Languages of the World: An Introduction

298 Pages·2012·5.485 MB·

by  Asya Pereltsvaig

LanguagesoftheWorld
Whatdoallhumanlanguageshaveincommonandinwhatwaysarethey
different?Howcanlanguagebeusedtotracedifferentpeoplesandtheir
past? Are certain languages similar because of common descent or lan-
guagecontact?Assumingnopriorknowledgeoflinguistics,thistextbook
introducesreaderstotherichdiversityofhumanlanguages,familiarizing
studentswiththevarietyandtypologyoflanguagesaroundtheworld.Lin-
guistictermsandconceptsareexplained,inthetextandintheglossary,and
illustratedwithsimple,accessibleexamples.Eighteenlanguagemapsand
numerouslanguagefamilychartsenablestudentstoplacealanguagegeo-
graphically or genealogically. A supporting website includes additional
language maps and sound recordings that can be used to illustrate the
peculiaritiesofthesoundsystemsofvariouslanguages.“Testyourself”
questionsthroughoutthebookmakeiteasierforstudentstoanalyzedata
fromunfamiliarlanguages.Thisbookincludesfascinatingdemographic,
social,historical,andgeographicalinformationaboutlanguagesandthe
peoplewhospeakthem.
asya pereltsvaig is a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics at
StanfordUniversity.

Languages of the World
An Introduction
ASYA PERELTSVAIG
cambridge university press
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Firstpublished2012
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Pereltsvaig,Asya,1972–
Languagesoftheworld:anintroduction/AsyaPereltsvaig.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-00278-4(hardback)
1.Languageandlanguages–Studyandteaching. 2.Multilingualism. I.Title.
P53.P4443 2012
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Contents
Listoffigures pageix
Listofmaps x
Listoftables xi
Words,words,words... xiii
Acknowledgements xv
Abbreviationsusedintheglosses xvi
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Languages,dialectsandaccents 4
1.2 Languagefamilies 7
1.3 Linguisticdiversity 11
2 Indo-Europeanlanguages 13
2.1 DiscoveryoftheIndo-Europeanfamilyandcomparative
reconstruction 13
2.2 TheIndo-Europeancontroversy 21
2.3 TheIndo-Europeanrealm 27
2.4 Focuson:Lesser-knownIndo-Europeanlanguages 32
3 Non-Indo-EuropeanlanguagesofEuropeandIndia 39
3.1 Finno-Ugriclanguages 39
3.2 Basque 48
3.3 Dravidianlanguages 52
3.4 Focuson:Universalsandtheparametrictheoryoflanguage 56
4 LanguagesoftheCaucasus 64
4.1 NorthwestCaucasianlanguages 66
4.2 NortheastCaucasianlanguages 67
4.3 Kartvelianlanguages 73
4.4 Indo-EuropeanlanguagesintheCaucasus 77
4.5 Focuson:Fieldlinguistics 81
5 LanguagesofNorthernAfrica,MiddleEastand
CentralAsia 86
5.1 Turkiclanguages 86
5.2 Semiticlanguages 92
5.3 Focuson:Languagecontact 99
vii
viii Contents
6 Languagesofsub-SaharanAfrica 105
6.1 Nilo-Saharanlanguages 106
6.2 Niger-Congolanguages 109
6.3 Khoisanlanguages 117
6.4 Focuson:Officiallanguages,tradelanguagesandcreole
languagesinsub-SaharanAfrica 120
7 LanguagesofeasternAsia 124
7.1 Sino-Tibetanlanguages 124
7.2 Austro-Asiaticlanguages 132
7.3 Tai-Kadailanguages 136
7.4 Focuson:Isolatingmorphologyandlanguagechange 139
8 LanguagesoftheSouthSeaIslands 143
8.1 TheAustronesianrealm 143
8.2 TheAustronesianprototype 146
8.3 ThePolynesiancontroversy 155
8.4 Focuson:ThemysteryofMalagasy 160
9 AboriginallanguagesofAustraliaandPapuaNewGuinea 166
9.1 LanguagesofPapuaNewGuinea 168
9.2 LanguagesofAustralia 173
9.3 Focuson:IsDyirbalaprimitivelanguage? 177
10 NativelanguagesoftheAmericas 183
10.1 LanguagesofNorthAmerica 184
10.2 LanguagesofMeso-America 194
10.3 LanguagesofSouthAmerica 197
10.4 Focuson:ThePiraha˜controversy 201
11 Macrofamilies 205
11.1 Afroasiaticlanguages 205
11.2 Uraliclanguages 209
11.3 Altaiclanguages 211
11.4 TheNostraticandEurasiatichypotheses 218
11.5 Otherhypothesizedmacrolanguagefamilies 225
12 Pidgins,creolesandothermixedlanguages 230
12.1 Pidgins 231
12.2 Creoles 237
12.3 MixedJewishlanguages 244
Glossary 254
References 260
Indexoflanguages 271
Indexofterms 277