Topics in the Grammar of Hewa

A variety of Sika in Eastern Flores, Indonesia

Hanna Fricke
University of Leiden

This study presents a description of the phonology, verbal inflection, possessive constructions and the expression of spatial relations in the language of Hewa. Hewa is a variety of the Austronesian language Sika spoken on the island of Flores in Eastern Indonesia. The description of the phonology argues for a phonemic glottal stop in all positions and breathy allophones of vowels in word initial position. The analysis of verbal inflection points out that verbal inflection in Hewa is bound to stems with initial vowels or voiceless stops.

However not all verbs that meet these phonological criteria are necessarily inflectable. The inflection is realised in the initial phoneme of the inflected verb. This study shows that in possessive constructions constituent order is mainly driven by the nature of the possessor. A pronominal possessor follows the noun whereas a nominal possessor precedes the noun. The possessive suffix -n appears on the possessor pronoun or on the possessed noun. Spatial language in Hewa is characterised by the frequent use of absolute spatial terms as prepositions and adverbs. These terms are based on environment specific coordinate systems and point to absolute directions in space. By discussing these aspects in the language of Hewa, it is argued that the language presents cross-linguistically unusual features and has potential for further research.

ISBN 9783862885299. Languages of the World 45. 104pp. 2014.

Classifiers in Korean

Yunseok Lee
Australian National University

The purpose of this study is twofold: a systematic description of Korean numeral classifier system and an investigation of competence in the classifiers by different groups. The empirical work to investigate competence in the classifiers by different groups is necessary to test the inventories of numeral classifiers and examine some socio-cultural factors affecting classifier use. The numeral classifier system in Korean basically follows universal principles of other numeral classifier languages in their morpho-syntactic and semantic aspects, such as correlation with the inherent properties of head nouns, anaphoric or deictic function, division of numeral classifiers into sortal and mensural, focus on the enumeration of inanimate concrete objects, salient semantic parameters between animates and inanimates, dominance of shape-based dimensions, metaphoric extensions, existence of general classifiers, and so on.

However, the semantics of Korean numeral classifiers shows strong correlations with cultural aspects. The combinations of numerals and Korean classifiers can float in the sentences and the variations of their positions account for different syntactic and semantic functions and connotations in the sentences. Classifiers in Korean undergo change, obsolescence or borrowing, and a contributing factor to the obsolescence of classifiers is the tendency to replace specific classifiers with general classifiers.

ISBN 9783862885343. Languages of the World 46. 124pp. 2014.

Areal Distribution and Typological Diversity of Languages Spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia

Volume I: Areal Distribution of Languages Spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia

This volume Areal Distribution of Languages Spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia is a report of the first part of the project Areal Distribution and Typological Diversity of Languages Spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia. Information on the languages and language families spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia is collected from censuses and various secondary sources. Distribution of languages and ethnic groups is presented with the help of geographical maps which also contain information on political borders. Geographical circumstances characteristic of the area are described with the help of the major catchment areas which are intersected by vegetation and climate zones. Although political borders form the main frameworks of distribution of peoples and languages, geographical areas which consist of combinations of catchment areas and climatic zones have been strong indica-tors in explaining the distribution of languages and cultures.

Keywords: languages spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia, language maps on distribution of languages spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia, major catchment areas, climate and vegetation zones, cultural areas.

ISBN 9783895861642 (Hardbound). Languages of the World 47. 220pp. incl. 14 maps. 2015.

Areal Distribution and Typological Diversity of Languages Spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia

Volume II: The Typological Diversity of Languages Spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia

The primary goal of this work is the description of areal distribution and typo-logical diversity of languages spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia. The languages spoken in the area are described with the help of a sample database consisting of sample data from ninety seven languages spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia. The database which contains information on phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic levels is investigated with the help of statistical tools called Self-Organizing Maps and Sammon’s Maps. Typological distances of languages are presented with the help of distribution of combinations of linguistic categories of languages. In the statisti-cal analysis, typological distances of languages are a consequence of information available in linguistic variables. It is shown that information on typologi-cal distances of languages vary with respect to information on different lin-guistic levels. It is also shown that, although the languages which are close relatives are often grouped together, these relationships are re-organized, when the languages are investigated with respect to specific typological properties, such as phonological systems or word order.

Keywords: language typology, areal linguistics, languages spoken in Europe and North and Central Asia, Self-Organizing Maps, Sammon’s Maps, prox-imity and remoteness of languages with respect to each other.

ISBN 9783895861680 (Hardbound). Languages of the World 48. 366pp. incl. 2 maps. 2015.

LW 49: Análise sociolinguística da manutenção da língua pomerana em Santa Maria de Jetibá, Espírito Santo

Elizana Schaffel Bremenkamp
Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo

Esta pesquisa investiga o processo de manutenção da língua pomerana em Santa Maria de Jetibá, Espírito Santo, considerado o município mais pomerano do Brasil. Essa língua Baixo-saxã está praticamente extinta na terra de origem – território entre a Polônia e a Alemanha -, mas sobrevive em ilhas linguísticas no Brasil.

Neste estudo mostra-se o repertório linguístico da comunidade em estudo; discutem-se as atitudes e a lealdade do grupo em relação às línguas pomerana e portuguesa, a fim de verificar seu status frente aos falantes; abordam-se os domínios e as funções sociais desempenhadas pelas línguas oficial e de imigração; verifica-se o bilinguismo pomerano/português, com o intuito de entender se é estável ou visa à subtração da língua minoritária; entende-se a formação das redes sociais; e discute-se a identidade étnica dos pomeranos.

Por fim, analisa-se a manutenção do pomerano por 150 anos, na tentativa de elucidar os fatores da manutenção e aclarar seu grau de vitalidade. Através de entrevistas com descendentes de pomeranos e da Observação Participante, demonstrou-se que a comunidade pomerana santa-mariense é bilíngue. Quanto aos domínios e as funções sociais, as análises apontam para um alto grau de bilinguismo em quase todas as funções e âmbitos. Esse alto nível de bilinguismo se dá, inclusive, porque a comunidade é bilíngue precoce simultânea equilibrada. Diante desses resultados, mostrou-se que o momento atual requer atenção e cuidado para com o repasse da língua pomerana no âmbito da família. Entretanto, não foram encontradas evidências de um processo de substituição eminente.

ISBN 9783862886296 (Hardbound). Languages of the World 49. 295pp. 2015.

The Palaungic Languages: Classification, Reconstruction and Comparative Lexicon

Paul Sidwell
Australian National University

This volume presents a reconstruction of the historical phonology and lexicon of the Palaungic branch of Austroasiatic, plus discussion of classification and homeland. Data from 22 published sources covering languages of Myanmar, China, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam are compared to yield a proto-lexicon of 885 words of Proto Palaungic. It is hypothesized that the language was spoken by early Bronze Age rice farmers approximately 3000 years ago in the border region of Northern Laos and Xīshuāngbǎnnà. Although otherwise a fairly typical Austroasiatic language, Proto Palaungic show various phonological mergers and lexical innovations that clearly distinguish it from other branches of the family. The latter history of Palaungic is quite complex, with various daughter languages drastically restructuring, some developing tones in odd ways, others assimilating structural features of neighbouring tongues. The results include a new classification of the group and the identification of a new sub-branch ‘Bit-Khang’ comprised of languages previously misidentified as Khmuic.

Paul Sidwell graduated with a PhD in Linguistics in 1999 from the University of Melbourne; since then he has held appointments with the Max Planck Institute (Leipzig), the Centre for Research in Computational Linguistics (Bangkok) and the Australian National University (Canberra). Currently he is a senior lecturer/researcher fellow in the College of Asia and the Pacific of the ANU. The focus of his research lays in the comparative reconstruction of Austroasiatic language history and its wider implications for the history of Mainland Southeast Asia.
ISBN 9783862886302 (Hardbound). Languages of the World 50. 243pp. 2015.