The Carib language, sometimes called Galibi or True Carib, is spoken by some 7,000 people living in Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana, and Brazil. This resource contains a detailed description of Carib grammar and the most extensive inventory of Carib lexemes and affixes so far. (Foreign Language-Dictionaries/Phrasebooks)

This remarkable new dictionary represents the first attempt in some four centuries to record the state of development of English as used across the entire Caribbean region.

This edited volume offers a collection of twelve interlinear texts reflecting the vast linguistic diversity of Amazonia as well as the rich verbal arts and oral literature traditions of Amazonian peoples. Contributions to the volume come from a variety of geographic regions and represent the Carib, Jê, Tupi, East Tukano, Nadahup, and Pano language families, as well as three linguistic isolates. The selected texts exemplify a variety of narrative styles recounting the origins of constellations, crops, and sacred cemeteries, and of travel to worlds beyond death. We hear tales of tricksters and of encounters between humans and other beings, learn of battles between enemies, and gain insight into history and the indigenous perspective of creation, cordiality and confrontation. The contributions to this volume are the result of research efforts conducted since 2000, and as such, exemplify rapidly expanding investment and interest in documenting native Amazonian voices. They moreover demonstrate the collaborative efforts of linguists, anthropologists, and indigenous leaders, storytellers, and researchers to study and preserve Amazonian languages and cultures. Each chapter offers complete interlinear analysis as well as ample commentary on both linguistic and cultural aspects, appealing to a wide audience, including linguists, historians, anthropologists, and other social scientists. This collection is the first of its type, constituting a significant contribution to focused study of Amazonian linguistic diversity and a relevant addition to our broader knowledge of Amerindian languages and cosmologies.

Compiled by a native Romani speaker, this reference covers and differentiates European and North American Kalderash terms and Romani grammar. Prefaced by a grammatical primer, containing more than 12,000 lexical items, and filled with countless real-world examples of idiomatic usage, the text is an indispensable resource for anyone looking to learn or work with Kalderash Romani.

Saramaccan has been central to various debates regarding the origin and nature of creole languages. Being the most removed of all English-based creoles from European language structure in terms of phonology, morphology and syntax, it has been seen as one of the most extreme instantiations of the creolization process. This is the first full-length description of Saramaccan. The grammar documents, in particular, a valence-sensitive system of indicating movement and direction via serial verb constructions, hitherto overlooked amidst the generalized phenomenon of serialization itself.

Covering the political, social and historical background of each language, Dictionary of Languages offers a unique insight into human culture and communication. Every language with official status is included, as well as all those that have a written literature and 175 'minor' languages with special historical or anthropological interest. We see how, with the rapidly increasing uniformity of our culture as media's influence spreads, more languages have become extinct or are under threat of extinction. The text is highlighted by maps and charts of scripts, while proverbs, anecdotes and quotations reveal the features that make a language unique.