It is a feature of the twenty-first century that world languages are displacing local languages at an alarming rate, transforming social rela-tions and complicating cultural transmission in the process. This language shift the gradual abandonment of minority languages in favor of national or international languages is often in response to inequalities in power, signaling a pressure to conform to the political and economic structures represented by the newly dominant languages. In its most extreme form, language shift can result in language death and thus the permanent loss of traditional...

Negation in Arawak Languages presents detailed descriptions of negation constructions in nine Arawak languages (Apurina, Garifuna, Kurripako, Lokono, Mojeno Trinitario, Nanti, Paresi, Tariana, and Wauja), as well as an overview of negation in this major language family. Functional-typological in orientation, each descriptive chapter in the volume is based on fieldwork by authors in the communities in which the languages are spoken. Chapters describe standard negation, prohibitives, existential negation, negative indefinites, and free negation, as well as language-specific negation...