A Dictionary of Austronesian Monosyllabic Roots (Submorphemes): 652 (Pacific Linguistics [PL], 652) - Hardcover

Blust; Robert

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3110781611 ISBN 13: 9783110781618

Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton, 2022

Synopsis

This book documents an understudied phenomenon in Austronesian languages, namely the existence of recurrent submorphemic sound-meaning associations of the general form -CVC.

It fills a critical gap in scholarship on these languages by bringing together a large body of data in one place, and by discussing some of the theoretical issues that arise in analyzing this data. Following an introduction which presents the topic, it includes a critical review of the relevant literature over the past century, and discussions of the following: 1. problems in finding the root (the "needle in the haystack" problem), 2. root ambiguity, 3. controls on chance as an interfering factor, 4. unrecognized morphology as a possible factor in duplicating evidence, 5. the shape/structure of the root, 6. referents of roots, 7. the origin of roots, 8. the problem of distinguishing false cognates produced by convergence in root-bearing morphemes from legitimate comparisons resulting from divergent descent, and 9. the problem of explaining how submorphemes are transmitted across generations of speakers independently of the morphemes that host them. The remainder of the book consists of a list of sources for the 197 languages from which data is drawn, followed by the roots with supporting evidence, a short appendix, and references.

About this title

About the Author

Robert Blust, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA.

From the Back Cover

In Austronesian languages, uninflected stems with related meanings often display the same final -CVC syllable, known as a root. These submorphemes have been much discussed in the literature. The present dictionary presents 406 such monosyllabic roots, supported by 5.404 etymologically independent reconstructed morphemes. Although it inevitably remains incomplete, the corpus of material presented is the largest, and methodologically the most controlled collection of widespread sub-morphemes in Austronesian languages, representing a challenge both to the assumed arbitrariness of the sign and to theories of sound symbolism.

Edition details

• Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3110781611
• ISBN 13: 9783110781618
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 270