The Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics - Hardcover

Trask, R. L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0748610030 ISBN 13: 9780748610037

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2000

Synopsis

Historical and comparative linguistics has been a major scholarly discipline for 200 years, and yet this is the first dictionary ever devoted to it. With nearly 2400 entries, this dictionary covers every aspect of the subject, from the most venerable work to the exciting advances of the last few years, many of which have not even made it into textbooks yet. All of the traditional terms are here, but so are the terms only introduced recently, in connection with such varied subjects as pidgin and creole languages, the sociolinguistic study of language change, mathematical and computational methods, the novel approaches to linguistic geography, the controversial proposals of new and vast language families, and the attempts at relating the results of the historical linguists to those of the archaeologists, the anthropologists and the geneticists. More than just a dictionary, this book provides genuine linguistic examples of most of the terms entered, detailed explanations of fundamental concepts, critical assessment of controversial ideas, cross-references to related terms, and an abundance of references to the original literature. Features: *The first dictionary in the field. *Comprehensive coverage. *Clearly written and accurate entries. *Covers traditional and contemporary terminology. *Provides linguistic examples of terms defined. *Supplies numerous cross-references to related terms. *Includes hundreds of references to the original literature.

About this title

About the Author:

R. L. Trask is Professor of Linguistics in the School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences at the University of Sussex.

From Library Journal:

Focusing uniquely on historical linguistics, namely, the study of how languages change over time, Trask (A Dictionary of Grammatical Terms in Linguistics) offers an alphabetical dictionary that will best serve those already knowledgeable about linguistics. The author emphasizes terms related to how languages change, such as methods of comparison and reconstruction, philological terms, and terms describing word formation. "Metatypy" and "Northern Cities Shift" are among those entries citing recent trends and scholarship. Prominent language families and individual languages (some extinct) receive coverage, but individual scholars do not, and Trask excludes entries on tagmemics and detailed entries on theories of generative grammar. Definitions range in length from a single short sentence to multiple paragraphs running more than a page. Boldface type indicates cross references to other definitions, highly consistent guides that are especially helpful given the book's lack of an index. The entries are supported by references to a 30-page bibliography and 12 tables. Unfortunately, because the list of tables offers only page numbers with no titles, the tables are less accessible than they should be. In comparison, the Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics, edited by Hadumod Bussmann (Routledge, 1999. 2d ed. ), offers depth and breadth for beginning and advanced readers, while David Crystal's Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (Blackwell, 1997. 4th ed.) is a thorough work addressing a wide audience. Recommended for specialized collections and academic libraries.DMarianne Orme, West Lafayette IN
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0748610030
• ISBN 13: 9780748610037
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384