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Author: Konstantin Pozdniakov Publisher: Language Science Press ISBN: 3961103348 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 368
Book Description
This monograph proposes a reconstruction of the lexicon, the morphophonology and the noun class system of Proto-Fula–Sereer (~3500 BP). Fula–Sereer represents one of the six branches of the North-Atlantic group. North-Atlantic, together with the Bak group of languages, forms the Atlantic family, which represents a separate branch within the Niger-Congo macro-family. The lexical reconstruction of the proto-language of a group such as Fula–Sereer requires the solution of a number of questions that are of interest for the general theory of comparative studies. These questions deal with the morphophonological mutations of root-initial consonants. Since consonant mutations were structured into morphological paradigms already at the Proto-Fula–Sereer stage, the evolution of initial consonantism in Fula and Sereer was based not on regular phonetic changes, but on massive irregular analogous changes. The reconstruction of Proto-Fula–Sereer consonant mutations is given in Chapter 2. In Chapters 3-6 the author proposes a reconstruction of the initial consonants. Next, the reconstruction of final consonants (Chapter 7) as well as vowels (Chapter 8) is given. In Chapter 9, taking in account the lexical cognates, the long-standing problem of the PFS noun class reconstruction is rediscussed. The Appendix provides a list of ~720 lexical reconstructions and their approximate meanings.
Author: Konstantin Pozdniakov Publisher: Language Science Press ISBN: 3961103348 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 368
Book Description
This monograph proposes a reconstruction of the lexicon, the morphophonology and the noun class system of Proto-Fula–Sereer (~3500 BP). Fula–Sereer represents one of the six branches of the North-Atlantic group. North-Atlantic, together with the Bak group of languages, forms the Atlantic family, which represents a separate branch within the Niger-Congo macro-family. The lexical reconstruction of the proto-language of a group such as Fula–Sereer requires the solution of a number of questions that are of interest for the general theory of comparative studies. These questions deal with the morphophonological mutations of root-initial consonants. Since consonant mutations were structured into morphological paradigms already at the Proto-Fula–Sereer stage, the evolution of initial consonantism in Fula and Sereer was based not on regular phonetic changes, but on massive irregular analogous changes. The reconstruction of Proto-Fula–Sereer consonant mutations is given in Chapter 2. In Chapters 3-6 the author proposes a reconstruction of the initial consonants. Next, the reconstruction of final consonants (Chapter 7) as well as vowels (Chapter 8) is given. In Chapter 9, taking in account the lexical cognates, the long-standing problem of the PFS noun class reconstruction is rediscussed. The Appendix provides a list of ~720 lexical reconstructions and their approximate meanings.
Author: Konstantin Pozdniakov Publisher: BoD – Books on Demand ISBN: 3985540306 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 370
Book Description
This monograph proposes a reconstruction of the lexicon, the morphophonology and the noun class system of Proto-Fula-Sereer (~3500 BP). Fula-Sereer represents one of the six branches of the North-Atlantic group. North-Atlantic, together with the Bak group of languages, forms the Atlantic family, which represents a separate branch within the Niger-Congo macro-family. The lexical reconstruction of the proto-language of a group such as Fula-Sereer requires the solution of a number of questions that are of interest for the general theory of comparative studies. These questions deal with the morphophonological mutations of root-initial consonants. Since consonant mutations were structured into morphological paradigms already at the Proto-Fula-Sereer stage, the evolution of initial consonantism in Fula and Sereer was based not on regular phonetic changes, but on massive irregular analogous changes. The reconstruction of Proto-Fula-Sereer consonant mutations is given in Chapter 2. In Chapters 3-6 the author proposes a reconstruction of the initial consonants. Next, the reconstruction of final consonants (Chapter 7) as well as vowels (Chapter 8) is given. In Chapter 9, taking in account the lexical cognates, the long-standing problem of the PFS noun class reconstruction is rediscussed. The Appendix provides a list of ~720 lexical reconstructions and their approximate meanings.
Author: Koen Bostoen Publisher: Language Science Press ISBN: 3961104069 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 862
Book Description
This book is about reconstructing the grammar of Proto-Bantu, the ancestral language at the origin of current-day Bantu languages. While Bantu is a low-level branch of Niger-Congo, the world’s biggest phylum, it is still Africa’s biggest language family. This edited volume attempts to retrieve the phonology, morphology and syntax used by the earliest Bantu speakers to communicate with each other, discusses methods to do so, and looks at issues raised by these academic endeavours. It is a collective effort involving a fine mix of junior and senior scholars representing several generations of expert historical-comparative Bantu research. It is the first systematic approach to Proto-Bantu grammar since Meeussen’s Bantu Grammatical Reconstructions (1967). Based on new bodies of evidence from the last five decades, most notably from northwestern Bantu languages, this book considerably transforms our understanding of Proto-Bantu grammar and offers new methodological approaches to Bantu grammatical reconstruction.
Author: John Thomas Mayfield Merrill Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 488
Book Description
Consonant mutation is a linguistic phenomenon whereby two or more sets of consonant phonemes alternate systematically within roots (or other morphemes) in a way that is not entirely predictable from the phonological environment. A number of Atlantic (Niger-Congo) languages of West Africa exhibit root-initial consonant mutation to mark noun class as well as various verbal morphosyntactic categories. This study treats the historical origin and development of these consonant mutation systems. I argue that despite their typological similarity, the mutation systems of the various Atlantic languages arose for the most part independently, in contrast with the prevailing assumption in the existing literature that these systems were inherited from a common source. I begin with a typological survey of consonant mutation in the rest of the world’s languages, providing a brief description of each phenomenon, as well as summarizing the theoretical treatments of these phenomena in the literature. I also examine the historical development of these mutation systems where such proposals are extant in the literature. Historically, consonant mutation— which is rather less rare than has often been claimed— generally arises from the interaction between an initial (or less often final) segment of one morpheme with the immediately adjacent segment of a preceding (or following) morpheme. For example, earlier *a-ta and *ak-ta (in which *a- and *ak- are two prefixes which can appear on the root *ta) might develop into a mutation alternation /a-sa/ ~ /a-ta/. The Atlantic languages which exhibit mutation are Fula and Sereer, Wolof, Kobiana and Kasanga, the Tenda languages, and Biafada and Pajade— all traditionally part of the proposed Northern Atlantic subgroup within Atlantic. The development of consonant mutation in all of these languages is consistent with the type of diachronic origin sketched above. For each of these languages I reconstruct the forms of the original triggers of mutation, as well as the regular sound changes that operated between these triggers and the initial consonants of lexical roots. In doing so I present reconstructions of the phonological and noun class systems of each proto-language, as well as their relevant verbal/pronominal systems. In addition to the regular sound changes that are the ultimate source of mutation, I identify a number of analogical changes that reshaped these systems of alternation in each language. Finally, I explore the wider question of what genetic relationships exist between the Northern Atlantic languages, using the lexical, phonological, and morphological evidence presented in the preceding chapters. Having established that mutation in the Northern Atlantic languages cannot be attributed to shared inheritance, the principal remaining sources of evidence involve shared lexical material and similarities in the noun class systems. I argue that there are no convincing developments in the noun class systems of the Northern Atlantic languages that can be taken as shared developments of this proposed subgroup, though a strong argument can be made for the grouping of Wolof with Bainunk-Kobiana-Kasanga, and much more tentatively for grouping Biafada-Pajade with this group. Otherwise, the similarities in the noun class systems of Northern Atlantic languages can be attributed to shared inheritance from Niger-Congo. The lexical evidence for this subgroup is somewhat more convincing, but is still extremely limited. Taking into account the patterns of language contact in the area, it seems entirely possible that the few potential lexical innovations of Northern Atlantic can be attributed to borrowing or shared retention. Thus I argue against the genetic unity of the Northern Atlantic subgroup, though all of these languages can be rather securely situated within Niger-Congo at large.
Author: Konstantin Pozdniakov Publisher: Saint Philip Street Press ISBN: 9781013291876 Category : Languages : en Pages : 434
Book Description
This book proposes the reconstruction of the Proto-Niger-Congo numeral system. The emphasis is placed on providing an exhaustive account of the distribution of forms by families, groups, and branches. The big data bases used for this purpose open prospects for both working with the distribution of words that do exist and with the distribution of gaps in postulated cognates. The distribution of filled cells and gaps is a useful tool for reconstruction. This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.
Author: John R. Watters Publisher: Language Science Press ISBN: 3961101000 Category : Benue-Congo languages Languages : en Pages : 266
Book Description
This volume is the first in what hopefully will be a growing set of edited volumes and monographs concerning Niger-Congo comparative studies. This first volume addresses matters that are relevant to the entire East Benue-Congo family as well as the particular branches Kainji, Plateau, and Bantoid. In the case of Bantoid, the particular focus is on Grassfields and the Grassfields-Bantu borderland, though other Bantoid subgroups are referenced. The potential topics for comparative studies among these languages are numerous, but this volume is dedicated to presentations on nominal affixes, third person pronouns, and verbal extensions. A forthcoming volume will provide some results of reconstructions and lexicostatistics in Cross River, exploratory reconstructions in Southern Jukunoid, and reconstructions in Ekoid-Mbe and Mambiloid.
Author: Rainer Vossen Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA ISBN: 0199609896 Category : Foreign Language Study Languages : en Pages : 1104
Book Description
Une source inconnue indique : "This book provides a comprehensive overview of current research in African languages, drawing on insights from anthropological linguistics, typology, historical and comparative linguistics, and sociolinguistics. It covers a wide range of topics, from grammatical sketches of individual languages to sociocultural and extralinguistic issues."
Author: G. Tucker Childs Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing ISBN: 9027295883 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 287
Book Description
This book introduces beginning students and non-specialists to the diversity and richness of African languages. In addition to providing a solid background to the study of African languages, the book presents linguistic phenomena not found in European languages. A goal of this book is to stimulate interest in African languages and address the question: What makes African languages so fascinating? The orientation adopted throughout the book is a descriptive one, which seeks to characterize African languages in a relatively succinct and neutral manner, and to make the facts accessible to a wide variety of readers. The author’s lengthy acquaintance with the continent and field experiences in western, eastern, and southern Africa allow for both a broad perspective and considerable depth in selected areas. The original examples are often the author’s own but also come from other sources and languages not often referenced in the literature. This text also includes a set of sound files illustrating the phenomena under discussion, be they the clicks of Khoisan, talking drums, or the ideophones (words like English lickety-split) found almost everywhere, which will make this book a valuable resource for teacher and student alike.
Author: Konstantin Pozdniakov
Author: Konstantin Pozdniakov
Author: Konstantin Pozdniakov
Author: Koen Bostoen
Author: Carole Paradis
Author: John Thomas Mayfield Merrill
Author: Allan R. Bomhard
Author: Konstantin Pozdniakov
Author: John R. Watters
Author: Rainer Vossen
Author: G. Tucker Childs