Elements of culture-contrastive linguistics By Hannes Kniffka (review)

BOOK NOTICES 425 veal complex code-switching between three and even four languages (Diola, Mandinka, Wolof, and French) in a single conversation, leaving the reader interested in the formal aspects of code-switching with a taste for more. Although the richness of linguistic detail may be somewhat daunting for the reader unfamiliar with the Senegalese linguistic environment, the volume is well researched, engaging, and highly readable, and it paves the way for future research on the sociolinguistics of African cities. [Fiona Mc Laughlin, University of Kansas.] Elements of culture-contrastive linguistics . By Hannes Kniffka. Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1995. Pp. 464. Kniffka's book keeps few of the promises that the title seems to make, and yet it is challenging reading in some parts. It is a loose, unedited collection of articles, some in English, some in German, apparently written for different purposes and occasions. The seven articles contain a lot of overlap and repetition and cover a much narrower range of (randomly chosen) topics than either their number or the book title would suggest. They primarily seem to be a response to a series of cultural shocks that the author obviously was exposed to when he taught linguistics, German, and English in Saudi Arabia, China, and Morocco. The book is meant as a plea for recognizing the importance of cultural contrasts in contrastive linguistics. Yet, apart from instructive anecdotal narration of experiences, K does very little to assess the theoretical consequences of his notions for applied linguistics. The theoretical postulates contain very little that has not been taken into account by researchers in contrastive pragmatics and intercultural communication (some of whom are also listed in the references but otherwise ignored). Much of the book is a description of the conditions under which Western teachers live and teach in such countries. Its most interesting points are not linguistic ones, and they do not apply to language teaching alone. A recurring motifis the problem oflocal teaching and learning traditions (e.g. extensive learning by heart in Saudi Arabia) which teachers from Western countries often find difficult to accept. The best article in the volume, 'Do as the natives do?' (183-222), provides detailed and well-argued guidelines on how to behave when staying and teaching abroad, in particular in everyday life. It presents amusing, shocking , and instructive examples and displays a high standard of sensitivity, tolerance, and problem awareness. Some articles contain empirical contrastive studies of verbal and nonverbal behavior (e.g. 84-96). K emphasizes the importance of a holistic view of systems of behavior rather than an item-by-item comparison of individual gestures and formulae. There is also an error analysis of some ofhis students' compositions (146-82). Two articles (223-306) study ethnic epithets as they are used in different cultures. The last article in the volume (307-434) is a study of 'animal first names' (such as pet names) in different countries. The database for both ofthese topics seems to have been collected rather randomly, and the generalizations are mostly of a taxonomic nature and rather trivial. While some parts of K's book should definitely be recommended reading for language teachers going abroad, the book as a whole is not much ofa contribution to a culture-contrastive linguistics, which remains on the agenda as a top desideratum for successful foreign language teaching. [Paul Georg Meyer, Universität Magdeburg.] Moral politics: What conservatives know that liberals don't. By George Lakoff. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1996. Pp. 413. This book examines the different metaphors used by "mainstream' ' American conservatives and liberals and how these metaphors shape and influence their political thinking and actions. Lakoff finds that the metaphors used by these political opponents fit into two overarching categories, which are themselves connected. Using work on cognitive science and cognitive linguistics, L finds that the metaphors, and hence the thinking, of políticos can be categorized into either a 'Strict Father' heading for conservatives or 'Nurturant Mother' heading for liberals. Part I (3-37) details cognitive science and the role of metaphors and prototypes in our thinking. L explains their importance to both our thinking and actions . Part II (41-140) discusses different aspects of morality and...