Reciprocals and Semantic Typology
Published on 18. August 2011
Book
Hardback
349 pages
978-90-272-0679-4 (ISBN)
Description
Reciprocals are an increasingly hot topic in linguistic research. This reflects the intersection of several factors: the semantic and syntactic complexity of reciprocal constructions, their centrality to some key points of linguistic theorizing (such as Binding Conditions on anaphors within Government and Binding Theory), and the centrality of reciprocity to theories of social structure, human evolution and social cognition. No existing work, however, tackles the question of exactly what reciprocal constructions mean cross-linguistically. Is there a single, Platonic 'reciprocal' meaning found in all languages, or is there a cluster of related concepts which are nonetheless impossible to characterize in any single way? That is the central goal of this volume, and it develops and explains new techniques for tackling this question. At the same time, it confronts a more general problem facing semantic typology: how to investigate a category cross-linguistically without pre-loading the definition of the phenomenon on the basis of what is found in more familiar languages.
Reviews / Votes
This book is very important in showing that linguists should look at work in other disciplines on reciprocity to further understand the meaning of 'mutual involvement'. -- Lucia Quintana Hernandez, University Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla, on Linguist List 23. 2835, 2012More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
+ index
Dimensions
Height: 245 mm
Width: 164 mm
Weight
805 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-272-0679-4 (9789027206794)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Nicholas Evans | Alice Gaby | Stephen C. Levinson
Reciprocals and Semantic Typology
E-Book
08/2011
1st Edition
John Benjamins Publishing Company
€123.99
Available for download
Persons
Content
1. Acknowledgments; 2. 1. Introduction: Reciprocals and semantic typology (by Evans, Nicholas); 3. 2. The semantics of reciprocal constructions across languages: An extensional approach (by Majid, Asifa); 4. 3. Semantics of Khoekhoe reciprocal constructions (by Rapold, Christian J.); 5. 4. Reciprocal constructions in English: Each other and beyond (by Hurst, Peter); 6. 5. Reciprocal constructions in Indo-Pakistani Sign Language (by Zeshan, Ulrike); 7. 6. Mundari reciprocals (by Evans, Nicholas); 8. 7. Description of reciprocal situations in Lao (by Enfield, N.J.); 9. 8. Reciprocal constructions in Mah Meri (by Kruspe, Nicole); 10. 9. The coding of reciprocal events in Jahai (by Burenhult, Niclas); 11. 10. Reciprocals in Yeli Dnye, the Papuan language of Rossel Island (by Levinson, Stephen C.); 12. 11. Reciprocals in Rotokas (by Robinson, Stuart); 13. 12. Expression of reciprocity in Savosavo (by Wegener, Claudia); 14. 13. To have and have not: Kilivila reciprocals (by Senft, Gunter); 15. 14. Strategies for encoding reciprocity in Mawng (by Singer, Ruth); 16. 15. Reciprocal-marked and marked reciprocal events in Kuuk Thaayorre (by Gaby, Alice); 17. 16. Reciprocal constructions in Olutec (by Maldonado, Roberto Zavala); 18. 17. Reciprocal constructions in Tsafiki (by Dickinson, Connie); 19. 18. Reciprocal constructions in Hup (by Epps, Patience); 20. 19. Reciprocals and semantic typology: Some concluding remarks (by Konig, Ekkehard); 21. Addresses; 22. Index