Historical Linguistics provides a comprehensive and clearly written introduction to historical linguistic theory and methods. Since its first publication in 1962 the book has established itself as core reading for students of linguistics. This edition has been thoroughly revised. Drawing on recent linguistic and archaeological research Professor Lehmann incorporates key developments in the field. These include exciting advances in the history and development of writing: and in typological classification which allows better understanding of the structure of early languages. Well-illustrated with Indo-European examples, and supplementary exercises which draw on data from other language families as well, the book will enable students to carry out independent work in historical studies on any language family, as well as up-to-date work in Indo-European.
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Lehmann's Historical Linguistics would be my choice for an introduction to historical linguistics...
–The Modern Language Journal, Douglas A. Kibbee, University of Illinois
–The Modern Language Journal, Douglas A. Kibbee, University of Illinois
About the Author
Winfred P. Lehmann is Professor Emeritus in the Humanities and Director of the Linguistics Research Center, University of Texas at Austin.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very Lehmann-like and focuses on Indo-European,
This review is from: Historical Linguistics: An Introduction (Paperback)
HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS: An Introduction is a textbook for university undergraduates written by Winfred Lehmann, one of the most illustrious Indo-Europeanists of the 20th century and an engaging writer. It is a real textbook, not just a dry handbook, for it is slow and friendly, and there are exercises at the end of each section to help the student apply what he has just learned. As Lehmann is an Indo-Europeanist, and most students reading this will be Westerners (although I ironically bought my copy in Beijing) the language family used for most examples is Indo-European. However, other families, such as Afro-Asiatic and Sino-Tibetan, are described.
If it's Winfred Lehmann writing the book, one can expect especial focus on several matters often given lesser attention by his peers in the field. Lehmann believes students should have not only an idea of what is believed about matters today, but that they should also understand the breakthroughs and personalities of the last two centuries. As a result, there is an ample history of historical linguistic study. Lehmann was also one of the first Westerners to appreciate the ties made by Soviet scholars between historical linguistics and typology, and so typological classification is covered as a necessary part of reaching a finer historical reconstruction. And finally, as Lehmann looked greatly at PIE syntax when most other people were concerned with other matters of reconstruction, there's a detailed chapter on syntactical change. Lehmann's textbook is not perfect. Some things are idiosyncratic, such as his suggestion that the Praenestine Fibula inscription is authentic in spite of majority opinion against it. It also has competition for students planning on pursuing historical linguistics with Indo-European. If you already have a fairly decent idea of historicaly linguistics and are itching to discover the history of comparative Indo-European linguistics, you might as well go straight to Lehmann's THEORETICAL BASES OF INDO-EUROPEAN LINGUISTICS. If you still don't know much about historical linguistics but want to know what is believed right now in IE studies, there's also Fortson's INDO-EUROPEAN LANGUAGE AND CULTURE. Beginning students in linguistics need all the materials they can get. Lehmann's HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS is a book worth seeking out, among others.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Languages change constantly, a fact that becomes most noticeable when we read texts a few centuries old. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
initial stress accent, basic core vocabulary, historical linguistic theory, typological findings, glottalic theory, preterite singular, genealogical classification, obstruent system, morphological sets, dialect geographers, technical dialects, other language families, preterite plural, preterite participle, early dialects, consonant shift, internal reconstruction, systematic similarities, dialect geography, relic areas, relative noun, comparative constructions, historical linguistic study, ergative languages, active languages Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old English, High German, Middle English, Modern English, New English, American English, Low German, American Indian, New England, Old Norse, Asia Minor, Great Vowel Shift, New York City, Old Church Slavic, United States, Jacob Grimm, Old Persian, Soviet Union, British English, Second World War, Classical Greek, Classical Latin, Old Icelandic, Old Saxon, West Saxon New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Languages change constantly, a fact that becomes most noticeable when we read texts a few centuries old. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
initial stress accent, basic core vocabulary, historical linguistic theory, typological findings, glottalic theory, preterite singular, genealogical classification, obstruent system, morphological sets, dialect geographers, technical dialects, other language families, preterite plural, preterite participle, early dialects, consonant shift, internal reconstruction, systematic similarities, dialect geography, relic areas, relative noun, comparative constructions, historical linguistic study, ergative languages, active languages Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Old English, High German, Middle English, Modern English, New English, American English, Low German, American Indian, New England, Old Norse, Asia Minor, Great Vowel Shift, New York City, Old Church Slavic, United States, Jacob Grimm, Old Persian, Soviet Union, British English, Second World War, Classical Greek, Classical Latin, Old Icelandic, Old Saxon, West Saxon New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
100
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- Studies in the History of the English Language: A Millennial Perspective by Donka Minkova on page 48, page 49, and page 108
- Constituent Order in Functional Grammar: Synchronic and Diachronic Perspectives (Functional Grammar Series) by John H. Connolly on page 184, page 185, and page 192
- People and Identity in Ostrogothic Italy, 489-554 (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series) by Patrick Amory in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Uralic Language Family: Facts, Myths and Statistics (Publications of the Philological Society) by Angela Marcantonio in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Studies in the History of the English Language: A Millennial Perspective (Topics in English Linguistics, 39) by Donka Minkova on page 48, page 49, and page 108
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