Ekoid Bantu Languages of Ogoja, Eastern Nigeria, Part 1, Introduction, Phonology and Comparative Vocabulary


Book Description

Dr Crabb's 1965 study of the Ekoid Bantu languages of Ogoja examines these related languages as a basis of comparative historical research. He chose fourteen of these Ekoid languages as representative of a number of languages in the north-west area of Nigeria bordering on the Bantu language area, whose status as Bantu languages has been open to question. This study is based on extensive field work and presents comparatively the phonologies and selected vocabularies of the languages.




Linguistics in Sub-Saharan Africa


Book Description




The Languages and Linguistics of Africa


Book Description

This innovative handbook takes a fresh look at the currently underestimated linguistic diversity of Africa, the continent with the largest number of languages in the world. It covers the major domains of linguistics, offering both a representative picture of Africa’s linguistic landscape as well as new and at times unconventional perspectives. The focus is not so much on exhaustiveness as on the fruitful relationship between African and general linguistics and the contributions the two domains can make to each other. This volume is thus intended for readers with a specific interest in African languages and also for students and scholars within the greater discipline of linguistics.




African Historical Archaeologies


Book Description

This volume explores the range of interactions between the historical sources and archaeology that are available on the African continent. Written by a range of experts on different aspects of African archaeology, this book represents the first consideration of historical archaeology over the African continent as a whole. This seminal volume also explores Africa's place in global systems of thought and economic development and is of interest to historical archaeologists and historians.




Genetic Linguistics


Book Description

This book collects Joseph Greenberg's most important writings on the genetic classification of the world's languages. William Croft sets the work in context and considers its impact and the bitter controversy it excited.




The numeral system of Proto-Niger-Congo


Book Description

This book proposes the reconstruction of the Proto-Niger-Congo numeral system. The emphasis is placed on providing an exhaustive account of the distribution of forms by families, groups, and branches. The big data bases used for this purpose open prospects for both working with the distribution of words that do exist and with the distribution of gaps in postulated cognates. The distribution of filled cells and gaps is a useful tool for reconstruction. Following an introduction in the first chapter, the second chapter of this book is devoted to the study of various uses of noun class markers in numeral terms. The third chapter deals with the alignment by analogy in numeral systems. Chapter 4 offers a step-by-step reconstruction of number systems of the proto-languages underlying each of the twelve major NC families, on the basis of the step-by-step-reconstruction of numerals within each family. Chapter 5 deals with the reconstruction of the Proto-Niger-Congo numeral system on the basis of the step-by-step-reconstructions offered in Chapter 4. Chapter 6 traces the history of the numerals of Proto-Niger-Congo, reconstructed in Chapter 5, in each individual family of languages.




Bibliography of Nigeria


Book Description

First published in 1971, this major bibliography devoted to Africa’s most populous country – Nigeria – is therefore a timely contribution which must be welcomed by all. The Bibliography of Nigeria contains over 5,400 entries in archaeology, all branches of anthropology, linguistic and relevant historical and sociological studies. Many of the entries carry indicative or informative annotations which have greatly enhanced the usefulness of the work. The history and culture of Africa constitutes a rich area of study and research which is attracting an ever-increasing number of scholars the world over. The new impetus which African studies is receiving in the major centre of learning today has added urgency to the long-neglected problem of bibliographical control of the vast literature. The dearth of bibliographies in the field of African studies has been a main source of frustration to all those working in this area. The book is divided into two parts: part one deals with Nigeria as a whole, and lists general works or those concerned with several regions or several ethnic groups. Part two is devoted to the various ethnic groups. An analytical table of contents, a comprehensive ethnic index, an author index and an index of Islamic studies, together with generous cross-referencing, ensure ready and easy location of individual entries.







On Language


Book Description

This is a collection of 37 of the most important, enduring, and influential essays by one of the great linguists of this century, gathered from a wide range of journals and books spanning four decades.




Studies in Typology and Diachrony


Book Description

Joseph H. Greenberg is a towering figure in late twentieth century linguistics. His major contributions in the field have been in the area of typology and universals, virtually launched by his paper on word order universals, and in diachronic linguistics. The major thrust of Greenberg's work in the past three decades has been in the fusion of these two approaches to linguistic explanation into one, diachronic typology, the cross-linguistic analysis of languages as dynamic systems.This volume honors Greenberg on the occasion of his 75th birthday. It opens with an introduction discussing Greenberg's work at length and a full bibliography of his publications. It contains ten papers in typology, diachronic theory and diachronic typology by some of the leading linguists working in the research tradition inspired by Greenberg's work.