The Amazonian Languages

The Amazon Basin is arguably both one of the least-known and the most complex linguistic regions in the world. It is the home of some 300 languages belonging to around twenty language families, plus more than a dozen genetic isolates, and many of these languages (often incompletely documented and mostly endangered) show properties that constitute exceptions to received ideas about linguistic universals. This book provides an overview in a single volume of this rich and exciting linguistic area. The editors and contributors have sought to make their descriptions as clear and accessible as possible, in order to provide a basis for further research on the structural characteristics of Amazonian languages and their genetic and areal relationships, as well as a point of entry to important cross-linguistic data for the wider constituency of theoretical linguists.

List of maps; List of contributors; Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; Conventions followed; 1. Introduction R. M. W. Dixon and Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald; 2. Carib Desmond C. Derbyshire; 3. The Arawak language family Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald; 4. Tupí Aryon D. Rodrigues; 5. Tupí-Guaraní Cheryl Jensen; 6. Macro-Jê Aryon D. Rodrigues; 7. Tucano Janet Barnes; 8. Pano Eugene E. Loos; 9. Makú Silvana and Valteir Martins; 10. Nambiquara Ivan Lowe; 11. Arawá R. M. W. Dixon; 12. Small language families and isolates in Peru Mary Ruth Wise; 13. Other small families and isolates Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald and R. M. W. Dixon; 14. Areal diffusion and language contact in the Içana-Vaupés basin, north-west Amazonia Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald; 15. The Upper Xingu as an incipient linguistic area Lucy Seki; Index of authors; Index of languages and language families; Subject index.

The Amazon Basin is one of the least-known and most complex linguistic regions in the world. Its 300-plus languages show properties that challenge received ideas about linguistic universals. This book provides an accessible overview of this rich and exciting linguistic area.