Studies on German-language Islands

Studies on German-language Islands PDF Author: Michael T. Putnam
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027205906
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 497

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Book Description
The contributions in this volume present cutting-edge theoretical and structural analyses of issues surrounding German-language islands, or "Sprachinseln," throughout the world. The individual topics of study in this volume focus on various aspects of these German-language islands such as (but not limited to) phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic aspects of these languages under investigation. Collectively, the body of research contained in this volume explores significantly under-researched topics in the fields of language contact and language attrition and illustrates how this on-going research can be enhanced through the application of formal theoretical frameworks and structural analyses.

A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages

A Comparative Grammar of the Early Germanic Languages PDF Author: R.D. Fulk
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027263132
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 438

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Book Description
Fulk’s Comparative Grammar offers an overview of and bibliographical guide to the study of the phonology and the inflectional morphology of the earliest Germanic languages, with particular attention to Gothic, Old Norse / Icelandic, Old English, Old Frisian, Old Saxon, and Old High German, along with some attention to the more sparsely attested languages. The sounds and inflections of the oldest Germanic languages are compared, with a view to reconstructing the forms they took in Proto-Germanic and comparing those reconstructed forms with what is known of the Indo-European protolanguage. Students will find the book an informative introduction and a bibliographically instructive point of departure for intensive research in the numerous issues that remain profoundly contested in early Germanic language history.

The Cambridge Handbook of Germanic Linguistics

The Cambridge Handbook of Germanic Linguistics PDF Author: Michael T. Putnam
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108386350
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 1207

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Book Description
The Germanic language family ranges from national languages with standardized varieties, including German, Dutch and Danish, to minority languages with relatively few speakers, such as Frisian, Yiddish and Pennsylvania German. Written by internationally renowned experts of Germanic linguistics, this Handbook provides a detailed overview and analysis of the structure of modern Germanic languages and dialects. Organized thematically, it addresses key topics in the phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics of standard and nonstandard varieties of Germanic languages from a comparative perspective. It also includes chapters on second language acquisition, heritage and minority languages, pidgins, and urban vernaculars. The first comprehensive survey of this vast topic, the Handbook is a vital resource for students and researchers investigating the Germanic family of languages and dialects.

The Germanic Languages

The Germanic Languages PDF Author: Ekkehard Konig
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317799585
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 648

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Book Description
Provides a unique, up-to-date survey of twelve Germanic languages from English and German to Faroese and Yiddish.

The Germanic Languages

The Germanic Languages PDF Author: Wayne Harbert
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139461524
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
Germanic - one of the largest sub-groups of the Indo-European language family - comprises 37 languages with an estimated 470 million speakers worldwide. This book presents a comparative linguistic survey of the full range of Germanic languages, both ancient and modern, including major world languages such as English and German (West Germanic), the Scandinavian (North Germanic) languages, and the extinct East Germanic languages. Unlike previous studies, it does not take a chronological or a language-by-language approach, organized instead around linguistic constructions and subsystems. Considering dialects alongside standard varieties, it provides a detailed account of topics such as case, word formation, sound systems, vowel length, syllable structure, the noun phrase, the verb phrase, the expression of tense and mood, and the syntax of the clause. Authoritative and comprehensive, this much-needed survey will be welcomed by scholars and students of the Germanic languages, as well as linguists across the many branches of the field.

Runes and Germanic Linguistics

Runes and Germanic Linguistics PDF Author: Elmer H. Antonsen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110885522
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 405

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Book Description
The older runic inscriptions (ca. AD 150 - 450) represent the earliest attestation of any Germanic language. The close relationship of these inscriptions to the archaic Mediterranean writing traditions is demonstrated through the linguistic and orthographic analysis presented here. The extraordinary importance of these inscriptions for a proper understanding of the prehistory and early history of the present-day Germanic languages, including English, becomes abundantly clear once the accu-mulation of unfounded claims of older mythological and cultic studies is cleared away.

Studies on Old High German Syntax

Studies on Old High German Syntax PDF Author: Katrin Axel
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027291985
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
This monograph is the first book-length study on Old High German syntax from a generative perspective in twenty years. It provides an in-depth exploration of the Old High German pre-verb-second grammar by answering the following questions: To what extent did generalized verb movement exist in Old High German? Was there already obligatory XP-movement to the left periphery in declarative root clauses? What deviations from the linear verb-second restriction are attested and what do such phenomena reveal about the structure of the left sentence periphery? Did verb placement play the same role in sentence typing as in the modern verb-second languages? A further major topic is null subjects: It is claimed that Old High German was a partial pro-drop language. All these issues are addressed from a comparative-diachronic perspective by integrating research on other Old Germanic languages, in particular on Old English and Gothic. This book is of interest to all those working in the fields of comparative Germanic syntax and historical linguistics.

Linguistic Purism in the Germanic Languages

Linguistic Purism in the Germanic Languages PDF Author: Nils Langer
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110901358
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 385

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Book Description
Purism is an aspect of linguistic study which appeals not only to the scholar but also to the layperson. Somehow, ordinary speakers with many different mother tongues and with no formal training in linguistics share certain beliefs about what language is, how it develops or should develop, whether it has good or bad qualities, etc. The topic of linguistic purism in its many realisations is the subject of this volume of 19 articles selected from the contributions presented at a conference at the University of Bristol in 2003. In particular, the articles deal with the relationship of purism to historical prescriptivism, e.g. the influence of grammarians in the 17th and 18th centuries, to nationhood, e.g. the instrumentalising of purism in the standardisation of Afrikaans or Luxembourgish, to modern society, e.g. the existence of puristic tendencies in computer chatrooms, to folk linguistics, e.g. lay perceptions of different varieties of English, and to academic linguistics, e.g. the presence of puristic notions in the historiography of German or English.

The Grammar of Irish English

The Grammar of Irish English PDF Author: Markku Filppula
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134759967
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 353

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Book Description
Irish English, also termed 'Anglo-Irish' or 'Hiberno-English', as in this book, is not usually perceived as having a grammatical system of its own. Markku Filppula here challenges this misconception and offers a descriptive and contact-linguistic account of the grammar of Hiberno-English. Drawing on a wide range of authentic materials documenting Hiberno-English dialects past and present Filppula examines: * the most distinctive grammatical features of these dialects * relationships with earlier and other regional varieties of English * the continuing influence of the Irish language on Hiberno-English * similarities between Hiberno-English and other Celtic-influenced varieties of English spoken in Scotland and Wales The Grammar of Irish English is a comprehensive empirical study which will be an essential reference for scholars of Hiberno-English and of value to all those working in the field of Germanic linguistics.

German

German PDF Author: Sarah M. B. Fagan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107377110
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Standard German is spoken by approximately 95 million people worldwide. This book provides an introduction to the linguistic structure of standard German that is rich in descriptive detail and grounded in modern linguistic theory. It describes the main linguistic features: the sounds, structure and formation of words, structure of sentences, and meaning of words and sentences. It surveys the history of the language, the major dialects, German in Austria and Switzerland, as well as sociolinguistic issues such as style, language and gender, youth language, and English influence on German. Prior knowledge of German is not required, as glosses and translations of the German examples are provided. Each chapter includes exercises designed to give the reader practical experience in analyzing the language. It is an essential learning tool for undergraduate and graduate students in German and linguistics.

Historical Linguistics 1995

Historical Linguistics 1995 PDF Author: Richard M. Hogg
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027236674
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 371

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Book Description
The Twelfth International Conference on Historical Linguistics, which is the major forum for the presentation of work in progress in the field of diachronic linguistics, took place at the University of Manchester in August 1995. The quality and breadth of the abstracts submitted for the general programme was such that four parallel sessions were needed throughout the conference. The present volume contains selected papers which deal with the Germanic languages. A companion volume, edited by J.C. Smith and Delia Bentley, contains papers on general problems in historical linguistics and studies of non-Germanic languages. The conference reflected the current health of diachronic linguistics. There were more papers and more participants than at past conferences, and the discussion covered a broader range of languages than hitherto. Sometimes it has been possible to isolate a particular preoccupation which has dominated much of the conference; but the overall impression to be gained from the Manchester meeting was one of stimulating diversity — the discipline appears to be moving forward on many fronts simultaneously, yet without losing focus. This stimulating diversity is well reflected in this important collection.