New book: Dravidian linguistics

[LINCOM EUROPA]

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A Grammar of the Brahui Language
in Comparative Treatment

Mikhail S. Andronov

Institute of Oriental Studies,
The Russian Academy of Sciences

The Brahui language, spoken by some 1.5 million people in Pakistan, Iran
and Afghanistan, is the earliest offshoot of the Dravidian stock.
Isolated from the kindred languages for several thousand years, it
combines ancient features inherited from the Proto-Dravidian ancestor
with numerous borrowings from its Iranian and Indo-Aryan neighbours.

Apart from a detailed practical grammar, illustrated with copious
examples from Brahui literary texts, the book offers the latest
comparative-historical information on the evolution and origin of the
main elements of the language. The Brahui phonemes are traced to their
Old Dravidian sources, the origins of case suffixes and other nominal
desinences are expounded, the Brahui numerals and pronouns are also
traced to their ancient archetypes, and so are the personal suffixes in
the verb. The primary systems of gender, tense and mood, lost or
modified in the contemporary language, are reconstructed in comparison
with these of Old Tamil and other classical languages.

The general information on Brahui is given in the Introduction. The
history of its study is also briefly outlined there and, in particular,
the position of Brahui within the Dravidian family is discussed. A
bibliography of earlier works on the Brahui language is appended in the
end. The subject index will make the use of the book easier.

[Original and unabridged version, set with a typewriter].

ISBN 3 89586 412 9.
LINCOM Language Research 01.
Ca.100pp. USD 40 / DM 74 / # 24.


New: A Students' and course discount of 40% is offered to the above
title.

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