Grammatical reconstruction : the Sogeram languages of New Guinea /
There is still widespread disagreement among historical linguists about how, or whether, syntactic reconstruction can be done. This book presents a comprehensive methodology for syntactic reconstruction, grounded in a constructional understanding of language. The author then uses that methodology to...
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
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Berlin ; Boston :
De Gruyter Mouton,
[2020]
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| Series: | Studies in language change ;
Volume 16. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | There is still widespread disagreement among historical linguists about how, or whether, syntactic reconstruction can be done. This book presents a comprehensive methodology for syntactic reconstruction, grounded in a constructional understanding of language. The author then uses that methodology to reconstruct Proto-Sogeram, the ancestor to ten languages in Papua New Guinea. Chapters are devoted to phonology, lexicon, verbal morphosyntax, nominal morphosyntax, and syntactic constructions. The work culminates in a sketch of Proto-Sogeram grammar. Based largely on the author's original fieldwork, this is an innovative application of a novel methodology to new data, and the most complete reconstruction of a Papuan proto-language to date. It will be of interest to scholars of language change, language reconstruction, typology, and Papuan languages. |
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| Physical Description: | xiii, 344 pages : illustrations (black and white), map ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 9783110615142 3110615142 |