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Historical and comparative linguistics has been a major scholarly discipline for 200 years, and yet this is the first dictionary ever devoted to it. With nearly 2,400 entries, Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics covers every aspect of the subject, from the most venerable work to the exciting advances of the last few years -- many of which have not yet even made it into textbooks.All of the traditional terms are here, but so are the terms introduced only recently, in connection with such varied subjects as pidgin and creole languages, the sociolinguistic study of language change, mathematical and computational methods, the novel approaches to linguistic geography, the controversial proposals of new and vast language families, and the attempts at relating the theories of historical linguists to those of archaeologists, the anthropologists, and geneticists.More than just a dictionary, this book provides genuine linguistic examples of most of the terms entered, detailed explanations of fundamental concepts, critical assessments of controversial ideas, cross-references to related terms, and an abundance of references to the original literature.
Historical and comparative linguistics has been a major scholarly discipline for 200 years, and yet this is the first dictionary ever devoted to it. With nearly 2400 entries, this dictionary covers every aspect of the subject, from the most venerable work to the exciting advances of the last few years, many of which have not even made it into textbooks yet.All of the traditional terms are here, but so are the terms only introduced recently, in connection with such varied subjects as pidgin and creole languages, the sociolinguistic study of language change, mathematical and computational methods, the novel approaches to linguistic geography, the controversial proposals of new and vast language families, and the attempts at relating the results of the historical linguists to those of the archaeologists, the anthropologists and the geneticists.More than just a dictionary, this book provides genuine linguistic examples of most of the terms entered, detailed explanations of fundamental concepts, critical assessment of controversial ideas, cross-references to related terms, and an abundance of references to the original literature.Features:*The first dictionary in the field.*Comprehensive coverage.*Clearly written and accurate entries.*Covers traditional and contemporary terminology.*Provides linguistic examples of terms defined.*Supplies numerous cross-references to related terms.*Includes hundreds of references to the original literature.
In any course of historical and comparative linguistics there will be students of different language backgrounds, different levels of linguistic training, and different theoretical orientation. This textbook attempts to mitigate the problems raised by this heterogeneity in a number of ways. Since it is impossible to treat the language or language family of special interest to every student, the focus of this book is on English in particular and Indo-European languages in general, with Finnish and its closely related languages for contrast. The tenets of different schools of linguistics, and the controversies among them, are treated eclectically and objectively; the examination of language itself plays the leading role in our efforts to ascertain the comparative value of competing theories. This revised edition (1989) of a standard work for comparative linguists offers an added introduction dealing mainly with a semiotic basis of change, a final chapter on aspects of explanation, particularly in historical and human disciplines, and added sections on comparative syntax and on the semiotic status of the comparative method.
Why does language change? Why can we speak to and understand our parents but have trouble reading Shakespeare? Why is Chaucer's English of the fourteenth century so different from Modern English of the late twentieth century that the two are essentially different languages? Why are Americans and English 'one people divided by a common language'? And how can the language of Chaucer and Modern English - or Modern British and American English - still be called the same language? The present book provides answers to questions like these in a straightforward way, aimed at the non-specialist, with ample illustrations from both familiar and more exotic languages. Most chapters in this new edition have been reworked, with some difficult passages removed, other passages thoroughly rewritten, and several new sections added, e.g. on the regularity of sound change and its importance for general historical-comparative linguistics. Further, the chapter notes and bibliography have all been updated. The content is engaging, focusing on topics and issues that spark student interest. Its goals are broadly pedagogical and the level and presentation are appropriate for interested beginners with little or no background in linguistics. The language coverage for examples goes well beyond what is usual for books of this kind, with a considerable amount of data from various languages of India.
Historical Linguistics - the study of language change - is a major field in linguistics. With its long history and numerous subfields of its own, Historical Linguistics provides challenges to both beginning students and scholars not specialized in this field. This Glossary meets these challenges by providing accessible and widely representative definitions, discussion, and examples of key terms and concepts used in the field. It is written by two well-known authorities in this field. The book is extremely valuable to anyone wishing to understand historical linguistic terminology and concepts. Key features:* A handy, easily understandable pocket guide, and a valuable companion for courses in Historical Linguistics, history of individual languages, history of linguistics, and for anyone curious about how and why languages change.* Numerous cross-references to related terms* Covers new as well as traditional terminology* Not only defines, but provides examples and relevant discussion
This book looks at how historical linguists accommodate the written records used for evidence. The limitations of the written record restrict our view of the past and the conclusions that we can draw about its language. However, the same limitations force us to be aware of the particularities of language. This collection blends the philological with the linguistic, combining questions of the particular with generalizations about language change.
Discusses the nature, origins, and development of language and lists the meanings and associated word for more than thirteen thousand Indo-European root words.
The Historical Dictionary of Yukaghir has two main purposes. First, it is intended as a relatively complete source of information on the lexicon of Yukaghir. Tundra and Kolyma Yukaghir are closely related, highly endangered languages spoken in the extreme North-East of Siberia. No modern comprehensive lexicographic description of these languages is available for the international linguistic community. The dictionary presents all known varieties of Yukaghir in comparative format. Some of the materials included come from published sources, others were obtained by the author through fieldwork and are published for the first time. The dictionary also contains examples of now extinct early forms of Yukaghir, which began to be recorded in the late 17th century. Second, the dictionary provides a first reconstruction of the common ancestor of all known Yukaghir varieties. The proto-Yukaghir stems are established based on internal reconstruction, comparison between various Yukaghir idioms, and external data. Although the dictionary does not attempt to provide etymologies for all Yukaghir words, it includes possible cognates of some Yukaghir stems from other languages, mainly Uralic and Altaic. Since Yukaghir forms are not only cited in their modern shape but are reconstructed, the dictionary will provide a foundation for future etymological work and contribute to investigating the genetic affiliation of Yukaghir, usually classified as isolated. The book will also be useful for linguists interested in the distant genetic relations between language families and the reconstruction of the ethnic and linguistic situation in prehistoric northern Asia.
Historical linguistic theory and practice consist of a large number of chronological "layers" that have been accepted in the course of time and have acquired a permanence of their own. These range from neogrammarian conceptualizations of sound change, analogy, and borrowing, to prosodic, lexical, morphological, and syntactic change, and to present-day views on rule change and the effects of language contact. To get a full grasp of the principles of historical linguistics it is therefore necessary to understand the nature of each of these "layers". This book is a major revision and reorganization of the earlier editions and adds entirely new chapters on morphological change and lexical change, as well as a detailed discussion of linguistic palaeontology and ideological responses to the findings of historical linguistics to this landmark publication.