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A Language Family Is: Unraveling the Threads of Linguistic Ancestry
Author: Dr. Evelyn Reed, PhD Linguistics, Professor of Comparative Linguistics, University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Reed has published extensively on historical linguistics, specializing in Indo-European language families and language evolution.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, a leading academic publisher renowned for its rigorous peer-review process and commitment to high-quality scholarly works.
Editor: Dr. Alistair Finch, PhD in Historical Linguistics, Senior Editor at Oxford University Press, specializing in language typology and historical linguistics.
Keywords: a language family is, language family, linguistic family, language classification, comparative linguistics, historical linguistics, language evolution, phylogenetic tree, proto-language, language relationships.
Abstract: This article comprehensively explores the concept of "a language family is," delving into its definition, significance in linguistic studies, methodologies used for classification, and its implications for understanding human history and migration patterns. We will examine various prominent language families globally, highlighting their characteristics and relationships, and discuss the ongoing debates and challenges in the field of linguistic classification.
What is a Language Family?
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, known as a proto-language. This ancestor language, often reconstructed through the comparative method, is usually not directly attested. Therefore, understanding what a language family is requires recognizing the shared ancestry that unites its member languages. This shared ancestry manifests in several ways: systematic similarities in vocabulary (cognates), grammar (morphology and syntax), and phonology (sound systems). The existence of these shared features, beyond what could be reasonably attributed to chance or borrowing, points to a common origin. It's crucial to understand that a language family is not merely a collection of languages that happen to share some similarities; it represents a demonstrable genealogical relationship. A language family is a reflection of the historical evolution and diversification of a single ancestral language.
Methods of Language Classification: Tracing the Roots of a Language Family
The process of determining whether a language belongs to a particular language family, or of identifying a new language family, relies heavily on the comparative method. This involves:
1. Lexical Comparison: Identifying cognates – words with shared ancestry – across different languages. This requires careful consideration of sound changes (phonological correspondences) that can obscure the underlying etymological relationships.
2. Grammatical Comparison: Examining similarities and differences in grammatical structures, including morphology (word formation) and syntax (sentence structure). Shared grammatical features provide strong evidence of genetic relationships.
3. Phonological Comparison: Analyzing sound systems and identifying systematic correspondences in the pronunciation of sounds across languages.
4. Computational Phylogenetics: Modern techniques use computational methods and statistical modeling to analyze large datasets of linguistic features, creating phylogenetic trees that visually represent the relationships between languages and language families.
Major Language Families Around the World: Examples of What a Language Family Is
Several major language families encompass numerous languages spoken across the globe. Some prominent examples include:
Indo-European: One of the largest and most widely studied language families, encompassing languages such as English, Spanish, French, German, Hindi, and Persian. Its proto-language, Proto-Indo-European, is reconstructed to have been spoken in the Eurasian steppes thousands of years ago.
Sino-Tibetan: A vast family predominantly spoken in East and South Asia, including Chinese, Tibetan, and Burmese. The relationships within this family are still being actively researched and debated.
Austronesian: A family primarily spoken in Maritime Southeast Asia, the Pacific Islands, and parts of Madagascar. This family showcases the remarkable spread of languages through seafaring migrations.
Afro-Asiatic: This family encompasses a wide range of languages spoken across North Africa and parts of the Middle East, including Arabic, Hebrew, and several Berber languages.
Niger-Congo: The largest language family in Africa, with a vast number of languages spoken across sub-Saharan Africa.
These are just a few examples, illustrating the diversity and global reach of language families. Each family represents a unique branch of the linguistic tree, reflecting millennia of linguistic evolution and cultural transmission. Understanding what a language family is provides crucial insights into the interconnectedness of human history and migration.
The Significance of Language Families
Understanding what a language family is is crucial for several reasons:
Historical Linguistics: Language families are fundamental to reconstructing the history of languages and tracing their development over time. This helps us understand how languages change, diversify, and sometimes die out.
Archaeology and Anthropology: Language family classifications can provide valuable insights into human migration patterns, population movements, and the spread of cultures.
Lexicography and Etymology: Knowledge of language families is essential for tracing the origins of words and understanding their etymological relationships.
Language Policy and Planning: Understanding the relationships between languages within a family can inform language policy decisions, particularly regarding language revitalization and preservation efforts.
Computational Linguistics: Language families provide valuable data for developing computational models of language evolution and language change.
Challenges and Debates in Language Classification
Despite significant advancements, the classification of languages and the identification of language families remain challenging. Several factors contribute to these difficulties:
Language Contact and Borrowing: Extensive borrowing between unrelated languages can obscure their true genealogical relationships.
Incomplete Data: For many languages, particularly those spoken by small or isolated communities, the available linguistic data is limited, making classification challenging.
The Deep Time Problem: The further back in time we go, the more difficult it becomes to reconstruct the relationships between proto-languages. The evidence may become too scant to establish conclusive relationships.
Different Classification Methods: The use of different methodologies and criteria can lead to varying classifications of the same languages.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a language family is a powerful concept that illuminates the intricate tapestry of human language. By understanding what a language family is, we gain profound insights into the history of human migration, cultural interaction, and linguistic evolution. While challenges remain in the field of language classification, ongoing research continues to refine our understanding of language families and their complex interrelationships, providing valuable knowledge that extends far beyond the realm of linguistics. The study of language families continues to evolve, incorporating new methods and insights, ensuring the ongoing exploration of this fascinating aspect of human history and culture.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Q: Can a language belong to more than one language family? A: No. A language belongs to only one language family, reflecting its single ancestral origin. Similarities with other languages might be due to borrowing or chance resemblance, not genetic relationship.
2. Q: How are proto-languages reconstructed? A: Proto-languages are reconstructed using the comparative method, analyzing systematic correspondences in vocabulary, grammar, and phonology across related languages.
3. Q: Are all language families equally well-understood? A: No. Some language families, like Indo-European, are extensively studied and well-documented, while others are less understood due to limited data or research.
4. Q: What is a language isolate? A: A language isolate is a language that has no demonstrable genetic relationship to any other known language.
5. Q: How can language families help preserve endangered languages? A: Understanding the relationships between languages can help prioritize language preservation efforts and inform strategies for revitalization, particularly within a family context.
6. Q: What is the difference between a language family and a language branch? A: A language family is the broadest grouping, while a language branch represents a subgroup within a family that shares a more recent common ancestor.
7. Q: Can a language family disappear completely? A: Yes. If all languages within a family become extinct, the family itself ceases to exist.
8. Q: Is the classification of language families a settled science? A: No, it is an ongoing process of research and refinement, with new discoveries and methodologies constantly challenging and reshaping our understanding.
9. Q: How do language families relate to human migration patterns? A: The geographical distribution of languages within a family can provide clues about the historical migration routes and expansion of populations.
Related Articles:
1. The Indo-European Language Family: A Deep Dive: This article explores the history, characteristics, and subfamilies of the Indo-European language family, examining its impact on global languages.
2. Reconstructing Proto-Indo-European: Methods and Challenges: A detailed look at the methods used to reconstruct Proto-Indo-European and the challenges associated with this complex task.
3. The Sino-Tibetan Language Family: Diversity and Classification: An overview of the Sino-Tibetan family, discussing its internal diversity and the ongoing debates surrounding its classification.
4. Austronesian Languages and the Expansion of Maritime Cultures: This article explores the geographical spread of Austronesian languages, highlighting their connection to seafaring migrations and cultural exchange.
5. Language Isolate: Unraveling the Mysteries of Linguistic Origins: An exploration of language isolates and the challenges of understanding their historical relationships.
6. The Comparative Method in Historical Linguistics: Principles and Applications: A detailed examination of the comparative method and its application in reconstructing language families.
7. Phylogenetic Trees and Language Classification: Visualizing Linguistic Relationships: This article focuses on the use of phylogenetic trees in representing the relationships between languages and language families.
8. Language Revitalization and the Role of Language Families: An examination of how understanding language families can inform strategies for language revitalization efforts.
9. The Impact of Language Contact on Language Family Classification: This article explores the challenges posed by language contact and borrowing in identifying and classifying language families.
| a language family is: Language Families of the World John McWhorter, 2018-01-02 |
| a language family is: Linguistics P.H. Matthews, 2021 |
| a language family is: The Language-families of Africa Alice Werner, 1915 |
| a language family is: The Indo-Aryan Languages Danesh Jain, George Cardona, 2007-07-26 The Indo-Aryan languages are spoken by at least 700 million people throughout India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldive Islands. They have a claim to great antiquity, with the earliest Vedic Sanskrit texts dating to the end of the second millennium B.C. With texts in Old Indo-Aryan, Middle Indo-Aryan and Modern Indo-Aryan, this language family supplies a historical documentation of language change over a longer period than any other subgroup of Indo-European. This volume is divided into two main sections dealing with general matters and individual languages. Each chapter on the individual language covers the phonology and grammar (morphology and syntax) of the language and its writing system, and gives the historical background and information concerning the geography of the language and the number of its speakers. |
| a language family is: The Romance Languages Rebecca Posner, 1996-09-05 What is a Romance language? How is one Romance language related to others? How did they all evolve? And what can they tell us about language in general? In this comprehensive survey Rebecca Posner, a distinguished Romance specialist, examines this group of languages from a wide variety of perspectives. Her analysis combines philological expertise with insights drawn from modern theoretical linguistics, both synchronic and diachronic. She relates linguistic features to historical and sociological factors, and teases out those elements which can be attributed to divergence from a common source and those which indicate convergence towards a common aim. Her discussion is extensively illustrated with new and original data, and an up-to-date and comprehensive bibliography is included. This volume will be an invaluable and authoritative guide for students and specialists alike. |
| a language family is: The Sino-Tibetan Languages Randy J. LaPolla, Graham Thurgood, 2006-05-17 There are more native speakers of Sino-Tibetan languages than of any other language family in the world. Records of these languages are among the oldest for any human language, and the amount of active research on them, both diachronic and synchronic, has multiplied in the last few decades. This volume includes overview articles as well as descriptions of individual languages and comments on the subgroups in which they occur. In addition to a number of modern languages, there are descriptions of several ancient languages. |
| a language family is: Cool Infographics Randy Krum, 2013-10-23 Make information memorable with creative visual design techniques Research shows that visual information is more quickly and easily understood, and much more likely to be remembered. This innovative book presents the design process and the best software tools for creating infographics that communicate. Including a special section on how to construct the increasingly popular infographic resume, the book offers graphic designers, marketers, and business professionals vital information on the most effective ways to present data. Explains why infographics and data visualizations work Shares the tools and techniques for creating great infographics Covers online infographics used for marketing, including social media and search engine optimization (SEO) Shows how to market your skills with a visual, infographic resume Explores the many internal business uses of infographics, including board meeting presentations, annual reports, consumer research statistics, marketing strategies, business plans, and visual explanations of products and services to your customers With Cool Infographics, you'll learn to create infographics to successfully reach your target audience and tell clear stories with your data. |
| a language family is: Family Language Policy C. Smith-Christmas, 2015-10-29 Based on an eight-year study of a family on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, this book explores why the children in the family do not often speak Gaelic, despite the adults' best efforts to use the language with them, as well as the children's attendance at a Gaelic immersion school. |
| a language family is: The Iranian Languages Gernot Windfuhr, 2013-05-13 The Iranian languages form the major eastern branch of the Indo-European group of languages, itself part of the larger Indo-Iranian family. Estimated to have between 150 and 200 million native speakers, the Iranian languages constitute one of the world’s major language families. This comprehensive volume offers a detailed overview of the principle languages which make up this group: Old Iranian, Middle Iranian, and New Iranian. The Iranian Languages is divided into fifteen chapters. The introductory chapters by the editor present a general overview and a detailed discussion of the linguistic typology of Iranian. The individual chapters which follow are written by leading experts in the field. These provide the reader with concise, non-technical descriptions of a range of Iranian languages. Each chapter follows the same pattern and sequence of topics, taking the reader through the significant features not only of phonology and morphology but also of syntax; from phrase level to complex sentences and pragmatics. Ample examples on all levels are provided with detailed annotation for the non-specialist reader. In addition, each chapter covers lexis, sociolinguistic and typological issues, and concludes with annotated sample texts. This unique resource is the ideal companion for undergraduate and postgraduate students of linguistics and language. It will also be of interest to researchers or anyone with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistics anthropology and language development. Gernot Windfuhr is Professor of Iranian Studies at the University of Michigan; he has published widely on Persian and Iranian languages and linguistics and related languages, as well as on other aspects of Iranian culture including Persian literature and Pre-Islamic Iranian religions. |
| a language family is: The Oxford Handbook of Lexicography Philip Durkin, 2016 This volume provides concise, authoritative accounts of the approaches and methodologies of modern lexicography and of the aims and qualities of its end products. Leading scholars and professional lexicographers, from all over the world and representing all the main traditions andperspectives, assess the state of the art in every aspect of research and practice. The book is divided into four parts, reflecting the main types of lexicography. Part I looks at synchronic dictionaries - those for the general public, monolingual dictionaries for second-language learners, andbilingual dictionaries. Part II and III are devoted to the distinctive methodologies and concerns of the historical dictionaries and specialist dictionaries respectively, while chapters in Part IV examine specific topics such as description and prescription; the representation of pronunciation; andthe practicalities of dictionary production. The book ends with a chronology of the major events in the history of lexicography. It will be a valuable resource for students, scholars, and practitioners in the field. |
| a language family is: An Introduction to the Indo-European Languages Philip Baldi, 1983 This comprehensive linguistic survey of the Indo-European groups synthesizes the vast amount of information contained in the specialized handbooks of the individual stocks. The text begins with an introduction to the concept of the Indo-European language family, the history of its discovery, and the techniques of analysis. The introduction also gives a structural sketch of Proto-Indo-European, the parent language from which the others are descended. Baldi then devotes a chapter to each of the 11 major branches of Indo-European (Italic, Celtic, Indo-Iranian, Greek, Armenian, Albanian, Baltic, Slavic, Germanic, Tocharian, and Anatolian). Each chapter provides an outline of the external history of the branch, its people, dialects, and other relevant history. This outline is followed by a structural sketch of the most important language or languages of the branch (e.g., Old Irish for Celtic, Sanskrit and Avestan for Indo-Iranian, Latin and Osco-Umbrian for Italic). The sketch also contains the phonology, morphology, and syntax of each language. There is lastly a sample text of each language containing both interlinear and free translation. In those branches where there are special issues (e.g., the relation of Italic to Celtic and Baltic to Slavic, or the problem of archaism in Hittite), additional discussions of these issues are provided. Baldi's final chapter gives a brief outline of the minor Indo-European languages such as Illyrian, Thracian, Raetic, and Phrygian. Adding further to the usefulness of the book are extensive bibliographies, an up-to-date map showing the geographical distribution of the Indo-European languages throughout the world, and a detailed family tree diagram of the members of each subgroup within the Indo-European language family and their interrelationships. |
| a language family is: The Language of Family Therapy Fritz B. Simon, Helm Stierlin, Lyman C. Wynne, 1985 |
| a language family is: The Germanic Languages Ekkehard Konig, Johan van der Auwera, 2013-12-16 Provides a unique, up-to-date survey of twelve Germanic languages from English and German to Faroese and Yiddish. |
| a language family is: Successful Family Language Policy Mila Schwartz, Anna Verschik, 2013-12-12 This book presents the forefront of research in the emerging field of family language policy. This is the first volume to explore the link between family language policy, practice and management in the light of state and community language policy in more than 20 ethno-linguistic communities worldwide. Contributions by leading scholars from eight countries and three continents offer insights in how family language policy might be interpreted from various theoretical perspectives, using innovative methodologies. In particular, the authors present novel data on successful family language practices such as faith-related literacy activities and homework sessions, as well as management, including prayer, choice of bilingual education, and links with mainstream and complementary learning, which permit the realization of language ideology within three contexts: immigrant families, inter-marriage families, and minority and majority families in conflict-ridden societies. |
| a language family is: The Bantu Languages Derek Nurse, Gérard Philippson, 2006-03-21 Gerard Philippson is Professor of Bantu Languages at the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales and is a member of the Dyamique de Langage research team of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lyon II University. He has mainly worked on comparative Bantu tonology. Other areas of interest include Afro-Asiatic, general phonology, linguistic classification and its correlation with population genetics. |
| a language family is: Family Language Policy Sonia Wilson, 2020-07-31 This book explores the question of family language policy in multilingual households. Presenting six case studies which focus on the experiences of parents and children in French-English bilingual contexts, the author draws conclusions about the impact of parental language management on the family as a whole which can be applied to transnational families from other linguistic backgrounds. While many parental guides on bilingual childrearing have been published in recent years, little attention has been paid to the possible impact of such language strategies on the experiences and interrelationships of bilingual family members. This book is unique in focusing in depth on the psychology and experiences of the child, and it will be of interest to readers in fields as diverse as sociolinguistics, language policy and planning, sociology of youth and family, and child psychology. |
| a language family is: The Slavonic Languages Professor Greville Corbett, Professor Bernard Comrie, 2003-09 This book provides a chapter-length description of each of the modern Slavonic languages and the attested extinct Slavonic languages. Individual chapters discuss the various alphabets that have been used to write Slavonic languages, in particular the Roman, Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabets; the relationship of the Slavonic languages to other Indo-European languages; their relationship to one another through their common ancestor, Proto-Slavonic; and the extent to what various Slavonic languages have survived in emigration. Each chapter on an individual language is written according to the same general scheme and incorporates the following elements: an introductory section describing the language's social context and, appropriate, the development of the standard language; a discussion of the phonology of the language, including a phonemic inventory and morphophonemic alterations from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives; a detailed presentation of the synchronic morphology of the language, with notes on the major historical developments; an extensive discussion of the syntactic properties of the language; a discussion of vocabulary, including the relation between inherited Slavonic and borrowed vocabulary, with lists of basic lexical items in selected semantic fields colour terms, names of parts of the body and kinship terms; an outline of the main dialects, with an accompanying map; and a bibliography with sources in English and other languages. The book is made particularly accessible by the inclusion of (1) a parallel transliteration of all examples cited from Slavonic languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet and (2) English translations of all Slavonic language examples. |
| a language family is: Handbook of Home Language Maintenance and Development Andrea C. Schalley, Susana A. Eisenchlas, 2020-06-22 Even a cursory look at conference programs and proceedings reveals a burgeoning interest in the field of social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development. To date, however, research on this topic has been published in piecemeal fashion, subsumed under the more general umbrella of ‘bilingualism’. Within bilingualism research, there has been an extensive exploration of linguistic and psycholinguistic perspectives on the one hand, and educational practices and outcomes on the other. In comparison, social and affective factors – which lead people to either maintain or shift the language – have been under-researched. This is the first volume that brings together the different strands in research on social and affective factors in home language maintenance and development, ranging from the micro-level (family language policies and practices), to the meso-level (community initiatives) and the macro-level (mainstream educational policies and their implementation). The volume showcases a wide distribution across contexts and populations explored. Contributors from around the world represent different research paradigms and perspectives, providing a rounded overview of the state-of-the-art in this flourishing field. |
| a language family is: The Loom of Language Frederick Bodmer, 1985 Here is an informative introduction to language: its origins in the past, its growth through history, and its present use for communication between peoples. It is at the same time a history of language, a guide to foreign tongues, and a method for learning them. It shows, through basic vocabularies, family resemblances of languages -- Teutonic, Romance, Greek -- helpful tricks of translation, key combinations of roots and phonetic patterns. It presents by common-sense methods the most helpful approach to the mastery of many languages; it condenses vocabulary to a minimum of essential words; it simplifies grammar in an entirely new way; and it teaches a language as it is actually used in everyday life. |
| a language family is: The Semitic Languages John Huehnergard, Na’ama Pat-El, 2019-02-18 The Semitic Languages presents a comprehensive survey of the individual languages and language clusters within this language family, from their origins in antiquity to their present-day forms. This second edition has been fully revised, with new chapters and a wealth of additional material. New features include the following: • new introductory chapters on Proto-Semitic grammar and Semitic linguistic typology • an additional chapter on the place of Semitic as a subgroup of Afro-Asiatic, and several chapters on modern forms of Arabic, Aramaic and Ethiopian Semitic • text samples of each individual language, transcribed into the International Phonetic Alphabet, with standard linguistic word-by-word glossing as well as translation • new maps and tables present information visually for easy reference. This unique resource is the ideal reference for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of linguistics and language. It will be of interest to researchers and anyone with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistic typology, linguistic anthropology and language development. |
| a language family is: The Tai-Kadai Languages Anthony Diller, Jerry Edmondson, Yongxian Luo, 2004-11-30 The Routledge Language Family Series is aimed at undergraduates and postgraduates of linguistics and language, or those with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistics anthropology and language development. With close to 100 million speakers, Tai-Kadai constitutes one of the world's major language families. The Tai-Kadai Languages provides a unique, comprehensive, single-volume tome covering much needed grammatical descriptions in the area. It presents an important overview of Thai that includes extensive cross-referencing to other sections of the volume and sign-posting to sources in the bibliography. The volume also includes much new material on Lao and other Tai-Kadai languages, several of which are described here for the first time. Much-needed and highly useful, The Tai-Kadai Languages is a key work for professionals and students in linguistics, as well as anthropologists and area studies specialists. ANTHONY V. N. DILLER is Foundation Director of the National Thai Studies Centre, at the Australian National University. JEROLD A. EDMONDSON is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Texas Arlington and a member of the Academy of Distinguished Scholars. YONGXIAN LUO is Senior Lecturer in the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne and a member of the Australian Linguistic Society. |
| a language family is: The Germanic Languages Wayne Harbert, 2006-12-21 Germanic - one of the largest sub-groups of the Indo-European language family - comprises 37 languages with an estimated 470 million speakers worldwide. This book presents a comparative linguistic survey of the full range of Germanic languages, both ancient and modern, including major world languages such as English and German (West Germanic), the Scandinavian (North Germanic) languages, and the extinct East Germanic languages. Unlike previous studies, it does not take a chronological or a language-by-language approach, organized instead around linguistic constructions and subsystems. Considering dialects alongside standard varieties, it provides a detailed account of topics such as case, word formation, sound systems, vowel length, syllable structure, the noun phrase, the verb phrase, the expression of tense and mood, and the syntax of the clause. Authoritative and comprehensive, this much-needed survey will be welcomed by scholars and students of the Germanic languages, as well as linguists across the many branches of the field. |
| a language family is: The Languages of Japan and Korea Nicolas Tranter, 2012 The Languages of Japan and Korea provides detailed descriptions of the major varieties of languages in the region, both modern and pre-modern, within a common format, producing a long-needed introductory reference source. Korean, Japanese, Ainu, and representative members of the main groupings of the Ryukyuan chain are discussed for the first time in great detail in a single work. The volume is divided into language sketches, the majority of which are broken down into sections on phonology, orthography, morphology, syntax and lexicon. Specific emphasis is placed on aspects of syntactic interest, including speech levels, honorifics and classifiers. Each language variety is represented in Roman-based transcription, although its own script (where there is such orthography) and IPA transcriptions are used sparingly where appropriate. The dialects of both the modern and oldest forms of the languages are given extensive treatment, with a primary focus on the differences from the standard language. These synchronic snapshots are complemented by a discussion of both the genetic and areal relationships between languages in the region. With contributions from a variety of scholars of the highest reputation, The Language of Japan and Korea is a much needed and highly useful tool for professionals and students in linguistics, as well as area studies specialists. |
| a language family is: The Mayan Languages Judith Aissen, Nora C. England, Roberto Zavala Maldonado, 2017-05-12 The Mayan Languages presents a comprehensive survey of the language family associated with the Classic Mayan civilization (AD 200–900), a family whose individual languages are still spoken today by at least six million indigenous Maya in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. This unique resource is an ideal reference for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of Mayan languages and linguistics. Written by a team of experts in the field, The Mayan Languages presents in-depth accounts of the linguistic features that characterize the thirty-one languages of the family, their historical evolution, and the social context in which they are spoken. The Mayan Languages: provides detailed grammatical sketches of approximately a third of the Mayan languages, representing most of the branches of the family; includes a section on the historical development of the family, as well as an entirely new sketch of the grammar of Classic Maya as represented in the hieroglyphic script; provides detailed state-of-the-art discussions of the principal advances in grammatical analysis of Mayan languages; includes ample discussion of the use of the languages in social, conversational, and poetic contexts. Consisting of topical chapters on the history, sociolinguistics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, discourse structure, and acquisition of the Mayan languages, this book will be a resource for researchers and other readers with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistic anthropology, language acquisition, and linguistic typology. |
| a language family is: Bilingual Families Eowyn Crisfield, 2021-01-06 Does your family or community speak more than one language? Do you wonder how to help your children successfully learn or keep those languages? Do you want your children to have the gift of bilingualism and aren’t sure where to start – or how to keep going? Every multilingual family has unique language needs. Bilingual Families is a guide for you and your family. It combines academic research with practical advice to cover the essential elements in successful bilingual and multilingual development. Use this book to: Learn about language goals – and how to set them Create a 'living' family language plan that develops and grows with your family Learn how to talk about multilingualism with your children and other key people in your children's life, like teachers and relatives Recognise when you might need further support An indispensable guide for your family’s language journey. |
| a language family is: How Language Began Daniel L. Everett, 2019-12-17 A Buzzfeed Gift Guide Selection “Few books on the biological and cultural origin of humanity can be ranked as classics. I believe [this] will be one of them.” — Edward O. Wilson At the time of its publication, How Language Began received high acclaim for capturing the fascinating history of mankind’s most incredible creation. Deemed a “bombshell” linguist and “instant folk hero” by Tom Wolfe (Harper’s), Daniel L. Everett posits that the near- 7,000 languages that exist today are not only the product of one million years of evolution but also have allowed us to become Earth’s apex predator. Tracing 60,000 generations, Everett debunks long- held theories across a spectrum of disciplines to affi rm the idea that we are not born with an instinct for language. Woven with anecdotes of his nearly forty years of fi eldwork amongst Amazonian hunter- gatherers, this is a “completely enthralling” (Spectator) exploration of our humanity and a landmark study of what makes us human. “[An] ambitious text. . . . Everett’s amiable tone, and especially his captivating anecdotes . . . , will help the neophyte along.”— New York Times Book Review |
| a language family is: The Oceanic Languages John Lynch, Malcolm Ross, Terry Crowley, 2002 The volume contains five background chapters: The Oceanic Languages, Sociolinguistic Background, Typological Overview, Proto-Oceanic and Internal Subgrouping. Part of 2 vol set. Author Ross from ANU. |
| a language family is: Three Generations, Two Languages, One Family Li Wei, 1994 This book offers a sociolinguistic study of the Chinese community in Britain. It focuses on generational changes in language choice and code-switching patterns of Chinese immigrant families. The social network model developed in the study is intended to account for the relationship between community norms of language use and conversational strategies of individual speakers, and for the relation of both to the broader social, economic and political context. |
| a language family is: The Indo-European Languages Anna Giacalone Ramat, Paolo Ramat, 2015-04-29 First published in 2008. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company. |
| a language family is: Indo-European Language and Culture Benjamin W. Fortson, IV, 2011-09-07 This revised and expanded edition provides a comprehensive overview of comparative Indo-European linguistics and the branches of the Indo-European language family, covering both linguistic and cultural material. Now offering even greater coverage than the first edition, it is the definitive introduction to the field. Updated, corrected, and expanded edition, containing new illustrations of selected texts and inscriptions, and text samples with translations and etymological commentary Extensively covers individual histories of both ancient and modern languages of the Indo-European family Provides an overview of Proto-Indo-European culture, society, and language Designed for use in courses, with exercises and suggestions for further reading included in each chapter Includes maps, a glossary, a bibliography, and comprehensive word and subject indexes |
| a language family is: The Dravidian Languages Sanford B. Steever, 2015-04-15 The Dravidian language family is the world's fourth largest with over 175 million speakers across South Asia from Pakistan to Nepal, from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka as well as having communities in Malaysia, North America and the UK. Four of the languages, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu are official national languages and the Dravidian family has had a rich literary and cultural influence. This authoritative reference source provides unique descriptions of 12 of these languages, covering their historical development alongside discussions of their specialised linguistic structures and features. Each chapter combines modern linguistic theory with traditional historical linguistics and a uniform structure allows for easy typological comparison between the individual languages. Two further chapters provide general information about the language family - the introduction, which covers the history, cultural implications and linguistic background, and a separate article on Dravidian writing systems. This volume includes languages from all 4 of the Dravidian family's subgroupings: South Dravidian e.g. Tamil, Kannada; South Central Dravidian e.g. Telugu, Konda; Central Dravidian e.g. Kolami; North Dravidian e.g. Brahui, Malto. Written by a team of expert contributors, many of whom are based in Asia, each language chapter offers a detailed analysis of phonology, morphology, syntax and followed by a list of the most relevant further reading to aid the independent scholar. The Dravidian Languages will be invaluable to students and researchers within linguistics and will also be of interest to readers in the fields of comparative literature, South Asian studies and Oriental studies. |
| a language family is: Old English and its Closest Relatives Orrin W. Robinson, 2003-09-02 This accessible introductory reference source surveys the linguistic and cultural background of the earliest known Germanic languages and examines their similarities and differences. The Languages covered include:Gothic Old Norse Old SaxonOld English Old Low Franconian Old High German Written in a lively style, each chapter opens with a brief cultural history of the people who used the language, followed by selected authentic and translated texts and an examination of particular areas including grammar, pronunciation, lexis, dialect variation and borrowing, textual transmission, analogy and drift. |
| a language family is: Exploring Linguistic Science Allison Burkette, William A. Kretzschmar Jr., 2018-03-15 Introduces students to the scientific study of language, using the basic principles of complexity theory. |
| a language family is: A Guide to the World's Languages Merritt Ruhlen, 1991 This is the first of three pathbreaking volumes that will constitute a wide-ranging analytical guide to the world's approximately 5,000 languages. The volumes are written for both linguists and general readers, and this first volume in particular assumes no background in linguistics. A postscript prepared for this paperback edition takes research data to 1990. The book is illustrated with 21 maps. |
| a language family is: The Uralic Languages Daniel Abondolo, 2015-04-08 This book provides a unique, up-to-date survey of individual Uralic languages and sub-groupings from Finnish to Selkup. Spoken by more than 25 million native speakers, the Uralic languages have important cultural and social significance in Northern and Eastern Europe, as well as in immigrant communitites throughout Europe and North America. The introductory chapter gives an overview of the Uralic language family and is followed by 18 chapter-length descriptions of each language or sub-grouping, giving an analysis of their history and development as well as focusing on their linguistic structures. Written by internationally recognised experts and based on the most recent scholarship available, the volume covers major languages - including the official national languages of Estonia, Finland and Hungary - and rarely-covered languages such as Mordva, Nganasan and Khanty. The 18 language chapters are similarly-structured, designed for comparative study and cover phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon. Those on individual languages also have sample text where available. Each chapter includes numerous tables to support and illustrate the text and bibliographies of the major references for each language to aid further study. The volume is comprehensively indexed. This book will be invaluable to language students, experts requiring concise but thorough information on related languages and anyone working in historical, typological and comparative linguistics. |
| a language family is: The Turkic Languages Lars Johanson, Éva Á. Csató, 2021-12-27 The Turkic languages are spoken today in a vast geographical area stretching from southern Iran to the Arctic Ocean and from the Balkans to the great wall of China. There are currently 20 literary languages in the group, the most important among them being Turkish with over 70 million speakers; other major languages covered include Azeri, Bashkir, Chuvash, Gagauz, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Noghay, Tatar, Turkmen, Uyghur, Uzbek, Yakut, Yellow Uyghur and languages of Iran and South Siberia. The Turkic Languages is a reference book which brings together detailed discussions of the historical development and specialized linguistic structures and features of the languages in the Turkic family. Seen from a linguistic typology point of view, Turkic languages are particularly interesting because of their astonishing morphosyntactic regularity, their vast geographical distribution, and their great stability over time. This volume builds upon a work which has already become a defining classic of Turkic language study. The present, thoroughly revised edition updates and augments those authoritative accounts and reflects recent and ongoing developments in the languages themselves, as well as our further enhanced understanding of the relations and patterns of influence between them. The result is the fruit of decades-long experience in the teaching of the Turkic languages, their philology and literature, and also of a wealth of new insights into the linguistic phenomena and cultural interactions defining their development and use, both historically and in the present day. Each chapter combines modern linguistic analysis with traditional historical linguistics; a uniform structure allows for easy typological comparison between the individual languages. Written by an international team of experts, The Turkic Languages will be invaluable to students and researchers within linguistics, Turcology, and Near Eastern and Oriental Studies. |
| a language family is: Proto-Indo-European Language Alvaro Hans, 2017-11-28 The Indo-European (IE) is the largest among the family of languages in the world, with 445 languages spoken by around 46% of the global population. Linguists have been looking for the mother of IE family, fondly called Proto-Indo-European (PIE) language but their decades of search have not revealed the face of PIE till now. What others have been missing so far, the author of this book Alvaro Hans has found out—by walking side-wards, jumping walls and looking for ‘her’, in unusual places. This book is all about that exciting journey and a deciding destination. |
| a language family is: Perfects in Indo-European Languages and Beyond Robert Crellin, Thomas Jügel, 2020-09-15 This volume provides a detailed investigation of perfects from all the branches of the Indo-European language family, in some cases representing the first ever comprehensive description. Thorough philological examinations result in empirically well-founded analyses illustrated with over 940 examples. The unique temporal depth and diatopic breadth of attested Indo-European languages permits the investigation of both TAME (Tense-Aspect-Mood-Evidentiality) systems over time and recurring cycles of change, as well as synchronic patterns of areal distribution and contact phenomena. These possibilities are fully exploited in the volume. Furthermore, the cross-linguistic perspective adopted by many authors, as well as the inclusion of contributions which go beyond the boundaries of the Indo-European family per se, facilitates typological comparison. As such, the volume is intended to serve as a springboard for future research both into the semantics of the perfect in Indo-European itself, and verb systems across the world’s languages. |
| a language family is: When Culture Impacts Health Cathy Banwell, Stanley Ulijaszek, Jane Dixon, 2013-01-25 Bringing the hard-to-quantify aspects of lived experience to analysis, and emphasizing what might be lost in interventions if cultural insights are absent, this book includes case studies from across the Asia and Pacific regions –Bangladesh, Malaysia, New Guinea, Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Tuvalu and the Cook Islands. When Culture Impacts Health offers conceptual, methodological and practical insights into understanding and successfully mediating cultural influences to address old and new public health issues including safe water delivery, leprosy, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and body image. It contains useful methodological tools – how to map cultural consensus, measure wealth capital, conduct a cultural economy audit, for example. It provides approaches for discerning between ethnic and racial constructs and for conducting research among indigenous peoples. The book will be indispensible for culture and health researchers in all regions. - Discusses global application of case descriptions - Demonstrates how a cultural approach to health research enriches and informs our understanding of intractable public health problems - Covers methods and measurements applicable to a variety of cultural research approaches as well as actual research results - Case studies include medical anthropology, cultural epidemiology, cultural history and social medicine perspectives |
| a language family is: The Celtic Languages Martin J. Ball, Nicole Muller, 2012-11-12 This comprehensive volume describes in depth all the Celtic languages from historical, structural and sociolinguistic perspectives, with individual chapters on Irish, Scottish, Gaelic, Manx, Welsh, Breton and Cornish. Organized for ease of reference, The Celtic Languages is arranged in four parts. The first, Historical Aspects, covers the origin and history of the Celtic languages, their spread and retreat, present-day distribution and a sketch of the extant and recently extant languages. Parts II and III describe the structural detail of each language, including phonology, mutation, morphology, syntax, dialectology and lexis. The final part provides wide-ranging sociolinguistic detail, such as areas of usage (in government, church, media, education, business), maintenance (institutional support offered), and prospects for survival (examination of demographic changes and how they affect these languages). Special Features: * Presents the first modern, comprehensive linguistic description of this important language family * Provides a full discussion of the likely progress of Irish, Welsh and Breton * Includes the most recent research on newly discovered Continental Celtic inscriptions |
English Reading: Language Families - Swiss Language Academy
Language families include a diverse range of languages. The Indo-European language family is the biggest language family in the world. It’s so big that there are several branches to this …
Language Isolates and Their History, or, What’s Weird, Anyway?
a language family is a set of languages for which there is sufficient evidence to show that they descend from a single ancestral language and are therefore genetically related.
The Origin and Diffusion of World Languages Cultural …
Language families can also be divided into language groups, or a set of languages with a relatively recent common origin and many similar characteristics. Spanish, French and Italian, …
Lesson: Language Families 1/14 - nesshistory.org
Definition: A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestral language or parental language, called the proto-language of that family.
Chapter 5 Languages - WordPress.com
1.4 Africa’s Language Families Figure 5-9: Africa displays a great diversity of languages. This map displays language families, which can be subdivided into language groups and then …
English as an Indo-European Language - Purdue University …
The language family to which English belongs is known as the Indo-European (IE) language family, and the common ancestor from which the Indo-European languages derive is called …
LANGUAGE-FOCUSED FAMILY ENGAGEMENT - University of …
Sometimes families turn these plans into strategies for how their family should use language at home or in the community. 3 For instance, a bilingual family might decide to only attend …
LINGUISTICS 407 Lecture #3 GENEALOGICAL CLASSIFICATION …
The family tree model shows the direction of change and the relations among languages ; the older stages of the languages being located higher in the tree and direct descendants being …
Identification of the major language families - JSTOR
A language family is a group of languages which have descended from a common mother language. Since the ancestor is common, these languages are expected to be similar in some …
Languages of Europe - National Geographic Society
Use the space below to sketch a diagram of the Indo-European language family tree. Language is one of the primary ways Europeans define themselves. Most Europeans—and about half of …
Mapping the World’s languages by Genetic relationship
In any case, it is clear that language families provide unique evidence of the relationships among groups of people far into the past – much further than any detailed recorded history. And the …
Chapter 5 Lecture Contemporary Human Geography 3 Edition
A language family is a collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed long before recorded history. language branch is a collection of languages within a …
1 The Indo-European language family - Cambridge University …
Indo-European (IE) is the best-studied language family in the world. For much of the past 200 years more scholars have worked on the comparative philology of IE than on all the other …
Introduction: Language, heritage, and family: A dynamic …
The next two papers investigate how family language ideologies show continuity and change due to family biographies of the past as well as imagined futures. First, Li Wei and Zhu
Three Hypotheses to Explain Pai Origins - PCAS
According to most analysts, the Pai branch of the Yuman linguistic family consists of two languages: Paipai, which is spoken in north-ern Baja California, and Upland Yuman, spoken …
An Introduction to the Peoples and Languages of the Pacific
However, Enrico (2004) provides a strong argument, employing standard methods of comparative/historical linguistics, that Haida is a member of the Na-Dene family. To my …
The Routledge Handbook of Historical Linguistics
For most language families, unlike in Romance, the ancestral language is not attested but merely hypothetical; the reconstruction of historical scenarios leading to modern languages is then the …
The Indo-European Language Family
Title: The Indo-European language family : a phylogenetic perspective / edited by Thomas Olander. Description: Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY: Cambridge University …
Otomanguean historical linguistics: past, present and …
11 family, this article surveys Otomanguean historical linguistic work and presents a state of the 12 art perspective on Otomanguean classification, reconstruction, linguistic prehistory, …
English Reading: Language Families - Swiss Language …
Language families include a diverse range of languages. The Indo-European language family is the biggest language family in the world. It’s so big that there are several branches to this …
Language Families - Springer
A language family is a group of languages which are genetically related to each other, but not to any language outside the family; thus a language family is the largest possible group of related …
Language Isolates and Their History, or, What’s Weird, …
a language family is a set of languages for which there is sufficient evidence to show that they descend from a single ancestral language and are therefore genetically related.
The Origin and Diffusion of World Languages Cultural …
Language families can also be divided into language groups, or a set of languages with a relatively recent common origin and many similar characteristics. Spanish, French and Italian, …
Lesson: Language Families 1/14 - nesshistory.org
Definition: A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestral language or parental language, called the proto-language of that family.
Chapter 5 Languages - WordPress.com
1.4 Africa’s Language Families Figure 5-9: Africa displays a great diversity of languages. This map displays language families, which can be subdivided into language groups and then individual …
English as an Indo-European Language - Purdue University …
The language family to which English belongs is known as the Indo-European (IE) language family, and the common ancestor from which the Indo-European languages derive is called …
LANGUAGE-FOCUSED FAMILY ENGAGEMENT
Sometimes families turn these plans into strategies for how their family should use language at home or in the community. 3 For instance, a bilingual family might decide to only attend …
LINGUISTICS 407 Lecture #3 GENEALOGICAL …
The family tree model shows the direction of change and the relations among languages ; the older stages of the languages being located higher in the tree and direct descendants being …
Identification of the major language families - JSTOR
A language family is a group of languages which have descended from a common mother language. Since the ancestor is common, these languages are expected to be similar in some …
Languages of Europe - National Geographic Society
Use the space below to sketch a diagram of the Indo-European language family tree. Language is one of the primary ways Europeans define themselves. Most Europeans—and about half of …
Mapping the World’s languages by Genetic relationship
In any case, it is clear that language families provide unique evidence of the relationships among groups of people far into the past – much further than any detailed recorded history. And the …
Chapter 5 Lecture Contemporary Human Geography 3 Edition
A language family is a collection of languages related through a common ancestral language that existed long before recorded history. language branch is a collection of languages within a …
1 The Indo-European language family - Cambridge University …
Indo-European (IE) is the best-studied language family in the world. For much of the past 200 years more scholars have worked on the comparative philology of IE than on all the other …
Introduction: Language, heritage, and family: A dynamic …
The next two papers investigate how family language ideologies show continuity and change due to family biographies of the past as well as imagined futures. First, Li Wei and Zhu
Three Hypotheses to Explain Pai Origins - PCAS
According to most analysts, the Pai branch of the Yuman linguistic family consists of two languages: Paipai, which is spoken in north-ern Baja California, and Upland Yuman, spoken …
An Introduction to the Peoples and Languages of the Pacific …
However, Enrico (2004) provides a strong argument, employing standard methods of comparative/historical linguistics, that Haida is a member of the Na-Dene family. To my …
The Routledge Handbook of Historical Linguistics
For most language families, unlike in Romance, the ancestral language is not attested but merely hypothetical; the reconstruction of historical scenarios leading to modern languages is then the …
The Indo-European Language Family
Title: The Indo-European language family : a phylogenetic perspective / edited by Thomas Olander. Description: Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY: Cambridge University …
Otomanguean historical linguistics: past, present and …
11 family, this article surveys Otomanguean historical linguistic work and presents a state of the 12 art perspective on Otomanguean classification, reconstruction, linguistic prehistory, remaining …
