Publications
Publication details [#50921]
Mahieu, Marc-Antoine and Nicole Tersis, eds. 2009. Variations on Polysynthesis. The Eskaleut languages. (Typological Studies in Language 86). John Benjamins. ix+312 pp.
Publication type
Book – edited volume
Publication language
English
Keywords
Language as a subject
Annotation
This work is comprised of a set of papers focussing on the extreme polysynthetic nature of the Eskaleut languages which are spoken over the vast area stretching from Far Eastern Siberia, on through the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, and Canada, as far as Greenland. The aim of the book is to situate the Eskaleut languages typologically in general linguistic terms, particularly with regard to polysynthesis. The degree of variation from more to less polysynthesis is evaluated within Eskaleut (Inuit-Yupik vs. Aleut), even in previously insufficiently explored domains such as pragmatics and use in context – including language contact and learning situations – and over typologically related language families such as Athabascan, Chukotko-Kamchatkan, Iroquoian, Uralic, and Wakashan.