The Origin and Diversification of Language
The Origin and Diversification of Language

Author: Morris Swadesh

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-04

Total Pages: 405

ISBN-13: 1351478028

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Morris Swadesh, one of this century's foremost scientific investigators of language, dedicated much of his life to the study of the origin and evolution of language. This volume, left nearly completed at his death and edited posthumously by Joel F. Sherzer, is his last major study of this difficult subject.Swadesh discusses the simple qualities of human speech also present in animal language, and establishes distinctively human techniques of expression by comparing the common features that are found in modern and ancient languages. He treats the diversification of language not only by isolating root words in different languages, but also by dealing with sound systems, with forms of composition, and with sentence structure. In so doing, he demonstrates the evidence for the expansion of all language from a single central area. Swadesh supports his hypothesis by ""exhibits"" that conveniently present the evidence in tabular form. Further clarity is provided by the use of a suggestive practical phonetic system, intelligible to the student as well as to the professional.The book also contains an Appendix, in which the distinguished ethnographer of language, Dell Hymes, gives a valuable account of the prewar linguistic tradition within which Swadesh did some of his most important work.

The Origin and Diversification of Language (Classic Reprint)
The Origin and Diversification of Language (Classic Reprint)

Author: Nina G. Jablonski

Publisher: Forgotten Books

Published: 2017-09-12

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9781528152310

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Excerpt from The Origin and Diversification of Language The Third Wattis Symposium in Anthropology and this volume would not have been possible without the support of many devoted individuals. Mrs. Phyllis Wattis herself deserves greatest thanks for her continued generous financial support and her inspiring enthusiasm, which seems only to increase from one symposium to another. Within the California Academy of Sciences itself, Nancy Gee of the Department of Anthropology is thanked for the work she contributed toward the organization of the symposium, but most especially for her painstaking work in typesetting this volume. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Manuscript, Print and Memory
Manuscript, Print and Memory

Author: Eva Maria Wilden

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2014-11-10

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 3110352761

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The ancient Tamil poetic corpus of the Caṅam ("The Academy") is a national treasure for Tamilians and a battle-ground for linguists and historians of politics, culture and literature. Going back to oral predecessors probably dating back to the beginning of the first millennium, it has had an extremely rich and variegated history. Collected into anthologies and endowed with literary theories and voluminous commentaries, it became the centre-piece of the Tamil literary canon, associated with the royal court of the Pandya dynasty in Madurai. Its decline began in the late middle ages, and by the late 17th century it had fallen into near oblivion, before being rediscovered at the beginning of the print era. The present study traces the complex historical process of its transmission over some 2000 years, using and documenting a wide range of sources, in particular surviving manuscripts, the early prints, the commentaries of the literary and grammatical traditions and a vast range of later literature that creates a web of inter-textual references and quotations.

The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC - AD 600
The Regional Diversification of Latin 200 BC - AD 600

Author: J. N. Adams

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2007-12-13

Total Pages: 849

ISBN-13: 1139468812

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Classical Latin appears to be without regional dialects, yet Latin evolved in little more than a millennium into a variety of different languages. This book argues comprehensively that Latin in fact never lacked regional variations and examines the changing patterns and causes of this diversity throughout the Roman period.

The Origins of Grammar
The Origins of Grammar

Author: James R. Hurford

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 808

ISBN-13: 0199207879

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The second in James Hurford's acclaimed two-volume exploration of the biological evolution of language explores the evolutionary and cultural preconditions and consequences of humanity's great leap into language.

Linguistic Change and Reconstruction Methodology
Linguistic Change and Reconstruction Methodology

Author: Philip Baldi

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2011-06-01

Total Pages: 768

ISBN-13: 311088609X

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TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks as well as studies that provide new insights by building bridges to neighbouring fields such as neuroscience and cognitive science. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing.

English as a Global Language
English as a Global Language

Author: David Crystal

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2012-03-29

Total Pages: 227

ISBN-13: 1107611806

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Written in a detailed and fascinating manner, this book is ideal for general readers interested in the English language.

Vico, Metaphor, and the Origin of Language
Vico, Metaphor, and the Origin of Language

Author: Marcel Danesi

Publisher: Indiana University Press

Published: 1993-09-22

Total Pages: 204

ISBN-13: 0253113709

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"... serious scholars of Vico as well as glottogeneticists will find much of value in this excellent monograph." -- New Vico Studies "... a provocative, well-researched argument which might find reapplication in the fields of anthropology, semiotics, archeology, psychology or even philosophy." -- Theological Book Review Danesi returns to the work of the 18th-century Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico to create a persuasive, original account of the evolution and development of language, one of the deep mysteries of human existence. The Vichian reconstruction of the origin of language is described at length, then evaluated in light of contemporary research in the cognitive, social, and biological sciences.