This book provides (a) the first comprehensive description of the phonology and phonetics of Standard Mongolian, known as the Halh (Khalkha) dialect and spoken in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of the Republic of Mongolia; and (b) the first account in any language of the historical phonology of the Mongolian group of languages. The synchronic phonology is based on data collected by the authors and on their own phonological analyses. The historical phonology is based on their research on the Halh, on published Chinese and Mongolian sources for the modern Mongolic languages, and on their...

This book provides the first comprehensive description of the phonology and phonetics of Standard Mongolian, known as the Halh (Khalkha) dialect and spoken in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of the Republic of Mongolia. It is also the first account in any language of the historical phonology of the entire Mongolian group of languages. The synchronic phonology is based on data collected by the authors and their own phonological analyses. The historical phonology is based on original research on the Halh, on published Chinese and Mongolian sources for the modern Mongolic languages, and on their...

By retaining their orally based culture through to the present day, the Kammu of northern Laos and adjacent parts of Vietnam, Thailand, and China have long been recognized as a repository for much that has been lost or ignored in the literate cultures of their lowland neighbors. Ostensibly, this is a dictionary of the Yuan dialect of Kammu but the reality is far more: a vast, encyclopaedic reference work that details not only some 13,000 words but also describes all aspects of Kammu life, including rites and ceremonies, implements, plants, and animals. The richness of this detail is largely...