Principles And Methods In Historical Phonology

Arapaho, a western Algonkian language, is still spoken on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming. Phonologically modern Arapaho looks very "un-Algonkian," for it has undergone a rather startling number of sound changes. In this study Marc Picard attempts to use the phonological history of Arapaho as a vehicle to explore various possibilities for making accurate inferences about the chronological order of sound changes. His ultimate goal is to provide a methodology that can be applied successfully to other languages that, like Arapaho, have no recorded history.

Picard's methodology has three stages: establishing the sound correspondences between a source language (such as Proto-Algonkian) and a target language (such as Arapaho); exploiting the concept of naturalness in phonological change to the fullest in order to construct working hypotheses as to what the most likely historical processes could have been, and to determine in a nonarbitrary fashion which processes could have taken place simultaneously; and ordering these processes in accordance with the various feeding, bleeding, counterfeeding, and counterbleeding relations that exist between a great many pairs of diachronic processes. Picard applies his theoretical assumptions to a detailed development and analysis of the phonological changes that have taken place between Proto-Algonkian and modern Arapaho. In addition he provides a segment-by-segment derivation of over two hundred lexical items, showing exactly which sound changes have applied in each case. Principles and Methods in Historical Phonology is a valuable addition to historical studies of Algonkian languages and will be of particular interest to Algonkianists as well as linguists in general.

The Handbook of Historical Linguistics provides a detailed account of the numerous issues, methods, and results that characterize current work in historical linguistics, the area of linguistics most directly concerned with language change as well as past language states. Contains an extensive introduction that places the study of historical linguistics in its proper context within linguistics and the historical sciences in general Covers the methodology of historical linguistics and presents sophisticated overviews of the principles governing phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic change Includes contributions from the leading specialists in the field

Intended for use in advanced undergraduate and beginning graduate courses, this text presents a wide survey of methodological procedures and theoretical positions.

This book presents a comprehensive and critical overview of historical phonology as it stands today. Scholars from around the world consider and advance research in every aspect of the field. In doing so they demonstrate the continuing vitality and some continuing themes of one of the oldest sub-disciplines of linguistics. The book is divided into six parts. The first considers key current research questions, the early history of the field, and the structuralist context for work on segmental change. The second examines evidence and methods, including phonological reconstruction, typology, and computational and quantitative approaches. Part III looks at types of phonological change, including stress, tone, and morphophonological change. Part IV explores a series of controversial aspects within the field, including the effects of first language acquisition, the status of lexical diffusion and exceptionless change, and the role of individuals in innovation. Part V considers theoretical perspectives on phonological change, including those of evolutionary phonology and generative historical phonology. The final part examines sociolinguistic and exogenous factors in phonological change, including the study of change in real time, the role of second language acquisition, and loanword adaptation. The authors, who represent leading proponents of every theoretical perspective, consider phonological change over a wide range of the world's language families. The handbook is, in sum, a valuable resource for phonologists and historical linguists and a stimulating guide for their students.

Data from a variety of languages are offered in support of the claim that although there are several processes by which languages commonly add to an already existing stock of long vowels, there is only one mechanism by which a language without a distinction of vocalic length commonly introduces such a distinction. This mechanism is the coalescence of vowel sequences, typically after loss of intervocalic consonants. This book examines vowels lengths, their differences and their effects on language.

An entirely new follow-up volume providing a detailed account of numerous additional issues, methods, and results that characterize current work in historical linguistics. This brand-new, second volume of The Handbook of Historical Linguistics is a complement to the well-established first volume first published in 2003. It includes extended content allowing uniquely comprehensive coverage of the study of language(s) over time. Though it adds fresh perspectives on several topics previously treated in the first volume, this Handbook focuses on extensions of diachronic linguistics beyond those key issues. This Handbook provides readers with studies of language change whose perspectives range from comparisons of large open vs. small closed corpora, via creolistics and linguistic contact in general, to obsolescence and endangerment of languages. Written by leading scholars in their respective fields, new chapters are offered on matters such as the origin of language, evidence from language for reconstructing human prehistory, invocations of language present in studies of language past, benefits of linguistic fieldwork for historical investigation, ways in which not only biological evolution but also field biology can serve as heuristics for research into the rise and spread of linguistic innovations, and more. Moreover, it: offers novel and broadened content complementing the earlier volume so as to provide the fullest available overview of a wholly engrossing field includes 23 all-new contributed chapters, treating some familiar themes from fresh perspectives but mostly covering entirely new topics features expanded discussion of material from language families other than Indo-European provides a multiplicity of views from numerous specialists in linguistic diachrony. The Handbook of Historical Linguistics, Volume II is an ideal book for undergraduate and graduate students in linguistics, researchers and professional linguists, as well as all those interested in the history of particular languages and the history of language more generally.