Genetic Linguistics
Essays on Theory and Method
Published on 17. March 2005
Book
Hardback
472 pages
978-0-19-925771-3 (ISBN)
Description
This book collects Joseph Greenberg's most important writings on the genetic classification of the world's languages.
Fifty years ago Joseph Greenberg put forward the now widely accepted classification of African languages. This book charts the progress of his subsequent work on language classification in Oceania, the Americas, and Eurasia, in which he proposed the language families Indo-Pacific, Amerind and Eurasiatic. It shows how he established and deployed three fundamental principles: that the most reliable evidence for genetic classification is the pairing of sound and meaning; that nonlinguistic evidence, such as skin colour or cultural traits, should be excluded from the analysis; and that the vocabulary and inflections of a very large number of languages should be simultaneously compared.The volume includes Joseph Greenberg's substantive contributions to the debate his work provoked and concludes with his writings on the links between genetic linguistics and human history.
William Croft's introduction focuses on the substance and the development of Professor Greenberg's thought and research within the context of the discussion they stimulated. He also includes a bibliography of scholarly reactions to and developments of Joseph Greenberg's work and a comprehensive bibliography of his publications in books and journals.
Fifty years ago Joseph Greenberg put forward the now widely accepted classification of African languages. This book charts the progress of his subsequent work on language classification in Oceania, the Americas, and Eurasia, in which he proposed the language families Indo-Pacific, Amerind and Eurasiatic. It shows how he established and deployed three fundamental principles: that the most reliable evidence for genetic classification is the pairing of sound and meaning; that nonlinguistic evidence, such as skin colour or cultural traits, should be excluded from the analysis; and that the vocabulary and inflections of a very large number of languages should be simultaneously compared.The volume includes Joseph Greenberg's substantive contributions to the debate his work provoked and concludes with his writings on the links between genetic linguistics and human history.
William Croft's introduction focuses on the substance and the development of Professor Greenberg's thought and research within the context of the discussion they stimulated. He also includes a bibliography of scholarly reactions to and developments of Joseph Greenberg's work and a comprehensive bibliography of his publications in books and journals.
Reviews / Votes
constitutes a service to the historical linguistics community * April McMahon, Times Higher Education Supplement *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
numerous tables
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
851 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-925771-3 (9780199257713)
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
Book
03/2005
Oxford University Press
€87.60
Shipment within 15-20 days
Persons
Joseph H.Greenberg (1915-2001) was one of the twentieth-century's most original and influential linguists. He was Professor of Linguistics at Stanford University, 1962-85, where he was also Director of the African Languages and Area Center, 1967-78. His books include The Languages of Africa (1963), Anthropological Linguistics (1968) Language Typology: A Historical and Analytic Overview (1974), Language in the Americas (1987), and Indo-European and its Closest Relatives: The Eurasiatic Language Family (2000/2002).
William Croft received his Ph.D. in linguistics at Stanford University in 1986. His publications include Typology and Universals (1990), Syntactic Categories and Grammatical Relations (1991), Studies in Typology and Diachrony (coedited with Keith Denning and Suzanne Kemmer, 1990), Explaining Language Change: An Evolutionary Approach (2000), and a large number of scholarly articles. His current research areas include syntax, semantics, typology, and historical linguistics. Forthcoming books include Cognitive Linguistics (with D. Alan Cruse) and Verbs: Aspect and Argument Structure.
William Croft received his Ph.D. in linguistics at Stanford University in 1986. His publications include Typology and Universals (1990), Syntactic Categories and Grammatical Relations (1991), Studies in Typology and Diachrony (coedited with Keith Denning and Suzanne Kemmer, 1990), Explaining Language Change: An Evolutionary Approach (2000), and a large number of scholarly articles. His current research areas include syntax, semantics, typology, and historical linguistics. Forthcoming books include Cognitive Linguistics (with D. Alan Cruse) and Verbs: Aspect and Argument Structure.
Content
PART I: CLASSIFICATION, GROUPING, AND SUBGROUPING ; 1. Historical Linguistics and Unwritten Languages (1953) ; 2. Genetic Relationship Among Languages (1957) ; 3. The Problem of Linguistic Subgroupings (1957) ; 4. The General Classification of Central and South American Languages (1960) ; 5. The Methodology of Language Classification (1963) ; PART II: CLASSIFICATION, SOUND CORRESPONDENCES AND RECONSTRUCTION ; 6. The Principles of Genetic Linguistic Classification (1987) ; 7. On Lumping and Splitting in Linguistics and Biology (1999) ; 8. The Concept of Proof in Genetic Linguistics (2000) ; 9. Review of Vladimir E. Orel & Olga V. Stolbova, Hamito-Semitic etymological dictionary: Materials for a Reconstruction (1996) ; 10. Proto-linguistic Variation: A Link Between Historical Linguistics and Sociolinguistics (1989) ; 11. Indo-European Practice and American Indianist Theory in Linguistic Classification (1990) ; PART III: INDO-PACIFIC, AMERIND, EURASIATIC ; 12. The Indo-Pacific Hypothesis (1971) ; 13. Classification of American Indian Languages: A Reply to Campbell (1989) ; 14. In Defense of Amerind (1996) ; 15. Does Altaic Exist? (1997) ; 16. The Convergence of Eurasiatic and Nostratic (1998) ; PART IV: GENETIC LINGUISTICS AND HUMAN HISTORY ; 17. Linguistic Typology and History: Review of Johanna Nichols, Linguistic Diversity in Space and Time (1993) ; 18. Are There Mixed Languages (1999) ; 19. Language and Archaeology: Review of Colin Renfrew, Archaeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins and Merritt Ruhlen, A Guide to the World's Languages, vol. 1: Classification (1988) ; 20. Beringia and New World Origins: The Linguistic Evidence (1996) ; Bibliography of Works Related to Joseph H. Greenberg's Theory and Methods for Genetic Linguistics ; APPENDIX A ; Works by Joseph H. Greenberg on Genetic Linguistics ; APPENDIX B ; Reviews, Commentaries and Discussion of Joseph H. Greenberg's Works on Genetic Linguistics ; Index