The Native Languages of South America: Origins, Development, Typology

Cambridge University Press, 3/20/2014
EAN 9781107044289, ISBN10: 1107044286

Hardcover, 400 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 2.2 cm
Language: English

In South America indigenous languages are extremely diverse. There are over one hundred language families in this region alone. Contributors from around the world explore the history and structure of these languages, combining insights from archaeology and genetics with innovative linguistic analysis. The book aims to uncover regional patterns and potential deeper genealogical relations between the languages. Based on a large-scale database of features from sixty languages, the book analyses major language families such as Tupian and Arawakan, as well as the Quechua/Aymara complex in the Andes, the Isthmo-Colombian region and the Andean foothills. It explores the effects of historical change in different grammatical systems and fills gaps in the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS) database, where South American languages are underrepresented. An important resource for students and researchers interested in linguistics, anthropology and language evolution.

1. Introduction
South American indigenous languages – genealogy, typology, contacts Pieter Muysken and Loretta O'Connor
Part I. Introduction to South America
2. Human migrations, dispersals, and contacts in South America Loretta O'Connor and Vishnupriya Kolipakam
3. Basic vocabulary comparison in South American languages Harald Hammarström
Part II. Case Studies in Contact
4. Structural features and language contact in the Isthmo-Colombian Area Loretta O'Connor
5. The Andean foothills and adjacent Amazonian fringe Rik van Gijn
6. The Andean matrix Simon van de Kerke and Pieter Muysken
7. The Arawakan matrix Love Eriksen and Swintha Danielsen
8. The Tupian expansion Love Eriksen and Ana Vilacy Galucio
Part III. Comparative Perspectives on Linguistic Structures
9. Language internal and external factors in the development of the desiderative in South American indigenous languages Neele Mueller
10. Verbal argument marking patterns in South American languages Joshua Birchall
11. The noun phrase
focus on demonstratives, redrawing the semantic map Olga Krasnoukhova
12. Subordination strategies in South America
nominalization Rik van Gijn
Part IV. Major Findings and Conclusions
13. The languages of South America
deep families, areal relationships, and language contact Joshua Birchall, Swintha Danielsen, Love Eriksen, Ana Vilacy Galucio, Rik van Gijn, Harald Hammarström, Simon van de Kerke, Vishnupraya Kolipakam, Olga Krasnoukhova, Pieter Muysken, Neele Müller and Loretta O'Connor.