The South Asian languages, mainly Indo-Aryan and Dravidian, have become a focus of interest in the formal study of language as a natural consequence of the research program of the Principle and Parameters approach and an enforced interest in exploring the parametrical space of human language. The contributions to the present volume combine theoretical reasoning in syntax and phonology with a comparative research agenda in which South Asian languages figure prominently. The topics range from issues of clause structure, serial verb constructions, cleft- and question formation, to the question of what the proper syntactic format of modification should be, issues of binding theory and raising, and issues of complementation, the clausal periphery and clausal typing. The collection of articles concludes with two chapters on Dravidian and comparative phonology and a chapter on the shaping of phonological awareness by different writing systems. The authors and the editors devote this piece of work to Professor K.A. Jayaseelan, one of present-day India s most influential linguists.

These papers explore an important syntactic feature of South Asian languages, the experiencer subject construction. Contributing scholars investigate this feature in such languages as Marathi, Bhojpuri, Sinhalese, Marwari, Oriya, Punjabi, Bengali, Kalasha, Gujarati, Bepali, Maithili, and Malayalam. The experiencer subject not only defines South Asian languages as a linguistic unit, but also has implications for theoretical linguistics. Mahendra Verma is a professor of linguistics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Tara Mohanan is a linguistics professor in the English department of the National University of Singapore.

Explores the similarities and differences of about forty South Asian languages from the four different language families.

This collection offers fresh perspectives on the syntax and semantics of South Asian languages, drawing on novel data from Meiteilon, Haryanavi, Punjabi, Kannada, Malayalam, and Bangla. It covers three major grammatical aspects: namely, the status of primitive categories, clausal and nominal structure, and case/phi-agreement. All the contributions here provide comprehensive descriptive discussions followed by analyses couched within the generative paradigm, thereby offering detailed and clearly presented linguistic treatments of important issues in South Asian languages.

The first book to apply the latest methodological analysis to the languages of South Asia, The Teaching and Acquisition of South Asian Languages provides a much needed examination of learners and their learning patterns, language materials and their delivery, classroom environments, and learning conditions beyond the classroom. The contributors, accredited researchers and experienced teachers, test important universal learning hypotheses on "less commonly taught languages" and find that those circumstances have significant implications for theory and practice. The book brings into focus a variety of issues related to linguistic theory, second language acquisition research, non-verbal communication, discourse appropriateness, learner variation, and strategies for developing speaking, listening, and reading skills. It is also a valuable addition to the general body of knowledge in the field of adult language acquisition. A carefully prepared index and an extensive bibliography covering both the South Asian field and general literature enhance the book's usefulness as a reference guide.

With nearly a quarter of the world’s population, members of at least five major language families plus several putative language isolates, South Asia is a fascinating arena for linguistic investigations, whether comparative-historical linguistics, studies of language contact and multilingualism, or general linguistic theory. This volume provides a state-of-the-art survey of linguistic research on the languages of South Asia, with contributions by well-known experts. Focus is both on what has been accomplished so far and on what remains unresolved or controversial and hence offers challenges for future research. In addition to covering the languages, their histories, and their genetic classification, as well as phonetics/phonology, morphology, syntax, and sociolinguistics, the volume provides special coverage of contact and convergence, indigenous South Asian grammatical traditions, applications of modern technology to South Asian languages, and South Asian writing systems. An appendix offers a classified listing of major sources and resources, both digital/online and printed.

This volume provides a first of its kind account of expressives in the region from a grammatical, historical, and literary perspective. It provides case studies from the four major language families of South Asia.

A collection of papers on word order variation in the languages of South Asia.