Language Contact in Sanandaj

Language Contact in Sanandaj
Author :
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages : 614
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783111209180
ISBN-13 : 3111209180
Rating : 4/5 (80 Downloads)

Synopsis Language Contact in Sanandaj by : Geoffrey Khan

This book is a detailed study of contact-induced change in the Neo-Aramaic dialect of the Jews of Sanandaj, a town in western Iran. Since its foundation in early 17th century, the city has been home to a significant Jewish community. The Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of the town displays different historical layers of contact with various Iranian languages over the course of many centuries. The Iranian languages in question are Gorani, Kurdish, and Persian. Among these, Gorani has had a particularly deep impact on Jewish Neo-Aramaic, whereas the impact of Kurdish, and especially Persian, remains superficial. Jewish Neo-Aramaic records a history of language shift from Gorani to Kurdish in the region. The book offers insights into contact-induced change in social contexts in which a language is maintained as a demarcation of communal identity in a multilingual setting.

The Oxford Handbook of Language Contact

The Oxford Handbook of Language Contact
Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Total Pages : 864
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780199945108
ISBN-13 : 0199945101
Rating : 4/5 (08 Downloads)

Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Language Contact by : Anthony P. Grant

Every language has been influenced in some way by other languages. In many cases, this influence is reflected in words which have been absorbed from other languages as the names for newer items or ideas, such as perestroika, manga, or intifada (from Russian, Japanese, and Arabic respectively). In other cases, the influence of other languages goes deeper, and includes the addition of new sounds, grammatical forms, and idioms to the pre-existing language. For example, English's structure has been shaped in such a way by the effects of Norse, French, Latin, and Celtic--though English is not alone in its openness to these influences. Any features can potentially be transferred from one language to another if the sociolinguistic and structural circumstances allow for it. Further, new languages--pidgins, creoles, and mixed languages--can come into being as the result of language contact. In thirty-three chapters, The Oxford Handbook of Language Contact examines the various forms of contact-induced linguistic change and the levels of language which have provided instances of these influences. In addition, it provides accounts of how language contact has affected some twenty languages, spoken and signed, from all parts of the world. Chapters are written by experts and native-speakers from years of research and fieldwork. Ultimately, this Handbook provides an authoritative account of the possibilities and products of contact-induced linguistic change.

Gorani in Its Historical and Linguistic Context

Gorani in Its Historical and Linguistic Context
Author :
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages : 292
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783111168852
ISBN-13 : 3111168859
Rating : 4/5 (52 Downloads)

Synopsis Gorani in Its Historical and Linguistic Context by : Shuan Osman Karim

Gorani refers to under-documented, endangered varieties spoken in a cluster within the Zagros mountains (Iran/Iraq). These varieties possess conservative features of importance to linguists. However, their study has been plagued by nomenclature and taxonomy issues. Traditional names for these languages have been supplanted first by orientalists' prescriptions and then by their linguist heirs. Inaccurate terminology has sewn discord between speaker communities, disturbing the sociolinguistic landscape. This volume represents the state of the art of Gorani's historical and socio-linguistics, documentation, and literature, as well as an effort to aid the "decolonization" of Gorani linguistics.

Gorani in its Historical and Linguistic Context

Gorani in its Historical and Linguistic Context
Author :
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages : 330
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783111169286
ISBN-13 : 3111169286
Rating : 4/5 (86 Downloads)

Synopsis Gorani in its Historical and Linguistic Context by : Shuan Osman Karim, Saloumeh Gholami

The Languages and Linguistics of Western Asia

The Languages and Linguistics of Western Asia
Author :
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages : 986
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783110421682
ISBN-13 : 3110421682
Rating : 4/5 (82 Downloads)

Synopsis The Languages and Linguistics of Western Asia by : Geoffrey Haig

The languages of Western Asia belong to a variety of language families, including Indo-European, Kartvelian, Semitic, and Turkic, but share numerous features on account of being in areal contact over many centuries. This volume presents descriptions of the modern languages, contributed by leading specialists, and evaluates similarities across the languages that may have arisen by areal contact. It begins with an introductory chapter presenting an overview of the various genetic groupings in the region and summarizing some of the significant features and issues relating to language contact. In the core of the volume the presentation of the languages is divided into five contact areas, which include (i) eastern Anatolia and northwestern Iran, (ii) northern Iraq, (iii) western Iran, (iv) the Caspian region and south Azerbaijan, and (v) the Caucasian rim and southern Black Sea coast. Each section contains chapters devoted to the languages of the area preceded by an introductory section that highlights significant contact phenomena. The volume is rounded off by an appendix with basic lexical items across a selection of the languages. The handbook features contributions by Erik Anonby, Denise Bailey, Christiane Bulut, David Erschler, Geoffrey Haig, Geoffrey Khan, Rene Lacroix, Parvin Mahmoudveysi, Hrach Martirosyan, Ludwig Paul, Stephan Procházka, Laurentia Schreiber, Don Stilo, Mortaza Taheri-Ardali, Christina van der Wal Anonby.

A Grammar of Neo-Aramaic

A Grammar of Neo-Aramaic
Author :
Publisher : BRILL
Total Pages : 608
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9789004305045
ISBN-13 : 9004305041
Rating : 4/5 (45 Downloads)

Synopsis A Grammar of Neo-Aramaic by : Geoffrey Khan

Being direct descendants of the Aramaic spoken by the Jews in antiquity, the still spoken Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialects of Kurdistan deserve special and vivid interest. Geoffrey Khan’s A Grammar of Neo-Aramaic is a unique record of one of these dialects, now on the verge of extinction. This volume, the result of extensive fieldwork, contains a description of the dialect spoken by the Jews from the region of Arbel (Iraqi Kurdistan), together with a transcription of recorded texts and a glossary. The grammar consists of sections on phonology, morphology and syntax, preceded by an introductory chapter examining the position of this dialect in relation to the other known Neo-Aramaic dialects. The transcribed texts record folktales and accounts of customs, traditions and experiences of the Jews of Kurdistan.

Word Order Variation

Word Order Variation
Author :
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages : 278
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783110790368
ISBN-13 : 311079036X
Rating : 4/5 (68 Downloads)

Synopsis Word Order Variation by : Hiwa Asadpour

In the Iranic-Semitic-Turkic contact area, where many languages are described as verb-final, ‘Targets’ (Goals, Recipients, etc.) tend to appear in the immediate postverbal position, a pattern violating the alleged ‘basic word order’. Investigating empirical material, the present volume examines the idea of its contact-induced origin by combining various languages from inside and outside this contact area: the Greek variety Romeyka; Indic Domari; Iranic Balochi, Kurdish, Middle Persian, Parthian, Bactrian and Sogdian; Nilotic Maa; Semitic Arabic and Aramaic; Siberian and Iran-Turkic. The contributors investigate word order variation of transitive, ditransitive, and copula structures as well as intransitives with Targets. Their analyses highlight the relevance of grammatical, discourse-pragmatic, and cognitive principles. The volume highlights the importance of Target structures for linguistic theory by offering new perspectives and will be of interest to typologists and linguists interested in word order variation and information structure.

Attributive constructions in North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic

Attributive constructions in North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic
Author :
Publisher : Language Science Press
Total Pages : 464
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783961100811
ISBN-13 : 3961100810
Rating : 4/5 (11 Downloads)

Synopsis Attributive constructions in North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic by : Ariel Gutman

This study is the first wide-scope morpho-syntactic comparative study of North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic dialects to date. Given the historical depth of Aramaic (almost 3 millennia) and the geographic span of the modern dialects, coming in contact with various Iranian, Turkic and Semitic languages, these dialects provide an almost pristine "laboratory" setting for examining language change from areal, typological and historical perspectives. While the study has a very wide coverage of dialects, including also contact languages (and especially Kurdish dialects), it focuses on a specific grammatical domain, namely attributive constructions, giving a theoretically motivated and empirically grounded account of their variation, distribution and development. The results will be enlightening not only to Semitists seeking to learn about this fascinating modern Semitic language group, but also for typologists and general linguists interested in the dynamics of noun phrase morphosyntax.

The Oxford Handbook of Language Contact

The Oxford Handbook of Language Contact
Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
Total Pages : 788
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780190876906
ISBN-13 : 0190876905
Rating : 4/5 (06 Downloads)

Synopsis The Oxford Handbook of Language Contact by : Anthony P. Grant

Every language has been influenced in some way by other languages. In many cases, this influence is reflected in words which have been absorbed from other languages as the names for newer items or ideas, such as perestroika, manga, or intifada (from Russian, Japanese, and Arabic respectively). In other cases, the influence of other languages goes deeper, and includes the addition of new sounds, grammatical forms, and idioms to the pre-existing language. For example, English's structure has been shaped in such a way by the effects of Norse, French, Latin, and Celtic--though English is not alone in its openness to these influences. Any features can potentially be transferred from one language to another if the sociolinguistic and structural circumstances allow for it. Further, new languages--pidgins, creoles, and mixed languages--can come into being as the result of language contact. In thirty-three chapters, The Oxford Handbook of Language Contact examines the various forms of contact-induced linguistic change and the levels of language which have provided instances of these influences. In addition, it provides accounts of how language contact has affected some twenty languages, spoken and signed, from all parts of the world. Chapters are written by experts and native-speakers from years of research and fieldwork. Ultimately, this Handbook provides an authoritative account of the possibilities and products of contact-induced linguistic change.

Studies in the Grammar and Lexicon of Neo-Aramaic

Studies in the Grammar and Lexicon of Neo-Aramaic
Author :
Publisher : Open Book Publishers
Total Pages : 367
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781783749508
ISBN-13 : 1783749504
Rating : 4/5 (08 Downloads)

Synopsis Studies in the Grammar and Lexicon of Neo-Aramaic by : Geoffrey Khan

The Neo-Aramaic dialects are modern vernacular forms of Aramaic, which has a documented history in the Middle East of over 3,000 years. Due to upheavals in the Middle East over the last one hundred years, thousands of speakers of Neo-Aramaic dialects have been forced to migrate from their homes or have perished in massacres. As a result, the dialects are now highly endangered. The dialects exhibit a remarkable diversity of structures. Moreover, the considerable depth of attestation of Aramaic from earlier periods provides evidence for pathways of change. For these reasons the research of Neo-Aramaic is of importance for more general fields of linguistics, in particular language typology and historical linguistics. The papers in this volume represent the full range of research that is currently being carried out on Neo-Aramaic dialects. They advance the field in numerous ways. In order to allow linguists who are not specialists in Neo-Aramaic to benefit from the papers, the examples are fully glossed.