Kategoria BISAC: Language Arts & Disciplines >> Linguistics - Historical & Comparative

This volume, first published in 1988, represents in its papers the wide-ranging yet coherent linguistic interests of the late Barbara Strang (1925-1982). For her, the history of English and its current state were two sides of the same coin, and the principle theme of this collection is that neither one may be properly understood without invoking the other. It is a real-data collection, in that its contributors share the view that the facts of language, patiently gathered, recorded and collated, must govern the theory within which they are described, and not vice versa. This philosophy may...

Where is the locus of language variation? In the grammar, outside the grammar or somewhere in between? Taking up the debate between system- and usage-based approaches, this volume provides new discussions of fundamental issues of language variation. It includes several highly insightful theoretical contributions as well as innovative empirical studies considering different types of data, the role of priming in language change and rare phenomena.

This book deals with shared verb morphology in Japanese and other languages that have been identified as Transeurasian (traditionally: Altaic ) in previous research. It analyzes shared etymologies and reconstructed grammaticalizations with the goal to provide evidence for the genealogical relatedness of these languages.

Since 1987 when the first English explanatory dictionary fully based on corpus evidence was published, considerable changes related to the choice of lexicographic evidence have affected the field of lexicography. On this background (even though the volume of the lexicographic material is ample) the English-Latvian lexicographic tradition looks rather traditional and even somewhat stagnant. Thus, there is an urgent need for a detailed analytical inventory of English-Latvian dictionaries in order to facilitate new dictionary projects.

This book provides a comprehensive survey of the...

Parenthesis has recently seen a considerable surge in interest. This volume presents the - often contrasting - theoretical positions on parenthetical verbs and examines them from different analytical perspectives. The initial theoretical section contains, among others, two contributions presenting diametrically opposed analyses of the syntax of parenthetical verbs. Although (synchronic) syntax pervades the volume, other analytical levels and approaches are also given weight: The second section provides insights into the historical and ontogenetic development of parenthetical verbs, while...

This volume will be the first full-length exploration of the details of the history of the Japanese language written by experts in the different subfields of linguistics. The book will include the latest research on topics such as segmental phonology, accent, and focus constructions, showing how they contribute to a fuller understanding of the history of Japanese.

This series welcomes book proposals detailing innovative and cutting edge research and theorisation in the field of English as a lingua franca (ELF), in essence, English as the chosen medium of communication among people from different first languages. The unprecedented use of English as an international lingua franca, largely because of its relationship with the processes of globalisation, has led to the realization that conventional attitudes to English and approaches to its study need to be critically examined. This has resulted in a very considerable and fast-growing field of research...

• Documents and examines the invention of a 'new' language between two boys in postcolonial Kenya

• Offers a unique insight into child language development and use

• Presents a mixed genre narrative and multidisciplinary discussion that describes the children's border-crossing friendship and their unique...

In this work, originally published in Dutch, Rik Smits theorizes that language could not have developed originally as a system of communication. It is, instead, the result of combining separate abilities, each of which developed independently to aid the survival of early humans. Lacking strength and speed, man relies on wisdom for survival. Smits theorizes that human skills in calculation and estimation continued to develop until they were sufficient to accommodate a system as complex as grammar.

Only after our linguistic ability emerged could humans think logically and share our...