Maori, the indigenous language of New Zealand, is an endangered, minority language, with an important role in the Maori community's culture and identity. This comprehensive overview looks at all aspects of the Maori language: its history, its dialects, its sounds and grammar, and the efforts being made by its speakers to ensure its survival. A succinct survey of a language with a wealth of interesting features, it will interest anyone wishing to study the structure of a minority language, as well as those interested in endangered languages and their preservation."

Chinese is spoken by more people than any other language in the world, and has a rich social, cultural and historical background. This book is a comprehensive guide to the linguistic structure of Chinese, providing an accessible introduction to each of the key areas. It describes the fundamentals of its writing system, its pronunciation and tonal sound system, its morphology (how words are structured), and its syntax (how sentences are formed) - as well as its historical development, and the diverse ways in which it interacts with other languages. Setting the discussion of all aspects of...