Elements Of Kurux Historical Phonology

Kurux (Oraon), with Malto and Brahui a member of the North Dravidian subfamily of the Dravidian languages, is spoken primarily in the Indian state of Jharkhand. The objective of the present study is to investigate the evolution of the Kurux phonemic system. This evolution can be described as a sequence of the Proto-Dravidian stage, the processes of sound change that followed upon this stage, the Pre-Kurux-Malto stage, and the further processes of sound change which led to modern Kurux. Both stages and both sets of processes of sound change are reconstructed in detail, proceeding from the Kurux etyma included in the revised edition of the Dravidian Etymological Dictionary (1984), from which selections had to be made, however: Items of non-Dravidian (Indo-Aryan, Munda, Persian) origin as well as doubtful cases had to be identified and left out of account, so that the Proto-Dravidian reconstructions presented here are based on only 43 per cent of the Kurux etyma registered in the revised edition of the Dravidian Etymological Dictionary. Additional subjects dealt with include identification of the comparative evidence available for Proto-North-Dravidian, discussion of features that can serve as isoglosses for the North Dravidian subfamily, and considerations regarding the original home of the speakers of North Dravidian languages.

This volume offers an important contribution to the comparative historical study of languages. Most of the articles deal with topics concerning the Indo-European proto-language as well as the individual languages descended from it. Essays in Finno-Ugric philology complete the volume. The book is divided in 8 sections: I. Indo-European, II. Anatolian, III. Indic, IV. Iranian and Armenian, V. Celtic, VI. Germanic Languages, VII. Slavic and Albanian, VIII. Fennougrica and Altaica.

The Dravidian languages are spoken by over 200 million people in South Asia and in Diaspora communities around the world, and constitute the world's fifth largest language family. It consists of about 26 languages in total including Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and Telugu, as well as over 20 non-literary languages. In this book, Bhadriraju Krishnamurti, one of the most eminent Dravidianists of our time, provides a comprehensive study of the phonological and grammatical structure of the whole Dravidian family from different aspects. He describes its history and writing systems, discusses its structure and typology, and considers its lexicon. Distant and more recent contacts between Dravidian and other language groups are also discussed. With its comprehensive coverage this book will be welcomed by all students of Dravidian languages and will be of interest to linguists in various branches of the discipline as well as Indologists.

Doubtless Sanskrit must be called a difficult language. This is a fact that cannot be helped. But even though nothing can be done about the language itself, some thoughts may be given to the preparation of teaching aids that can make the task of learning Sanskrit less arduous. The present collection of texts comprises 30 specimens from original literary works written in Sanskrit, which have been chosen employing objective criteria regarding script and language, and which are suitable as first reading material for learners who have already acquired a certain familiarity with Sanskrit grammar and lexicon. However, the choice of texts has not been guided by formal criteria alone, but also by considerations regarding content: For the most part, the specimens belong to the narrative genre; they have been taken from narrative literature, from the epics Mahābhārata and Rāmāyana, and from the Purānas. It goes without saying that all texts are printed in Devanāgarī characters.

First published in 1982, Languages of South Asia covers all important languages and language groups of the so-called Indian subcontinent (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan). It concentrates on the more southern languages, that is the Indo-Aryan, Dravidian and Munda groups; a brief survey of Tibeto-Burman languages is also included. As well as giving a description of the current status and character of each language, Dr. Zograph goes into a detailed structural analysis of its phonology, morphology and syntax. The problems of the historical background of the modern languages, and their classification, are also discussed. The book is supplemented by two language maps, tables showing the main alphabets, a bibliography of reliable works on the subject and an index of 350 language names used in the text. This book will be of interest to students of language, linguistics and South Asian studies.

Настоящая монография представляет собой трехтомное посмертное издание труда выдающегося советского и российского лингвиста А. Б. Долгопольского, одного из крупнейших и всемирно признанных специалистов по сравнительно-историческому языкознанию и изучению дальнего родства языков. «Индоевропейский словарь с ностратическими этимологиями» составлен автором на основе главного труда его жизни – «Ностратического словаря», работу над которым А. Б. Долгопольский неотрывно и интенсивно вёл почти полвека.Основной своей задачей автор считает определение и доказательство ностратических истоков индоевропейской лексики, поиск регулярных соответствий между лексическими единицами индоевропейских языков и языков других семей Старого Света. Словарь содержит 1397 вхождений, представляющих собой реконструированные корни индоевропейского праязыка с указанием их потомков в языках индоевропейской семьи и внешних соответствий в других семьях ностратических языков. Как по широте охвата лингвистического материала, так и по глубине разработки каждой словарной единицы словарь представляет собой уникальный материал для анализа и предназначен не только для лингвистов, изучающих индоевропейские языки, но и для специалистов по сравнительно-историческому изучению языков других семей.