Record Nr.

UNINA9910956990403321

Titolo

Australian languages : classification and the comparative method / / edited by Claire Bowern, Harold Koch

Pubbl/distr/stampa


Amsterdam ; ; Philadelphia, : John Benjamins Pub., c2004

ISBN


9786612255236
9781423766414
1423766415
9781282255234
1282255231
9789027295118
9027295115

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (702 p.)

Collana

Amsterdam studies in the theory and history of linguistic science. Series IV, Current issues in linguistic theory, , 0304-0763 ; ; v. 249

Altri autori (Persone)

BowernClaire <1977->

KochHarold James

Disciplina

499/.15/012

Soggetti

Australian languages - Classification

Historical linguistics

Language - Classification and evolution

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 341-364) and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGES -- Editorial page -- Title page -- LCC page -- CONTENTS -- in memoriam, ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- MAP -- CONTRIBUTORS' ADDRESSES -- FOREWORD -- 1. INTRODUCTION -- 2. A METHODOLOGICAL HISTORY OF AUSTRALIAN LINGUISTIC CLASSIFICATION -- 3. PAMA-NYUNGAN AS A GENETIC ENTITY -- 4. THE COHERENCE AND DISTINCTIVENESS OF PAMA-NYUNGAN -- 5. PAMA-NYUNGAN: PHONOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTION AND STATUS AS A PHYLOGENETIC GROUP -- 6. THE ARANDIC SUBGROUP OF AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGES -- 7. THE NGUMPIN-YAPA SUBGROUP -- 8. THURA-YURA AS A SUBGROUP -- 9. THE YARLI LANGUAGES -- 10. EVOLUTION OF THE VERB CONJUGATIONS IN THE NGARNA LANGUAGES -- 11. THE FAILURE OF THE EVIDENCE OF SHARED INNOVATIONS IN CAPE YORK PENINSULA -- 12. DIAGNOSTIC SIMILARITIES AND

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NYULNYULAN AND NEIGHBOURING LANGUAGES -- 13. REVISITING PROTO-MIRNDI -- 14. STEM FORMS AND PARADIGM RESHAPING IN GUNWINYGUAN -- REFERENCES -- LANGUAGE INDEX -- SUBJECT INDEX -- Appendices -- APPENDIX 1 -- APPENDIX 4.1 -- APPENDIX 4.2 -- APPENDIX 5.1 -- APPENDIX 5.2 -- APPENDIX 6 -- APPENDIX 8.1 -- APPENDIX 8.2 -- APPENDIX 9 -- APPENDIX 10.1 -- APPENDIX 10.2 -- APPENDIX 10.3 -- APPENDIX 11 -- APPENDIX 12.1 -- APPENDIX 12.2 -- APPENDIX 12.3 -- APPENDIX 14 -- APPENDIX 15 -- CURRENT ISSUES IN LINGUISTIC THEORY.

Sommario/riassunto

This book addresses controversial issues in the application of the comparative method to the languages of Australia which have recently come to international prominence. Are these languages 'different' in ways that challenge the fundamental assumptions of historical linguistics? Can subgrouping be successfully undertaken using the Comparative Method? Is the genetic construct of a far-flung 'Pama-Nyungan' language family supportable by classic methods of reconstruction? Contrary to increasingly established views of the Australian scene, this book makes a major contribution to the demonstration that traditional methods can indeed be applied to these languages. These studies, introduced by chapters on subgrouping methodology and the history of Australian linguistic classification, rigorously apply the comparative method to establishing subgroups among Australian languages and justifying the phonology of Proto-Pama-Nyungan. Individual chapters can profitably be read either for their contribution to Australian linguistic prehistory or as case studies in the application of the comparative method.