Originally published in 1937, this book is a practical manual of Kanuri which will be of use to both the layman and the linguist. This analysis makes it clear that kanuri is a tone-language and the author urges the reader to observe the tone-system of the language so that the accidence can be fully understood, as grammatical tone sometimes forms an integral part of it. As this is a practical study, a practical orthography has been chosen - i. e one that uses only letters that are absolutely necessary. This system improved Kanuri orthography, as it was based on scientific principles.

Over the past 35 years urban sociolinguistics has developed upon the base of detailed case studies carried out mainly in western countries. A fundamental dichotomy informing the interpretation of variation has been carried out within what is termed the “standard-vernacular model”. Higher vs. lower social class, power vs. solidarity, open networks vs. closed networks are a few of the conceptual dyads which have been invoked to order linguistic variation operating with an input from a standard/vernacular source. The present study, based on the spoken Arabic of Maiduguri, Nigeria, focuses on a linguistic landscape where the notions of “standard” and “vernacular” are of little relevance in ordering urban linguistic variants. It is argued that linguistic variation is best conceptualized and ordered in terms of the twin variables of neighborhood and ancestral norms. A detailed analysis of 13 linguistic variables based on a corpus of about 500,000 words invokes an urban linguistic world different from that in the West. To integrate this landscape into current sociolinguistic thinking a typology of urban variation is outlined using familar, yet relatively unutilized sociolinguistic parameters: neighborhood, ancestry, minority status and institutionalization.

This bestselling textbook provides an engaging and user-friendly introduction to the study of language. Assuming no prior knowledge of the subject, Yule presents information in bite-sized sections, clearly explaining the major concepts in linguistics and all the key elements of language. This eighth edition has been revised and updated throughout, with major changes in the chapters on Origins, Phonetics, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, Discourse Analysis, First and Second Language Acquisition and Culture. There are forty new study questions and over sixty new and updated additions to the Further Readings. To increase student engagement and to foster problem-solving and critical thinking skills, the book includes over twenty new tasks. The online resources have been expanded to include test banks, an instructor manual, and a substantial Study Guide. This is the most fundamental and easy-to-use introduction to the study of language.

The author argues that, as the main function of language is to convey meaning, language structure must be considered with reference to this function. A treatment is provided of the ways in which structure and usage can be explained with reference to the processes underlying human conceptualization.

The main function of language is to convey meaning. The question of why language is structured the way it is, Heine here argues, has therefore to be answered first of all with reference to this function. Linguistic explanations in terms of other exponents of language structure, e.g. of syntax, are likely to highlight peripheral or epi-phenomenal rather than central characteristics of language structure. This book uses basic findings on grammaticalization processes to describe the role of cognitive forces in shaping grammar. It provides students with an introductory treatment of a field of linguistics that has developed recently and is rapidly expanding.

This book provides a typological overview of the different manifestations of grammaticalized case systems in African languages. In the course of thoroughly analyzing case in roughly 100 African languages, Christa K--ouml--;nig reveals several features, such as tone as a marker for case, which are rare phenomena in other languages of the world.