‘To Make a New Tongue’: Natural and Manufactured Language in the Late Fiction of William Morris

The paper considers William Morris's belief that modern language was ‘degraded’, and explores how his late fiction tried to resist this degradation. Morris was influenced by the romantic philology of the mid-Victorian period which depicted languages as living organisms. Philologists such as Max Müller claimed that modern civilization had arrested this growth, mechanizing language into conventional signs; and Morris adapted the idea into a critique of industrial capitalism. He conceptualized modern English as manufactured external forms, sundered from organic history. His late prose fictions trace the ‘natural’ meanings of words which he imagined feudalism and capitalism had suppressed. However, this narrative of organic origins existed in tension with Morris's socialist ideals, which sought an objective language above local or national perspectives. The older Morris was writing at a time when romantic philology was coming under attack from a new generation of scholars. These proto-linguists regarded meaning as conventional and narratives of organic ‘roots’ in the distant past as mere mythology. Morris's struggles to reconcile the contradictions in his philosophy of language reflect wider tensions in romantic philology. His imaginary worlds in which everyone spoke the same relied upon myths of original linguistic unity and stasis which new research and theories were undermining. Ironically, Morris's attempts to re-organicize English inadvertently demonstrated the conventionality and perspectivism of language, relying upon common cultural frames of reference.     

Canadian foreign direct investment in the United States by type: mergers and acquisitions, greenfield, real estate, joint ventures and investment increases

This paper provides an overview of Canadian foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States by type. Mergers and acquisitions (M&As), greenfield investments, joint ventures, real estate purchases and increases to existing investments are compared spatially, through time (using a data set that consists of transactions from 1977 to 1994) and by industrial classification. Over this study's time-frame, direct investors from Canada were most likely to perform a real estate or M&A transaction in the United States (and least likely to be involved in a joint venture). The most consequential years for real estate purchases were the 1970s and early 1980s; whereas M&A and greenfield transactions have gained in proportionate importance through time. M&As, greenfield and investment increases were most often enumerated as manufacturing transactions, but mining and consumer and business services were also very common. A series of bivariate regression models established that growing state economies significantly increased M&A, real estate, greenfield and investment increase activity from Canada. Relative regional specializations (as given by location quotients) provided additional spatial information. M&As formed a pattern of specialization that emphasized the Great Lakes region and also the central portion of the US (roughly following the Mississippi River). Greenfield and investment increase transactions favoured states along the east coast and those adjacent to the Canada-US border. Real estate investors were most attracted to the US south and extreme west.     

中国乡村城市化研究:起源、概念、进展与展望

本文回顾了20世纪80年代以来我国乡村城市化研究的起源,对乡村城市化和自下而上城市化两个概念进行了辨析,对近20年来乡村城市化研究的内容、进展以及存在的主要问题进行了评述,并对未来乡村城市化研究的方向作出了展望。     

论张学良与“西北国防政府”计划

张学良自成局面的设想和中共先行建立地区性国防政府的策略 ,是促成“西北国防政府”计划产生之两大要素。但在该计划的实施步骤及是否反蒋、如何打通苏联等问题上 ,张与中共间存在着某些潜在分歧 ,加之中共的政策由反蒋抗日急剧转向逼蒋抗日 ,打通苏联亦未能成功 ,从而导致该计划终归流产     

“坎曼尔诗签”真乎,伪乎?

我国新疆出土于唐代元和年间的“坎曼尔诗签” ,在70年代初期于北京展出后 ,学术界引起很大震动 ,但也产生了一些不同观点的争论。本文围绕“诗签”的真伪问题 ,对主要观点作了述评     

试谈深色器物的摄影用光方法

本主要探讨了物摄影中深色器物的摄影用光方法。     

博物馆文物的防震保护研究（一）——传统抗震措施与现代隔震技术

通过对博物馆内物浮放物体的地震危害性分析,指出了物防震的一些主要问题。归纳总结了馆藏物的传统抗震措施。阐述了现代隔震技术的发展、研究现状以及隔震装置在物防震工作中的应用情况。同时给出了博物馆物防震保护的设计方案。     

青铜文物保护技术的传承与发展

本文回顾了二十世纪青铜文物保护技术及相关的问题,随着二十一世纪的到来,现代社会的高度发展,提出了青铜文物保护即保护技术与工艺研究二个部分,并应制定相应的法律保护传统工艺的设想。     

文物的分析与检测

对文物的材质和构造进行分析与检测,不仅对考古研究意义重大,而且也能为文物的保存、保护、鉴定等提供科学的依据。本文主要介绍了日本在文物保护与检测方面常用的一些技术方法。这些技术在文物领域日益发挥着巨大的作用,对更好地进行文物研究起到了积极的作用。     

青海地域文化与非物质文化遗产保护

青海从历史上就是个少数民族聚居地,各民族人民在这里创造出了丰富多彩的民族文化,留存下了丰厚的非物质文化遗产。更好地定位与保护好这些有形文化与无形文化,对于发展青海的经济和民族文化具有极其重要的意义。