LINGUIST List 11.2056

Wed Sep 27 2000

Books: Indo-European Languages

Editor for this issue: Naomi Ogasawara <naomilinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Benjamin Fortson, The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, C.Watkins(Ed.)

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: ANNOUNCING THE NEW AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY OF 
 INDO-EUROPEAN ROOTS
 Second Edition
 Revised and edited by Calvert Watkins

Houghton Mifflin Co., 2000
ISBN 0-395-98610-9 (cloth), 0-618-08250-6 (pbk.)
cloth: $28.00 paperback: $18.00

The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots is an
indispensable resource for anyone interested in the history of
English, its place in the Indo-European language family, and
Indo-European comparative linguistics. Fully revised and updated, the
2nd edition contains more than 13,000 English words that are traced to
their origins in Proto-Indo-European, the reconstructed prehistoric
ancestor of English that was spoken before the advent of writing.
	
A unique reference work making the fruits of scholarly research
accessible to a wide audience, the Dictionary of Indo-European Roots is
now even more useful for both students and specialists in many areas. Its
features include:

*** Over 1300 reconstructed roots (twice as many as in the Appendix of The
 American Heritage Dictionary of English)
*** New design for easier use, clarity, and visual friendliness
*** Revised and expanded introduction, now with map and illustrations
*** Etymologies of selected English personal and place names 
*** 25 new "Language and Culture Notes" at selected entries
*** Full index of the more than 13,000 English words treated
*** New features for specialists: laryngeals, palatal velars, and suffix 
 entries
*** Table of basic Indo-European sound correspondences and full family tree 

The introductory essay shows how words in an unrecorded ancient
language can be reconstructed and offers a wealth of fascinating
information about Proto-Indo-European culture and society. Each
individual root entry provides detailed information about the stages
of development of English vocabulary and the prehistoric relationships
among words.

Calvert Watkins is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of Linguistics and
the Classics at Harvard University and a leading expert in
Indo-European studies. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, he
is the author of several books, including the critically acclaimed How
to Kill a Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics (1995).

Visit Houghton Mifflin Co.'s website at 
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com