Languages of the world : an introduction / Asya Pereltsvaig.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pereltsvaig, Asya, 1972- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Language and languages--Study and teaching.

Language and languages.

Multilingualism.

Physical Description:

xix, 482 pages : illustrations, charts ; 25 cm

Edition:

Third edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2021.

Summary:

Are you curious to know what all human languages have in common and in what ways they differ? Do you want to find out how language can be used to trace different peoples and their past? Then this book is for you! Now in its third edition, it guides beginners through the rich diversity of the world's languages. It presupposes no background in linguistics, and introduces the reader to linguistic concepts with the help of problem sets, end of chapter exercises and an extensive bibliography. Charts of language families provide geographical and genealogical information, and engaging sidebars with demographic, social, historical and geographical facts help to contextualise and bring languages to life. This edition includes a fully updated glossary of all linguistic terms used, new problem sets, and a new chapter on cartography. Supplementary online materials include links to all websites mentioned, and answers to the exercises for instructors.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction

1.1. Languages, Dialects, and Accents

1.2. Language Families

1.3. How Language Families Are Established: Comparative Reconstruction

1.4. Linguistic Diversity

1.5. How Do Languages Diversify?

1.6. Field Linguistics

1.7. Focus on: Language Maps

Do It Yourself

2. Languages of Europe

2.1. The Indo-European Language Family

2.2. The Indo-European Controversy

2.3. Non-Indo-European Languages of Europe

2.4. Focus on: Endangered Languages of Europe

3. Languages of Iran and South Asia

3.1. Indo-European Languages of Iran and South Asia

3.1.1. Iranian Languages

3.1.2. Indo-Aryan Languages

3.2. Dravidian Languages

3.3. Other Languages of South Asia

3.4. Focus on: Universals and the Parametric Theory of Language

4. Languages of Northern Eurasia

4.1. Finno-Ugric Languages

4.2. Other Uralic Languages

4.3. Turkic Languages

4.4. Other Languages of Siberia

4.5. Focus on: Evidential Markers

5. Languages of the Caucasus

5.1. Northwest Caucasian Languages

5.2. Northeast Caucasian Languages

5.3. Kartvelian Languages

5.4. Indo-European Languages in the Caucasus

5.5. Focus on: Head-Marking vs. Dependent-Marking

6. Languages of the Greater Middle East

6.1. Afroasiatic Languages

6.2. Semitic Languages

6.3. Berber Languages

6.4. Focus on: Language Contact

7. Languages of Sub-Saharan Africa

7.1. Nilo-Saharan Languages

7.2. Niger-Congo Languages

7.3. Khoisan Languages

7.4. Focus on: Official Languages, Trade Languages, and Creole Languages in Sub-Saharan Africa

8. Languages of Eastern Asia

8.1. Sino-Tibetan Languages

8.2. Austro-Asiatic Languages

8.3. Tai-Kadai Languages

8.4. Japanese and Korean

8.5. Focus on: Isolating Morphology and Language Change

9. Languages of the South Sea Islands

9.1. Discovery of the Austronesian Family and the Austronesian Homeland

9.2. Today's Austronesian Languages and the Internal Classification of the Family

9.3. Linguistic Properties of Austronesian Languages

9.4. Focus on: The Mystery of Malagasy

10. Aboriginal Languages of New Guinea and Australia

10.1. Languages of New Guinea

10.1.1. Overview of Papuan Languages

10.1.2. Areal Papuan Features

10.1.3. Tok Pisin

10.2. Languages of Australia

10.3. Focus on: Is There Such a Thing as a Primitive Language?

11. Native Languages of the Americas

11.1. Languages of North America

11.2. Languages of Meso-America

11.3. Languages of South America

11.4. Focus on: The Piraha Controversy

12. Remaining Issues: Macro Families, Sign Languages, and Constructed Languages

12.1. Macro Families

12.1.1. The Dene-Yeniseian Hypothesis

12.1.2. Altaic and Ural-Altaic Macro Families

12.1.3. The Nostratic and Eurasiatic Hypotheses

12.1.4. Other Hypothesized Macro Families

12.2. Sign Languages

12.3. Constructed Languages

Do It Yourself.

Notes:

First published in 2012.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [449]-470) and indexes.

ISBN:

1108748120

9781108748124

9781108479325

1108479324

OCLC:

1154423212