Language Contact in Amazonia
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:3rd Jun '10
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- Hardback£59.00(9780199257850)
This book considers how and why forms and meanings of different languages at different times may resemble one another. The author explains the relationship between a real diffusion and the genetic development of languages, and reveals the means of distinguishing what may cause one language to share the characteristics of another. Professor Aikhenvald uses the example of Arawak and Tucanoan languages spoken in the large area of the Vaupés river basin in northwest Amazonia, which spans Colombia and Brazil. In this region language is seen as a badge of identity: language mixing, interaction, and influence are resisted for ideological reasons. The book considers which grammatical categories are most and least likely to be borrowed in a situation of prolonged language contact where lexical borrowing is reduced to a minimum. The author provides a genetic analysis of the languages of the region and considers their historical relationships with languages of the same family outside it. She also examines changes brought about by recent contact with European languages and culture, and the linguistic and cultural effects of being part of a group that is aware of the threat to its language and identity. The book is presented in relatively nontechnical language and will interest linguists and anthropologists.
What makes this book an outstanding source for understanding of contact-induced language change is, first, that it constitutes one of the most comprehensive studies that are available on the impact of language contact on a particular group of languages, and, second, that it describes in detail the magnitude of areal diffusion and its implications for grammatical categorization. It is by now widely accepted that in situations of intense language contact virtually any linguistic phenomena can be transferred from one language to another; what the author reveals in this book is first how contact can affect almost the entire structure of grammatical categorization and, second, that rather than leading to simplification, grammatical transfer has the effect that the grammar of the languages involved becomes more complex. It is hoped that this book will serve as a model for future work on language contact in other parts of the world. * Journal of Social Linguistics *
...one of the essential resources in language-contact literature. * Edward J Vajda, Western Washington University *
Language Contact in Amazonia has the indisputable merit of conveying and analysing the phenomena surrounding language contact in a concrete and straightforward way ... Many existing preconceptions will be challenged by the highly unusual and compelling character of these Tariana data, which may be unique of their kind. There can be no doubt that Aikhenvald's book will have a lasting influence on future theoretical developments related to language contact. * Journal of Linguistics *
It is hard to find any deficiencies in this volume ... the text is coherent and intelligible. The findings presented are remarkable. * Journal of Social Linguistics *
Language Contact in Amazonia is must reading for students of Amazonian languages, language change, convergence, areal linguistics, lexical and grammatical borrowing, and many other areas in the sociology of language. * SIL Electronic Book Reviews *
ISBN: 9780199588244
Dimensions: 235mm x 155mm x 22mm
Weight: 1g
400 pages