Ancient Indo-European Dialects


Book Description

The first book to provide a rigorous and comprehensive view of the linguistic divisions of early Europe, Asia Minor, Northern India, and Chinese Turkestan. The unifying topic "Ancient Indo-European Dialects" was chosen with a view to utilizing to best advantage the many competences of the contributors int eh extinct languages and language groups of early Europe, the Near East, and Central Asia. In this book each specialist treats the subdivision particularly suited to his research interest, yet is always conscious of and conversant with the entire sweep and continuity oft he Indo-European language area. It is an effort at delimiting the historically and methodologically demonstrable subgroupings, including a critique of such time-worn combination as Italo-Celtic and Balto-Slavic, and incorporating the principles of modern dialectology in a diachronic application. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1966.




Bilingualism and Multiculturalism in Greek Education


Book Description

Bilingualism and Multiculturalism in Greek Education investigates the factors affecting language maintenance/shift among second-generation Albanian and Egyptian migrant pupils in Athens. Using a combined quantitative and qualitative methodology, it explores the influence of three sets of variables on language maintenance. These are a) ethnolinguistic vitality, defined by the demography, status and institutional support of each group in Greece, as well as migrant and Greek pupils’ perceptions regarding these factors; b) migrant parents’ attitudes to language maintenance and their role in language transmission in the home; and c) the attitudes of teachers and the institutional approaches of mainstream Greek education to linguistic and cultural diversity. Results indicate that: • knowledge of Greek is common among today’s children of Albanian and Egyptian immigrants and preference for that language is dominant; • bilingualism varies slightly between Albanian and Egyptian second-generation pupils with Egyptians being more dominant in the parental language, due to their higher degree of identification with their ethnic group in comparison to the Albanian pupils; • the school context plays a significant role in the ability of second-generation youths to achieve and maintain bilingual fluency.




The Languages and Linguistics of Europe


Book Description

Open publicationThe Languages and Linguistics of Europe: A Comprehensive Guide is part of the multi-volume reference work on the languages and linguistics of the continents of the world. The book supplies profiles of the language families of Europe, including the sign languages. It also discusses the areal typology, paying attention to the Standard Average European, Balkan, Baltic and Mediterranean convergence areas. Separate chapters deal with the old and new minority languages and with non-standard varieties. A major focus is language politics and policies, including discussions of the special status of English, the relation between language and the church, language and the school, and standardization. The history of European linguistics is another focus as is the history of multilingual European 'empires' and their dissolution. The volume is especially geared towards a graduate and advanced undergraduate readership. It has been designed such that it can be used, as a whole or in parts, as a textbook, the first of its kind, for graduate programmes with a focus on the linguistic (and linguistics) landscape of Europe.




Revisiting Second Language Sociolinguistics


Book Description

This book investigates socio-linguistic interactions in different second language (L2) contexts in an effort to identify the trends that lead to the acquisition of sociolinguistic variations by L2 learners, contributing significantly to L2 research and practice. It addresses sociolinguistic subjects such as multilingualism and its effects, as well as regional and social dialectology in L2. The different chapters explore the overall effect that society – including cultural norms, expectations, and contexts – has on L2 usage. They also consider how language varieties differ between groups separated by certain social variables such as ethnicity, religion, status, gender, level of education, and age, and how these variables categorise individuals into social or socioeconomic classes. The volume brings together careful theoretical and empirical research conducted in different countries, including Catalonia, Finland, Greece, Malta, Malaysia, the Republic of Cyprus, and the United Arab Emirates.




Between Separation and Symbiosis


Book Description

The book deals in detail with previously understudied language contact settings in the Balkans (South East Europe) that present a continuum between ethnic and linguistic separation and symbiosis among groups of people. The studies in this volume achieve several aims: they critically assess the Balkan Sprachbund theory; they analyse general contact theories against the background of new, original, representative field and historical Greek, Albanian, Romance, Slavic and Judesmo data; they employ and contribute to recent methods of research on linguistic convergence in bilingual societies; they propose new general assessments of extra- and intralinguistic factors of Balkanization over the centuries; and they outline prospects for future research. The factors relevant to contact scenarios and linguistic change in the Balkans are identified and typologized through models such as those related to a balanced or unbalanced (socio)linguistic situation.




Historical Dictionary of Albania


Book Description

Albania is not well known by outsiders; it was deliberately closed to the outside world during the communist era. Now it has thankfully become free again, its borders are open and it can be visited, and it is increasingly integrating with the rest of Europe and beyond. Unfortunately, Albania has had its share of problems in the post-communist era; it's a land of destitution and despair, thanks in part to the Albanian mafia, which has turned the country into one of blood-feuds, kalashnikovs, and eternal crises. Yet, Albania is, in essence, a European nation like any other and will soon, it is to be hoped, advance and take its proper place in Europe and the world. The second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Albania relates the history of this little-known country through a detailed chronology, an introduction, a bibliography, appendixes, and over 700 cross-referenced dictionary entries on significant persons, places, and events; institutions and organizations; and political, economic, social, cultural, and religious facets.




A Cultural History of Aramaic


Book Description

Aramaic is a constant thread running through the various civilizations of the Near East, ancient and modern, from 1000 BCE to the present, and has been the language of small principalities, world empires, and a fair share of the Jewish-Christian tradition. Holger Gzella describes its cultural and linguistic history as a continuous evolution from its beginnings to the advent of Islam. For the first time the individual phases of the language, their socio-historical underpinnings, and the textual sources are discussed comprehensively in light of the latest linguistic and historical research and with ample attention to scribal traditions, multilingualism, and language as a marker of cultural self-awareness. Many new observations on Aramaic are thereby integrated into a coherent historical framework.




The Routledge Handbook of Sociolinguistics Around the World


Book Description

Drawing on examples from a wide range of languages and social settings, The Routledge Handbook of Sociolinguistics Around the World was originally the first single-volume collection surveying the current research trends in international sociolinguistics. This new edition has been comprehensively updated and significantly expanded, and now includes more than 50 chapters written by leading authorities and a brand-new substantial introduction by John Edwards. Coverage has been expanded regionally and there is a critical focus on Indigenous languages. This handbook remains a key tool to help widen the perspective on sociolinguistics to readers interested in the field. Divided into sections covering the Americas, Asia, Australasia, Africa, and Europe, the book provides readers with a solid, up-to-date appreciation of the interdisciplinary nature of the field of sociolinguistics in each area. It clearly explains the patterns and systematicity that underlie language variation in use, along with the ways in which alternations between different language varieties mark personal style, social power, and national identity. The Routledge Handbook of Sociolinguistics Around the World is the ideal resource for all students in undergraduate sociolinguistics courses and for researchers involved in the study of language, society, and power.




A History of the Hebrew Language


Book Description

This book is a comprehensive description of Hebrew from its Semitic origins and the earliest settlement of the Israelite tribes in Canaan to the present day.