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From the earliest surviving glossaries and translations to nineteenth-century academic philology and the growth of linguistics during the twentieth century, language has been the subject both of scholarly investigation and of practical handbooks produced for the upwardly mobile, as well as for travellers, traders, soldiers, missionaries and explorers. This collection will reissue a wide range of texts pertaining to language, including the work of Latin grammarians, groundbreaking early publications in Indo-European studies, accounts of indigenous languages, many of them now extinct, and texts by pioneering figures such as Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm von Humboldt and Ferdinand de Saussure.

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171 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Linguistics

Page 5 of 9

Durch Central-Brasilien
  • Expedition zur Erforschung des Schingú im Jahre 1884
  • Karl von den Steinen
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    08 April 2010
    First published in:
    1886
  • Karl von den Steinen (1855–1929) was a German physician, explorer and ethnologist who did pioneering work on the anthropology of Brazil's indigenous peoples. This book, published in 1886, describes the first of his two expeditions to the previously uncharted Xingu River. It begins with observations of colonial society in the coastal cities, an economic overview, and a summary of European exploration in the region. The main part of the book mixes sustained narrative and descriptive passages recounting the party's experiences with day by day journal notes on topography, geology, flora, fauna and population, incorporating weather records, river depth, arrival and departure times, and other brief but telling details (Viele Moskitos.). It includes substantial ethnographic descriptions, consideration of the local languages and their typology, and five glossaries, the most substantial being of Bakairi, for which a grammar sketch is also included. The book is generously illustrated with engravings and three maps.

Introduction à l'étude comparative des langues indo-européennes
  • Antoine Meillet
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    21 January 2010
    First published in:
    1908
  • First published in 1903, Antoine Meillet's Introduction a l'Étude comparative des langues Indo-Européennes exemplifies the key methodologies and insights of early twentieth-century comparative linguistics. Its primary aim, as Meillet states, was 'très limité': to provide a brief but comprehensive overview of the Indo-European languages and their shared linguistic structures. He accomplished this object and more in his Introduction, outlining a theory of language change that would influence a generation of linguists, including his students Émile Benveniste and André Martinet. Meillet's debt to his own mentor, Ferdinand de Saussure, is evident in his conception of language as simultaneously social and structural, a lived reality and a constantly evolving grammatical system. This second edition (1908) includes Meillet's extensive revisions and a new chapter on the development of Indo-European dialects. It remains a valuable introduction to the phonology, morphology, and grammar of the Indo-European language family.

Altindische Syntax
  • Berthold Delbrück
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    02 November 2010
    First published in:
    1888
  • The famous scholar of Indo-European syntax Berthold Delbrück (1842–1922) published this study of Sanskrit syntax in 1888. It focuses on the stage of the language that was termed 'Vedic' by the Indian grammarian Panini (c. 400 BCE). Delbrück's intention was to describe that material as clearly and thoroughly as possible in order to facilitate future comparative or in-depth studies. The book begins with chapters devoted to basic sentence structure and word order, before moving on to number, gender, case, declension of nouns, and then adjectives, adverbs, pronouns and verbs with their tenses, moods and conjugations. Prepositions and particles follow, and the book ends with discussion of subordinate clauses and other complex structures. The grammatical points are illustrated by numerous text examples, with references and translations into German, and there are thorough indexes of words and of textual passages cited.

Voyage au Tapajoz
  • 28 juillet 1895–7 janvier 1896
  • Henri Anatole Coudreau
  • Published online:
    05 April 2012
    Print publication:
    02 October 2010
    First published in:
    1897
  • In the first of three exploratory missions into the Amazon basin, the French explorer, geologist, and scholar Henri Coudreau spent nearly seven months on the Tapajoz river, from 28 July 1895 to 7 January 1896. Coudreau was working as a teacher and scientist in French Guyana when he was commissioned by the governor of Brazil's Pará state to explore the Amazon's tributaries. His 1897 Voyage au Tapajoz carefully records the villages, towns, peoples, and environs encountered throughout his journey. Illustrations, meteorological tables, and vocabularies of indigenous languages demonstrate Coudreau's wide-ranging interests and observations and his rigorous approach to data collection. He also includes poetic detail, describing, for instance, 'un ciel du matin d'une douceur exquise'. This allows the reader to enter into Coudreau's sensory and affective experiences, and makes the book an enjoyable travelogue as well as a thorough scientific report.

Voyage au Tocantins-Araguaya
  • 31 décembre 1896–23 mai 1897
  • Henri Anatole Coudreau
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    26 November 2009
    First published in:
    1897
  • In 1897, building on his earlier scientific expedition reports, Henri Coudreau (1859–1899) published this account of his third mission on behalf of the governor of Brazil's Pará state: Voyage au Tocantins-Araguaya. Coudreau continues his practice of including illustrations, statistical tables, indigenous vocabularies, and maps to complement the detailed account of his progress along this Amazonian tributary. His observations reveal his geological background and interests; however, Coudreau also assumes the role of anthropologist as he documents various aspects of indigenous groups, including their customs and beliefs. In addition to his remarks on villages, peoples, and the region's flora and fauna, Coudreau records his thoughts and concerns about increasing industrialization and the potential for urbanization and growth in Pará. His opinion that the people of Pará possess the same bold and enterprising spirit as their 'Yankee' neighbours is characteristic of Coudreau's personal interest in the subjects of his study.

Researches in Greece
  • William Martin Leake
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    26 August 2010
    First published in:
    1814
  • William MartinLeake (1777–1860) first published Researches in Greece in 1814. The book is a survey of the languages and dialects spoken in modern Greece and the Southern Balkans during the early nineteenth century. It was a pioneering work of linguistics that created great interest among Western European scholars. Chapter 1 deals with modern Greek, with sections on grammar, orthography, and phonetics; modern literature, including a catalogue of modern Greek authors; the Tzakonic dialect; and pronunciation and regional variation. Chapter 2 covers Albanian and includes sections on phonetics, grammar and vocabulary and Albanian history and geography. Chapter 3 gives a brief account of the Wallachian and Bulgarian languages. The volume includes useful comparative vocabulary lists in English, Greek, Albanian, Wallachian and Bulgarian. This key work of nineteenth-century scholarship was highly influential in generating scholarly interest in the study of modern Greek.

Voyage à Itaboca et à l'Itacayuna
  • 1er juillet 1897–11 octobre 1897
  • Henri Anatole Coudreau
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    26 November 2009
    First published in:
    1898
  • Henri Coudreau (1859–1899) was one of the greatest explorers of the nineteenth century. Highly regarded in his own time as a thoroughly modern expedition leader, he did much of his work on behalf of the French colonial authorities in South America. However, towards the end of his life he undertook several expeditions for the Brazilian government of the state of Para. This book describes his fourth such journey, during the summer of 1897. Coudreau's objective was to study the Cachoeiras de Itaboca (waterfalls) and the river Itacayuna to find out whether they could be made navigable to steamships in order to connect this region with Para and other parts of Brazil. With 76 illustrations and 40 maps, this 1898 publication was the most extensive description of the region then available. It includes weather records and lists the altitudes of key locations and the distances between them.

Über die Kawi-sprache auf der Insel Java
  • Volume 2
  • Wilhelm von Humboldt
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    15 September 2011
    First published in:
    1838
  • Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) was a German philologist, diplomat and philosopher. While Minister of Education he was responsible for reforming the Prussian education system. His pioneering achievements in linguistics influenced many later scholars including Chomsky. Written in 1830–3, this monumental three-volume study of Kawi, a traditional formal and literary language of Java belonging to the Austronesian language family, was published posthumously in 1836–9. The manuscript was prepared for the press by J. K. E. Buschmann, a protégé of Humboldt's friend and colleague Bopp, whose work is also reissued in this series. Humboldt considered Kawi, which includes many Sanskrit loan-words, to be the common ancestor of all the Malayo-Polynesian languages, though this view is no longer accepted. Volume 2 analyses the roots and grammatical structures of Kawi as attested in religious texts and heroic epics, and provides cross-linguistic data to demonstrate its relationship with other languages of the region.

Über die Kawi-sprache auf der Insel Java
  • Volume 3
  • Wilhelm von Humboldt
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    15 September 2011
    First published in:
    1839
  • Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) was a German philologist, diplomat and philosopher. While Minister of Education he was responsible for reforming the Prussian education system. His pioneering achievements in linguistics influenced many later scholars including Chomsky. This monumental three-volume study of Kawi, a traditional formal and literary language of Java belonging to the Austronesian language family, was published posthumously in 1836–9. The manuscript was prepared for the press by J. K. E. Buschmann, a protégé of Humboldt's friend and colleague Bopp, whose work is also reissued in this series. Humboldt considered Kawi, which includes many Sanskrit loan-words, to be the common ancestor of all the Malayo-Polynesian languages, though this view is no longer accepted. Volume 3 focuses on the comparative grammar, as attested in epics, songs, arithmetic books and bible translations, of several South Sea languages including Tagalog, Tongan, Tahitian and Hawaiian, and their relationship with the Malayan languages.

Hobson-Jobson

Über die Kawi-sprache auf der Insel Java
  • Volume 1
  • Wilhelm von Humboldt
  • Published online:
    05 February 2012
    Print publication:
    15 September 2011
    First published in:
    1836
  • Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835) was a German philologist, diplomat and philosopher. While Minister of Education he was responsible for reforming the Prussian education system. His pioneering achievements in linguistics influenced many later scholars including Chomsky. This monumental three-volume study of Kawi, a traditional formal and literary language of Java belonging to the Austronesian language family, was posthumously published in 1836–9. The manuscript was prepared for the press by J. K. E. Buschmann, a protégé of Humboldt's friend and colleague Bopp (also reissued in this series). Humboldt considered Kawi, which includes many Sanskrit loan-words, to be the common ancestor of all the Malayo-Polynesian languages, though this view is no longer accepted. Volume 1 begins with a preface by Humboldt's brother Alexander describing Wilhelm's extensive academic network, and reprints Wilhelm's famous 1836 essay on language, before focusing on the question of Indian (Sanskrit and Buddhist) influences on Javan language and society.

Searching for Aboriginal Languages
  • Memoirs of a Field Worker
  • R. M. W. Dixon
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    17 February 2011
    First published in:
    1983
  • In the early 1960s, R. M. W. (Bob) Dixon was one of the first linguists to study the Aboriginal languages of northeast Queensland, Australia. He found that some languages of the coastal rainforest were still in daily use, but others were only half-remembered by a single elder. This autobiographical account of fourteen years of research, first published in 1984, paints a fascinating picture of the frontier society that existed in the region nearly fifty years ago. It reveals the difficulties and the excitement of linguistic fieldwork, but most of all it focuses on the people who agreed to work with Dixon and patiently helped him to understand their dauntingly complex languages. They allowed him to record their legends and songs and spent many hours answering his questions; this book is a poignant reminder of the fragility of their ancient culture.

Aborigines of Victoria
  • With Notes Relating to the Habits of the Natives of Other Parts of Australia and Tasmania Compiled from Various Sources for the Government of Victoria
  • Volume 1
  • Robert Brough Smyth
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    02 December 2010
    First published in:
    1878
  • Robert Brough Smyth (1830–1889) was a successful Melbourne-based mining engineer and civil servant whose international contacts included the geologist Adam Sedgwick. He also spent 16 years as Secretary of the Board for the Protection of the Aborigines. In this study of the society and customs of indigenous Australians in the Victoria region, first published in 1878, he combines his own observations with those of others who lived or worked closely with the Aboriginal population. Volume 1 discusses the Aborigines' physical and mental characteristics, demographics, social interaction, rituals, daily life and mythology. Comparisons are made throughout with other indigenous populations, particularly those of nearby Pacific and Indonesian islands. Illustrated throughout, the book takes into account the changes forced on the native population by the arrival of European settlers in the late eighteenth century and preserves much information that might otherwise have been lost.

Aborigines of Tasmania
  • Henry Ling Roth, Marion E. Butler, James Backhouse Walker, J. G. Garson, Edward B. Tylor
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    26 November 2009
    First published in:
    1890
  • First published in 1890 in a run of just 200 copies, anthropologist Henry Ling Roth's The Aborigines of Tasmania provides a comprehensive account of native Tasmanians' life and culture. Roth, writing in the wake of the Tasmanian Aborigines' extinction, produces 'an approach to absolute completeness' that relies on the accounts of the explorers, colonisers, and anthropologists who preceded him. His work covers an exhaustive range of detail, from the Tasmanians' mannerisms to their psychology, origin, and language. Compiling his predecessors' observations and arguments, Roth often sets opinions in opposition to highlight the lack of consensus amongst those who encountered the Tasmanians. Roth's book is additionally valuable for the 'vocabularies' included in his appendices. The 1899 edition (225 copies) revises and expands the first, adding photographs to the first edition's illustrations as well as new appendices. It made an innovative and lasting contribution to an established research tradition.

Zwei Jahre unter den Indianern
  • Reisen in Nordwest-Brasilien 1903/1905
  • Volume 1
  • Theodor Koch-Grünberg
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    11 February 2010
    First published in:
    1909
  • This two-volume work by Theodor Koch-Grünberg (1872–1924), director of the Ethnographical Museum in Berlin, tells the story of his major expedition to North-West Brazil and describes the indigenous tribes and the local geography. In contrast to Koch-Grünberg's many monographs and essays on the same subject (listed in his Foreword), this book is directed at a lay readership. Koch-Grünberg states his aim of correcting a false impression of the indigenous peoples drawn from 'novels about Indians read during one's youth' and the accounts of his explorations are permeated by a deeply-held respect for the humanity he encounters. Although its primary interest to scholars lies in its anthropological and ethnographical content, the text is full of botanical, geographical and linguistic detail, interspersed with photographs taken by the author. Volume 1, published in 1909, covers the author's travels from Pará to São Felippe.

Grammar of the Sanskrit Language
  • Charles Wilkins
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    07 July 2011
    First published in:
    1808
  • While working for the East India Company in Bengal, Charles Wilkins (1749–1836) became one of first Europeans to master the Sanskrit language. He proceeded to set up a printing press in Calcutta to publish works in Sanskrit and other Indian languages. Wilkins also undertook further related projects, including this work, published in London in 1808, which was part of his larger scheme to write a dictionary of the language and to translate a great epic poem, the Mahabharata. The grammar was the only part of the project that was completed. He never finished the dictionary, and only translated about one-third of the poem, though the part he worked on, the Bhagavad-Gita, became famous. The grammar attempts a comprehensive explanation of the language, ranging from the Devanagari alphabet to indeclinable words, and it was a vital resource in making Indian languages accessible to an English-speaking public.

Grundriss der vergleichenden Grammatik der indogermanischen Sprachen
  • Volume 3, Indices (Wort-Sach-und Autorenindex)
  • Karl Brugmann
  • Published online:
    07 October 2011
    Print publication:
    14 January 2010
    First published in:
    1893
  • This is the index volume to the monumental comparative grammar of the Indo-European languages published by Karl Brugmann (1849–1919) in the late-nineteenth century. It contains three indexes. The first, an index of words, is subdivided by language and organised so as to be useable as a comparative lexicon even by those unfamiliar with particular languages. It shows the huge variety of languages referred to in the book, from Pali and Venetic to Frisian and Old Cornish. The index of topics excludes categories such as individual sound changes that are easily located via the extensive tables of contents, but includes languages and dialects, grammatical and phonetic categories, and concepts such as place names and music. Finally, there is an index of names which will be of particular value to historians of the field and bibliographers.

An Indian Glossary
  • Consisting of Some Thousand Words and Terms Commonly Used in the East Indies
  • T. T. Roberts
  • Published online:
    07 September 2011
    Print publication:
    17 February 2011
    First published in:
    1800
  • T. T. Roberts, an East India Company lieutenant attached to a native regiment, published this glossary in 1800 to assist those newly arrived in India. Roberts was one of the first to produce such a guide to Indian terms which had entered into common use among the English in India, rather than materials to help Europeans to learn Indian languages properly, as the East India Company's Fort William College in Calcutta, founded in the same year, intended. English did not become the dominant language of administration until the 1830s, and even then many Indian and Persian words continued to be widely used. Arranged alphabetically, Roberts' glossary contains over one thousand entries, from personal names and titles to terms relating to food, drink, trade, law and religion. It is a valuable source of information on colonial Indian history, geography and society, with explanations of names, places, and the status of different castes.

The Native Tribes of South-East Australia
  • Alfred William Howitt
  • Published online:
    07 September 2011
    Print publication:
    25 November 2010
    First published in:
    1904
  • A. W. Howitt's classic two-volume study, first published in 1904, investigates the organisation, practices and customs of the indigenous peoples he encountered during his forty years exploring Australia. He describes how he made 'close and friendly contact' with tribes who were, in his words, in a condition of 'complete savagery'. Howitt achieved considerable status among the Aborigines, and was even permitted to witness some of their sacred ceremonies. Focusing particularly on the social organisation of the tribes, their kinship systems and marriage rules, his book is a captivating account of a now-vanished civilisation.

Austral English
  • A Dictionary of Australasian Words, Phrases and Usages
  • Edward Ellis Morris
  • Published online:
    05 August 2011
    Print publication:
    09 June 2011
    First published in:
    1898
  • Edward Morris (1843–1902), Professor of Modern Languages at Melbourne University, contributed material on 'words peculiar to Australia' to the OED. He expanded that research into this dictionary of the English spoken in Australasia, first published in 1898. Morris was able to draw on existing scholarly studies of Maori loan words in the language of settlers in New Zealand, but was the first to give detailed attention to the influence of Australian Aboriginal languages and list early appearances in English of words such as 'cooee' and 'boomerang'. The book also includes English words that developed Australasia-specific meanings to describe local flora, fauna and social conditions, and new scientific words such as 'eucalypt'. Morris' pioneering work provides unique insights into the development of English in Australia and New Zealand, and remains of interest not only to linguists but also to historians of Australasia and the British empire in the late Victorian period.

Page 5 of 9