LINGUIST List 14.1696

Mon Jun 16 2003

Books: Lang Description, South Asian: Enfield

Editor for this issue: Marisa Ferrara <marisalinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. jleppig, Linguistic Epidemiology: Enfield

Title: Linguistic Epidemiology
Subtitle: Semantics and Grammar of Language Contact in Mainland
	 Southeast Asia
Series Title: Curzon Asiatic Linguistics
			
Publication Year: 2002
Publisher: Routledge (Taylor and Francis) 
 http://www.routledge.com/		 
			
Author: N.J. Enfield, Max Planck Institiute for Psycholinguistics,
 Nijemgen, The Netherlands

Hardback: ISBN: 0415297435, Pages: 416, Price: 90
			
Abstract:

This important new study examines in detail a semantic-pragmatic
pattern surrounding the basic verb 'acquire' in nearly 30 Southeast
Asian languages, concentrating on Lao, Vietnamese, Khmer, Kmhmu,
Hmong, and varieties of Chinese. The book makes a significant
contribution to empirical work on semantic and grammatical change in a
linguistic area, as well as representing theoretical advances in
cognitive semantics. Gricean pragmatics, semantic change,
grammaticalization, language contact, and areal linguistics. The book
also examines how changes in the speech of individuals actually become
changes in large-scale public convention, 'language contact' is
reconsidered, and traditional distinctions such as that between
'internal' and 'external' linguistic mechanisms are challenged. This
groundbreaking new book is for specialists in Southeast Asian
linguistics as well as scholars of descriptive semantics and
pragmatics, grammaticalization, linguistic change and evolution, areal
linguistics and language contact, history and linguistic anthropology.

Lingfield(s): Language Description
		Semantics
		Pragmatics
	 
Subject Language(s): Lao (Language Code: KKF)
			Vietnamese (Language Code: VIE)
			Khmer (Language Code: KMR)
			Kmhmu (Language Code: KLG)
			Hmong (Language Code: HMM)
			Chinese, Mandarin (Language Code: CHN)

Areal Region: Southeast Asian

Written In: English (Language Code: ENG)


 See this book announcement on our website: 
 http://linguistlist.org/get-book.html?BookID=6451.