The author suggests an evolutionary typology of languages and a way to integrate the concept of linguistic modernization with a theory of language problems. (Author/PM)

The present work deals with Africanistic problems, raising questions of interest for general linguists, and linguists working in Indo-European, Finno-Ugric, and other special branches. The first two chapters deal with the field and difficulties of African studies and the general characterization of the African languages. Following chapters discuss…

The question of the origin of Catalan is considered from the historic, geographical, linguistic and textual viewpoints. (Text is in Spanish.) (CHK)

The comparative method is not a single method of reconstruction but a complex set of procedures based on different assumptions and hypotheses about language change. The paper examines sound-meaning relationships, traditions, phonetic distinctions and the sets of oppositions, & regularity and irreversibility of phonetic change in the discussion.…

Proposes a new term to identify the group of languages which includes Egyptian, Semitic, Berber, Chadic, and Cushitic. (VM)

Addresses some of the problems concerning the hierarchical relationship between language typology and genetic linguistics and between typology and universal grammar. (RM)

THE CAKAVIAN GROUP OF SERBO-CROATIAN DIALECTS CAN BE RECLASSIFIED USING SYNCHRONIC CRITERIA RATHER THAN TRADITIONALLY USED DIACHRONIC CRITERIA. THE APPROACH IS TYPOLOGICAL RATHER THAN GENETIC AND COMPARES THE NOMINAL MORPHOLOGICAL AND MORPHOPHONEMIC SYSTEMS OF SEVEN DIALECTS SELECTED TO PROVIDE A GEOGRAPHICAL SAMPLING OF THE CAKAVIAN GROUP.…

Author funded by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Consilium for African Studies of Yale University. Research undertaken with the cooperation of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies of Haile Selassie I University. (VM)

An analysis of Standard Average European, a European linguistic area, looks at 11 of its features (definite, indefinite articles, have-perfect, participial passive, antiaccusative prominence, nominative experiencers, dative external possessors, negation/negative pronouns, particle comparatives, A-and-B conjunction, relative clauses, verb fronting…

Attempts to show that the comparison of language structures may be relevant to diachronic linguistics, and in particular to areal linguistics. The article is based on an ongoing comparative study aimed at devising a typology of African languages. (Author/RM)

Argues that both language-contact factors and typological evolution can effect changes in languages and language typology over time, and that it is not always easy to understand which factor has played a more prominent role in language change. Typological, areal, and socio-historical linguistics call for interdisciplinary cooperation. Examples are…

Discusses the study of Lisramic, a phylum of six presumably related language groups: Semitic, Egyptian, Cushitic, Omotic, Berber, and Chadic. (AM)

Different types of Persian impact on Irano-Turkic language varieties are surveyed and classified according to the Code-Copying model, which implies that copies of elements from foreign codes are inserted, globally or selectively, into a basic code that provides the morphosyntactic frame for the insertion. The study investigates under what…

Argues that with regard to an important part of verbal morphosyntax (Tense-Aspect-Mood or TAM), it is possible to speak of a Standard Average European. Focus is on origins and evolution of TAM-markers, or TAM-auxiliation, suggesting that particular verb structures provide conceptual sources for auxiliation, and that it has an areal configuration…

The typological position of the Basque language is examined from an explicitly historical perspective, exploring the degree to which it has undergone typological assimilation into its Indo-European neighbors during the last 2,000 years. Phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon are considered. (MSE)