This volume intends to fill the gap in the grammaticalization studies setting as its goal the systematic description of grammaticalization processes in genealogically and structurally diverse languages. To address the problem of the limitations of the secondary sources for grammaticalization studies, the editors rely on sketches of grammaticalization phenomena from experts in individual languages guided by a typological questionnaire.

The handbook will offer a survey of the field of linguistics in the early 21st century for the Southeast Asian Linguistic Area. The last half century has seen a great increase in work on language contact, work in genetic, theoretical, and descriptive linguistics, and since the 1990s especially documentation of endangered languages. The book will provide an account of work in these areas, focusing on the achievements of SEAsian linguistics, as well as the challenges and unresolved issues, and provide a survey of the relevant major publications and other available resources. We will address: Survey of the languages of the area, organized along genetic lines, with discussion of relevant political and cultural background issues Theoretical/descriptive and typological issues Genetic classification and historical linguistics Areal and contact linguistics Other areas of interest such as sociolinguistics, semantics, writing systems, etc. Resources (major monographs and monograph series, dictionaries, journals, electronic data bases, etc.) Grammar sketches of languages representative of the genetic and structural diversity of the region.

This book presents a state-of-the-art cross-linguistic survey of applicative constructions in the functional-typological tradition. An introductory section sets the terminological and analytical stage, presents the methodology used by the different chapters, and provides a typological outlook. The individual contributions address the morphological, syntactic and semantic variation of applicatives, as well as their discourse-pragmatic function. They cover all major language families and some isolates that feature some illuminating version of the phenomenon, paying special attention to language-internal variation and unity. The phenomena surveyed range from those instances usually considered canonical (valency-increasing, syntactically and semantically predictable, productive, dedicated, and optional) to those occasionally understudied in descriptive works and frequently neglected in comparative studies (valency-neutral, rather unpredictable, lexicalized, syncretic, and/or obligatory).

This is the very first publication mapping onomatopoeia in the languages of the world. The publication provides a comprehensive, multi-level description of onomatopoeia in the world’s languages. The sample covers six macro-areas defined in the WALS: Euroasia, Africa, South America, North America, Australia, Papunesia. Each language-descriptive chapter specifies phonological, morphological, word-formation, semantic, and syntactic properties of onomatopoeia in the particular language. Furthermore, it provides information about the approach to onomatopoeia in individual linguistic traditions, the sources of data on onomatopoeia, the place and the function of onomatopoeia in the system of each language.

This monograph is a grammatical description of Tondano, an endangered and under-documented Austronesian (AN) language spoken in the northern part of the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. It is a modified version of the related doctoral dissertation completed at La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia (2015). The chapters herein begin by outlining relevant socio-historical information relating to the Tondano speech community, before providing detailed explanations of the sound system (phonetics and phonology), word structure (morphology), and phrase and sentence structure (syntax) of the language. This description seeks to be as complete as possible, while at the same time acknowledging any descriptive shortcomings, either due to a lack of data, a lack of analytical clarity, or simply due to considerations of space. The data used for this grammar come from extensive in situ fieldwork (2011–2015). In essence, the analysis takes a theory-neutral approach. While it does not utilise a specific theoretical framework, parts of the terminology, methodology, and analysis conform to those of Basic Linguistic Theory. There is a strong emphasis on using data which are as naturalistic as possible, and which has been collected, collated, and analysed in collaboration with native speakers in the Tondano speech community. For all levels of linguistic structure under description, language examples taken from primarily spontaneous communicative events are provided. In terms of issues relating to Austronesian typology, and aspects of broader cross-linguistic typology, these are mentioned where deemed necessary but are not the primary focus of this work. The principal audience for this book is scholars and students of languages and linguistics, along with anyone with an interest in the anthropology and linguistics of the Austronesian cultures of Maritime Southeast Asia.

Linguistic variation, loosely defined as the wholesale processes whereby patterns of language structures exhibit divergent distributions within and across languages, has traditionally been the object of research of at least two branches of linguistics: variationist sociolinguistics and linguistic typology. In spite of their similar research agendas, the two approaches have only rarely converged in the description and interpretation of variation. While a number of studies attempting to address at least aspects of this relationship have appeared in recent years, a principled discussion on how the two disciplines may interact has not yet been carried out in a programmatic way. This volume aims to fill this gap and offers a cross-disciplinary venue for discussing the bridging between sociolinguistic and typological research from various angles, with the ultimate goal of laying out the methodological and conceptual foundations of an integrated research agenda for the study of linguistic variation.

This book is a collection of innovative studies on language contact. It contains novel works on unexplored issues related to language contact in different settings and aims to contribute multi-perspective insights to the current state of the art on language contact. Novel approaches to contact-related change, variation, attrition, and emergence of new varieties are explored from the lens of sociolinguistic, typological, synchronic, and diachronic perspectives. The contact settings vary from official and majority languages to minority, endangered and/or non-official varieties in different parts of the world.

Since the 1960s, Afro-Hispanic linguistics has produced vital knowledge at the intersection of African diaspora studies and Spanish sociolinguistics – yet many misconceptions persist in research literature. To challenge those biased assumptions, the contributions gathered in this volume present current research on Afro-Hispanic varieties from both sides of the Atlantic (Equatorial Guinean Spanish, Palenquero, Afro-Puerto Rican Spanish from Loíza, San Andrean [Colombia] Raizal Spanish) and address the influence of Portuguese-based Creoles on Afro-Hispanic varieties during the early colonial era. Conceived in cooperation with students, activists, social workers, civil servants, and researchers who work with Afro-Hispanic languages and communities (as well as with other languages and communities who suffer linguistic, social, and racial marginalization), this volume adopts a social justice framework that seeks tangible, material, and quality-of-life improvements for the speech communities in which it investigates. It includes best practices for empirical research, recruitment of respondents and informants, fieldwork and archival work, and pedagogical and community-facing applications of research.

From the point of view of psychology and cognitive science, much of modern linguistics is too formal and mathematical to be of much use. The New Psychology of Language volumes broke new ground by introducing functional and cognitive approaches to language structure in terms already familiar to psychologists, thus defining the next era in the scientific study of language. The Classic Edition volumes re-introduce some of the most important cognitive and functional linguists working in the field. They include a new introduction by Michael Tomasello in which he reviews what has changed since the volumes were first published and highlights the fundamental insights of the original authors. The New Psychology of Language volumes are a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how cognitive and functional linguistics has become the thriving perspective on the scientific study of language that it is today.

The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes constitutes a comprehensive introduction to the study of World Englishes drawing on the expertise of leading authors within the field. The Handbook is structured in nine sections covering historical perspectives, core issues and topics and new debates which together provide a thorough overview of the field taking into account the new directions in which the discipline is heading. Among the key themes covered are the development of English as a lingua franca among speakers for whom English is a common but not first language, the parallel development of English as a medium of instruction in educational institutions throughout the world and the role of English as the international language of scholarship and scholarly publishing, as well as the development of ‘computer-mediated’ Englishes, including ‘cyberprose’. The Handbook also includes a substantial introduction and conclusion from the editor. The Routledge Handbook of World Englishes is the ideal resource for postgraduate students of applied linguistics as well as those in related degrees such as applied English language and TESOL/TEFL.