Language Classification by Numbers

April McMahon and Robert McMahon

284 pages | Numerous tables and line drawings | 246x171mm

978-0-19-927902-9 | Paperback | 24 November 2005

Also available as: Hardback

Price: £39.00

This item is printed to order. Items which are printed to order are normally despatched and charged within 5-10 days.

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Approachable style
Reveals startling results by applying new techniques to old data
Deals with a wide range of languages, including Indo-European and South American languages
Authors combine the expertise of historical linguistics and genetics
Broad disciplinary range including language, genetics, archaeology, computer simulation, quantitative methods
New perspectives on language contact and language change
Will be used as a textbook in comparative linguistics

This book considers how languages have traditionally been divided into families, and asks how they should classified in the future. It describes and applies computer programs from biology and evolutionary genetics to data about languages and shows how the power of the computer can be harnessed to throw light on long-standing problems in historical linguistics. It tests current theories and hypotheses, shows how new ideas can be formulated, and offers a series of demonstrations that the new techniques applied to old data can produce convincing results that are sometimes startlingly at odds with accepted wisdom. April and Robert McMahon combine the expertise and perspectives of an historical linguist and a geneticist. They analyse the links between linguistic and population genetics, and consider how far language can be used to discover and understand the histories and interrelations of human populations. They explore the origins and formation of the Indo-European languages and examine less well studied languages in South America. Their book will be of great practical importance to students and researchers in historical and comparative linguistics and will interest all those concerned with the classification and diffusion of languages in fields such as archaeology, genetics, and anthropology. Its approachable style will appeal to general readers seeking to know more about the relationship between linguistic and human history.

Readership: Scholars and advanced students of historical linguistics, language contact and change, and the classification of languages, including linguists, archaeologists, population geneticists, and anthopologists. Plus dedicated general readers interested in language families and language change.

The specification in this catalogue, including without limitation price, format, extent, number of illustrations, and month of publication, was as accurate as possible at the time the catalogue was compiled. Occasionally, due to the nature of some contractual restrictions, we are unable to ship a specific product to a particular territory. Jacket images are provisional and liable to change before publication.

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