Current Trends in Caucasian, East European, and Inner Asian Linguistics

Current Trends in Caucasian, East European, and Inner Asian Linguistics PDF Author: Dee Ann Holisky
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027247587
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 455

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Book Description
This volume is a collection of seventeen papers, on languages of all three indigenous Caucasian families as well as other languages spoken in the territory of the former Soviet Union. Several papers are concerned with diachronic questions, either within individual families, or at deeper time depths. Some authors utilize their field data to address problems of general linguistic interest, such as reflexivization. A number of papers look at the evidence for contact-induced change in multilingual areas. Some of the most exciting contributions to the collection represent significant advances in the reconstruction of the prehistory of such understudied language families as Northeast Caucasian, Tungusic and the baffling isolate Ket. This book will be of interest not only to specialists in the indigenous languages of the former USSR, but also to historical and synchronic linguists seeking to familiarize themselves with the fascinating, typologically diverse languages from the interior of the Eurasian continent. Dee Ann Holisky is Professor of English and Linguistics, and Associate Dean for Academic Programs of the College of Arts & Sciences at George Mason University. She is the author of Aspect and Georgian Medial Verbs (Caravan Books, 1981) and of numerous articles on Georgian and Kartvelian linguistics. Kevin Tuite is Professor of Anthropology at the Université de Montréal. Among his books are An Anthology of Georgian Folk Poetry (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1994) and Ethnolinguistics and Anthropological Theory (co-edited with Christine Jourdan; Montréal: Éditions Fides, 2003).

Current Trends in Caucasian, East European, and Inner Asian Linguistics

Current Trends in Caucasian, East European, and Inner Asian Linguistics PDF Author: Dee Ann Holisky
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027247587
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 455

Get Book Here

Book Description
This volume is a collection of seventeen papers, on languages of all three indigenous Caucasian families as well as other languages spoken in the territory of the former Soviet Union. Several papers are concerned with diachronic questions, either within individual families, or at deeper time depths. Some authors utilize their field data to address problems of general linguistic interest, such as reflexivization. A number of papers look at the evidence for contact-induced change in multilingual areas. Some of the most exciting contributions to the collection represent significant advances in the reconstruction of the prehistory of such understudied language families as Northeast Caucasian, Tungusic and the baffling isolate Ket. This book will be of interest not only to specialists in the indigenous languages of the former USSR, but also to historical and synchronic linguists seeking to familiarize themselves with the fascinating, typologically diverse languages from the interior of the Eurasian continent. Dee Ann Holisky is Professor of English and Linguistics, and Associate Dean for Academic Programs of the College of Arts & Sciences at George Mason University. She is the author of Aspect and Georgian Medial Verbs (Caravan Books, 1981) and of numerous articles on Georgian and Kartvelian linguistics. Kevin Tuite is Professor of Anthropology at the Université de Montréal. Among his books are An Anthology of Georgian Folk Poetry (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1994) and Ethnolinguistics and Anthropological Theory (co-edited with Christine Jourdan; Montréal: Éditions Fides, 2003).

The Languages and Linguistics of Europe

The Languages and Linguistics of Europe PDF Author: Bernd Kortmann
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110220261
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 934

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Book Description
Open publicationThe Languages and Linguistics of Europe: A Comprehensive Guide is part of the multi-volume reference work on the languages and linguistics of the continents of the world. The book supplies profiles of the language families of Europe, including the sign languages. It also discusses the areal typology, paying attention to the Standard Average European, Balkan, Baltic and Mediterranean convergence areas. Separate chapters deal with the old and new minority languages and with non-standard varieties. A major focus is language politics and policies, including discussions of the special status of English, the relation between language and the church, language and the school, and standardization. The history of European linguistics is another focus as is the history of multilingual European 'empires' and their dissolution. The volume is especially geared towards a graduate and advanced undergraduate readership. It has been designed such that it can be used, as a whole or in parts, as a textbook, the first of its kind, for graduate programmes with a focus on the linguistic (and linguistics) landscape of Europe.

The Ubiquity of Metaphor

The Ubiquity of Metaphor PDF Author: Wolf Paprotté
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 902723521X
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 657

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Book Description
This volume brings together a number of articles representative of the present outlook on the importance of metaphors, and of the work done on metaphors in several domains of (psycho)linguistics. The first part of the volume deals with metaphor and the system of language. The second part offers papers on metaphor and language use. In the third part psychological and psycholinguistic aspects of metaphor are discussed.

Simultaneity in Signed Languages

Simultaneity in Signed Languages PDF Author: Myriam Vermeerbergen
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027292957
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
Signed language users can draw on a range of articulators when expressing linguistic messages, including the hands, torso, eye gaze, and mouth. Sometimes these articulators work in tandem to produce one lexical item while in other instances they operate to convey different types of information simultaneously. Over the past fifteen years, there has been a growing interest in the issue of simultaneity in signed languages. However, this book is the first to offer a comprehensive treatment of this topic, presenting a collection of papers dealing with different aspects of simultaneity in a range of related and unrelated signed languages, in descriptive and cross-linguistic treatments which are set in different theoretical frameworks. This volume has relevance for those interested in sign linguistics, in teaching and learning signed languages, and is also highly recommended to anyone interested in the fundamental underpinnings of human language and the effects of signed versus spoken modality.

Languages of the World

Languages of the World PDF Author: Asya Pereltsvaig
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316764486
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 411

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Book Description
What do all human languages have in common and in what ways are they different? How can language be used to trace different peoples and their past? Assuming no prior knowledge of linguistics, the new edition of this engaging textbook introduces readers to the rich diversity of human languages, familiarizing students with the variety and typology of languages around the world. Linguistic terms and concepts are explained, in the text and in the glossary, and illustrated with simple, accessible examples. Numerous language family charts enable students to place a language geographically or genealogically. Updated and revised throughout, the second edition includes two new chapters and new pedagogical features, such as 'Advanced' sections, textboxes and 'Did you know?' boxes. Important websites are integrated into the text, and each chapter includes a 'Do it yourself' section, comprising assignments, questions and problem sets. Supplementary online resources include illustrations, key term flashcards and useful links. This introduction is an essential resource for undergraduate courses on language typology, historical linguistics and general linguistics.

Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2002

Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2002 PDF Author: Reineke Bok-Bennema
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9781588115850
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
The "Going Romance" conferences are a major European annual discussion forum for theoretically relevant research on Romance languages. Selected papers are published in the "Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory "volumes. This is the fourth such volume, containing a selection of the papers that have been presented at the 2002 conference, which was held at the State University of Groningen. The three-day program included a workshop on Acquisition. The articles in this volume focalize on specifics of one or more Romance languages or varieties: clausal structure, verb-movement, topic, focus and reinforcement constructions, nominal ellipsis, (absence of) pronouns in child language, and other current issues in Romance linguistics.

Grammaticalization from a Typological Perspective

Grammaticalization from a Typological Perspective PDF Author: Heiko Narrog
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192515357
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
This volume explores the way in which grammaticalization processes - whereby lexical words eventually become markers of grammatical categories - converge and differ across various types of language. While grammaticalization at its core is a unidirectional phenomenon, in which the same pathways of change are replicated across languages, certain language types and language areas have distinct preferences with respect to what they grammaticalize and how. Previous work has principally addressed this question with specific reference to languages of Southeast and East Asia that do not seem to grammaticalize paradigms of categories in the same manner as Indo-European languages, or form extensive grammaticalization chains. This volume takes a broader approach and proceeds systematically area by area: specialists in the field address the processes of grammaticalization in languages of Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific, and the Americas, and in creole languages. The studies reveal a number of unique pathways of grammaticalization in each language area, as well as identifying the universal shared features of the phenomenon.

Iconicity in Language

Iconicity in Language PDF Author: Raffaele Simone
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027285705
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
Several current linguistic approaches converge in rejecting the wide-spread idea that language is an autonomous system, i.e. that it is structured independently from the outside world and the natural equipment of language users. Around the world, semiotically biased linguistics (functionalism, naturalism, etc.) takes this position, which differentiates it very clearly from generative linguistics. One of the basic assumptions of such approaches is that language structure includes some non-arbitrary aspects, from the phonological through the textual level, and a great amount of research has occurred in the last decade regarding the “iconic aspects” of language(s). This volume focuses on generally neglected dimensions of language and semiotic activity, featuring contributions by philosophers, linguists, semioticians, and psychologists. After tracing the tradition of iconicity in the history of linguistic thought, the central section is devoted to specific analyses emphasizing the role of non-arbitrary phenomena in language foundation and linguistic structure. Specifically discussed are numeration systems, the gestural systems of communication among deaf people, the genesis of writing in children, and inter-ethnic communication.

Language History

Language History PDF Author: Andrew L. Sihler
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027236976
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 321

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Book Description
This classroom-tested volume aspires to be a brief but technically and factually accurate exposition of linguistic description and history. Whether studied as prime subject or as background information, it should help students understand the assumptions and reasoning that underlie the contents of their handbooks and etymological dictionaries.This book should be a useful guide for anyone unfamiliar with (historical) linguistics who is studying the history of a language, and also for those who are enrolled in courses devoted to reading texts in old languages.

Anaphora Processing

Anaphora Processing PDF Author: António Branco
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027294674
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 463

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Book Description
Anaphora processing is a central topic in the study of natural language and has long been the object of research in a wide range of disciplines. The correct interpretation of anaphora has also become increasingly important for real-world natural language processing applications, including machine translation, automatic abstracting, information extraction and question answering. This volume provides a unique overview of the processing of anaphora from a multi- and inter-disciplinary angle. It will be of interest and practical use to readers from fields as diverse as theoretical linguistics, corpus linguistics, computational linguistics, computer science, natural language processing, artificial intelligence, human language technology, psycholinguistics, cognitive science and translation studies. The readership includes but is not limited to university lecturers, researchers, postgraduate and senior undergraduate students.