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This volume aims to make a contribution to codifying the methods and practices linguists use to recover language history, focussing predominantly on historical morphology. The volume includes studies on a wide range of languages: not only Indo-European, but also Austronesian, Sinitic, Mon-Khmer, Basque, one Papuan language family, as well as a number of Australian families. Few collections are as cross-linguistic as this, reflecting the new challenges which have emerged from the study of languages outside those best known from historical linguistics. The contributors illustrate shared methodological and theoretical issues concerning genetic relatedness (that is, the use of morphological evidence for classification and subgrouping), reconstruction and processes of change with a diverse range of data. The volume is in honour of Harold Koch, who has long combined innovative research on understudied languages with methodological rigour and codification of practices within the discipline.
Traditionally, etymology is concerned with the study of lexical items. However, in this book etymology is understood more generally as a research approach concerned with the question of how a particular word or structure came into existence. As a result, etymology can investigate the origin of words (lexical etymology) but also structural elements, such as morphemes and constructions (structural etymology). This pioneer volume assembles thirteen etymological studies over a broad range of languages, ranging from Europe to Australia and the Pacific, focusing in particular on Australian Indigenous languages. The phenomena investigated in the contributions comprise the origin of Australian Indigenous place names and kinship terms, constructions and word histories in Oceanic languages, typological investigations as well as papers on the methodology of etymological research. This volume is intended for a scholarly audience including intermediate and advanced university students with an interest in historical linguistic, especially in etymology, but also semantics, toponymy and language contact.
Linguistic construal of time lies at the center of language and language use; it is also one of the cognitive foundations of culture. The focus of the papers in this volume is on historical developments of genetically different aspect and tense systems across continents, with contributions on the Sogeram languages of Papua New Guinea, the Arandic languages of Australia, Kisikongo Bantu, and Japanese. In addition, two prototypical Indo-European tense-aspect systems, those of Vedic and Latin, are analyzed in a comparative perspective. Across language groups and continents, the general principles revealed by the studies presented here contribute towards a novel and deepening understanding of tense and aspect. They contribute not only to modelling and theory, but also to a better understanding of processes in individual languages. Originally published as special issue of the Journal of Historical Linguistics 10:2 (2020).
In 1978, Ed Koch assumed control of a city plagued by filth, crime, bankruptcy, and racial tensions. By the end of his mayoral run in 1989 and despite the Wall Street crash of 1987, his administration had begun rebuilding neighborhoods and infrastructure. Unlike many American cities, Koch's New York was growing, not shrinking. Gentrification brought new businesses to neglected corners and converted low-end rental housing to coops and condos. Nevertheless, not all the changes were positive--AIDS, crime, homelessness, and violent racial conflict increased, marking a time of great, if somewhat uneven, transition. For better or worse, Koch's efforts convinced many New Yorkers to embrace a new po...
The Oxford Guide to Australian Languages is a wide-ranging reference work that explores the more than 550 traditional and new Indigenous languages of Australia. Australian languages have long played an important role in diachronic and synchronic linguistics and are a vital testing ground for linguistic theory. Until now, however, there has been no comprehensive and accessible guide to the their vast linguistic diversity. This volume fills that gap, bringing together leading scholars and junior researchers to provide an up-to-date guide to all aspects of the languages of Australia. The chapters in the book explore typology, documentation, and classification; linguistic structures from phonology to pragmatics and discourse; sociolinguistics and language variation; and language in the community. The final part offers grammatical sketches of a selection of languages, sub-groups, and families. At a time when the number of living Australian languages is significantly reduced even compared to twenty year ago, this volume establishes priorities for future linguistic research and contributes to the language expansion and revitalization efforts that are underway.
The new edition of this popular introductory text on historical linguistics covers all areas of language change, with a focus on Australia and the Pacific. Topics include sound change, the comparative method, cultural reconstruction and morphological and syntactic change.
A substantial proportion of what is discoverable about the structure of many Aboriginal languages spoken on the vast Australian continent before their decimation through colonial invasion is contained in nineteenth-century grammars. Many were written by fervent young missionaries who traversed the globe intent on describing the languages spoken by “heathens”, whom they hoped to convert to Christianity. Some of these documents, written before Australian or international academic institutions expressed any interest in Aboriginal languages, are the sole record of some of the hundreds of languages spoken by the first Australians, and many are the most comprehensive. These grammars resulted f...