Full Description
This is an interdisciplinary investigation into the ways in which language is influenced and shaped by religion. There is an obvious interface between language and religion. Language is the principle vehicle by which religion is communicated and spoken about. Similarly, language itself is strongly influenced by religion - from simple, yet frequent, oaths such as 'Oh God' to sayings from the Bible and Book of Common Prayer, English remains steeped in Christianity. Yet there is no book which has explored the relationship between language and religion in a sustained fashion. Our goal in writing this book is to explore the interaction between language and religion, with a view to exploring two broad themes: the role and influence of religion in language; how language is used to talk about religion. Throughout we will be seeking to demonstrate that corpus linguistics techniques have an important role to play in exploring and challenging theories in modern social science. It investigates how religion has influenced everyday language, with a focus on the English language.
It draws upon a range of corpora, including corpora of contemporary written and spoken British and American English, to help facilitate the book's investigation. It takes an interdisciplinary approach with one author a professor of linguistics and the other a professor of the sociology of religion.
