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Somali
Somali is spoken by more than nine million people in the Horn of Africa and by expatriate communities in the Middle East, Europe and North America. It is the official language of Somalia and an important regional language in Ethiopia and Kenya. As a Cushitic language Somali is part of the great Afroasiatic language family whose other branches include Semitic, Berber, Chadic and Ancient Egyptian. This book provides a comprehensive description of the grammar of the language that will be of interest to non-specialists and linguists interested in typology and language comparison. The authors accessible investigation of the phonology, morphology, syntax and discourse structure allows the reader a clear view of the linguistic character of Somali and, through Somali, of a Cushitic language. A further important feature of the book is its use of authentic data from a range of sources, including prose, poetry and proverbs.
[London Oriental and African Language Library, 10] 1999. xv, 295 pp.
Publishing status: Available
Published online on 19 July 2011
Published online on 19 July 2011
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
- Preface | pp. xi–xii
- List of Abbreviations and Symbols | pp. xiii–xv
- Introduction | pp. 1–6
- Phonological units | pp. 7–24
- Phonological rules | pp. 25–52
- Grammatical categories | pp. 53–132
- Word formation | pp. 133–162
- Phrases | pp. 163–182
- Simple sentences | pp. 183–208
- Subordinate clauses | pp. 209–228
- Discourse | pp. 229–250
- Appendix I : Data sources | pp. 251–252
- Appendix II : Selected texts | pp. 253–266
- Notes | pp. 267–278
- Index | pp. 289–295
“This well-written and intelligibly explained work help to improve the knowledge of Somali among linguists and readers interested in Somali matters and in the peoples and languages of the Horn of Africa. S should be thanked and congratulated for this delightful book.”
Gonzalo Rubio, Ohio State University, USA
“[...] is refreshingly data-oriented, down-to-earth, as regards the descriptive approach, and at the same time up-to-date, as regards sophistication of analysis, without highlighting methodological aspects and avoiding esoterisms of particular grammatical theories. [...] What makes monograph so valuable is its abundance of details that you won't normally find in a grammatical description generally and in one of Somali in particular. [...] Readers who want to get a clear picture of Somali and at the same time an idea of what Cushitic languages are like are well-served with this book.”
Roland Kiessling, in Afrika und Ubersee, Band 84, 2001
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