New Books: Historical Linguistics

Fri May 23 23:33:14 UTC 1997

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
NEW TITLES FROM JOHN BENJAMINS PUBLISHING

Historical Linguistics

HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS 1993.  SELECTED PAPERS FROM THE 11TH INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE ON HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS, LOS ANGELES, 16-20 AUGUST 1993.
Henning Andersen (ed.)
1995  x, 460 pp.  Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 124
US/Canada: Cloth: 1 55619 578 8  Price: US$110.00
Rest of the world: Cloth: 90 272 3627 5  Price: Hfl. 190,--
John Benjamins Publishing web site: http://www.benjamins.com
For further information via e-mail: service at benjamins.com
This volume contains a selection of papers from the 11th International
Conference on Historical Linguistics; among them are a few presented at the
workshop on Typology and Parameters organized during the conference.  The
34 papers discuss a variety of topics, reflecting the latest developments
in research in historical linguistics and covering a wide range of languages. 
Contributions by: Andrew Allen; Gregory S. Anderson; Julie Auger; Laurel
Brinton & Dieter Stein; Vít Bubenik; Kate Burridge; Concepción Company; C.
Jac Conradie; Thomas D. Cravens & Luciano Giannelli; Naomi Cull; Andrei
Danchev; Bridget Drinka; Richard Epstein; Jadranka Gvozdanovic; Kaoru
Horie; Masataka Ishikawa; Bernard Jacquinod; Dieter Kastovsky; Ritva Laury;
Leena Löfstedt, Silvia Luraghi; Maria Manoliu-Manea; Jaap van Marle; Ana
Maria Martins; Chantal Melis; Robert W. Murray; Johanna Nichols; Jairo
Nunes; Claudia Parodi; Betty S. Philips; Susan Pintzuk; Pieter van Reenen &
Lene Schosler; Elke Ronneberger-Sibold; Nigel Vincent. 

COMPARATIVE INDO-EUROPEAN LINGUISTICS. AN INTRODUCTION
Robert S.P. Beekes
1995  xxii, 376 pp.  
US/Canada: Cloth: 1 55619 504 4  Price: US$75.00
Paper: 1 55619 505 2  Price: $24.95
Rest of the world: Cloth: 90 272 2150 2  Price: Hfl. 125,--
Paper: 90 272 2151 0  Price: Hfl. 50,--
John Benjamins Publishing web site: http://www.benjamins.com
For further information via e-mail: service at benjamins.com
This book gives a comprehensive introduction to Comparative Indo-European
Linguistics, the first to appear in English. 
It starts with a presentation of the languages of the family (from English
and the other Germanic languages, the Celtic and Slavic languages, Latin,
Greek and Sanskrit through Armenian and Albanian) and a discussion of the
culture and origin of the Indo-Europeans, the speakers of the Indo-European
proto-language, who are considered to have lived in what is today the
Ukraine. 
The book gives an introduction into the nature of language change and the
methods of reconstruction of older language stages, with many examples
(from the Indo-European languages). A full description is given of the
sound changes, which makes it possible to follow the origin of the
different Indo-European languages step by step.  This is followed by a
discussion of the development of all the morphological categories of
Proto-Indo-European. 
The book presents the latest in scholarly insights, like the laryngeal and
glottalic theory, accentuation, the ablaut patterns and these are
systematically integrated into the treatment. While the book presents a
large amount of material and discusses many principles and the relevant
terminology, it is written in a very readable and lucid style. Use of the
book is facilitated by an appendix on phonetics, a glossary, full indexes,
and an extensive bibliography. The book can be used as a first introduction
to the field, and at the same time brings the reader to the current moment
of research. 

ZUR GESCHICHTE DER DEUTSCHEN SPRACHE. NEW EDITION WITH AN INTRODUCTORY
ARTICLE BY KURT R. JANKOWSKY
Wilhelm Scherer
1995  lxii, 246 pp.  Amsterdam Classics in Linguistics, 16
US/Canada: Cloth: 1 55619 770 5  Price: US$97.00
Rest of the world: Cloth: 90 272 1994 X  Price: Hfl. 170,--
John Benjamins Publishing web site: http://www.benjamins.com
For further information via e-mail: service at benjamins.com
Wilhelm Scherer (1841-1886) has gained wide recognition for his
extraordinary accomplishments in linguistics as well as in literary
studies. His first and most important contribution to the development of
linguistic science was his monumental work of 508 pages Zur Geschichte der
deutschen Sprache, published in 1868. His stated objective was "to subject
all aspects of the Germanic grammar to a new treatment." While such a
wording sounds rather modest, the actual implementation in his book, if
viewed within the framework of his time, might very appropriately be called
revolutionary. He broke with August Schleicher's distinction between
'development' (in prehistorical time) and 'decay' (in historical time) in
the history of language and replaced it with his notion of continuous,
uninterrupted development. His survey of the relevant literature of his
time is almost exhaustive, and his findings serve as the solid stepping
stone for his own advances. 
To facilitate reading, the editor has supplied an index of names (with life
dates), a complete listing of the literature referred to by Scherer as well
as an introduction to Scherer's life and his general scholarly achievements. 

TOWARDS A HISTORY OF THE BASQUE LANGUAGE
Jose Ignacio Hualde, Joseba A. Lakarra & R.L. Trask (eds.)
1995  365 pp.  Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 131
US/Canada: Cloth: 1 55619 585 0  Price: US$90.00
Rest of world: Cloth: 90 272 3634 8  Price: Hfl. 150,--
John Benjamins Publishing web site: http://www.benjamins.com
For further information via e-mail: service at benjamins.com
Questions related to the origin and history of the Basque language spark
considerable interest, since it is the only surviving pre-Indo-European
language in western Europe. However, until now, there was no readily
available source in English providing answers to these questions or giving
an overview of past and current research in this area. This book is
intended to partly fill this void.
The book contains both state-of-the-art papers which summarize our
knowledge about particular areas of Basque historical linguistics, and
articles presenting new hypotheses and points of view based on hard
evidence and careful analysis.
All contributors to this volume have demonstrated expertise in the topic
within Basque historical linguistics that their chapter addresses. Two
classical articles by the late Luis Michelena are included in English
translation. In addition, the book includes studies on diachronic
phonology, morphology and syntax. The relation of Basque to other languages
is also investigated in a couple of chapters.

ENGLISH HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS 1994.  PAPERS FROM THE 8TH INTERNATIONAL
CONFERENCE ON ENGLISH HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS (8 ICEHL, EDINBURGH, 19-23
SEPTEMBER 1994)
1996  viii, 403 pp.  Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 135
US/Canada: Cloth: 1 55619 590 7  Price: US$84.00
Rest of the world: Cloth: 90 272 3639 9  Price: Hfl. 150,--
John Benjamins Publishing web site: http://www.benjamins.com
For further information via e-mail: service at benjamins.com
This volume offers a selection of 19 papers from those read at the 8th
International Conference on English Historical Linguistics. The topics
discussed span the whole history of English from the Common Germanic period
to the present century.  The book also includes, as appropriate to the
conference venue, a number of papers on the aspects of the historical
development of Scots and Scottish English.

HISTORICAL PRAGMATICS. PRAGMATIC DEVELOPMENTS IN THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH
Andreas H. Jucker (ed.)
1995  xvi, 624 pp.  Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 35
US/Canada: Cloth: 1 55619 328 9  Price: US$97.00
Rest of the world: Cloth: 90 272 5047 2  Price: Hfl. 170,--
John Benjamins Publishing web site: http://www.benjamins.com
For further information via e-mail: service at benjamins.com
Until very recently, pragmatics has been restricted to the analysis of
contemporary spoken language while historical linguistics has studied
historical texts and language change in a decontextualized way.  This has
now radically changed and scholars from around the world are trying to
build a new theoretical framework that integrates recent advances both in
pragmatics and in historical linguistics. 
This volume, which contains 22 originaI titles,starts with an introduction
that is both a state-of-the-art account of historical pragmatics and a
programmatic statement of its future potential and its different subfields. 
Part I contains seven pragmaphilological papers that deal with historical
texts and their interpretations by paying close attention to the
communicative context of these texts. 
The second and third parts comprise papers in diachronic pragmatics.  The
ten papers of Part II take a linguistic form as their starting point, e.g.
particular lexical items or syntactic constructions, and study their
pragmatic functions at different times (diachronic form-to-function
mappings), while the four papers of Part III take a particular pragmatic
function as their starting point. e.g. discourse strategies or politeness,
and study their linguistic realisation at different times (diachronic
function-to-form mappings). 
Contributions by: C. Allen; U. Bach; H. Bergrer; E. Bernárdez & P. Tejada;
M. Fludernik: G. Fritz; W. Hüllen; A. Jacobs & A. Jucker; R. Kopytko; S.
Kryk-Kastovsky; J. Lennard; J. de Lima; P. Navarro-Errasti; T, Nevalainen &
H. Raumolin-Brunberg; N. Onodera; G. Ronberg, S. Schwenter & E. Traugott;
I. Taavistainen; T. Virtanen; K. Wales; S. Wårvik; R. Watts

SEMITIC AND INDO-EUROPEAN: THE PRINCIPAL ETYMOLOGIES. WITH OBSERVATIONS ON
AFRO-ASIATIC
Saul Levin
1995  xxii, 514 pp.  Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 129
US/Canada: Cloth: 1 55619 583 4  Price: US$97.00
Rest of the world: Cloth: 90 272 3632 1  Price: Hfl. 170,--
John Benjamins Publishing web site: http://www.benjamins.com
For further information via e-mail: service at benjamins.com
This volume presents the key examples of morphological correspondences
between Indo-European and Semitic languages, afforded by nouns, verbal
roots, pronouns, prepositions, and numerals. Its focus is on shared
morphology embodied in the cognate vocabulary.
The facts that are brought out in this volume do not fit comfortably within
either the Indo-Europeanists' or the Semitists' conception of the
prehistoric development of their languages. Nonetheless they are so
fundamental that many would take them for evidence of a single original
source, 'Proto-Nostratic'. In this book, however, it is considered
unsettled whether proto-IE and proto-Semitic had a common forerunner. But
the IE-Semitic combinations testify at least to prehistoric language
communities in truly intimate contact.

Questions? Contact Bernie Keck
Email: service at benjamins.com