David Caldwell

Walsh, Caldwell and Jureidini offer an expansive linguistic perspective on the evaluative language prevalent in the world of professional sports. This book presents a close linguistic analysis of evaluative language in sport. Drawing on appraisal theory and data from three distinct sporting contexts – songs and chants in football stadiums, television commentary and coach discourse – it examines the critical role played by affectual, judgemental and appreciative language. In the spirit of sociolinguistics, this book also considers the history and culture of the respective sporting contexts. Connections are made between the evaluative language expressed by supporters, commentators and coaches and the invocation of power and solidarity. Evaluative Language in Sports gives insight into some of the key language practices that contribute to professional sports culture: a communal and combative world of winners and losers, ‘us and ‘them’. An innovative and valuable book that will appeal to students, researchers and sports enthusiasts interested in sports communication and language, sociolinguistics and media studies.

Walsh, Caldwell and Jureidini offer an expansive linguistic perspective on the evaluative language prevalent in the world of professional sports. This book presents a close linguistic analysis of evaluative language in sport. Drawing on appraisal theory and data from three distinct sporting contexts – songs and chants in football stadiums, television commentary and coach discourse – it examines the critical role played by affectual, judgemental and appreciative language. In the spirit of sociolinguistics, this book also considers the history and culture of the respective sporting contexts. Connections are made between the evaluative language expressed by supporters, commentators and coaches and the invocation of power and solidarity. Evaluative Language in Sports gives insight into some of the key language practices that contribute to professional sports culture: a communal and combative world of winners and losers, ‘us and ‘them’. An innovative and valuable book that will appeal to students, researchers and sports enthusiasts interested in sports communication and language, sociolinguistics and media studies.

The Battle of Pinkie, fought between the English and the Scots in 1547, was the last great clash between the two as independent nations. It is a well-documented battle with several eyewitness accounts and contemporary illustrations. There is also archaeological evidence of military activities. The manoeuvres of the two armies can be placed in the landscape near Edinburgh, despite considerable developments since the 16th century. Nevertheless, the battle and its significance has not been well understood. From a military point of view there is much of interest. The commanders were experienced and had already had battlefield successes. There was an awareness on both sides of contemporary best practice and use of up-to-date weapons and equipment. The Scots and the English armies, however, were markedly different in their composition and in the strategy and tactics they employed. There is the added ingredient that the fire from English ships, positioned just off the coast, helped decide the course of events. Using contemporary records and archaeological evidence, David Caldwell, Victoria Oleksy, and Bess Rhodes reconsider the events of September 1547. They explore the location of the fighting, the varied forces involved, the aims of the commanders, and the close-run nature of the battle. Pinkie resulted in a resounding victory for the English, but that was by no means an inevitable outcome. After Pinkie it briefly seemed as if the future of Britain had been redefined. The reality proved rather different, and the battle has largely slipped from popular consciousness. This book provides a reminder of the uncertainty and high stakes both Scots and English faced in the autumn of 1547.

The story of Islay, Jura and Colonsay is one of the most fascinating amongst all the Hebrides. They have had substantial human occupation since earliest times and man has left many relics across the islands, from tools and artefacts of mesolithic times to the modern-day distilleries of Islay and Jura. From the period in-between survive chambered cairns, iron age forts, magnificent early crosses, enigmatic carvings, early monasteries, relics of the Lordship of the Isles, deserted townships and shielings, planned villages, corn mills, kelp kilns and lead mines and much else besides. Far more than a gazetteer, this book is based on a great deal of intensive primary research and local knowledge and is essential reading for local and tourist alike.

Mull and Iona are two of the most visited islands in Scotland, and have played a central role in the history of the country. As the cradle of Christianity in Scotland, Iona has been a place of pilgrimage for almost 1,500 years and was a beacon of intellectual light during the Dark Ages, when magnificent works such as the Book of Kells were crafted by the monks of the abbey founded by St Columba. This book provides a full and engaging history of the islands from the time of their earliest human inhabitants to the present day. The gazetteer lists all the places of interest from all periods in the islands’ history, from the world-wide renowned churches, crosses and grave slabs on Iona and the magnificent restored Duart Castle on Mull, seat of the clan Maclean, to the planned village of Dervaig, the townships in the Ross of Mull and Ardmeanach which were cleared during the nineteenth century and the mausoleum of Lachlan MacQuarrie, the much esteemed 18th-century Governor of New South Wales.

The book looks at the humorous and intricately designed Lewis Chessmen and the mystry and intrigue surrounding them.