LINGUIST List 15.3328
Mon Nov 29 2004
Books: Language Description: Sakel/Izre'el, Cohen
Editor for this issue: Neil Salmond <neillinguistlist.org>
Links to the websites of all LINGUIST's supporting publishers are available at the end of this issue.
Directory
1. Julia
Ulrich,
A Grammar of Mosetén: Sakel 2. Ulrich
Lueders,
Literary Old Babylonian: Izre'el, Cohen
Message 1: A Grammar of Mosetén: Sakel
Date: 24-Nov-2004
From: Julia Ulrich <julia.ulrich
degruyter.com>
Subject: A Grammar of Mosetén: Sakel
Title: A Grammar of Mosetén
Series Title: Mouton Grammar Library 33
Published: 2004
Publisher: Mouton de Gruyter
http://www.mouton-publishers.com
Book URL:
http://www.degruyter.de/rs/bookSingle.cfm?id=IS-3110183404-1&l=E Author: Jeannette Sakel, University of Manchester
Hardback: ISBN: 3110183404 Pages: xxxi, 504 Price: Europe EURO 168.00
Abstract:
Mosetén belongs to the small, unclassified language family Mosetenan and is
spoken by roughly 800 people in the foothills of the Bolivian Andes and the
adjoining lowland region. This book provides a grammatical description of
Mosetén in the form of a descriptive reference grammar. It is based on the
author's extensive fieldwork in Bolivia and is intended to be comprehensive
and aimed at linguists from all backgrounds. Belonging to an unclassified
language family, Mosetén is of special interest to typologists, historical
linguists, contact linguists and South Americanists.
The grammar is divided into a chapter on phonology (2.) and six chapters on
the morphology: morphological processes (3.) the nominal system (4.),
pronouns and reference (5.), adjectives and adverbs (6.), quantification
(7.) and the verbal system (8.). These chapters are followed by voice (9.),
negation (10.) and modality and discourse markers (11.). Finally, there are
two syntactically oriented chapters on clause types (12.) and clause
combinations (13.). In the appendix, three types of texts, a list of
morphemes, a list of references and further bibliographical notes are
added. Furthermore, there is an index.
This grammar is the first accessible and comprehensive description of a
Mosetenan language.
Of interest to: Typologists and Meso-Americanists.
Jeanette Sakel is Research Associate at the Department of Linguistics,
University Manchester, UK.
Linguistic Field(s):
Language Description
Typology
Subject Language(s): Tsimané (Language Code: CAS)
Areal Regions:
Amazonian
Written In: English (Language Code: ENG )
See this book announcement on our website:
http://linguistlist.org/get-book.html?BookID=12371
Message 2: Literary Old Babylonian: Izre'el, Cohen
Date: 24-Nov-2004
From: Ulrich Lueders <lincom.europa
t-online.de>
Subject: Literary Old Babylonian: Izre'el, Cohen
Title: Literary Old Babylonian
Series Title: Languages of the World/Materials 81
Published: 2004
Publisher: Lincom GmbH
http://www.lincom-europa.com Author: Shlomo Izre'el, Tel-Aviv University
Author: Eran Cohen, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Paperback: ISBN: 3895867381 Pages: 133 Price: Europe EURO 42
Abstract:
Akkadian is a cover term for the Semitic languages of ancient Mesopotamia,
constituting the eastern branch of the Semitic family.
Akkadian, the most ancient Semitic linguistic continuum attested, was
written in the cuneiform script, mainly on clay tablets. It is attested
from the third millennium BCE to the third century CE.
Linguistic research of Akkadian has been relatively scanty, and grammatical
descriptions of any of the attested languages and dialects were intended
primarily for didactic purposes. Research has concentrated on phonology,
and, especially, on morphology, which is typically Semitic. Syntactic
structures have remained largely unexplored.
The grammatical description offered in LW/M is based on the language of
mythological narratives from the Old Babylonian period (the first half of
the second millennium BCE). Considering the state of the art and the frame
and goals of this series, the authors have confined themselves to a brief
model of the language and to defining the basic linguistic strategies of
Akkadian. As such, it may also serve as a guide to Semitic grammatical
categories.
All levels of the grammar of this language are treated together for the
first time: phonology, morphology, micro- and macro-syntax. Some attention
is given to linguistic variation, acknowledging the (relatively small)
diversity within the time-space continuum of the texts which constitute
this corpus. A short description of the cuneiform script will aim at giving
some idea of the problems one encounters in attempting to elicit the
linguistic data of Akkadian.
This grammatical description is written with a systemic, structural
conception of language in mind. It is intended first and foremost for
linguists for whom the language is inaccessible for various reasons,
and for Semitists whose expertise is not in Akkadian. However,
Assyriologists will benefit from it as well, as this description is unique
in its linguistic presentation, revealing important details hitherto unknown.
Shlomo Izre'el is professor of Semitic linguistics at Tel-Aviv University.
Eran Cohen is lecturer in linguistics at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Linguistic Field(s):
Language Description
Subject Language(s): Akkadian (Language Code: XAK)
Written In: English (Language Code: ENG )
See this book announcement on our website:
http://linguistlist.org/get-book.html?BookID=12353
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