Syntactic Change in Akkadian

Syntactic Change in Akkadian
Author: Guy Deutscher
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2000-11-09
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0191544833

Akkadian is one of the earliest attested languages and the oldest recorded Semitic language. It exists in written record between 2500BC and 500BC, much of it in letters and reports concerned with domestic and business matters, and written in colloquial language. It provides a unique and valuable source for the study of linguistic change but which, perhaps because of the impenetrability of its writing system, has rarely been exploited by linguists. In this book, Guy Deutscher examines the historical development of subordinate structures in Akkadian. A case study comprises the first two parts of the book, presenting an historical grammar of sentential complementation. Part I traces the emergence of new structures and describes how the finite complements first emerged in Babylonian. It also explains the grammaticalization of the quotative construction. Part II is a functional history which examines the changes in the functional roles of different structures. It shows how, during the history of the language, finite complements and embedded questions became more widespread, whereas other structures (e.g. infinite complements, parataxis, etc.) receded. Part III seeks to explain the historical developments in a theoretical light, showing how the development in Akkadian is mirrored in many other languages. It goes on to suggest that the emergence of finite complementation may be seen as 'adaptive' and related to the development of more complex communication patterns. This book will be of interest to both specialists and general linguists alike. For specialists it offers a contribution towards a badly-needed historical grammar of the Akkadian language. For general linguists this book will be of interest not only for the questions which it raises about the nature of complementation, but also for the window which it provides on to this little-known language.

Syntactic Change in Akkadian

Syntactic Change in Akkadian
Author: Guy Deutscher
Publisher: Oxford University Press on Demand
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2000
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0198299885

Akkadian, an ancient Semitic language spoken in Assyria and Babylonia, is one of the earliest known languages, with a surviving written history from 2500BC to 500BC. Guy Deutscher investigates its development over these two millennia. He shows that changes in the language can be linked to the emergence of complex patterns of communication required by an increasingly sophisticated civilization.

The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity

The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity
Author: T. Givón
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2009-02-04
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027290059

Complex hierarchic syntax is a hallmark of human language. The highest level of syntactic complexity, recursive-embedded clauses, has been singled out by some for a special status as the evolutionary apex of the uniquely - human language faculty - evolutionary yet mysteriously immune to Darwinian adaptive selection. Prof. Givón's book treats syntactic complexity as an integral part of the evolutionary rise of human communication. The book first describes grammar as an adaptive instrument of communication, assembled upon the pre-existing platform of pre-linguistic object- and-event cognition and mental representation. It then surveys the two grand developmental trends of human language: diachrony, the communal enterprise directly responsible for fashioning synchronic morpho-syntax and cross-language diversity; and ontogeny, the individual endeavor directly responsible for acquiring the competent use of grammar. The genesis of syntactic complexity along these two developmental trends is compared with second language acquisition, pre-grammatical pidgin and pre-human communication. The evolutionary relevance of language diachrony, language ontogeny and pidginization is argued for on general bio-evolutionary grounds: It is the organism's adaptive on-line behavior- invention, learning and skill acquisition - that is the common thread running through all three developmental trends. The neuro-cognitive circuits that underlie language, and their evolutionary underpinnings, are described and assessed. Recursive embedding turns out to be not an adaptive target on its own, but the by-product of two distinct adaptive moves: (i) the recruitment of conjoined clauses as modal operators on, or referential specifiers of, other clauses; and (ii) the subsequent condensation of paratactic into syntactic structures.

History of the Akkadian Language (2 vols)

History of the Akkadian Language (2 vols)
Author: Juan-Pablo Vita
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 1677
Release: 2021-08-09
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9004445218

History of the Akkadian Language offers a detailed chronological survey of the oldest known Semitic language and one of history’s longest written records. The outcome is presented in 26 chapters written by 25 leading authors.

Interaction of Morphology and Syntax

Interaction of Morphology and Syntax
Author: Zygmunt Frajzyngier
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2008
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9789027229878

The present volume deals with hitherto unexplored issues on the interaction of morphology and syntax. These selected and invited papers mainly concern Cushitic and Chadic languages, the least-described members of the Afroasiatic family. Three papers in the volume explore one or more typological characteristics across an entire language family or branch, while others focus on one or two languages within a family and the implications of their structures for the family, the phylum, or linguistic typology as a whole. The diversity of topics addressed within the present volume reflects the great diversity of language structures and functions within the Afroasiatic phylum.

The Oxford Handbook of Grammaticalization

The Oxford Handbook of Grammaticalization
Author: Heiko Narrog
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 952
Release: 2011-10-13
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0191618055

This book presents the state of the art in research on grammaticalization, the process by which lexical items acquire grammatical function, grammatical items get additional functions, and grammars are created. Leading scholars from around the world introduce and discuss the core theoretical and methodological bases of grammaticalization, report on work in the field, and point to promising directions for new research. They represent every relevant theoretical perspective and approach. Research on grammaticalization and its role in linguistic change encompasses work on languages from every major linguistic family. Its results offer valuable insights for all theoretical frameworks, including generative, construction, and cognitive grammar, and relate to work in fields such as phonology, sociolinguistics, and language acquisition. The handbook is divided into five parts, of which the first two are devoted to theory and method, the third and fourth to work in linguistic domains, classes, and cateogories, and the fifth to case studies of grammaticalization in a range of languages. It will be an indispensable source of information and inspiration for all those who wish to know more about this fascinating and important field.

Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable

Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable
Author: Geoffrey Sampson
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2009-02-26
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0191567663

This book presents a challenge to the widely-held assumption that human languages are both similar and constant in their degree of complexity. For a hundred years or more the universal equality of languages has been a tenet of faith among most anthropologists and linguists. It has been frequently advanced as a corrective to the idea that some languages are at a later stage of evolution than others. It also appears to be an inevitable outcome of one of the central axioms of generative linguistic theory: that the mental architecture of language is fixed and is thus identical in all languages and that whereas genes evolve languages do not. Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable reopens the debate. Geoffrey Sampson's introductory chapter re-examines and clarifies the notion and theoretical importance of complexity in language, linguistics, cognitive science, and evolution. Eighteen distinguished scholars from all over the world then look at evidence gleaned from their own research in order to reconsider whether languages do or do not exhibit the same degrees and kinds of complexity. They examine data from a wide range of times and places. They consider the links between linguistic structure and social complexity and relate their findings to the causes and processes of language change. Their arguments are frequently controversial and provocative; their conclusions add up to an important challenge to conventional ideas about the nature of language. The authors write readably and accessibly with no recourse to unnecessary jargon. This fascinating book will appeal to all those interested in the interrelations between human nature, culture, and language.

The Semantics of Clause Linking

The Semantics of Clause Linking
Author: R. M. W. Dixon
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2009-08-06
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 0199567220

This book is a cross-linguistic examination of the grammatical means languages employ to represent a set of semantic relations between clauses. Professor Dixon's opening discussion is followed by fourteen case studies of languages ranging from Korean and Kham to Iquito and Ojibwe. The book's concluding synthesis is provided by Professor Aikhenvald.

A Cultural History of the Arabic Language

A Cultural History of the Arabic Language
Author: Sharron Gu
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2013-10-11
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476602948

This history of literary Arabic describes the evolution of Arabic poetry and prose in the context of music, ritual performance, the arts and architecture. The thousands-of-years-old language is perhaps more highly developed and refined than any other on earth. This book focuses on what is unique about Arabic compared to other major languages of the world (Greek, Latin, Hebrew, English and Spanish) and how the distinct characteristics of Arabic took shape at various points in its history. The book provides a cultural background for understanding social and political institutions and religious beliefs--more influenced by the rhythms and depths of poetic language than other cultures--in the Middle East today.