An introduction to the languages of the world / Anatole V. Lyovin, Brett Kessler and William R. Leben.
| Author/creator | Lyovin, Anatole author. |
| Other author | Kessler, Brett, 1956- author. |
| Other author | Leben, William R., 1943- author. |
| Format | Book |
| Edition | Second edition. |
| Publication | New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2017. |
| Copyright Date | ©2017 |
| Description | xxxv, 499 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | 1. Classification of languages -- Genetic classification -- Typological classification of languages -- 2. Classification of writing systems -- Typological classification of writing systems -- Genetic classification of writing systems -- 3. Europe -- Indo-European -- Uralic -- Caucasus area -- Basque -- Sketch of Russian -- Sketch of Finnish -- 4. Asia -- Altaic area -- Paleosiberian area -- Sino-Tibetan -- Hmong-Mien -- Tai-Kadai -- Austroasiatic -- Dravidian -- Burushaski -- Other languages in Asia -- Sketch of Mandarin Chinese -- Sketch of Classical Tibetan -- 5. Africa -- Afro-Asiatic -- Nilo-Saharan -- Niger-Congo -- Khoisan area -- Other languages in Africa- - Sketch of Modern Standard Arabic -- Sketch of Swahili -- 6. Oceania -- Austronesian -- Papuan area -- Australian area -- Sketch of Hawaiian -- Sketch of Dyirbal -- 7. The Americas -- North American area -- Eskimo-Aleut -- Na-Dene -- Algic -- Muskogean -- Siouan -- Iroquoian -- Caddoan -- Yuman -- Sahaptian -- Tsimshianic -- Kiowa-Tanoan -- Uto-Aztecan -- Salishan -- Mesoamerican area -- Oto-Manguean -- Totonacan -- Mixe-Zoquean -- Mayan -- South American area -- Intermediate area -- Western Amazonia -- Northern foothills -- Andes region -- Southern foothills -- South -- Central Amazonia -- Northern Amazonia -- Sketch of Central Alaskan Yup'ik -- Sketch of Ayacucho Quechua -- 8. Language birth, death, and revitalization -- Mixed languages -- Constructed languages -- Pidgins -- Creoles -- Sign languages -- Language endangerment and renewal -- Sketch of Tok Pisin. |
| Abstract | Unique in scope, An Introduction to the Languages of the World introduces linguistics students to the variety of world's languages. Students will gain familiarity with concepts such as sound change, lexical borrowing, diglossia, and language diffusion, and the rich variety of linguistic structure in word order, morphological types, grammatical relations, gender, inflection, and derivation. It offers the opportunity to explore structures of varying and fascinating languages even with no prior acquaintance. A chapter is devoted to each of the world's continents, with in-depth analyses of representative languages of Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, and America, and separate chapters cover writing systems and pidgins and creoles. Each chapter contains exercises and recommendations for further reading. New to this edition are eleven original maps as well as sections on sign languages and language death and revitalization. For greater readability, basic language facts are now organized in tables, and language samples follow international standards for phonetic transcription and word-by-word glossing. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and indexes. |
| Issued in other form | Online version: Lyovin, Anatole. Introduction to the languages of the world. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, [2017] 9780190645267 |
| LCCN | 2016033660 |
| ISBN | 9780195149883 (paperback alkaline paper) |
| ISBN | 0195149882 (paperback alkaline paper) |
| Standard identifier# | 40026704470 |