The fascinating history of French words that have entered the English language and the fertile but fraught relationship between English- and French-speaking cultures across the world English has borrowed more words from French than from any other modern foreign language. French words and phrases-such as a la mode, ennui, naivete and caprice-lend English a certain je-ne-sais-quoi that would otherwise elude the language. Richard Scholar examines the continuing history of untranslated French words in English and asks what these words reveal about the fertile but fraught relationship that England and France have long shared and that now entangles English- and French-speaking cultures all over the world. Emigres demonstrates that French borrowings have, over the centuries, "turned" English in more ways than one. From the seventeenth-century polymath John Evelyn's complaint that English lacks "words that do so fully express" the French ennui and naivete, to George W. Bush's purported claim that "the French don't have a word for entrepreneur," this unique history of English argues that French words have offered more than the mere seasoning of the occasional mot juste. They have established themselves as "creolizing keywords" that both connect English speakers to-and separate them from-French. Moving from the realms of opera to ice cream, the book shows how migrant French words are never the same again for having ventured abroad, and how they complete English by reminding us that it is fundamentally incomplete. At a moment of resurgent nationalism in the English-speaking world, Emigres invites native Anglophone readers to consider how much we owe the French language and why so many of us remain ambivalent about the migrants in our midst.

Linguistic Morphology is a unique collection of cutting-edge research in the psycholinguistics of morphology, offering a comprehensive overview of this interdisciplinary field. This book brings together world-leading experts from linguisics, experimental psychology and cognitive neuroscience to examine morphology research from different disciplines. It provides an overview of how the brain deals with complex words; examining how they are easier to read, how they affect our brain dynamics and eye movements, how they mould the acquisition of language and literacy, and how they inform computational models of the linguistic brain. Chapters discuss topics ranging from subconscious visual identification to the high-level processing of sentences, how children make their first steps with complex words through to how proficient adults make lexical identification in less than 40 milliseconds. As a state-of-the-art resource in morphology research, this book will be highly relevant reading for students and researchers of linguistics, psychology and cognitive neuroscience. It will also act as a one-stop shop for experts in the field.

From late antiquity through to the early middle ages, people across north-western Europe were inscribing runes on a range of different objects. Once identified and interpreted by experts, runes provide us with invaluable evidence for the early Germanic languages including English, Dutch, German and the Scandinavian languages and reveal a wealth of information about our early civilisations. Runes employ many techniques from informal scratchings to sophisticated inlaid designs on weapons, or the exquisite relief carvings of the Franks Casket. The task of reading and understanding them involves a good deal of detective-work, calling on expertise from a number of academic disciplines: archaeology, art history, linguistics, and even forensic science. This book tells the story of runes from their mysterious origins, their development as a script, to their use and meaning in the modern world. Illustrated with a range of beautiful objects from jewellery to tools and weapons, Runes will reveal memorials for the dead, business messages, charms and curses, insults and prayers, giving us a glimpse into the languages and cultures of Europeans over a thousand years ago.

Primatology, Ethics and Trauma offers an analytical re-examination of the research conducted into the linguistic abilities of the Oklahoma chimpanzees, uncovering the historical reality of the research. It has been 50 years since the first language experiments on chimpanzees. Robert Ingersoll was one of the researchers from 1975 to 1983. He is well known for being one of the main carers and best friend of the chimpanzee, Nim Chimpsky, but there were other chimpanzees in the University of Oklahoma's Institute for Primate Studies, including Washoe, Moja, Kelly, Booee, and Onan, who were taught sign language in the quest to discover whether language is learned or innate in humans. Antonina Anna Scarna's expertise in language acquisition and neuroscience offers a vehicle for critical evaluation of those studies. Ingersoll and Scarna investigate how this research failed to address the emotional needs of the animals. Research into trauma has made scientific advances since those studies. It is time to consider the research from a different perspective, examining the neglect and cruelty that was inflicted on those animals in the name of psychological science. This book re-examines those cases, addressing directly the suffering and traumatic experiences endured by the captive chimpanzees, in particular the female chimpanzee, Washoe, and her resultant inability to be a competent mother. The book discusses the unethical nature of the studies in the context of recent research on trauma and offers a specific and direct psychological message, proposing to finally close the door on the language side of these chimpanzee studies. This book is a novel and groundbreaking account. It will be of interest to lay readers and academics alike. Those working as research, experimental, and clinical psychologists will find this book of interest, as will psychotherapists, linguists, anthropologists, historians of science and primatologists, as well as those involved in primate sanctuary and conservation.

As the fourth volume of a multi-volume set on the Chinese language, this book studies the lexical system of Old Chinese and the development of different types of lexicons during the period. Focusing on lexicons in Old Chinese, the early form of the Chinese language used between the 18th century BC and the 3rd century AD, this volume first introduces the methods of word formation in Old Chinese by analyzing words inscribed in oracle bones of the Shang Dynasty. Illustrated with examples, it then examines the lexical features of Old Chinese and explores the progress and evolutionary features of monosyllabic words, polysyllabic words, lexical meanings, synonyms, and idioms and proverbs over the course of the volume. This comprehensive groundwork on Chinese lexical history is a must read for scholars and students studying ancient Chinese language, linguistics and especially for beginning learners of the Old Chinese lexicon.

As the fifth volume of a multi-volume set on the Chinese language, this book studies the development of monosyllables and polysyllables in Middle Chinese and the overall evolution of lexical meanings during the period. Focusing on lexicons in Middle Chinese, the Chinese language used between the 4th century AD and the 12th century AD, the book first introduces the monosyllabic neologisms of Middle Chinese, including characters and words derived from Old Chinese lexicons and those newly created. It then examines the development of polysyllabic words in Middle Chinese, ranging from single morpheme words, tautologies and compound words. The final chapter discusses the changes and extension of word meanings in medieval Chinese. Illustrated with abundant examples, this comprehensive groundwork on Chinese lexical history will be a must read for scholars and students studying ancient Chinese language, linguistics and especially for beginning learners of the Middle Chinese lexicon.

As the sixth volume of a multi-volume set on the Chinese language, this book studies the influence of foreign culture on Middle Chinese lexicon and the development of synonyms, idioms and proverbs during the period. Focusing on lexicons in Middle Chinese, the middle form of the Chinese language used between the 4th century AD and the 12th century AD, this book first analyzes loanwords in Middle Chinese, a product of cultural exchange with western regions on the silk road and the impact of Buddhism. It then discusses the differences in meaning between monosyllables and polysyllables. The final chapter describes enriching idioms and proverbs and the major sources of words, including classical works, Buddhist texts and the spoken language. Illustrated with abundant examples, this comprehensive groundwork on Chinese lexical history will be a must read for scholars and students studying ancient Chinese language, linguistics and especially for beginning learners of the Middle Chinese lexicon.

As the seventh volume of a multi-volume set on the Chinese language, this book studies the Mongolian influence on neologisms in Modern Chinese and innovations in word formation and lexical meanings during the period. Focusing on lexicons in Modern Chinese, the Chinese language used since the 13th century AD, this book first introduces new monosyllables and the entry of spoken idioms and dialects into the written language as well as the mingling of the Chinese language with the Mongolian and Manchu languages. It then focuses on the development and features of polysyllabic words in Modern Chinese, covering alliterative and rhyming compounds, trisyllabic and four-syllable words. The final chapter discusses the change of lexical meaning systems in Modern Chinese based on an analysis of monosyllables, disyllables and polysyllables. Illustrated with abundant examples, this comprehensive groundwork on Chinese lexical history will be a must read for scholars and students studying modern Chinese language, linguistics and especially for beginning learners of the modern Chinese lexicon.

What do we mean when we say things like 'If only we knew what he was up to!' Clearly this is more than just a message, or a question to our addressee. We are expressing simultaneously that we don't know, and also that we wish to know. Several modes of encoding contribute to such modalities of expression: word order, subordinating subjunctions, sentences that are subordinated but nevertheless occur autonomously, and attitudinal discourse adverbs which, far beyond lexical adverbials of modality, allow the speaker and the listener to presuppose full agreement, partial agreement under presupposed conditions, or negotiation of common ground. This state of the art survey proposes a new model of modality, drawing on data from a variety of Germanic and Slavic languages to find out what is cross-linguistically universal about modality, and to argue that it is a constitutive part of human cognition.

This third edition of Compendium of the World's Languages has been thoroughly revised to provide up-to-date and accurate descriptions of a wide selection of natural language systems. All cultural and historical notes as well as statistical data have been checked, updated and in many cases expanded. Presenting an even broader range of languages and language families, including new coverage of Australian aboriginal languages and expanded treatment of North American and African languages, this new edition offers a total of 342 entries over nearly 2000 pages. Key features include: Complete rewriting, systematization and regularisation of the phonology sections Provision of IPA symbol grids arranged by articulatory feature and by alphabetic resemblance to facilitate use of the new phonology sections Expansion of morphology descriptions for most major languages Provision of new illustrative text samples Addition of a glossary of technical terms and an expanded bibliography Comparative tables of the numerals 1-10 in a representative range of languages, and also grouped by family Drawing upon a wealth of recent developments and research in language typology and broadened availability of descriptive data, this new incarnation of George Campbell's astounding Compendium brings a much-loved survey emphatically into the twenty-first century for a new generation of readers. Scholarly, comprehensive and highly accessible, Compendium of the World's Languages remains the ideal reference for all interested linguists and professionals alike.

First published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In this work, originally published in Dutch, Rik Smits theorizes that language could not have developed originally as a system of communication. It is, instead, the result of combining separate abilities, each of which developed independently to aid the survival of early humans. Lacking strength and speed, man relies on wisdom for survival. Smits theorizes that human skills in calculation and estimation continued to develop until they were sufficient to accommodate a system as complex as grammar. Only after our linguistic ability emerged could humans think logically and share our reasoning with others, at which point almost everything we now call culture began to flourish. Smits concludes that language cannot have long predated the invention of agriculture in the Middle East, some 14,000 years ago. The huge advance in civilization represented by language made abstract powers of reasoning indispensable for the first time, along with highly developed concepts of identity, past, present, and future, all of which rely upon language. This explanation of the origins of language throws new light on cave paintings by Cro-Magnon man, whose masterpieces date from about 40,000 to 15,000 years ago. Anatomically Cro-Magnons were modern humans, but they had no language in the modern sense. Their absence of language gave them no true sense of individual identity. This translation was made possible by a grant from the Dutch Foundation for Literature.

An essential handbook for professionals and advanced students in the field. Volume 1 contains comprehensive studies on the acquisition of 15 different languages (from ASL to Samoan) -- written by top researchers on each topic. Volume 2 concentrates on theoretical issues, emphasizing current linguistic and psycholinguistic research. Unique in its approach toward individual languages and in its comparative perspective, this book is a hallmark of a rapidly growing area of interdisciplinary, international research.

First published in 1983. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1984. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1984. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This volume brings together research on panel studies with the aim of providing a coherent empirical and theoretical knowledge-base for examining the impact of maturation and lifespan-specific effects on linguistic malleability in the post-adolescent speaker. Building on the work of Wagner and Buchstaller (2018), the present collection offers a critical examination of the theoretical implications of panel research across a range of geographic regions and time periods. The volume seeks to offer a way forward in the debates circling about the phenomenon of later-life language change, drawing on contributions from a variety of linguistic disciplines to examine critical topics such as the effect of linguistic architecture, the roles of mobility and identity construction, and the impact of frequency effects. Taken together, this edited collection both informs and pushes forward key questions on the nature of lifespan change, making this key reading for students and researchers in cognitive linguistics, historical linguistics, dialectology, and variationist sociolinguistics.

First published in 1982. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1982. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1982. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This book presents a critical reading of Kristapurana, the first South Asian retelling of the Bible. In 1579, Thomas Stephens (1549-1619), a young Jesuit priest, arrived in Goa with the aim of preaching Christianity to the local subjects of the Portuguese colony. Kristapurana (1616), a sweeping narrative with 10,962 verses, is his epic poetic retelling of the Christian Bible in the Marathi language. This fascinating text, which first appeared in Roman script, is also one of the earliest printed works in the subcontinent. Kristapurana translated the entire biblical narrative into Marathi a century before Bible translation into South Asian languages began in earnest in Protestant missions. This book contributes to an understanding of translation as it was practiced in South Asia through its study of genre, landscapes, and cultural translation in Kristapurana, while also retelling a history of sacred texts and biblical narratives in the region. It examines this understudied masterpiece of Christian writing from Goa in the early era of Catholic missions and examines themes such as the complexities of the colonial machinery, religious encounters, textual traditions, and multilingualism, providing insight into Portuguese Goa of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The first of its kind, the book makes significant interventions into the current discourse on cultural translation and brings to the fore a hitherto understudied text. It will be an indispensable resource for students and researchers of translation studies, comparative literature, religious studies, biblical studies, English literature, cultural studies, literary history, postcolonial studies, and South Asian studies.