1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910954403803321

Autore

Bennett Patrick R

Titolo

Comparative semitic linguistics : a manual / / Patrick R. Bennett

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Winona Lake, Ind. : , : Eisenbrauns, , 1998

©1998

ISBN

9781575065090

1575065096

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (xii, 269 pages) : illustrations, map

Disciplina

492

Soggetti

Comparative linguistics

Semitic languages - Glossaries, vocabularies, etc

Semitic languages - Grammar, Comparative

Lingua di pubblicazione

Francese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Appendix. Index.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

pt. 1. Basics of descriptive linguistics -- pt. 2. A general introduction to the semitic language family -- pt. 3. An outline of comparative linguistics -- pt. 4. Lexicostatistics : some alternatives -- pt. 5. Linguistic reconstruction : comparative and internal -- pt. 6. Various less-common techniques -- pt. 7. Onward and beyond.

Sommario/riassunto

As the title indicates, this unique resource is a manual on comparative linguistics, with the examples taken exclusively from Semitic languages. It is an innovative volume that recalls the earlier tradition of textbooks of comparative philology, which, however, exclusively treated Indo-European languages. It is suited for students with at least a year of a Semitic language. By far the largest component of the book are the nine wordlists that provide the data to be manipulated by the student. Says reviewer Peter Daniels, the wordlists “constitute a unique resource for all of comparative linguistics—a considerable quantity of uniform data from a host of related languages. They would be useful for any class in comparative linguistics, not just for those interested specifically in Semitic.” Scattered throughout the text are 25 exercises based on the wordlists that provide a good introduction to the methods of comparativists. Also included are paradigms of the phonological systems of ten Semitic languages as well as Coptic and a form of



Berber. A bibliography that guides the student into further reading in Semitic linguistics completes the volume.