
Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages.
Title:
Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages.
Author:
Dimmendaal, Gerrit J.
ISBN:
9789027287229
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
1 online resource (439 pages)
Contents:
Historical Linguistics and the Comparative Study of African Languages -- Title page -- LCC Data -- Table of contents -- Preface -- Figures -- Maps -- Tables -- Part I. The comparative method -- 1. Explaining similarities -- 1.1 The introduction of historical-comparative linguistics in an African context -- 1.2 Sound correspondences and reconstructions -- 1.3 Additional methodological considerations -- 2. Explaining sound change -- 2.1 Some common types of segmental changes -- 2.2 Tonal changes -- 2.3 Sound change and its link with syllable structure and word structure -- 2.4 Structural consequences of sound change -- 2.5 What does it mean to explain sound changes? -- 2.6 Explaining exceptions -- 3. Classification and subclassification techniques -- 3.1 Shared innovations -- 3.2 Lexicostatistics -- 3.3. Mass comparison -- 3.4 The comparative study of African language families: A brief summary -- 4. Morphosyntactic changes -- 4.1 Morphological innovations and subclassification -- 4.2 More on analogy -- 4.3 Other types of morphological reinterpretations -- 4.4 Syntactic reconstruction -- 5. Semantic change -- 5.1 Stating the problem -- 5.2 Metaphors and metonymy -- 5.3 Grammaticalisation theories -- 5.4 Semantic change and cultural experience -- 5.5 The role played by cognition -- 6. Internal reconstruction -- 6.1 The historical relevance of synchronic morphophonemic alternations -- 6.2 Why today's morphology is not necessarily yesterday's syntax -- 7. Language-internal variation -- 7.1 Establishing dialect zones -- 7.2 Dialectometrical studies -- 7.3 The transition problem -- 7.4 Resolving the Neogrammarian controversy -- Part II. The linguistic manifestation of contact -- 8. Borrowing -- 8.1 Lexical and grammatical borrowing -- 8.2 Structural borrowing -- 8.3 Codeswitching -- 8.4 Linguistic areas on the African continent.
9. Pidginisation and creolisation -- 9.1 Pidginised and creolised languages -- 9.2 Bickerton's bio-program -- 9.3 The role of substrate languages -- 9.4 Pidginisation and creolisation rather than pidgins and creoles -- 10. Syncretic languages -- 10.1 On so-called mixed languages -- 10.2 The emblematic role of syncretic languages -- 10.3 Special-purpose languages -- 11. Language contraction and language shift -- 11.1 Language contraction -- 11.2 Language shift and social identity -- 12. Language contact phenomena and genetic classification -- 12.1 History repeats itself -- 12.2 On so-called non-genetic and multi-genetic developments -- 12.3 Cladistic versus rhizotic models -- Part III. Studying language change in a wider contex -- 13. Language typology and reconstruction -- 13.1 Phonological typology as a heuristic and controlling device -- 13.2 Morphological typology and reconstruction -- 13.3 Syntactic typology and reconstruction -- 14. Remote relationships and genetic diversity on the African continent -- 14.1 On so-called long range comparisons -- 14.2 Afroasiatic -- 14.3 Nilo-Saharan -- 14.4 Niger-Congo -- 14.5 Additional language families and linguistic isolates -- 14.6 A note on stable and unstable features in languages -- 15. Language and history -- 15.1 The words-and-things method -- 15.2 The spreading of language families and population movement -- 15.3 Interpreting borrowing in a cultural-historical perspective -- 16. Some ecological properties of language development -- 16.1 Biological evolution and language evolution -- 16.2 Punctuation and equilibrium periods -- 16.3 A potential linguistic parallel of the species-area effect -- 16.4 Self-organising principles -- 16.5 Some final remarks -- References -- Appendix -- Language and language family index -- Subject index.
Abstract:
This advanced historical linguistics course book deals with the historical and comparative study of African languages. The first part functions as an elementary introduction to the comparative method, involving the establishment of lexical and grammatical cognates, the reconstruction of their historical development, techniques for the subclassification of related languages, and the use of language-internal evidence, more specifically the application of internal reconstruction. Part II addresses language contact phenomena and the status of language in a wider, cultural-historical and ecological context. Part III deals with the relationship between comparative linguistics and other disciplines. In this rich course book, the author presents valuable views on a number of issues in the comparative study of African languages, more specifically concerning genetic diversity on the African continent, the status of pidginised and creolised languages, language mixing, and grammaticalisation.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
Genre:
Electronic Access:
Click to View