Language and Linguistics in Melanesia
Author:
Publisher:
Published: 1993
Total Pages: 464
ISBN-13:
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The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area
Author: Bill Palmer
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Published: 2017-12-04
Total Pages: 1036
ISBN-13: 3110295253
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide is part of the multi-volume reference work on the languages and linguistics of all major regions of the world. The island of New Guinea and its offshore islands is arguably the most diverse and least documented linguistic hotspot in the world - home to over 1300 languages, almost one fifth of all living languages, in more than 40 separate families, along with numerous isolates. Traditionally one of the least understood linguistic regions, ongoing research allows for the first time a comprehensive guide. Given the vastness of the region and limited previous overviews, this volume focuses on an account of the families and major languages of each area within the region, including brief grammatical descriptions of many of the languages. The volume also includes a typological overview of Papuan languages, and a chapter on Austronesian-Papuan contact. It will make accessible current knowledge on this complex region, and will be the standard reference on the region. It is aimed at typologists, endangered language specialists, graduate and advanced undergraduate students, and all those interested in linguistic diversity and understanding this least known linguistic region.
Melanesian Pidgin and Tok Pisin
Author: John W. M. Verhaar
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Published: 1990
Total Pages: 424
ISBN-13: 9027230234
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThe First International Conference on Pidgins and Creoles in Melanesia was planned mainly for Tok Pisin, but no predetermined theme(s) had been proposed to the participants. Nevertheless, in this collection of papers several principal themes stand out.One is that of a revived interest in substratology, both for Tok Pisin and for Bislama. Another is what in fact amounts to a change in perspective from universalism, as supposedly competitive with the substratological orientation, towards a generalist approach to typology, which reduces the apparent polarity, from a theoretical point of view. A third is the pervasive interest of contributors in wider language issues in the social and political life of Papua New Guinea.These interests go back to the linguistic and social experience of the participants, most of whom have a long record of living among the people whose languages they have studied on a day-to-day basis, and to the relative remoteness of their inspiration from the more theoretical and perhaps ultimately untestable issues which surround the universalist approach and its claims for a bioprogram foundation for language.
Pacific Languages
Author: John Lynch
Publisher: University of Hawaii Press
Published: 2016-06-01
Total Pages: 380
ISBN-13: 0824842588
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAlmost one-quarter of the world's languages are (or were) spoken in the Pacific, making it linguistically the most complex region in the world. Although numerous technical books on groups of Pacific or Australian languages have been published, and descriptions of individual languages are available, until now there has been no single book that attempts a wide regional coverage for a general audience. Pacific Languages introduces readers to the grammatical features of Oceanic, Papuan, and Australian languages as well as to the semantic structures of these languages. For readers without a formal linguistic background, a brief introduction to descriptive linguistics is provided. In addition to describing the structure of Pacific languages, this volume places them in their historical and geographical context, discusses the linguistic evidence for the settlement of the Pacific, and speculates on the reason for the region's many languages. It devotes considerable attention to the effects of contact between speakers of different languages and to the development of pidgin and creole languages in the Pacific. Throughout, technical language is kept to a minimum without oversimplifying the concepts or the issues involved. A glossary of technical terms, maps, and diagrams help identify a language geographically or genetically; reading lists and a language index guide the researcher interested in a particular language or group to other sources of information. Here at last is a clear and straightforward overview of Pacific languages for linguists and anyone interested in the history of sociology of the Pacific.
A Grammar of Savosavo
Author: Claudia Wegener
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Published: 2012-10-30
Total Pages: 416
ISBN-13: 3110289652
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis is the first comprehensive description of Savosavo, a non-Austronesian (Papuan) language spoken by approximately 2,500 speakers on Savo Island, Solomon Islands. Based on primary field data recorded by the author, it provides an overview of all levels of grammar. In addition, a full chapter is dedicated to nominalization of verbs by means of one particular suffix, which occur in a number of constructions ranging from lexical to syntactic nominalization. The appendix provides glossed example texts and a list of lexemes.
Language Contact and Contact Languages
Author: Peter Siemund
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Published: 2008
Total Pages: 369
ISBN-13: 9027219273
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis new volume on language contact and contact languages presents cutting-edge research by distinguished scholars in the field as well as by highly talented newcomers. It has two principal aims: to analyze language contact from different perspectives notably those of language typology, diachronic linguistics, language acquisition and translation studies; and to describe, explain, and elaborate on universal constraints on language contact. The individual chapters offer systematic comparisons of a wealth of contact situations and the book as a whole makes a valuable contribution to deepening our understanding of contact-induced language change. With its broad approach, this work will be welcomed by scholars of many different persuasions.
Pidgins, Creoles and Mixed Languages
Author: Viveka Velupillai
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Published: 2015-04-15
Total Pages: 629
ISBN-13: 9027268843
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis lucid and theory-neutral introduction to the study of pidgins, creoles and mixed languages covers both theoretical and empirical issues pertinent to the field of contact linguistics. Part I presents the theoretical background, with chapters devoted to the definition of terms, the sociohistorical settings, theories on the genesis of pidgins and creoles, as well as discussions on language variation and the sociology of language. Part II empirically tests assumptions made about the linguistic characteristics of pidgins and creoles by systematically comparing them with other natural languages in all linguistic domains. This is the first introduction that consistently applies the findings of the Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures and systematically includes extended pidgins and mixed languages in the discussion of each linguistic feature. The book is designed for students of courses with a focus on pidgins, creoles and mixed languages, as well as typologically oriented courses on contact linguistics.
Language in Society
Author: Suzanne Romaine
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Published: 2000-10-05
Total Pages: 288
ISBN-13: 0191607029
DOWNLOAD EBOOKWhy have 1500 separate languages developed in the Pacific region? Why do Danes understand Norwegians better than Norwegians understand Danish? Is Ebonics a language or a dialect? Linguistics tends to ignore the relationship between languages and the societies in which they are spoken, while sociology generally overlooks the role of language in the constitution of society. In this book Suzanne Romaine provides a clear, lively, and accessible introduction to the field of sociolinguistics and emphasizes the constant interaction between society and language, discussing both traditional and recent issues including: language and social class, language and gender, language and education, and pidgins and creoles. The text shows how our linguistic choices are motivated by social factors, and how certain ways of speaking come to be vested with symbolic value and includes examples drawing on studies of cultures and languages all over the world. This new edition incorporates new material on current issues in the study of gender as well as other topics such as the linguistic dimension to the ethnic conflict in the Balkans, and the controversy over Ebonics in the United States.
The Language of Hunter-Gatherers
Author: Tom Güldemann
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2020-02-27
Total Pages: 747
ISBN-13: 1107003687
DOWNLOAD EBOOKOffers a linguistic window into contemporary hunter-gatherer societies, looking at how they survive and interface with agricultural and industrial societies.
Teaching Writing to Children in Indigenous Languages
Author: Ari Sherris
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-02-18
Total Pages: 289
ISBN-13: 1351049658
DOWNLOAD EBOOKThis volume brings together studies of instructional writing practices and the products of those practices from diverse Indigenous languages and cultures. By analyzing a rich diversity of contexts—Finland, Ghana, Hawaii, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, and more—through biliteracy, complexity, and genre theories, this book explores and demonstrates critical components of writing pedagogy and development. Because the volume focuses on Indigenous languages, it questions center-margin perspectives on schooling and national language ideologies, which often limit the number of Indigenous languages taught, the domains of study, and the age groups included.
