Language in Flux: Dialogue Coordination, Language Variation, Change and Evolution

by Robin Cooper (Editor), Ruth M. Kempson (Editor)

The papers in this collection present a view of language as an evolving system within which flexibility is systemic and subject to progressive change, driven by pressures of every-day coordinative action as in conversational dialogue. As these papers demonstrate, these pressures provide a force for variation, hence for adaptation, and change. Topics covered include formal and game-theoretical models of evolution, diachronic studies of change (semantic, syntactic, lexical) and the role of dialogue factors in promoting such change, psycholinguistic experimental methods probing the nature of coordination in both language and non-language based interaction, formal modelling of dialogue, and probabilistic studies of language variation. Authors include highly influential researchers: Joan Bresnan, Devyani Sharma and Ashwini Deo; Robin Cooper and Aarne Ranta; Ronnie Cann and Ruth Kempson; Miriam Bouzouita; Jonathan Ginzburg and Zoran Macura; Patrick Healey; Gerhard Jaeger; Simon Kirby, Hannah Cornish and Kenny Smith; Staffan Larson; Elizabeth Traugott. Together these papers present a cross-disciplinary synergy reflecting the view that human linguistic behaviour is essentially coordinative, and, within this general perspective, that language is a system of intrinsic flexibility, hence perpetually in a state of flux.This view involves a radical shift in assumptions away from the traditional view that language competence is a static system relative to which the dynamics of language performance has to be defined; and each paper, in its own way, explores what is involved in modifying such a clear-cut division.

344 pages, Paperback

First published August 4, 2008

About the author

Robert Popper is a multi-award winning writer, producer and performer, and best-selling author.

Robert produced Peep Show for Channel 4, winning a BAFTA for series 4 and British Comedy Awards for both series 3 and 4. With Peter Serafinowicz, Robert created, starred in and composed the music for the BBC 2 spoof science comedy, Look Around You, winning the Rose D’or for Best Comedy in 2006 plus a BAFTA nomination.

Robert has written on a number of shows, including BBC’s BAFTA-winning Harry & Paul, and The Peter Serafinowicz Show. He has also script-edited some of the country’s most exciting comedy programmes, including the multi award-winning The Inbetweeners, Graham Linehan’s EMMY award-winning IT Crowd, Peep Show series 5, 6 & 7 and Him & Her.

As a Commissioning Editor for comedy at Channel 4, Robert commissioned Bo’ Selecta!, helped develop The IT Crowd, oversaw two series of Black Books, as well as series 2 of Spaced, and ran Comedy Labs.

Under his pseudonym, Robin Cooper, he wrote The Timewaster Letters books, which have so far sold over 300,000 copies.

Robert apperared regularly on Charlie Higson & Paul Whitehouse’s Sony Award-winning Radio 4 series, Down the Line, as well as their BBC2 show, Bellamy’s People. He also appeared in Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright’s movie, Hot Fuzz, saying just three words – “I’m not Janine”, and worked in Los Angeles as a writer on Sacha Baron Cohen’s movie, Bruno.

In December 2008, Robert set up his own production company, Popper Pictures, to make comedy TV shows.

Robert and Peter created the online afterlife comedy, The Other Side (Radio Spiritworld), as well as the online world religion, Tarvuism (www.tarvu.com).

In 2010, Robert wrote on series 14 of South Park in LA. His six part comedy series, Friday Night Dinner – starring Tamsin Greig, Simon Bird, Paul Ritter, Tom Rosenthal and Mark Heap – which Robert wrote and produced – aired on Channel 4 in 2011, winning the Rose D’or for Best Sitcom and a BAFTA nomination.

A pilot of Friday Night Dinner was recently produced in the US for NBC by Greg Daniels, creator of King of The Hill, and US producer of The Office. Robert recently starred alongside Steve Coogan in Sky’s forthcoming ‘Alan Partidge on Open Books’ which goes out in July. The second series of Friday Night Dinner starts on Channel 4 on October 7th, along with a Christmas Special at – well, Christmas.