Robert K. Herbert Knihy

This collection explores various aspects of African linguistics through six main sections. The first section delves into historical, comparative, and typological perspectives, featuring discussions on grammaticalization theory, mixed languages, and the typology of Bantu noun classes. The second section focuses on phonetics and phonology, examining click phonetics, tone representation, and syllabic genesis in Luganda. The third section addresses syntax and semantics, highlighting contributions of African languages to generative grammar, argument structure constraints, and various aspects of verbal agreement and syntactic traces in languages like Zulu and Xhosa. The fourth section presents interactional sociolinguistics, discussing narrative syntax in urban Luo children, language choices in South Africa, and politeness behaviors in Swahili. The fifth section covers language policy and planning, addressing literacy in Nigeria, the interplay of linguistics and education in Ghana, and language policy issues in Mozambique and Tanzania. Finally, the sixth section focuses on language and cultural studies, exploring Swahili verbs in fiction, pragmatics of verbal abuse, and noun classification in Swahili. This comprehensive anthology offers insights into the diverse linguistic landscape of Africa, reflecting its rich cultural and social contexts.

TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS is a series of books that open new perspectives in our understanding of language. The series publishes state-of-the-art work on core areas of linguistics across theoretical frameworks, as well as studies that provide new insights by approaching language from an interdisciplinary perspective. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS considers itself a forum for cutting-edge research based on solid empirical data on language in its various manifestations, including sign languages. It regards linguistic variation in its synchronic and diachronic dimensions as well as in its social contexts as important sources of insight for a better understanding of the design of linguistic systems and the ecology and evolution of language. TRENDS IN LINGUISTICS publishes monographs and outstanding dissertations as well as edited volumes, which provide the opportunity to address controversial topics from different empirical and theoretical viewpoints. High quality standards are ensured through anonymous reviewing. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Birgit Sievert.