach to reasoning that cannot be accommodated satisfactorily within a general thinking skills framework. This book shows that by developing an awareness of these reasoning strategies, scientists and members of the public can have a more productive engagement with public health problems.
Like many applied disciplines in linguistics, clinical linguistics sits at the intersection of a number of areas. The relationship of clinical linguistics to the study of communication disorders and to speech-language pathology (speech and language therapy in the UK), are two particularly important points of intersection. Speech-language pathology is the area of clinical practice that assesses and treats children and adults with communication disorders. All language disorders restrict an individual’s ability to communicate freely with others in a range of contexts and settings. So language disorders are first and foremost communication disorders. To understand language disorders, it is useful to think of them in terms of points of breakdown on a communication cycle which tracks the progress of a linguistic utterance from its conception in the mind of a speaker to its comprehension by a hearer. This cycle permits the introduction of a number of important distinctions in language pathology, such as the distinction between a receptive and an expressive language disorder, and between a developmental and an acquired language disorder. The cycle is also a useful model with which to conceptualise a range of communication disorders other than language disorders. These other disorders, which include hearing, voice and fluency disorders, are also relevant to clinical linguistics.
Clinical linguistics draws on the conceptual resources of the full range of linguistic disciplines to describe and explain language disorders. These disciplines include phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics and discourse. Each of these linguistic disciplines contributes concepts and theories which can shed light on the nature of language disorder. A wide range of tools and approaches are used by clinical linguists and speech-language pathologists to assess, diagnose and treat language disorders. They include the use of standardized and norm-referenced tests, communication checklists and profiles (some administered by clinicians, others by parents, teachers and carers), and qualitative methods such as conversation analysis and discourse analysis. Finally, clinical linguists can contribute to debates about the nosology of language disorders. In order to do so, however, they must have an understanding of the place of language disorders in internationally recognized classification systems such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013).