The Dura Language

The Dura Language
Author: Nicolas Schorer
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 474
Release: 2016-08-29
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9004326405

In The Dura Language: Grammar & Phylogeny Nicolas Schorer provides the definite descriptive account of this hitherto poorly documented language of Lamjung, Nepal. The Dura language is effectively extinct, although attempts at revival may be undertaken by well-intentioned members of Dura ethnicity. On the basis of a comprehensive study and analysis of all of the extant Dura language material, the book outlines the phonology, nominal and verbal morphology, lexical and syntactic properties as well as the phylogenetic position of the language in unprecedented detail. The result of the phylogenetic inquiry will help explain some of the sociocultural realities associated with the Dura community in Nepal and is a significant contribution to our understanding of the linguistic landscape of the Himalayas.

Peoples of the Buddhist World

Peoples of the Buddhist World
Author: Paul Hattaway
Publisher: William Carey Library
Total Pages: 484
Release: 2004
Genre: Buddhism
ISBN: 9780878083619

In the past 20 years, Christians around the world have launched initiatives to reach Muslims, Communists, Hindus and other major unreached people groups but the Buddhist world has largely been overlooked. Hundreds of millions of Buddhists continue to live and die without any exposure to the Gospel. In Peoples of the Buddhist World, researcher and author Paul Hattaway graphically presents prayer profiles of more than 200 Buddhist people groups around the world, beautifully illustrated with color pictures throughout. In addition, experts have contributed articles on various aspects of Buddhism, helping the reader to learn, pray and work until that day when "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he will reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11:15).--From publisher's description.

Language Diversity Endangered

Language Diversity Endangered
Author: Matthias Brenzinger
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 472
Release: 2015-07-31
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3110905698

This book presents a comprehensive overview of endangered languages with a global coverage. It features such well-known specialists as Michael Krauss, Willem F. H. Adelaar, Denny Moore, Colette Grinevald, Akira Yamamoto, Roger Blench, Bruce Connell, Tapani Salminen, Olga Kazakevich, Aleksandr Kibrik, Jonathan Owens, David Bradley, George van Driem, Nicholas Evans, Stephen A. Wurm, Darrell Tryon and Matthias Brenzinger. The contributions are unique in analysing the present extent and the various kinds of language endangerment by applying shared general indicators for the assessment of language endangerment. Apart from presenting the specific situations of language endangerment at the sub-continental level, the volume discusses major issues that bear universally on language endangerment. The actual study of endangered languages is carefully examined, for example, against the ethics and pragmatics of fieldwork. Practical aspects of community involvement in language documentation are discussed, such as the setting up of local archives and the training of local linguists. Numerous case studies illustrate different language shift environments with specific replacing factors, such as colonial and religious conquests, migrations and governmental language education. The book is of interest to students and scholars of linguistics with particular focus on endangered languages (and their documentation), typology, and sociolinguistics as well as to anthropologists and language activists.

Language after Heidegger

Language after Heidegger
Author: Krzysztof Ziarek
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2013-10-28
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0253011094

Working from newly available texts in Heidegger's Complete Works, Krzysztof Ziarek presents Heidegger at his most radical and demonstrates how the thinker's daring use of language is an integral part of his philosophical expression. Ziarek emphasizes the liberating potential of language as an event that discloses being and amplifies Heidegger's call for a transformative approach to poetry, power, and ultimately, philosophy.

Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages

Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages
Author: Christopher Moseley
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 946
Release: 2008-03-10
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1135796408

The concern for the fast-disappearing language stocks of the world has arisen particularly in the past decade, as a result of the impact of globalization. This book appears as an answer to a felt need: to catalogue and describe those languages, making up the vast majority of the world's six thousand or more distinct tongues, which are in danger of disappearing within the next few decades. Endangerment is a complex issue, and the reasons why so many of the world's smaller, less empowered languages are not being passed on to future generations today are discussed in the book's introduction. The introduction is followed by regional sections, each authored by a notable specialist, combining to provide a comprehensive listing of every language which, by the criteria of endangerment set out in the introduction, is likely to disappear within the next few decades. These languages make up ninety per cent of the world's remaining language stocks. Each regional section comprises an introduction that deals with problems of language preservation peculiar to the area, surveys of known extinct languages, and problems of classification. The introduction is followed by a list of all known languages within the region, endangered or not, arranged by genetic affiliation, with endangered and extinct languages marked. This listing is followed by entries in alphabetical order covering each language listed as endangered. Useful maps are provided to pinpoint the more complex clusters of smaller languages in every region of the world. The Encyclopedia therefore provides in a single resource: expert analysis of the current language policy situation in every multilingual country and on every continent, detailed descriptions of little-known languages from all over the world, and clear alphabetical entries, region by region, of all the world's languages currently thought to be in danger of extinction. The Encyclopedia of the World’s Endangered Languages will be a necessary addition to all academic linguistics collections and will be a useful resource for a range of readers with an interest in development studies, cultural heritage and international affairs.

Vowel-Shifting in the English Language

Vowel-Shifting in the English Language
Author: Kamil Kaźmierski
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2015-03-10
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3110366096

English has long been suspected to be a vowel-shifting language. This hypothesis, often only adumbrated in previous work, is closely investigated in this book. Framed within a novel framework combining evolutionary linguistics and Optimality Theory, the account proposed here argues that the replacement of duration by quality as the primary cue to signaling vowel oppositions has resulted in the ‘shiftiness’ of many post-medieval English varieties.

The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia

The Languages and Linguistics of Mainland Southeast Asia
Author: Paul Sidwell
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 983
Release: 2021-08-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 3110558149

The handbook will offer a survey of the field of linguistics in the early 21st century for the Southeast Asian Linguistic Area. The last half century has seen a great increase in work on language contact, work in genetic, theoretical, and descriptive linguistics, and since the 1990s especially documentation of endangered languages. The book will provide an account of work in these areas, focusing on the achievements of SEAsian linguistics, as well as the challenges and unresolved issues, and provide a survey of the relevant major publications and other available resources. We will address: Survey of the languages of the area, organized along genetic lines, with discussion of relevant political and cultural background issues Theoretical/descriptive and typological issues Genetic classification and historical linguistics Areal and contact linguistics Other areas of interest such as sociolinguistics, semantics, writing systems, etc. Resources (major monographs and monograph series, dictionaries, journals, electronic data bases, etc.) Grammar sketches of languages representative of the genetic and structural diversity of the region.

The Tale of Tea

The Tale of Tea
Author: George L. van Driem
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 924
Release: 2019-01-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 9004393609

The Tale of Tea is the saga of globalisation. Tea gave birth to paper money, the Opium Wars and Hong Kong, triggered the Anglo-Dutch wars and the American war of independence, shaped the economies and military history of Táng and Sòng China and moulded Chinese art and culture. Whilst black tea dominates the global market today, such tea is a recent invention. No tea plantations existed in the world’s largest black tea producing countries, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka, when the Dutch and the English went to war about tea in the 17th century. This book replaces popular myths about tea with recondite knowledge on the hidden origins and detailed history of today’s globalised beverage in its many modern guises.

A Coursebook on Aphasia and Other Neurogenic Language Disorders, Fifth Edition

A Coursebook on Aphasia and Other Neurogenic Language Disorders, Fifth Edition
Author: M.N. Hegde
Publisher: Plural Publishing
Total Pages: 441
Release: 2022-10-31
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1635504430

A Coursebook on Aphasia and Other Neurogenic Language Disorders, Fifth Edition is a textbook for courses in aphasia and other neurogenic communication disorders. It is organized in a unique and interactive “coursebook” format that divides pages into columns with written information next to columns with space for note taking. This allows instructors to make lecture notes and students to write class notes on the right half of each page of the text. The Coursebook offers a comprehensive description and critical review of basic and applied research on aphasia, right hemisphere disorder (RHD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), and dementia—the four major language and communication disorders associated with neurological pathologies. The relationship between the brain and language, major features of aphasia and other disorders, their assessment, and treatment have been described in streamlined and clinician-friendly language. Critical review of theories, assessment, and treatment research helps speech-language pathologists distinguish valid from the questionable in the professional and scientific literature. All assessment and treatment chapters give an outline of comprehensive and practical procedures, integrating current practices that clinicians might readily use. New to the Fifth Edition: * Part I has been restructured under the heading, “Brain and Language” to describe the neuroanatomical bases of language and language impairments associated with neuropathological variables. The chapter on neurodiagnostics has been updated to include a variety of surgical, radiological, and imaging procedures that help students understand the relationship between the brain structure and function and their involvement in language production and comprehension. * Part II has been reorganized into three chapters on aphasia. Chapter 3 offers a comprehensive review of aphasia prevalence, definition, and classification. Newer perspectives on intraoperative cortical brain mapping and alternative classification of aphasia, based on recent research on the dual stream hypotheses related to brain and language, have been reviewed with critical evaluation to help clinicians. Chapters 4 and 5 on assessment and treatment of aphasia offer a more comprehensive review of established and newer procedures. The chapter on treatment is expanded to include telerehab, drug treatment, brain stimulation, and technologically-based interventions. All major language intervention techniques are reviewed with outlined recommendations for clinicians. * Part III on RHD consists of two revised chapters reflecting current terminology, research, and clinical practice issues. Sections on neglect, deficit awareness, social communication, and abstract language intervention have been updated. * Part IV offers the most recent research on TBI rehabilitation. Research on teaching compensatory strategies, group therapy, and community reentry has been updated with clinical recommendations. * Part V’s two chapters on dementia include new information on changing incidence and prevalence patterns of dementia, infectious and rapidly progressive dementias, frontotemporal dementias, primary progressive aphasias, and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders.