Wow! eBook
The Oxford Handbook of Polysynthesis
Author(s): Michael Fortescue (Author)
- Publisher: Oxford University Press (UK)
- Publication Date: 17 Dec. 2017
- Language: English
- Print length: 1090 pages
- ISBN-10: 0199683204
- ISBN-13: 9780199683208
Book Description
Chapters in the first part of the handbook relate polysynthesis to other issues central to linguistics, such as complexity, the definition of the word, the nature of the lexicon, idiomaticity, and to typological features such as argument structure and head marking. Part two contains areal studies of those geographical regions of the world where polysynthesis is particularly common, such as the Arctic and Sub-Arctic and northern Australia. The third part examines diachronic topics such as language contact and language obsolence, while part four looks at acquisition issues in different polysynthetic languages. Finally, part five contains detailed grammatical descriptions of over twenty languages which have been characterized as polysynthetic, with special attention given to the presence or absence of potentially criterial features.
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Marianne Mithun is Professor of Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Much of her work has been in the areas of morphology, syntax, discourse, prosody, and their interrelations; language contact and language change; typology and universals; and language documentation. She has worked with numerous typologically diverse languages including Mohawk, Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Navajo, and Selayarese.
Nicholas Evans is ARC Laureate Fellow and Distinguished Professor of Linguistics at the Australian National University, and Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language. He has carried out wide-ranging fieldwork on traditional languages of northern Australia and southern Papua New Guinea, including Bininj Gun-wok, Dalabon, and Kayardild. He has also worked as a linguist, interpreter, and anthropologist in Native Title claims.
