Genetic Linguistics: Essays on Theory and Method

by Joseph H. Greenberg

Overview

This book collects Joseph Greenberg's most important writings on the genetic classification of the world's languages.

Fifty years ago Joseph Greenberg put forward the now widely accepted classification of African languages. This book charts the progress of his subsequent work on language classification in Oceania, the Americas, and Eurasia,in which he proposed the language families Indo-Pacific, Amerind and Eurasiatic. It shows how he established and deployed three fundamental principles: that the most reliable evidence for genetic classification is the pairing of sound and meaning; that nonlinguistic evidence, such as skin colour or cultural traits, should be excluded from the analysis; and that the vocabulary and inflections of a very large number of languages should be simultaneously compared.The volume includes Joseph Greenberg's substantive contributions to the debate his work provoked and concludes with his writings on the links between genetic linguistics and human history.

William Croft's introduction focuses on the substance and the development of Professor Greenberg's thought and research within the context of the discussion they stimulated. He also includes a bibliography of scholarly reactions to and developments of Joseph Greenberg's work and a comprehensive bibliography of his publications in books and journals.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199257713
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	06/02/2005
Pages:	472
Product dimensions:	9.30(w) x 6.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Joseph H.Greenberg (1915-2001) was one of the twentieth-century's most original and influential linguists. He was Professor of Linguistics at Stanford University, 1962-85, where he was also Director of the African Languages and Area Center, 1967-78. His books include The Languages of Africa (1963), Anthropological Linguistics (1968) Language Typology: A Historical and Analytic Overview (1974), Language in the Americas (1987), and Indo-European and its Closest Relatives: The Eurasiatic Language Family (2000/2002).
William Croft received his Ph.D. in linguistics at Stanford University in 1986. His publications include Typology and Universals (1990), Syntactic Categories and Grammatical Relations (1991), Studies in Typology and Diachrony (coedited with Keith Denning and Suzanne Kemmer, 1990), Explaining Language Change: An Evolutionary Approach (2000), and a large number of scholarly articles. His current research areas include syntax, semantics, typology, and historical linguistics. Forthcoming books include Cognitive Linguistics (with D. Alan Cruse) and Verbs: Aspect and Argument Structure.

Table of Contents

Part I: Classification, Grouping, and Subgrouping1. Historical Linguistics and Unwritten Languages (1953)2. Genetic Relationship Among Languages (1957)3. The Problem of Linguistic Subgroupings (1957)4. The General Classification of Central and South American Languages (1960)5. The Methodology of Language Classification (1963)Part II: Classification, Sound Correspondences and Reconstruction6. The Principles of Genetic Linguistic Classification (1987)7. On Lumping and Splitting in Linguistics and Biology (1999)8. The Concept of Proof in Genetic Linguistics (2000)9. Review of Vladimir E. Orel & Olga V. Stolbova, Hamito-Semitic etymological dictionary: Materials for a Reconstruction (1996)10. Proto-linguistic Variation: A Link Between Historical Linguistics and Sociolinguistics (1989)11. Indo-European Practice and American Indianist Theory in Linguistic Classification (1990)Part III: Indo-Pacific, Amerind, Eurasiatic12. The Indo-Pacific Hypothesis (1971)13. Classification of American Indian Languages: A Reply to Campbell (1989)14. In Defense of Amerind (1996)15. Does Altaic Exist? (1997)16. The Convergence of Eurasiatic and Nostratic (1998)Part IV: Genetic Linguistics and Human History17. Linguistic Typology and History: Review of Johanna Nichols, Linguistic Diversity in Space and Time (1993)18. Are There Mixed Languages (1999)19. Language and Archaeology: Review of Colin Renfrew, Archaeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins and Merritt Ruhlen, A Guide to the World's Languages, vol. 1: Classification (1988)20. Beringia and New World Origins: The Linguistic Evidence (1996)Bibliography of Works Related to Joseph H. Greenberg's Theory and Methods for Genetic LinguisticsAppendix AWorks by Joseph H. Greenberg on Genetic LinguisticsAppendix BReviews, Commentaries and Discussion of Joseph H. Greenberg's Works on Genetic LinguisticsIndex

Editorial Reviews

Awarded the 2005 Best Book in Slavic Linguistics by the The American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages. "The detailed exposition and copious citation of relevant scholarly literature in many languages, together with the eminently readable text providing a masterful summation of a unique constellation of sociolinguistic phenomena, suggest that the book will become a classic reference for those who wish to study the dramatic rise and fall of the language-formerly-known-as-Serbo-Croatian."

From the Publisher