Language complexity as an evolving variable

Sampson, Geoffrey. (Added Author). Gil, David. (Added Author). Trudgill, Peter. (Added Author).

Summary: This fascinating book challenges the idea that languages are equally complex. Eighteen scholars look at evidence from a wide range of times and places. They consider the links between linguistic structure and change and social complexity. Their conclusions challenge conventional ideas about the nature of language and contemporary theory. - ;This book presents a challenge to the widely-held assumption that human languages are both similar and constant in their degree of complexity. For a hundred years or more the universal equality of languages has been a tenet of faith among most anthropologis.

Record details

ISBN: 9780199545223 (pbk. : acid-free paper)
ISBN: 0199545227 (pbk. : acid-free paper)
ISBN: 9780199545216 (acid-free paper)
ISBN: 0199545219 (acid-free paper)
ISBN: 9780199545223 (pbk. : acid-free paper)
ISBN: 9780199545216 (acid-free paper)
ISBN: 0191567663 (electronic bk.)
ISBN: 9780191567667 (electronic bk.)
Physical Description: 1 online resource (xiii, 309 p.)
remote
electronic resource
Publisher: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2009.

Content descriptions

General Note:	CatBulkString:jan.10.13 Multi-User. CatMonthString:jan.13
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Preface; Interlinear glosses; The contributors; 1. A linguistic axiom challenged; 2. How much grammar does it take to sail a boat?; 3. On the evolution of complexity: sometimes less is more in East and mainland Southeast Asia; 4. Testing the assumption of complexity invariance: the case of Elfdalian and Swedish; 5. Between simplification and complexification: non-standard varieties of English around the world; 6. Implicational hierarchies and grammatical complexity; 7. Sociolinguistic typology and complexification; 8. Linguistic complexity: a comprehensive definition and survey
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction Note:	Access restricted by subscription. Access requires VIU IP addresses and is restricted to VIU students, faculty and staff.
Source of Description Note:	Description based on print version record.