Overview

This advanced historical linguistics course book deals with the historical and comparative study of African languages. The first part functions as an elementary introduction to the comparative method, involving the establishment of lexical and grammatical cognates, the reconstruction of their historical development, techniques for the subclassification of related languages, and the use of language-internal evidence, more specifically the application of internal reconstruction. Part II addresses language contact phenomena and the status of language in a wider, cultural-historical and ecological context. Part III deals with the relationship between comparative linguistics and other disciplines. In this rich course book, the author presents valuable views on a number of issues in the comparative study of African languages, more specifically concerning genetic diversity on the African continent, the status of pidginised and creolised languages, language mixing, and grammaticalisation.

Full Product Details

Author:   Gerrit J. Dimmendaal (University of Cologne)
Publisher:   John Benjamins Publishing Co
Imprint:   John Benjamins Publishing Co
Weight:   0.840kg
ISBN:  

9789027211798

ISBN 10:   9027211795
Pages:   421
Publication Date:   08 June 2011
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Awaiting stock  
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Table of Contents

1. Preface; 2. Figures; 3. Maps; 4. Tables; 5. Part I. The comparative method; 6. 1. Explaining similarities; 7. 2. Explaining sound change; 8. 3. Classification and subclassification techniques; 9. 4. Morphosyntactic changes; 10. 5. Semantic change; 11. 6. Internal reconstruction; 12. 7. Language-internal variation; 13. Part II. The linguistic manifestation of contact; 14. 8. Borrowing; 15. 9. Pidginisation and creolisation; 16. 10. Syncretic languages; 17. 11. Language contraction and language shift; 18. 12. Language contact phenomena and genetic classification; 19. Part III. Studying language change in a wider contex; 20. 13. Language typology and reconstruction; 21. 14. Remote relationships and genetic diversity on the African continent; 22. 15. Language and history; 23. 16. Some ecological properties of language development; 24. References; 25. Appendix; 26. Language and language family index; 27. Subject index

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