Every language includes layers of lexical and grammatical elements that entered it at different times in the more or less distant past. Hence, for periods preceding our earliest historical documentation, linguistic stratigraphy - the systematic study of such layers - may yield information about the prehistory of a given tradition of speaking in a variety of ways. For instance, irregular phonological reflexes may be evidence of the convergence of diverse dialects in the formation of a language, and layers of material from different source languages may form a record of changing cultural contacts in the past. In this volume are discussed past problems and current advances in the stratigraphy of Indo-European, African, Southeast Asian, Australian, Oceanic, Japanese, and Meso-American languages.
| ISBN: | 9789027247513 |
| Publication date: | 28th April 2003 |
| Author: | Henning Andersen |
| Publisher: | John Benjamins Publishing Company |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 301 pages |
| Series: | Current Issues in Linguistic Theory |
| Genres: |
Linguistics |
Every language includes layers of lexical and grammatical elements that entered it at different times in the more or less distant past. Hence, for periods preceding our earliest historical documentation, linguistic stratigraphy - the systematic study of such layers - may yield information about the prehistory of a given tradition of speaking in a variety of ways. For instance, irregular phonological reflexes may be evidence of the convergence of diverse dialects in the formation of a language, and layers of material from different source languages may form a record of changing cultural contacts in the past. In this volume are discussed past problems and current advances in the stratigraphy of Indo-European, African, Southeast Asian, Australian, Oceanic, Japanese, and Meso-American languages.
Language Contacts in Prehistory features in the following genres: Linguistics
Language Contacts in Prehistory is available in Hardback
Language Contacts in Prehistory was written by Henning Andersen and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company
Language Contacts in Prehistory has 301 pages
Yes it is part of Current Issues in Linguistic Theory series