LINGUIST List 10.1894

Wed Dec 8 1999

Books: Germanic Linguistics, African Linguistics

Editor for this issue: Scott Fults <scottlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. LINCOM EUROPA, Germanic Ling: Plautdietsch Verb Conjugation, E. Neufeldt
2. LINCOM EUROPA, African Ling: Phonetic/Phonological Description of Mandinkakan
3. LINCOM EUROPA, Germanic Ling: Plautdietsch Grammar, E. Neufeldt

Plautdietsch Verb Conjugation 
ELDO NEUFELDT

In retirement from the profession of librarianship, it was the
author�s intention to do some writing in his mother tongue of
Plautdietsch, a dialect of Nether Saxon Low German, or Niederdeutsch.
In his childhood (in the 1930s and 40s) this dialect was still widely
spoken in Central Kansas and in various areas of Canada. Today it is
in dire danger of extinction. The discovery that a knowledge of verb
forms was indispensable, lead to an attempt to conjugate a few verbs
in all the tenses. That attempt has now grown to a large total of
verbs, 501 of which are included in this collection. Publications of
such collections of conjugations are common in all major languages.

The conjugations consist of the 6 simple and 6 perfect tenses in the
indicative mood, 1 simple and 1 perfect tense in the conditional mood,
and 6 simple and 6 perfect tenses in the subjunctive mood. With each
verb are included its English and German equivalent infinitives.
These are listed in 2 indices which follow the conjugations: an
English-Plautdietsch index and a German-Plautdietsch index, which
enable a person to find instantly the Plautdietsch verb he wishes to
use.

[Published in 2 volumes.]

Vol I. ISBN 389586 614 8. 
LINCOM Studies in Germanic Linguistics 09. 
Ca. 580 pp. EUR 67.49 / USD 74 

Vol II. ISBN 389586 882 5. 
LINCOM Studies in Germanic Linguistics 10. 
Ca. 580 pp. EUR 67.49 / USD 74 


Ordering information for individuals: Please give us your creditcard no.
/ expiry date or send us a cheque. Prices in this information include
shipment worldwide by airmail. A standing order for this series is
available with special discounts offered to individual subscribers. 
A free copy of LINCOM's millenium catalogue 'project line 10' is now
available from LINCOM.EUROPAt-online.de.

LINCOM EUROPA, Paul-Preuss-Str. 25, D-80995 Muenchen, Germany; 
FAX +4989 3148909; 
http://home.t-online.de/home/LINCOM.EUROPA
LINCOM.EUROPAt-online.de.

PHONETIC AND PHONOLOGICAL DESCRIPTION OF MANDINKAKAN PHONEMES AS
SPOKEN IN KAJOR (ZIGUINCHOR)

Fallou Ngom, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 

This book provides a basic account of the phonological traits of
Mandinkakan as spoken in Senegal and the Republic of Guinea
Bissau. The book describes the articulation and realization of the
sound units of the language and their phonemic
realization. Mandinkakan belongs to the Mande language family, which
in turn belongs to the larger Niger-Congo phylum. The language is
widely spread in West-Africa. Mande languages are spoken by over 15
million people in the following west-African states (Platiel,1978):
Mali, Mauritania, Benin, Senegal, Togo, Niger, Sierra Leone, Liberia,
Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Niger, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Burkina
Faso. Nowadays, Mandinkakan is one of the major languages used both by
individuals with different historical and linguistic background, and
by the radio stations in The Gambia, Senegal, and Guinea Bissau.

Despite the important scope of the language in these countries, its
sound system is not well studied and practical work dealing with its
pronunciation and phonemic inventory is rare. This book aims at
filling that gap. Thus it provides a detailed description of the sound
system of two varieties of Mandinkakan spoken in Senegal and in Guinea
Bissau based upon field work data collected in Ziguinchor, a place
where the two varieties coexist. The first chapter provides a detailed
description of the Mandinkakan phonemic system (consonant and vowel
system). The second chapter focuses on the phonotactics of the
language (acceptable consonantal clusters, syllable types
etc.). Finally, the book provides two Mandinkakan texts based upon the
two varieties described and their English translation.

ISBN 3 89586 947 3. 
LINCOM Studies in African Linguistics 44.
Ca. 100pp. EUR 40.91 / USD 50.

Ordering information for individuals: Please give us your creditcard no.
/ expiry date or send us a cheque. Prices in this information include
shipment worldwide by airmail. A standing order for this series is
available with special discounts offered to individual subscribers. 
A free copy of LINCOM's millenium catalogue 'project line 10' is now
available from LINCOM.EUROPAt-online.de.

LINCOM EUROPA, Paul-Preuss-Str. 25, D-80995 Muenchen, Germany; 
FAX +4989 3148909; 
http://home.t-online.de/home/LINCOM.EUROPA
LINCOM.EUROPAt-online.de.

Plautdietsch Grammar
ELDO NEUFELDT

The stimulus for this project arises out of the realization that the
Nether Saxon Low German dialect, Plautdietsch (a dialect, among
others, of Niederdeutsch), is in dire danger of extinction. In the
author's childhood (in the 1930s and 40s) the dialect was still widly
spoken in Central Kansas and in various areas of Canada. Today there
is a great need for help for many people whose parents spoke the
dialect but did not pass it down to the next generation. This brief
grammar seeks to help fill that need.

The work consists of 15 lessons, beginning with the smallest units of
language, the letters of the alphabet and their sounds, moving from
there to words, individual lessons on each of the parts of speech and
their uses. Next come lessons on the combination of words in their
proper relationships in the construction of sentences, and finally the
combinations of sentences into texts as the largest unit of language.
The final two lessons cover the areas of times and numbers. Each
lesson consists of 1) grammatical material, 2) a vocabulary, 3) a
brief narrative to be read, and 4) two sets of exercises, one in
English and one in Plautdietsch.

ISBN 3895866156. 
LINCOM Studies in Germanic Linguistics 08. 
Ca. 60 pp. EUR 25.21 / USD 31.


Ordering information for individuals: Please give us your creditcard no.
/ expiry date or send us a cheque. Prices in this information include
shipment worldwide by airmail. A standing order for this series is
available with special discounts offered to individual subscribers. 
A free copy of LINCOM's millenium catalogue 'project line 10' is now
available from LINCOM.EUROPAt-online.de.

LINCOM EUROPA, Paul-Preuss-Str. 25, D-80995 Muenchen, Germany; 
FAX +4989 3148909; 
http://home.t-online.de/home/LINCOM.EUROPA
LINCOM.EUROPAt-online.de.