This volume brings together a number of ground-breaking papers in the theory of phonology.

Queer linguistics – in its position as both a linguistic science of and for queer folk – is inherently agitating to the disciplinary anxiety of a general linguistic science. It represents, as all queer science does, a disruption of the normative modes of knowledge production and a displacement of academic authority. This collection reconsiders the placement of the queer subject, both as the researcher and as the researched, within and beyond the discipline and provides an intellectual space for the interdisciplinary (and sometimes anti-disciplinary) linguistic science of gender and sexuality. In three sections, it respectively considers the development of hyper-speciated queer linguistic subfields, the interdisciplinarity of intersectional approaches to queer language, and the institution of queer linguistic science both within and beyond the academy. Taken together, the essays in this collection confront the scientific and institutional discipline of linguistics from a queer vantage point, one which is perhaps inherently interdisciplinary in its formulation.

A fascinating examination of how we are both played by language and made by language: the science underlying the bugs and features of humankind’s greatest invention. Language is said to be humankind’s greatest accomplishment. But what is language actually good for? It performs poorly at representing reality. It is a constant source of distraction, misdirection, and overshadowing. In fact, N. J. Enfield notes, language is far better at persuasion than it is at objectively capturing the facts of experience. Language cannot create or change physical reality, but it can do the next best thing: reframe and invert our view of the world. In Language vs. Reality, Enfield explains why language is bad for scientists (who are bound by reality) but good for lawyers (who want to win their cases), why it can be dangerous when it falls into the wrong hands, and why it deserves our deepest respect. Enfield offers a lively exploration of the science underlying the bugs and features of language. He examines the tenuous relationship between language and reality; details the array of effects language has on our memory, attention, and reasoning; and describes how these varied effects power narratives and storytelling as well as political spin and conspiracy theories. Why should we care what language is good for? Enfield, who has spent twenty years at the cutting edge of language research, argues that understanding how language works is crucial to tackling our most pressing challenges, including human cognitive bias, media spin, the “post-truth” problem, persuasion, the role of words in our thinking, and much more.

This incisive ethnographic analysis of indigenous language documentation, maintenance, and revitalization focuses on linguistic heritage issues on the Native American reservation at Fort Apache and explores the broader social, political and religious influences on changing language practices in indigenous communities. Offers a focused ethnographic analysis of an indigenous community that also explores global issues of language endangerment and maintenance and their socio-historical contexts Addresses the complexities and conflicts in language documentation and revitalization programs, and how they articulate with localized discourse genres, education practices, religious beliefs, and politics Examines differing evaluations of language loss, and maintenance, among members of affected communities, and their creative responses to challenges posed by encompassing socio-cultural regimes, including university accredited language experts Provides an ethnographic analysis of speech in indigenous communities that moves beyond narrowly conceived language documentation to consider changing linguistic and social identities

The Uralic Languages, second edition, is a reference book which brings together detailed discussions of the historical development and specialized linguistic structures and features of the languages in the Uralic family. The Uralic languages are spoken today in a vast geographical area stretching from Dalarna County in Sweden to Dudinka, Taimyr, Russia. There are currently approximately 50 languages in the group, the largest one among them being the state languages Finnish, Estonian, and Hungarian; other Uralic languages covered in the book are South Saami, Skolt Saami, Võro, Moksha Mordvin, Mari, Udmurt, Zyrian Komi, Mansi, Khanty, Nganasan, Forest and Tundra Enets, Nenets, and Selkup. The book also contains a chapter on Finnic languages, the reconstruction of Uralic, the history of Uralic studies, connections of Uralic to other language families, and language names, demographics, and degrees of endangerment. This second and thoroughly revised edition updates and augments the authoritative accounts of the first edition and reflects recent and ongoing developments in linguistics and the languages themselves, as well as our further enhanced understanding of the relations and patterns of influence between them. Each chapter combines modern linguistic analysis and documentary linguistics; a relatively uniform structure allows for easy typological comparison between the individual languages. Written by an international team of experts, The Uralic Languages will be invaluable to students and researchers within linguistics, folklore, and Siberian studies.

Comparative work on linguistic varieties that are overall very similar can help us determine where and how exactly grammatical systems differ from one another, and how they change over time. This book explores a range of data on unfamiliar constructions across regional and social dialects, thereby shedding light on the varieties under examination and on the properties of English syntax more generally.