Diachrony of differential argument marking

Diachrony of differential argument marking
Author: Ilja A. Seržant
Publisher: Language Science Press
Total Pages: 566
Release: 2018
Genre: Historical linguistics
ISBN: 3961100853

While there are languages that code a particular grammatical role (e.g. subject or direct object) in one and the same way across the board, many more languages code the same grammatical roles differentially. The variables which condition the differential argument marking (or DAM) pertain to various properties of the NP (such as animacy or definiteness) or to event semantics or various properties of the clause. While the main line of current research on DAM is mainly synchronic the volume tackles the diachronic perspective. The tenet is that the emergence and the development of differential marking systems provide a different kind of evidence for the understanding of the phenomenon. The present volume consists of 18 chapters and primarily brings together diachronic case studies on particular languages or language groups including e.g. Finno-Ugric, Sino-Tibetan and Japonic languages. The volume also includes a position paper, which provides an overview of the typology of different subtypes of DAM systems, a chapter on computer simulation of the emergence of DAM and a chapter devoted to the cross-linguistic effects of referential hierarchies on DAM.

The Oxford Handbook of Developmental Linguistics

The Oxford Handbook of Developmental Linguistics
Author: Jeffrey Lidz
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 1041
Release: 2016
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 0199601267

In this handbook, renowned scholars from a range of backgrounds provide a state of the art review of key developmental findings in language acquisition. The book places language acquisition phenomena in a richly linguistic and comparative context, highlighting the link between linguistic theory, language development, and theories of learning. The book is divided into six parts. Parts I and II examine the acquisition of phonology and morphology respectively, with chapters covering topics such as phonotactics and syllable structure, prosodic phenomena, compound word formation, and processing continuous speech. Part III moves on to the acquisition of syntax, including argument structure, questions, mood alternations, and possessives. In Part IV, chapters consider semantic aspects of language acquisition, including the expression of genericity, quantification, and scalar implicature. Finally, Parts V and VI look at theories of learning and aspects of atypical language development respectively.

The Cambridge Handbook of Areal Linguistics

The Cambridge Handbook of Areal Linguistics
Author: Raymond Hickey
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 1687
Release: 2017-04-20
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1316839451

Providing a contemporary and comprehensive look at the topical area of areal linguistics, this book looks systematically at different regions of the world whilst presenting a focussed and informed overview of the theory behind research into areal linguistics and language contact. The topicality of areal linguistics is thoroughly documented by a wealth of case studies from all major regions of the world and, with chapters from scholars with a broad spectrum of language expertise, it offers insights into the mechanisms of external language change. With no book currently like this on the market, The Cambridge Handbook of Areal Linguistics will be welcomed by students and scholars working on the history of language families, documentation and classification, and will help readers to understand the key area of areal linguistics within a broader linguistic context.

Linguistic Fieldwork

Linguistic Fieldwork
Author: C. Bowern
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 297
Release: 2015-02-10
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1137340800

Linguistic Fieldwork offers practical guidance on areas such as applying for funding, the first session on a new language, writing up the data and returning materials to communities. This expanded second edition provides new content on the results of research, on prosody elicitation, on field experiment design, and on working in complex syntax.

For the Love of Language

For the Love of Language
Author: Kate Burridge
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 667
Release: 2019-11-12
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1108701019

For the Love of Language: An Introduction to Linguistics is an engaging introduction to human language and the role of linguistics in understanding its fundamental design, acquisition and functions. Replete with case studies and examples from Australia, New Zealand and around the world, this text offers a thorough introduction to core topics, including the structure and meaning of words, the systems that organise language, strategies for learning about language, the evolution of language and the function of language as a complex social resource. The second edition includes extensive new content across the entire text, including the areas of orthography, syntax, corpus linguistics, language acquisition and multilingualism. Each topic is accompanied by a wide array of pedagogical resources designed to consolidate student understanding, including examples and exercises. Each chapter ends with a research project, providing readers with an opportunity to build on fundamental skills and engage more thoroughly with each topic.

The Indo-European Syllable

The Indo-European Syllable
Author: Andrew Byrd
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 327
Release: 2015-06-02
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9004293027

In The Indo-European Syllable Andrew Miles Byrd investigates the process of syllabification within Proto-Indo-European (PIE), revealing connections to a number of seemingly unrelated phonological processes in the proto-language. Drawing from insights in linguistic typology and synchronic theory, he makes two significant advances in our understanding of PIE phonology. First, by analyzing securely reconstructable consonant clusters at word’s edge, he devises a methodology which allows us to predict which types of consonant clusters could occur word-medially in PIE. Thus, a number of previously disconnected phonological rules can now be understood as being part of a conspiracy motivated by violations in syllable structure. Second, he uncovers evidence of morphological influence within the syllable, created by processes such as quantitative ablaut. These advances allow us to view PIE as a synchronic grammar, one which can be described by -- and contribute to -- modern linguistic theory.

Teaching the History of the English Language

Teaching the History of the English Language
Author: Colette Moore
Publisher: Modern Language Association
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2019-05-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 160329385X

The study of the history of the English language (HEL) encompasses a broad sweep of time and space, reaching back to the fifth century and around the globe. Further, the language has always varied from place to place and continues to evolve today. Instructors face the challenges of teaching this vast subject in one semester and of engaging students with unfamiliar material and techniques. This volume guides instructors in designing an HEL course suited to their own interests and institutions. The essays consider what subjects of HEL to include, how to organize the course, and what textbook to assign. They offer historical approaches and those that are not structured by chronology. Sample assignments provide opportunities for students to conduct original research, work with archives and digital resources, and investigate language in their communities. The essays also help students question notions of linguistic correctness.

What is Poetry?

What is Poetry?
Author: Nigel Fabb
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2015-08-21
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1316380971

Poetry, defined as language divided into lines, is found in most known human cultures. This masterful survey of poetry and its constituent components demonstrates the functions performed by metre, rhyme, alliteration and parallelism, arguing that each line of a poem fits as a whole unit into the limited capacity of human working memory. Using examples from around the world, Fabb surveys the wide varieties of poetry and the ways they are performed, including those in songs and signed literatures. Focusing on language, form and memory, he helps us understand why poetry is a particularly valued way of using language. A fresh exploration of poetry, the book will be welcomed by students and researchers of literature, linguistics and psychology, as well as anyone interested in poetry.

Tastes We Live By

Tastes We Live By
Author: Marco Bagli
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2021-10-25
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3110626861

Taste is considered one of the lowest sensory modalities, and the most difficult to express in language. Recently, an increasing body of research in perception language and in Food Studies has been sparkling new interest and new perspectives on the importance of this sense. Merging anthropology, evolutionary physiology and philosophy, this book investigates the language of Taste in English, and its relationship with our embodied minds. In the first part of the book, the author explores the semantic dimensions of Taste terms with a usage-based approach. With the application of experimental protocols, Bagli enquires their possible organization in a radial network and calculates the Salience index of gustatory terms in both American and British English. The second part of the book is an overview of the metaphorical extensions that motivate the polysemy of Taste terms, with the aid of corpus analysis methods and various texts. This book is the first to review systematically and in a usage-based perspective the role of the sensory domain of Taste in English, showing a more complicated picture and suggesting that its under-representation and difficulty of encoding does not correspond to lack of importance.