Baroque accretions and isolation
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Angela Terrill
Abstract
This paper presents a case study comparing two Papuan languages of Island Melanesia, Lavukaleve and Touo, with their Oceanic neighbours, exploring differing outcomes of language contact in micro-contact situations. Social/geographic isolation has been thought to preserve or enable structural complexity, measured using a complexity index. It is shown that each of the Papuan members of the contact situations to be described is structurally more complex than its Oceanic neighbours, but of these, the structurally more complex language is the socially/geographically more isolated. Among these languages, while there is a relationship between isolation and complexity, there is a less strong relationship between being isolates and being complex. Thus, in this case at least, isolates are not necessarily more complex through being isolates.
Abstract
This paper presents a case study comparing two Papuan languages of Island Melanesia, Lavukaleve and Touo, with their Oceanic neighbours, exploring differing outcomes of language contact in micro-contact situations. Social/geographic isolation has been thought to preserve or enable structural complexity, measured using a complexity index. It is shown that each of the Papuan members of the contact situations to be described is structurally more complex than its Oceanic neighbours, but of these, the structurally more complex language is the socially/geographically more isolated. Among these languages, while there is a relationship between isolation and complexity, there is a less strong relationship between being isolates and being complex. Thus, in this case at least, isolates are not necessarily more complex through being isolates.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
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Part I. Setting the stage
- Introduction 2
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Part II. Typological features of isolates vs. non-isolates
- Is there a typological profile of isolates? 22
- The Amuric language family 48
- An Austronesian-type voice system in an Amazonian isolate? 71
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Part III. Recovering the histories of isolates
- Etymologies in a language isolate 104
- The Small Bang 142
- Combining disparate lines of evidence in the study of the history of language isolates, exemplified with Mochica from Northern Peru 176
- The Múra doculects and Múra-Pirahã historical linguistics 208
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Part IV. Isolates and language contact
- Baroque accretions and isolation 248
- California isolates 270
-
Part V. Isolates and language documentation and classification
- One language or two? 306
- Subject index 335
- Language index 337
- Name index 339
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
-
Part I. Setting the stage
- Introduction 2
-
Part II. Typological features of isolates vs. non-isolates
- Is there a typological profile of isolates? 22
- The Amuric language family 48
- An Austronesian-type voice system in an Amazonian isolate? 71
-
Part III. Recovering the histories of isolates
- Etymologies in a language isolate 104
- The Small Bang 142
- Combining disparate lines of evidence in the study of the history of language isolates, exemplified with Mochica from Northern Peru 176
- The Múra doculects and Múra-Pirahã historical linguistics 208
-
Part IV. Isolates and language contact
- Baroque accretions and isolation 248
- California isolates 270
-
Part V. Isolates and language documentation and classification
- One language or two? 306
- Subject index 335
- Language index 337
- Name index 339
