This chapter begins with an overview of several terms important to a discussion of meaning in language, and introduces the reader to the theory of linguistic relativism and the relationship between language and thought. This section transitions into a review of the extension, reference, and the features that begin to form a comprehensive theory of semantics. With this foundation, students turn to a deeper investigation of formal semantics, including definitions for logical expressions and relationships, and then to a presentation of word sense, and the interactions between various parts of speech in the lexicon. The principle of compositionality is introduced, and it is used to explore several examples of non-compositional language. The end of the chapter ties these concepts to an investigation of pragmatics, including politeness, Gricean Maxims, and implicature.

Compensation for nationalisation of foreign investment is a topic steeped in controversy. Opinions expressed as to the need for compensation have ranged from the payment of full compensation, a concept which includes consideration of future profits the investment would make, to the payment of no compensation at all.1 The issue of compensation was contentious in the immediate post-colonial period when there were wholesale nationalisations in the newly independent states. A division came about as to the amount of compensation that needed to be paid. The two camps of states, the home states and host states, took different positions. The topic remains of great interest, despite the fact that there have been few spectacular nationalisations in recent times. The scope for wholesale nationalisation, outside the context of a revolutionary political change, does not exist. Given this context, states will not seek to spoil their record of stability by engaging in any spectacular nationalisations. But, bouts of nationalism will occur in cyclical patterns in the history of nations. When the present philosophy of investment-led growth gives way to some other philosophy inimical to continued dependence on foreign investment, there will once more be hostility to foreign investment.

Few areas of international law excite as much controversy as the law relating to foreign investment.1 A spate of arbitration awards resulting from investment treaties has added much to the debates in recent times. These have been followed by massive literature analysing the law resulting from the treaties and the arbitration awards. Since the awards often conflict, the confusion has been exacerbated. Though the conflict in the awards is often attributed to the inconsistencies in the language in the treaties each tribunal had to interpret, the more probable explanation is that there are philosophical, economic and political attitudes that underlie the conflict which in turn reflect the underlying causes for the controversies that have existed in the area for a long time.2 The legitimacy of the system has been contested. The result of this lack of legitimacy has been for some states to withdraw altogether from the system and for other states to bring about newer types of treaties that provide a balance between investment protection and the state’s right to regulate in the public interest. Public protests against the system appeared when decisions of states involving public interests came to be decided by investment arbitration tribunals sitting far away from the states and in a manner that was seen as biased towards foreign investment. These disputes involved the supply of water,3 matters relating to health,4 the control of environmental hazards,5 and measures necessary to control economic crises.6

In Chapter 3, students explore the principles behind morphology and syntax. Students are led through a variety of examples that illustrate a range of morphological phenomena. Discover Activities prompt individual analysis to reinforce salient points. After discussing a few of the ways languages’ morphology blends into their syntax, a full discussion of grammatical functions in the syntactic sense is undertaken. Progressing through question formation, movement, and word order, students then explore natural language examples that illustrate a variety of syntactic and morphological concepts.

Chapter 1 is an introduction to language analysis in the linguistic sense. It establishes the specifications of the scientific approach to language, describes uses and characteristics across different areas, and provides an overview of the domains of linguistics. This includes a review of sounds, including phonetics and phonology; structure, including morphology and syntax; and meaning, including semantics and pragmatics. Through the provision of Discover Activities that provide a scaffold for the investigation of these concepts, readers then become familiar with the analytic techniques that will be emphasized throughout the book. These techniques are finally specified and detailed as part of a broader method of investigation and hypothesis testing.

The area of international law on foreign investment is the result of an intense clash of different interests at play. Elucidation of the nature of the conflicts in the different areas of this field of law will help in understanding the issues involved.1 The historical factors which shaped the law were set out briefly in Chapter 1. This introductory chapter also indicated the changes that have taken place in the framework within which foreign investments are made. The present chapter elaborates further the legal context in which foreign investment operates.

As the number of arbitrations under the investment treaties increases and the perception of their legitimacy decreases with conflicting decisions, the adoption of expansionary techniques of interpretation increasing the jurisdiction of the tribunals, the creation of new substantive principles of liability and the award of huge sums as damages, states have responded in three principal ways.1 The first has been one of withdrawal from the system of investment arbitration.2 Some states have announced that they will consider not extending the life of their investment treaties after they expire.3 This response is a calculated decision based on the belief that the costs of arbitration and disputes outweigh the benefits that investment treaties bring to a state. Withdrawal and termination are matters of sovereign prerogative, but such a withdrawal has to be effected through the manner prescribed in the treaty.4 The effectiveness of withdrawal depends on its timing. Such withdrawal is not possible as to existing disputes or disputes that arose while the treaties were pending. The termination provisions in the treaties are relevant in determining such issues.5 Treaties could be terminated by agreement between the parties at any time.