D. Victoria Rau and Meng‐Chien Yang
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199544547
- eISBN:
- 9780191720260
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199544547.003.0012
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter discusses the development of e-learning materials for Yami, an endangered Austronesian language of Taiwan. It outlines their pedagogical model that integrates digital archiving with ...
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This chapter discusses the development of e-learning materials for Yami, an endangered Austronesian language of Taiwan. It outlines their pedagogical model that integrates digital archiving with e-learning with the goal of revitalising and maintaining the endangered language. It argues that computers and the Internet present new opportunities for the preservation and transmission of endangered languages and cultures, both inside the language community and around the world.Less
This chapter discusses the development of e-learning materials for Yami, an endangered Austronesian language of Taiwan. It outlines their pedagogical model that integrates digital archiving with e-learning with the goal of revitalising and maintaining the endangered language. It argues that computers and the Internet present new opportunities for the preservation and transmission of endangered languages and cultures, both inside the language community and around the world.
Ulrike Zeshan
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199732548
- eISBN:
- 9780199866359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732548.003.0012
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and Pedagogy
The study of village sign languages is at the forefront of new approaches to developing a typology of languages. Indeed, recent research has shown that the study of village sign disconfirms some of ...
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The study of village sign languages is at the forefront of new approaches to developing a typology of languages. Indeed, recent research has shown that the study of village sign disconfirms some of our previously held assumptions about the linguistic structure of sign languages based on the study of the better-known sign languages of Europe and North America (such as that they all use classifiers — Adamorobe Sign Language does not). Further, village sign languages present distinct sociolinguistic contexts that are instructive to study with respect to understanding language contact issues. Finally, the endangered status of these languages raises philosophical questions about the nature of human language.Less
The study of village sign languages is at the forefront of new approaches to developing a typology of languages. Indeed, recent research has shown that the study of village sign disconfirms some of our previously held assumptions about the linguistic structure of sign languages based on the study of the better-known sign languages of Europe and North America (such as that they all use classifiers — Adamorobe Sign Language does not). Further, village sign languages present distinct sociolinguistic contexts that are instructive to study with respect to understanding language contact issues. Finally, the endangered status of these languages raises philosophical questions about the nature of human language.
Jacqueline Mowbray
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199646616
- eISBN:
- 9780191745485
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199646616.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law, Philosophy of Law
Drawing on literature from a variety of disciplines, and informed by the theoretical framework of Pierre Bourdieu, this chapter identifies a range of injustices associated with using some languages, ...
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Drawing on literature from a variety of disciplines, and informed by the theoretical framework of Pierre Bourdieu, this chapter identifies a range of injustices associated with using some languages, rather than others, in education. It then considers the role which international law may play in addressing such injustices. It examines, in particular, minority rights law, human rights to education and non-discrimination, and law on the protection of endangered and minority languages. The final section of the chapter considers language use in education within the broader context of globalisation, and explores the potential impact of international trade law in this respect. Ultimately this analysis demonstrates that international law does not fully account for the complexity and context-dependence of questions of language in education, and that this limits international law’s contribution to linguistic justice.Less
Drawing on literature from a variety of disciplines, and informed by the theoretical framework of Pierre Bourdieu, this chapter identifies a range of injustices associated with using some languages, rather than others, in education. It then considers the role which international law may play in addressing such injustices. It examines, in particular, minority rights law, human rights to education and non-discrimination, and law on the protection of endangered and minority languages. The final section of the chapter considers language use in education within the broader context of globalisation, and explores the potential impact of international trade law in this respect. Ultimately this analysis demonstrates that international law does not fully account for the complexity and context-dependence of questions of language in education, and that this limits international law’s contribution to linguistic justice.
James Woodward
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199732548
- eISBN:
- 9780199866359
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732548.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Applied Linguistics and Pedagogy
This chapter gives an overview of how historical linguists classify languages into families. While the comparative method and internal reconstruction are preferable when abundant data are available, ...
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This chapter gives an overview of how historical linguists classify languages into families. While the comparative method and internal reconstruction are preferable when abundant data are available, the limited data on sign languages indicate that lexicostatistics is the most useful method. This method is made reliable by using the Swadesh word list revised appropriately for sign languages. Languages can have multiple ancestors, that is, languages that have contributed significantly to the daughters (thus creolization is included). The history of sign languages must be studied, not assumed, in order to be understood. An examination of families of signs in Southeast Asia and Central America alerts us to the endangered status of indigenous sign languages, often at the hand of ASL.Less
This chapter gives an overview of how historical linguists classify languages into families. While the comparative method and internal reconstruction are preferable when abundant data are available, the limited data on sign languages indicate that lexicostatistics is the most useful method. This method is made reliable by using the Swadesh word list revised appropriately for sign languages. Languages can have multiple ancestors, that is, languages that have contributed significantly to the daughters (thus creolization is included). The history of sign languages must be studied, not assumed, in order to be understood. An examination of families of signs in Southeast Asia and Central America alerts us to the endangered status of indigenous sign languages, often at the hand of ASL.
Peter K. Austin and Julia Sallabank (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780197265765
- eISBN:
- 9780191771958
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265765.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Language Families
Over the few past centuries, and the last 65 years in particular, there has been a remarkable reduction in global linguistic diversity, as people abandon minority language varieties and switch to ...
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Over the few past centuries, and the last 65 years in particular, there has been a remarkable reduction in global linguistic diversity, as people abandon minority language varieties and switch to larger, and what they perceive to be more economically, socially and politically powerful, regional or national languages. In addition, governments have been promoting standardised official languages for use in schooling, media, and bureaucracy, often under a rubric of linguistic unity supporting national unity. The last two decades have seen a significant increase in interest in minority languages and language shift, endangerment, and loss, in academia and among language speakers and the wider public. There has also been growing interest from anthropological linguists and sociolinguists in the study of language ideologies and beliefs about languages. This volume brings together chapters on theoretical and practical issues in these two areas, especially the views of linguists and communities about support for and revitalization of endangered languages. The chapters thus go straight to the heart of ideological bases of reactions to language endangerment among those most closely involved, drawing their discussions from case studies of how language ideologies and beliefs affect language practices (and vice versa). Most of the authors conduct collaborative community-based research and take a reflective engagement stance to investigate (potential) clashes in ideological perspectives. This is one of the key theoretical and practical issues in research on endangered languages, and so has important implications for language documentation, support and revitalization, as well as language policy at local, national and international levels.Less
Over the few past centuries, and the last 65 years in particular, there has been a remarkable reduction in global linguistic diversity, as people abandon minority language varieties and switch to larger, and what they perceive to be more economically, socially and politically powerful, regional or national languages. In addition, governments have been promoting standardised official languages for use in schooling, media, and bureaucracy, often under a rubric of linguistic unity supporting national unity. The last two decades have seen a significant increase in interest in minority languages and language shift, endangerment, and loss, in academia and among language speakers and the wider public. There has also been growing interest from anthropological linguists and sociolinguists in the study of language ideologies and beliefs about languages. This volume brings together chapters on theoretical and practical issues in these two areas, especially the views of linguists and communities about support for and revitalization of endangered languages. The chapters thus go straight to the heart of ideological bases of reactions to language endangerment among those most closely involved, drawing their discussions from case studies of how language ideologies and beliefs affect language practices (and vice versa). Most of the authors conduct collaborative community-based research and take a reflective engagement stance to investigate (potential) clashes in ideological perspectives. This is one of the key theoretical and practical issues in research on endangered languages, and so has important implications for language documentation, support and revitalization, as well as language policy at local, national and international levels.
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199593569
- eISBN:
- 9780191739385
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593569.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Language Families
We define the limits of Amazonia, and focus on a potted history of peopling of Amazonia and the issue of how many original inhabitants there were before the disastrous effects of the European ...
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We define the limits of Amazonia, and focus on a potted history of peopling of Amazonia and the issue of how many original inhabitants there were before the disastrous effects of the European Invasion. Environment and subsistence and social structures are briefly discussed. We then turn to the classification of Amazonian languages, names of languages and names of families and the issue of new lingue franche which have emerged since the Invasion. We then turn to profiles and brief histories of major language families—Arawak, Tupí, Carib, Panoan, Tucanoan and Macro‐Jê, smaller families and isolates. We include information on peoples' migrations. Many of Amazonian languages are endangered. The chapter concludes with a brief appreciation of the future of Amazonian languages and Amazonian studies. Appendix to this chapter (Amazonian words) contains a list of most commonly used borrowings from Amazonian languages (from the Arawak, Tupí‐Guaraní and Carib languages) in English (such as canoe, tobacco, hurricane and tapioca). A separate box insert lists the most important events in the history of Amazonian languages. There is a list of further sources on Amazonian languages.Less
We define the limits of Amazonia, and focus on a potted history of peopling of Amazonia and the issue of how many original inhabitants there were before the disastrous effects of the European Invasion. Environment and subsistence and social structures are briefly discussed. We then turn to the classification of Amazonian languages, names of languages and names of families and the issue of new lingue franche which have emerged since the Invasion. We then turn to profiles and brief histories of major language families—Arawak, Tupí, Carib, Panoan, Tucanoan and Macro‐Jê, smaller families and isolates. We include information on peoples' migrations. Many of Amazonian languages are endangered. The chapter concludes with a brief appreciation of the future of Amazonian languages and Amazonian studies. Appendix to this chapter (Amazonian words) contains a list of most commonly used borrowings from Amazonian languages (from the Arawak, Tupí‐Guaraní and Carib languages) in English (such as canoe, tobacco, hurricane and tapioca). A separate box insert lists the most important events in the history of Amazonian languages. There is a list of further sources on Amazonian languages.
K. David Harrison
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195181920
- eISBN:
- 9780199870622
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195181920.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
This chapter begins by discussing that most of the endangered languages were never written. It stresses that in order to preserve knowledge or language, one must put them into writing. It then ...
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This chapter begins by discussing that most of the endangered languages were never written. It stresses that in order to preserve knowledge or language, one must put them into writing. It then presents evidence from specialised knowledge domains—plants and animals—unique to the environments where speakers of endangered languages live. It argues that what these languages do is much more simply naming the menagerie, calling lion and tiger by their names. It adds that these languages afford strategies of packaging information, organising it into hierarchies and embedding it with names. It highlights that the longer a particular people have inhabited and made use of an ecological niche and practiced a particular way of life, the more likely they will have applied their linguistic genius to describing that ecosystem. It states that naming showcases human creativity and demonstrates a flair for dramatic metaphor.Less
This chapter begins by discussing that most of the endangered languages were never written. It stresses that in order to preserve knowledge or language, one must put them into writing. It then presents evidence from specialised knowledge domains—plants and animals—unique to the environments where speakers of endangered languages live. It argues that what these languages do is much more simply naming the menagerie, calling lion and tiger by their names. It adds that these languages afford strategies of packaging information, organising it into hierarchies and embedding it with names. It highlights that the longer a particular people have inhabited and made use of an ecological niche and practiced a particular way of life, the more likely they will have applied their linguistic genius to describing that ecosystem. It states that naming showcases human creativity and demonstrates a flair for dramatic metaphor.
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199593569
- eISBN:
- 9780191739385
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593569.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Language Families
Languages of the Amazon basin are among the most fascinating in the world. This is where one finds unusual sounds, unexpected ways of classifying nouns, elaborate positional verbs, to name just a few ...
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Languages of the Amazon basin are among the most fascinating in the world. This is where one finds unusual sounds, unexpected ways of classifying nouns, elaborate positional verbs, to name just a few features. Most Amazonian languages have been in contact with each other for many generations. Many people are multilingual, and the unusual patterns of multilingualism have given rise to intriguing patterns of language contact, extensive linguistic areas, and numerous features shared due to contact between people There are over 300 languages grouped into over fifteen language families, plus a fair number of isolates. The six major linguistic families of the Amazon basin are Arawak, Tupí, Carib, Panoan, Tucanoan and Macro‐Jê; smaller families include Makú, Guahibo, Yanomami, Witotoan, Zaparoan, Tacana, Harakmbet, Arawá and Chapacuran. Discussion in the book also includes, albeit in more cursory fashion, language families spoken in the areas adjacent to Lowland Amazonia: Chibchan, Barbacoan, Choco, and Guaicuruan. The book starts with a potted history of Amazonian peoples and their languages, and the disastrous effects of the European invasion. After a brief discussion of cultural aspects and people's lifestyle, the profile of each major and minor family are outlined. There is then discussion of the unusual patterns of language contact and multilingual interaction. Further chapters discuss the sounds of Amazonian languages; the ways in which they express possession, gender, and time and tense. In many Amazonian languages one needs to always state how one knows things, known as the category of ‘evidentiality’. Amazonian languages are relatively poor in number words, but rich in elaborate speech styles and means of expression. The book offers extensive examples, many from author's own fieldwork in Amazonia.Less
Languages of the Amazon basin are among the most fascinating in the world. This is where one finds unusual sounds, unexpected ways of classifying nouns, elaborate positional verbs, to name just a few features. Most Amazonian languages have been in contact with each other for many generations. Many people are multilingual, and the unusual patterns of multilingualism have given rise to intriguing patterns of language contact, extensive linguistic areas, and numerous features shared due to contact between people There are over 300 languages grouped into over fifteen language families, plus a fair number of isolates. The six major linguistic families of the Amazon basin are Arawak, Tupí, Carib, Panoan, Tucanoan and Macro‐Jê; smaller families include Makú, Guahibo, Yanomami, Witotoan, Zaparoan, Tacana, Harakmbet, Arawá and Chapacuran. Discussion in the book also includes, albeit in more cursory fashion, language families spoken in the areas adjacent to Lowland Amazonia: Chibchan, Barbacoan, Choco, and Guaicuruan. The book starts with a potted history of Amazonian peoples and their languages, and the disastrous effects of the European invasion. After a brief discussion of cultural aspects and people's lifestyle, the profile of each major and minor family are outlined. There is then discussion of the unusual patterns of language contact and multilingual interaction. Further chapters discuss the sounds of Amazonian languages; the ways in which they express possession, gender, and time and tense. In many Amazonian languages one needs to always state how one knows things, known as the category of ‘evidentiality’. Amazonian languages are relatively poor in number words, but rich in elaborate speech styles and means of expression. The book offers extensive examples, many from author's own fieldwork in Amazonia.
Jason Kandybowicz and Harold Torrence
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- August 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190256340
- eISBN:
- 9780190256364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190256340.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter provides an overview of language endangerment in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting previous efforts to document the continent’s endangered languages and ascertain their threat levels, the ...
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This chapter provides an overview of language endangerment in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting previous efforts to document the continent’s endangered languages and ascertain their threat levels, the unique state of language endangerment in Africa as compared to other parts of the world, and the challenges to documentation and revitalization efforts posed by Africa’s endangered languages. As a consequence of these challenges, a disproportionately low amount of research and funding is devoted to the study of endangered African languages when compared to any other linguistically threatened region in the world. We propose nurturing synergistic partnerships between documentary and theoretical linguists researching endangered African languages to stimulate and enhance the depth, visibility, and impact of endangered African language research in the hope of reversing this trend.Less
This chapter provides an overview of language endangerment in sub-Saharan Africa, highlighting previous efforts to document the continent’s endangered languages and ascertain their threat levels, the unique state of language endangerment in Africa as compared to other parts of the world, and the challenges to documentation and revitalization efforts posed by Africa’s endangered languages. As a consequence of these challenges, a disproportionately low amount of research and funding is devoted to the study of endangered African languages when compared to any other linguistically threatened region in the world. We propose nurturing synergistic partnerships between documentary and theoretical linguists researching endangered African languages to stimulate and enhance the depth, visibility, and impact of endangered African language research in the hope of reversing this trend.
Jason Kandybowicz and Harold Torrence (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- August 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190256340
- eISBN:
- 9780190256364
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190256340.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
Relatively little is known about Africa’s endangered languages. In an era when we are racing against time to study and preserve the world’s threatened languages before they go extinct, a ...
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Relatively little is known about Africa’s endangered languages. In an era when we are racing against time to study and preserve the world’s threatened languages before they go extinct, a disproportionately low amount of research and funding is devoted to the study of endangered African languages when compared to any other linguistically threatened region in the world. More regrettably, even less has been done to create a community of Africanists and concerned linguists who might work on rectifying this situation. This book puts some of Africa’s many endangered languages in the spotlight in the hope of reversing this trend. Both documentary and theoretical perspectives are taken with a view toward highlighting the symbiotic relationship between the two approaches and exploring its consequences for research on and preservation of endangered languages, both in the African context and more broadly. The articles that comprise this volume collectively advocate nurturing synergistic partnerships between documentary and theoretical linguists researching endangered African languages in order to stimulate and enhance the depth, visibility, and impact of endangered African language research in the service of altering the landscape of scholarship and activism in this field.Less
Relatively little is known about Africa’s endangered languages. In an era when we are racing against time to study and preserve the world’s threatened languages before they go extinct, a disproportionately low amount of research and funding is devoted to the study of endangered African languages when compared to any other linguistically threatened region in the world. More regrettably, even less has been done to create a community of Africanists and concerned linguists who might work on rectifying this situation. This book puts some of Africa’s many endangered languages in the spotlight in the hope of reversing this trend. Both documentary and theoretical perspectives are taken with a view toward highlighting the symbiotic relationship between the two approaches and exploring its consequences for research on and preservation of endangered languages, both in the African context and more broadly. The articles that comprise this volume collectively advocate nurturing synergistic partnerships between documentary and theoretical linguists researching endangered African languages in order to stimulate and enhance the depth, visibility, and impact of endangered African language research in the service of altering the landscape of scholarship and activism in this field.
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199593569
- eISBN:
- 9780191739385
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199593569.003.0014
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Language Families
This chapter summarises the main point of the book, focusing on linguistic and biological diversity in Amazonia.
This chapter summarises the main point of the book, focusing on linguistic and biological diversity in Amazonia.
Ruth H. Sanders
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780226493893
- eISBN:
- 9780226493923
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226493923.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
The Sámi may be the first, or aboriginal, people of the post-Ice-Age Arctic Alpine region—northernmost Fennoscandia and northwestern Russia. No clear evidence exists that proves they were the first ...
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The Sámi may be the first, or aboriginal, people of the post-Ice-Age Arctic Alpine region—northernmost Fennoscandia and northwestern Russia. No clear evidence exists that proves they were the first settlers, but neither is there evidence or even claims that any other people were the first. From early times, the Sámi have influenced, and been influenced by, languages, traditions and practices of the other peoples of the North. The chapter offers a brief history and discussion of the modern Sámi people, both in traditional Sámi territory and in the urban centers of Mainland Scandinavia. It also describes and samples some varieties of the Sámi language in Norway, Sweden, and Finland.Less
The Sámi may be the first, or aboriginal, people of the post-Ice-Age Arctic Alpine region—northernmost Fennoscandia and northwestern Russia. No clear evidence exists that proves they were the first settlers, but neither is there evidence or even claims that any other people were the first. From early times, the Sámi have influenced, and been influenced by, languages, traditions and practices of the other peoples of the North. The chapter offers a brief history and discussion of the modern Sámi people, both in traditional Sámi territory and in the urban centers of Mainland Scandinavia. It also describes and samples some varieties of the Sámi language in Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
Cliff Goddard and Anna Wierzbicka
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199668434
- eISBN:
- 9780191748691
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199668434.003.0010
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Lexicography
This chapter begins by emphasising the importance of words and meanings in people’s lives, drawing on literature; in particular, on the literature of bilingual experience. It then looks outwards from ...
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This chapter begins by emphasising the importance of words and meanings in people’s lives, drawing on literature; in particular, on the literature of bilingual experience. It then looks outwards from the lexicon and surveys some of the ways in which the tools of semantic analysis can be used for exploring cultural norms and values, for clarifying thinking in the human sciences, and for helping to document and conserve unique human concepts embedded in the lexicons of endangered languages.Less
This chapter begins by emphasising the importance of words and meanings in people’s lives, drawing on literature; in particular, on the literature of bilingual experience. It then looks outwards from the lexicon and surveys some of the ways in which the tools of semantic analysis can be used for exploring cultural norms and values, for clarifying thinking in the human sciences, and for helping to document and conserve unique human concepts embedded in the lexicons of endangered languages.
Erich R. Round
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199654871
- eISBN:
- 9780191745560
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654871.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Theoretical Linguistics
This book presents new data and a formal analysis of the inflectional system and syntax of Kayardild, a typologically striking language of Northern Australia. It sets forth arguments for recognizing ...
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This book presents new data and a formal analysis of the inflectional system and syntax of Kayardild, a typologically striking language of Northern Australia. It sets forth arguments for recognizing an intricate syntactic structure that underlies the exuberant distribution of inflectional features throughout the clause, and for an intermediate, ‘morphemic’ level of representation that mediates morphosyntactic features' realization as morphological forms. The book differs from existing treatments of Kayardild in unifying the explanation of shared morphological exponents, positing a detailed, empirically-grounded underlying syntax, identifying new clausal and nominal structures, simplifying the analysis of Kayardild's dual tense system, rejecting an analysis according to which some case markers are morphologically ‘verbalizing’ and some tense markers ‘nominalizing’, and arguing that upper bounds on syntactic complexity are inherently syntactic rather than derivative of constraints on morphology. Analyses are expressed formally in terms of syntactic structures and morphosyntactic features which will be interpretable to a broad range of theories. Early chapters provide overviews of Kayardild phonology and morphological structure in general, and a final chapter implements the analysis in constraint-based grammar. Example sentences are glossed across four or five lines, furnishing explicit analyses at multiple levels of representation, and an appendix gathers over one hundred example sentences to provide large-scale empirical support for the syntactic analysis of tense inflection. Kayardild Morphology and Ssyntax will appeal to the formal or typological syntactician, morphologist, or phonologist, to advanced students, and to all who wish to understand more about the typological significance of Kayardild.Less
This book presents new data and a formal analysis of the inflectional system and syntax of Kayardild, a typologically striking language of Northern Australia. It sets forth arguments for recognizing an intricate syntactic structure that underlies the exuberant distribution of inflectional features throughout the clause, and for an intermediate, ‘morphemic’ level of representation that mediates morphosyntactic features' realization as morphological forms. The book differs from existing treatments of Kayardild in unifying the explanation of shared morphological exponents, positing a detailed, empirically-grounded underlying syntax, identifying new clausal and nominal structures, simplifying the analysis of Kayardild's dual tense system, rejecting an analysis according to which some case markers are morphologically ‘verbalizing’ and some tense markers ‘nominalizing’, and arguing that upper bounds on syntactic complexity are inherently syntactic rather than derivative of constraints on morphology. Analyses are expressed formally in terms of syntactic structures and morphosyntactic features which will be interpretable to a broad range of theories. Early chapters provide overviews of Kayardild phonology and morphological structure in general, and a final chapter implements the analysis in constraint-based grammar. Example sentences are glossed across four or five lines, furnishing explicit analyses at multiple levels of representation, and an appendix gathers over one hundred example sentences to provide large-scale empirical support for the syntactic analysis of tense inflection. Kayardild Morphology and Ssyntax will appeal to the formal or typological syntactician, morphologist, or phonologist, to advanced students, and to all who wish to understand more about the typological significance of Kayardild.
Joash J. Gambarage, Andrei Anghelescu, Strang Burton, Joel Dunham, Erin Guntly, Hermann Keupdjio, Zoe Wai-Man Lam, Adriana Osa-Gomez, Douglas Pulleyblank, Dayanqi Si, Yoshiko Yoshino, and Rose-Marie Déchaine
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- August 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190256340
- eISBN:
- 9780190256364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190256340.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter introduces the research context of three chapters in this volume (Anghelescu et al., Déchaine et al., Gambarage & Pulleyblank), all of which discuss an aspect of the grammar of Nata ...
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This chapter introduces the research context of three chapters in this volume (Anghelescu et al., Déchaine et al., Gambarage & Pulleyblank), all of which discuss an aspect of the grammar of Nata (Guthrie E45), an under-described Eastern Bantu language spoken in Tanzania. This overview also presents issues that situate the theme of these papers within the larger context of the documentation of endangered languages.Less
This chapter introduces the research context of three chapters in this volume (Anghelescu et al., Déchaine et al., Gambarage & Pulleyblank), all of which discuss an aspect of the grammar of Nata (Guthrie E45), an under-described Eastern Bantu language spoken in Tanzania. This overview also presents issues that situate the theme of these papers within the larger context of the documentation of endangered languages.
