The Routledge Handbook of North American Languages

by Daniel Siddiqi (Editor), Michael Barrie (Editor), Carrie Gillon (Editor), Jason Haugen (Editor), Eric Mathieu (Editor)

Overview

The Routledge Handbook of North American Languages is a one-stop reference for linguists on those topics that come up the most frequently in the study of the languages of North America (including Mexico). This handbook compiles a list of contributors from across many different theories and at different stages of their careers, all of whom are well-known experts in North American languages. The volume comprises two distinct parts: the first surveys some of the phenomena most frequently discussed in the study of North American languages, and the second surveys some of the most frequently discussed language families of North America. The consistent goal of each contribution is to couch the content of the chapter in contemporary theory so that the information is maximally relevant and accessible for a wide range of audiences, including graduate students and young new scholars, and even senior scholars who are looking for a crash course in the topics. Empirically driven chapters provide fundamental knowledge needed to participate in contemporary theoretical discussions of these languages, making this handbook an indispensable resource for linguistics scholars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032475202
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/21/2023
Series:	Routledge Handbooks in Linguistics
Pages:	616
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Daniel Siddiqi is Professor of Linguistics, Cognitive Science, and English at Carleton University, Canada. His research focuses on stem allomorphy, metatheory and grammatical architecture, and non-standard English phenomena. He is also co-editor of The Routledge Handbook of Syntax.

Michael Barrie is Associate Professor of English at Sogang University, Korea. His research focuses on the syntax-semantics and syntax-prosody interfaces and is based on extensive field work on Northern Iroquoian and Algonquian languages in North America, as well as Cantonese, Korean, and Romance languages.

Carrie Gillon is co-founder of Quick Brown Fox Consulting and co-host of The Vocal Fries, the podcast about linguistic discrimination. Formerly a professor of linguistics, her research focused on the syntax and semantics of understudied languages, mainly indigenous languages of Canada like Skwxwú7mesh., Inuttut, and Innu-aimun.

Jason D. Haugen is Associate Professor of Anthropology at Oberlin College, USA. His research focuses on the morphosyntax and historical linguistics of Uto-Aztecan languages.

Éric Mathieu is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Ottawa, Canada. His research focuses on syntax and the Ojibwe (an Algonquian language) and French (Modern and Old) languages.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents. Editor’s note Daniel Siddiqi. About the contributors. Part 1 Common Phenomena in North American Languages. Chapter 1: Phonological inventories. Keren Rice. Chapter 2: Segmental processes. Heather Newell & Andréia de Souza. Chapter 3: Stress, tone, and pitch accent. Eugene Buckley. Chapter 4: Prosodic morphology and reduplication. Suzanne Urbanczyk. Chapter 5: The expanded NP: Number, possessors, gender, animacy, and classifiers. Carrie Gillon. Chapter 6: Morphosyntactic strategies in spatial description. Carolyn O’Meara & Gabriela Pérez Báez. Chapter 7: Agreement and related phenomena in North American Languages. Richard Compton. Chapter 8: Inverse systems and person hierarchy effects. Heather Bliss, Elizabeth Ritter, & Martina Wiltschko. Chapter 9: Switch-reference in American languages: A synthetic overview. Mark Baker & Livia Carmargo Souza. Chapter 10: Ergativity and ergativity splits. Bettina Spreng. Chapter 11: Noun incorporation and polysynthesis. Michael Barrie & Éric Mathieu. Chapter 12: Antipassives. Kumiko Murasugi. Chapter 13: Evidentials and modals. Marianne Huijsmans & Sarah E. Murray. Chapter 14: Quantification. Lisa Matthewson & Henry Davis. Part 2 Common Language Families of North America. Chapter 15: Otomanguean languages. Brook Danielle Lillehaugen. Chapter 16: Mayan languages. Lauren Clemens. Chapter 17: Muskogean languages. George Aaron Broadwell. Chapter 18: Iroquoian languages. Hiroto Uchihara & Michael Barrie. Chapter 19: Salish languages. Henry Davis. Chapter 20: Na-Dene languages. Alessandro Jaker, Nicholas Welch, & Keren Rice. Chapter 21: Algonquian languages. Will Oxford. Chapter 22: Eskimo-Aleut languages. Alana Johns. Chapter 23: Evaluating proposals for long-distance genetic relationships: Uto-Aztecan vs. Plateau Penutian. Jason D. Haugen. Chapter 24: Areal linguistics and linguistic areas in California. Jane H. Hill

Editorial Reviews

"This is the first handbook to focus on the study of North America languages. The book features very accessible articles written by prominent experts on these languages. Anyone interested in Native American languages, or language typology in general, will no doubt find it useful to have a copy of this book on their shelves."

Alan Yu, The University of Chicago, USA.

"This volume is a treasure trove for anyone interested in the Indigenous languages of North America and their fascinating grammatical properties. The editors have assembled an impressive team of experts with contributions both on specific topics of interest––ranging from phonology and morphology to syntax and semantics––as well as chapters devoted to surveys of major language families. The handbook provides an accessible introduction to a range of typologically important phenomena, as well as discussion of current and lasting analyses from different theoretical orientations. This book will be an enormous asset to linguists from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from students to senior researchers."

Jessica Coon, McGill University, Canada.

"This handbook is an invaluable introduction and overview of the linguistic features of North American languages, with contributions from leading scholars with deep areal understanding of the structures and phenomena under discussion, and the groundbreaking things they teach us about how human language works. There is no comparable volume; this synthesizes the literature and lays out the state of the art for students and senior scholars alike in an accessible yet theoretically sophisticated presentation. Highly recommended."

Heidi Harley, University of Arizona, USA.

"This is the first handbook to focus on the study of North America languages. The book features very accessible articles written by prominent experts on these languages. Anyone interested in Native American languages, or language typology in general, will no doubt find it useful to have a copy of this book on their shelves."

Alan Yu, The University of Chicago, USA.

"This volume is a treasure trove for anyone interested in the Indigenous languages of North America and their fascinating grammatical properties. The editors have assembled an impressive team of experts with contributions both on specific topics of interest––ranging from phonology and morphology to syntax and semantics––as well as chapters devoted to surveys of major language families. The handbook provides an accessible introduction to a range of typologically important phenomena, as well as discussion of current and lasting analyses from different theoretical orientations. This book will be an enormous asset to linguists from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from students to senior researchers."

Jessica Coon, McGill University, Canada.

"This handbook is an invaluable introduction and overview of the linguistic features of North American languages, with contributions from leading scholars with deep areal understanding of the structures and phenomena under discussion, and the groundbreaking things they teach us about how human language works. There is no comparable volume; this synthesizes the literature and lays out the state of the art for students and senior scholars alike in an accessible yet theoretically sophisticated presentation. Highly recommended."

Heidi Harley, University of Arizona, USA.

From the Publisher