Japanese is definitely one of the best-known languages in typological literature. For example, typologists often assume that Japanese is a nominative-accusative language. However, it is often overlooked that Japanese, or more precisely, Tokyo Japanese, is just one of various local varieties of the Japonic language family (Japanese and Ryukyuan). In fact, the Japonic languages exhibit a surprising typological diversity. For example, some varieties display a split-intransitive as opposed to nominative-accusative system. The present volume is thus a unique attempt to explore the typological diversity of Japonic by providing a collection of grammatical sketches of various local varieties, four from Japanese dialects and five from Ryukyuan. Each grammatical sketch follows the same descriptive format, addressing a wide range of typological topics.

The Routledge Handbook of Asian Linguistics provides a comprehensive overview of the ways in which Asian languages should be conceptualized as a whole, the distinct characteristics of each language group, and the relationships and results of interactions between the languages and language families in Asia. Asia is the largest and the most populous continent on Earth, and the site of many of the first civilizations. This Handbook aims to provide a systematic overview of Asian languages in both theoretical and functional perspectives, optimally combining the two in intercultural settings. In other words, the text will provide a reference for researchers of individual Asian languages or language groups against the background of the entire range of Asian languages. Not only does the Handbook act as a reference to a particular language, it also connects each language to other Asian languages in the perspective of the entire Asian continent. Cultural roles and communicative functions of language are also emphasized as an important domain where the various Asian languages interact and shape each other. With extensive coverage of both theoretical and applied linguistic topics, The Routledge Handbook of Asian Linguistics is an indispensable resource for students and researchers working in this area.

Developments in cognitive science indicate that human and nonhuman primates share a range of behavioral and physiological characteristics that speak to the issue of language origins. This volume has three major themes, woven throughout the chapters. First, it is argued that scientists in animal behavior and anthropology need to move beyond theoretical debate to a more empirically focused and comparative approach to language. Second, those empirical and comparative methods are described, revealing underpinnings of language, some of which are shared by humans and other primates and others of which are unique to humans. New insights are discussed, and several hypotheses emerge concerning the evolutionary forces that led to the "design" of language. Third, evolutionary challenges that led to adaptive changes in communication over time are considered with an eye toward understanding various constraints that channeled the process.

This is a cross-linguistic exploration of the use of clause linkage markers in causal, conditional, and concessive sentences. Employing a five-level classification of clause linkage based on semantic and pragmatic grounds, it shows that, within individual languages different markers exhibit different distributions on the five levels. Also, the rich evidence presented from seventeen languages from many parts of the world documents that these distributions present commonalities as well as differences across the languages of the sample.

The UNESCO atlas on endangered languages recognizes the Ryukyuan languages as constituting languages in their own right. This represents a dramatic shift in the ontology of Japan’s linguistic make-up. Ryukyuan linguistics needs to be established as an independent field of study with its own research agenda and objects. This handbook delineates that the UNESCO classification is now well established and adequate. Linguists working on the Ryukyuan languages are well advised to refute the ontological status of the Ryukyuan languages as dialects. The Ryukyuan languages constitute a branch of the Japonic language family, which consists of five unroofed Abstand (language by distance) languages.The Handbook of Ryukyuan Languages provides for the most appropriate and up-to-date answers pertaining to Ryukyuan language structures and use, and the ways in which these languages relate to Ryukyuan society and history. It comprises 33 chapters, written by the leading experts of Ryukyuan languages. Each chapter delineates the boundaries and the research history of the field it addresses, comprises the most important and representative information.

The combined experience of authors throughout the ages offers a wealth of valuable information about the practice of creative writing. However, such lore can also be problematic for students and practitioners as it can be inherently additive, making it difficult to abandon processes that do not work. This adherence to lore also tends to be a US-centric endeavor. In order to take a nuanced approach to the uses and limitations of lore, The Place and the Writer offers a global perspective on creative writing pedagogy that has yet to be fully explored. Featuring a diverse array of cultural viewpoints from Brazil to Hong Kong, Finland to South Africa, this book explores the ongoing international debate about the best approaches for teaching and practicing creative writing. Marshall Moore and Sam Meekings challenge areas of perceived wisdom that persist in the field of creative writing, including aesthetics and politics in institutionalized creative writing; the process of workshopping; tuition and talent; anxiety in the classroom; unifying theory and lore; and teaching creative writing in languages other than English.

The relationship between language and citizenship in Japan has traditionally been regarded as a fixed tripartite: ‘Japanese citizenship’ means ‘Japanese ethnicity,’ which in turn means ‘Japanese as one’s first language.’ Historically, most non-Japanese who have chosen to take out citizenship have been members of the ‘oldcomer’ Chinese and Korean communities, born and raised in Japan. But this is changing: the last three decades have seen an influx of ‘newcomer’ economic migrants from a wide range of countries, many of whom choose to stay. The likelihood that they will apply for citizenship, to access the benefits it confers, means that citizenship and ethnicity can no longer be assumed to be synonyms in Japan. This is an important change for national discourse on cohesive communities. This book’s chapters discuss discourses, educational practices, and local linguistic practices which call into question the accepted view of the language-citizenship nexus in lived contexts of both existing Japanese citizens and potential future citizens. Through an examination of key themes relating both to newcomers and to an older group of citizens whose language practices have been shaped by historical forces, these essays highlight the fluid relationship of language and citizenship in the Japanese context.