Searching for undetected genetic links between the languages of South America
-
Willem F. H. Adelaar
Abstract
With more than a hundred phylogenetic lineages, indigenous South America is often highlighted as a region with one of the highest degrees of linguistic diversity in the world. A systematic investigation of the possible phylogenetic relations that may exist between its numerous language families and isolates is overdue. It is argued that the possibilities of discovering such relations are far from exhausted. Previously undetected phylogenetic relations were uncovered by comparing selected sets of basic vocabulary in combination with shared morphosyntactic elements. The selection of vocabulary to be used in this procedure implies the elimination of residual morphology and the recognition of semantic fluctuations proper to the cultural environment of the languages involved. Such techniques can be expected to further reduce the number of phylogenetic units recognized for South America.
Abstract
With more than a hundred phylogenetic lineages, indigenous South America is often highlighted as a region with one of the highest degrees of linguistic diversity in the world. A systematic investigation of the possible phylogenetic relations that may exist between its numerous language families and isolates is overdue. It is argued that the possibilities of discovering such relations are far from exhausted. Previously undetected phylogenetic relations were uncovered by comparing selected sets of basic vocabulary in combination with shared morphosyntactic elements. The selection of vocabulary to be used in this procedure implies the elimination of residual morphology and the recognition of semantic fluctuations proper to the cultural environment of the languages involved. Such techniques can be expected to further reduce the number of phylogenetic units recognized for South America.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword and Acknowledgements vii
- Editors’ introduction 1
-
Part I. Grammaticalization
- The role of historical research in building a model of Sign Language typology, variation, and change 15
- On the origin of Niger-Congo nominal classification 43
- A closer look at subjectification in the grammaticalization of English modals 67
- Subjectivity encoding in Taiwanese Southern Min 83
-
Part II. Problems in historical comparison and reconstruction
- Emergence of the tone system in the Sanjiazi dialect of Manchu 101
- Searching for undetected genetic links between the languages of South America 115
- Reconstructing the category of “associated motion” in Tacanan languages (Amazonian Bolivia and Peru) 129
- The mirage of apparent morphological correspondence 153
-
Part III. Historical development of morphosyntactic features
- Analogy as a source of suppletion 175
- The rise and demise of possessive classifiers in Austronesian 199
- Immediate-future readings of universal quantifier constructions 227
- The historical development and functional characteristics of the go-adjective sequence in English 243
- Recycling “junk” 267
- Sapirian ‘drift’ towards analyticity and long-term morphosyntactic change in Ancient Egyptian 289
- Language index 329
- Index of terms 333
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword and Acknowledgements vii
- Editors’ introduction 1
-
Part I. Grammaticalization
- The role of historical research in building a model of Sign Language typology, variation, and change 15
- On the origin of Niger-Congo nominal classification 43
- A closer look at subjectification in the grammaticalization of English modals 67
- Subjectivity encoding in Taiwanese Southern Min 83
-
Part II. Problems in historical comparison and reconstruction
- Emergence of the tone system in the Sanjiazi dialect of Manchu 101
- Searching for undetected genetic links between the languages of South America 115
- Reconstructing the category of “associated motion” in Tacanan languages (Amazonian Bolivia and Peru) 129
- The mirage of apparent morphological correspondence 153
-
Part III. Historical development of morphosyntactic features
- Analogy as a source of suppletion 175
- The rise and demise of possessive classifiers in Austronesian 199
- Immediate-future readings of universal quantifier constructions 227
- The historical development and functional characteristics of the go-adjective sequence in English 243
- Recycling “junk” 267
- Sapirian ‘drift’ towards analyticity and long-term morphosyntactic change in Ancient Egyptian 289
- Language index 329
- Index of terms 333
