Modelling combined linguistic and non-linguistic evidence in language reconstruction
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Jadranka Gvozdanović
Abstract
On the general level, the paper evaluates analytical methods for combined linguistic, archaeological and historical research. Specifically, the paper takes up the controversially discussed, but never fully resolved, history of the g > ɣ > h lenition in Bohemia, a core migration area of medieval Slavic, investigates the distribution of lenition in space and time and establishes a clear distinction between the phonetic phase of lenition, preceding yer loss, and the phase of phonological reanalysis following it. Kernel Density Estimation points to the beginning of the phonological phase between the archaeological area of Prague-type ceramics and Germania Slavica with northeastern Bavaria, from where it spread to neighboring areas. Potential indicative value of toponymy in Winden- and windisch- is evaluated relative to a hypothesis about language contacts.
Abstract
On the general level, the paper evaluates analytical methods for combined linguistic, archaeological and historical research. Specifically, the paper takes up the controversially discussed, but never fully resolved, history of the g > ɣ > h lenition in Bohemia, a core migration area of medieval Slavic, investigates the distribution of lenition in space and time and establishes a clear distinction between the phonetic phase of lenition, preceding yer loss, and the phase of phonological reanalysis following it. Kernel Density Estimation points to the beginning of the phonological phase between the archaeological area of Prague-type ceramics and Germania Slavica with northeastern Bavaria, from where it spread to neighboring areas. Potential indicative value of toponymy in Winden- and windisch- is evaluated relative to a hypothesis about language contacts.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- Resurrecting rhymes, reasons and (no) rhotics 5
- Diachronic phonology with Contrastive Hierarchy Theory 20
- The life cycle of phonological patterns explains drift in sound change 35
- The diachronic typology of retroflex vowels 50
- Diachronic shifts among sound ideophones 62
- The classification of the Plains Algonquian languages 79
- Modelling combined linguistic and non-linguistic evidence in language reconstruction 94
- Dissimilatory constraints discriminate between variants in analogical change 110
- Patterns of suppletion in inflection revisited 128
- Differential object marking in early Italo-Romance and old Sardinian 150
- Semantic factors in case loss 166
- Morphosyntactic borrowing in closely related varieties 184
- Nominal privative suffixes as a diachronic source of verbal negative markers 198
- The emergence of oblique subjects 215
- Grammaticalization of sentence adverbs and modal particles revisited 232
- A discourse analysis of left-dislocation in Old English 249
- The semantics of word borrowing in late medieval English 263
- Approximative adverbs in modern and pre-modern languages 279
- The history of numerals as a history of East African languages 294
- Language index 307
- Subject index 309
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- Resurrecting rhymes, reasons and (no) rhotics 5
- Diachronic phonology with Contrastive Hierarchy Theory 20
- The life cycle of phonological patterns explains drift in sound change 35
- The diachronic typology of retroflex vowels 50
- Diachronic shifts among sound ideophones 62
- The classification of the Plains Algonquian languages 79
- Modelling combined linguistic and non-linguistic evidence in language reconstruction 94
- Dissimilatory constraints discriminate between variants in analogical change 110
- Patterns of suppletion in inflection revisited 128
- Differential object marking in early Italo-Romance and old Sardinian 150
- Semantic factors in case loss 166
- Morphosyntactic borrowing in closely related varieties 184
- Nominal privative suffixes as a diachronic source of verbal negative markers 198
- The emergence of oblique subjects 215
- Grammaticalization of sentence adverbs and modal particles revisited 232
- A discourse analysis of left-dislocation in Old English 249
- The semantics of word borrowing in late medieval English 263
- Approximative adverbs in modern and pre-modern languages 279
- The history of numerals as a history of East African languages 294
- Language index 307
- Subject index 309
