Lexical and Structural Etymology: Beyond Word Histories

ISBN-13: 9781614510598 / Angielski / Twarda / 2013 / 335 str.

Robert Mailhammer

Opis

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.

This pioneer volume assembles thirteen etymological studies covering a broad range of languages, focusing in particular Australian Indigenous languages. Etymology is understood in a broad sense as a type of historical research that aims at investigating the origin of a word (lexical etymology) or structure (structural etymology). The phenomena investigated in the contributions comprise Australian Indigenous place names and kinship terms, constructions and word histories in Oceanic languages, typological investigations and papers on the methodology of etymological research.

O autorze

Robert Mailhammer, University of Western Sydney, Australia