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<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dear colleagues,</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>This book I edited, appearing earlier this
year, may be of interest to many typologists:</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sincerely,</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hilary Chappell</FONT></P>
<P> </P>
<P> </P>
<P> </P>
<P><FONT face=Arial><STRONG>BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT</STRONG></FONT></P>
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<DIR>
<P><FONT face=Arial>SINITIC GRAMMAR: SYNCHRONIC AND DIACHRONIC
PERSPECTIVES</FONT></P></DIR></DIR>
<P><FONT face=Arial>OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, OXFORD</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>Edited by Hilary Chappell</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Arial>ISBN: 0-19-829977-X</FONT></P></FONT><FONT face=Arial>
<P>425 pages, 71 tables</P>
<P>Price: 57.95 pounds Sterling</P></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<P> </P></FONT><B><FONT face=Arial>
<P>Abstract of contents:</P></B>
<P>This is the first book in English to present cutting edge analyses on the
grammar of the little-explored Sinitic or (Chinese) languages and their
dialects. The aim is to describe the extent of their variation and divergence.
The</FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2> </FONT><FONT face=Arial>13</FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2> </FONT><FONT face=Arial>analyses contained in the book meld
historical and typological approaches in the examination of a variety of
phenomena from grammar and morphosyntax. The perspective adopted challenges
the view that standard Mandarin should necessarily be taken as
representative of all Chinese languages. In fact, the studies in this volume
show how different 'dialect' grammar can be, not to mention earlier stages
of Chinese, from the modern, official language: <I>putonghua</I>. </P>
<P>The book is designed to be accessible to a general linguistics readership,
providing the necessary background information on the language(s) described in
each chapter, as well as full transcription and translation of all the examples,
given in Chinese characters. The introduction presents an up-to-date background
to the history and geography of Chinese dialects as well as summaries of each
contribution to this anthology. Both endcovers of the book display a dialect map
of China for the ten main Sinitic languages.</P><B>
<P>Topics</B> covered include aspect, evidentials, locatives, verb
complementation, reduplication, modal verbs, markers of predication, affixation,
prepositions, relative clauses, interrogatives, and stratification. Language
data from most of the ten main Chinese dialect groups are
presented, specific studies being on Xiang, Cantonese Yue and Taiwanese
Southern Min. Earlier stages of Chinese examined include the pre-Archaic Shang
oracle bone inscriptions, Archaic and Medieval Chinese and the written genre of
Classical Chinese.</P></FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>
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<P> </P>
<P>Table of contents:</P>
<P>PART I: INTRODUCTION</B> </P>
<P>Chapter 1: Synchrony and diachrony of Sinitic languages: a brief history of
Chinese dialects HILARY CHAPPELL </P>
<P><B>PART II: TYPOLOGICAL AND COMPARATIVE GRAMMAR</P></B>
<P>Chapter 2: The development of locative markers in the Xiang-Changsha
dialect YUNJI WU </P>
<P>Chapter 3: A typology of evidential markers in Sinitic languages </P>
<P>HILARY CHAPPELL </P>
<P>Chapter 4: Verb complement constructions in Chinese dialects: types and
markers CHRISTINE LAMARRE</P><B>
<P>PART III: HISTORICAL AND DIACHRONIC GRAMMAR</P></B>
<P>Chapter 5: Vestiges of Archaic Chinese derivational affixes in Modern Chinese
dialects LAURENT SAGART </P>
<P>Chapter 6: Markers of predication in Shang bone inscriptions REDOUANE
DJAMOURI </P>
<P>Chapter 7: On the modal auxiliaries of volition in Classical Chinese ALAIN
PEYRAUBE </P><B>
<P>PART IV: YUE GRAMMAR</P></B>
<P>Chapter 8: The interrogative construction: (re)constructing early Cantonese
grammar HUNG-NIN SAMUEL CHEUNG </P>
<P>Chapter 9: The verb complement construction in historical perspective with
special reference to Cantonese ANNE YUE </P>
<P></P>
<P>Chapter 10: Aspects of contemporary Cantonese grammar: the structure and
stratification of relative clauses STEPHEN MATTHEWS AND VIRGINIA
YIP</P><B>
<P>PART V: SOUTHERN MIN GRAMMAR</P></B>
<P>Chapter 11: Semantics and syntax of verbal and adjectival reduplication in
Mandarin and Taiwanese Southern Min TSAO FENG-FU </P>
<P>Chapter 12: Competing morphological changes in Taiwanese Southern
Min LIEN CHINFA </P>
<P>Chapter 13: Aspects of historical-comparative syntax: functions of
prepositions in Taiwanese and Mandarin YING-CHE LI </P></FONT><FONT
face=Arial size=2>
<P>References</P>
<P>Index: Author, Subject, Language</P></FONT><FONT face=Arial>
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