Reviewed by Teun A. van Dijk, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona

The study of social cognition has been popular in social psychology since the early 1980s, especially (with this label) in the United States, whereas in Europe, the main interest has been in social identity theory (especially in the United Kingdom) and the theory of social representations (mainly in France). Some contemporary developments are attempting at least some integration of these different directions of research at the boundary of social and cognitive psychology. Unfortunately, with the exception of so-called discursive psychology in the United Kingdom and some of the social psychology of language (traditionally interested in language attitudes), social psychologists—unlike cognitive psychologists—have shown surprisingly little interest in the study of language use and discourse. Conversely, with the exception of current interest in discourse and identity, few linguists and discourse analysts have explored this fascinating interdisciplinary field or the issues typically studied in classical and modern social psychology, such as personality, aggression, attitudes, prejudice, attribution, group identity and relations, impression management, or influence—despite the fact that many of these areas involve language use, text, or talk. Indeed, if at all, linguists are interested in cognitive science or the cognitive psychology of discourse processing.

It was, therefore, an excellent idea for Hanna Pishwa to invite linguists to explore the field of social cognition, which she sketches in the introduction. The seventeen chapters in this book thus deal with such diverse topics as the historical origins of the social approach to language, embodiment, universalism versus relativism in language and culture, the lexical expression of privacy, collective cognition, conversational pragmatics, situated positioning, knowledge schemas in the workplace, corporate self-presentation, distributed cognition, irony, attribution categories, recurrent word combinations, emotion(al) talk, motion and emotion, and metaphor.

Although these are topics that may be dealt in a sociocognitive framework, unfortunately most of the authors ignore current ideas, theories, and debates in social psychology, in general, as well as the study of social cognition, in particular. Moreover, some of the chapters do not even attempt to say anything about social cognition. Thus, very little interdisciplinary work is actually accomplished, and I am afraid that most social psychologists will not be interested in many of these chapters.

It is no doubt very interesting to link language use, text, and talk to the ways various forms of social cognition (as social representations, knowledge, attitudes, ideologies, norms, values, etc.) are being acquired and reproduced by discourse and thus become distributed as shared common ground among the members of groups and communities, or how such shared representations are in turn fundamental conditions of appropriate discourse production and understanding. Detailed discourse analysis may be related to the details of socially situated mental processing and representations that are hard to study in the laboratory, which regrettably remain the main and very impoverished context of most experimental social psychological research until today. Although some of the papers deal with interesting aspects of this complex field (e.g. knowledge, metaphor, emotion, distributed cognition), most papers do not show how their linguistic topics can be significantly related to this interdisciplinary framework that relates discourse, cognition, and society. Social psychologists as well as linguists and discourse analysts still have a long way to go to provide integrated insight into the study of the socially situated discursive reproduction of socially shared representations.

Reviewed by Edward J. Vajda, Western Washington University

This dictionary is the first truly authoritative reference of Lakota and Dakota vocabulary. Underpinned by extensive new fieldwork with a range of the most proficient native speakers, it contains not only modern and innovative forms but also reports on the results of a thorough rechecking of textual and dictionary materials recorded during the past century. Written in a fully phonemic script and filled with examples that explicate the semantic nuances of each word, it largely supersedes the three most extensive lexicographic works previously available: A dictionary of the Teton Dakota Sioux language: Lakota-English, English-Lakota (Eugene Buechel, 1970, Pine Ridge, SD: Red Cloud Indian School); A Dakota-English dictionary (Steven R. Riggs, 1992, ed. by James Owen Dorsey, St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society); and the unpublished Lakota dictionary (Ella Deloria, 1966, Chamberlain, SD: Dakota Indian Foundation).

One feature that immediately sets this book apart is its inclusive and accurate treatment of the various dialectal forms recorded across the full geographic spread of the closely related Lakota and Dakota languages. Each entry clearly identifies the dialect represented, and the extensive introductory section provides a superb overview of the interrelation between the dialects themselves (3–8). Other dictionaries tend to focus on only a single dialect or mixed vocabulary from more than one dialect without clearly indicating the source.

Also welcome is the unexpectedly detailed and lucid grammar section (689–778), which makes this dictionary easy to use, although it is not intended as a substitute for a genuine reference grammar. Another useful feature is the editor’s thoughtful account of the history of Lakota lexicography (8–20), which clarifies problems the dictionary was compiled to rectify. This discussion is invaluable to anyone wishing to consult the earlier sources because it identifies the strengths and weaknesses of these works.

The tremendous attention to accurate detail in this work shines through on every page. The densely packed information is arranged in a visually pleasing way, with easily followed abbreviations and other conventions, all of which are explicated inside the front and back covers. In the Lakota to English portion, entry headwords appear in blue, additional Lakota or Dakota forms in bold black print, and English translations in lighter black print, making it easy to scan the page for information. Verb entries include conjugated forms that would not be obvious from the citation form. The English-to-Lakota is likewise authoritative, with numerous cross-references to the Lakota-to-English section, where more information on semantics is provided.

This book is invaluable both as a means of learning modern Lakota and Dakota vocabulary and as an authoritative guide to the many obsolete terms recorded in earlier texts. Beginning students as well as the most serious scholars of the Lakota and Dakota languages will find it an essential reference.

Reviewed by Haitao Liu, Communication University of China

This book analyzes Chinese syntax within the framework of generative linguistics. Although not intended for learners of Chinese, it may serve as a reference book for those who formally research Mandarin Chinese syntax.

Ch. 1 (9–37) is about parts of speech, which the authors refer to as categories. In light of the study of other languages, the authors suggest that the syntactic behavior of a word determines its category, which can be construed through a cluster of positively- or negatively-valued features.

Ch. 2 (38–76) focuses on the nature of argument structure. For maximal explanatory power, a theory with the least stipulation is presented here for the lexico-semantic decomposition of verbs.

Among the wide range of topics touched upon in the discussion of canonical sentence structure in Ch. 3 (77–111), verb phrases and their components receive the most attention. The authors systematically distinguish between adjuncts and complements, search for the best syntactic representations of five different postverbal constituents and explore a realistic mechanism to handle semantic notions such as aspect and modality in the syntax of Chinese.

Ch. 4 (112–52) deals with the passive bei construction, which takes two forms depending on the presence or absence of an agent phrase. After demonstrating the pros and cons of a movement-based approach and an approach based on complementation, the authors argue that the Chinese passive involves both movement and complementation.

In Ch. 5 (153–96), the authors explore passives and ba constructions. Despite their similar argument structures, these constructions differ in the scope of acceptability—a disparity originating in the different subcategorization requirements of ba and bei, which is evident in their syntactic structures. Additionally, the authors propose an analysis of the complicated ba construction to secure a possible mechanism for an affected interpretation.

Ch. 6 (197–235) deals with topic and relative clause structures, in which a clause is used to modify a head noun phrase. The authors demonstrate that these two constructions are similar but not identical, arguing that variations within relative constructions suggest a cluster of empirical generalizations that can be traced to the absence or presence of a relative operator.

Ch. 7 (236–82) investigates the syntax of interrogative sentences, especially wh-questions and A-not-A questions (a special type of disjunctive questions) and suggests a modular approach to the latter.

Ch. 8 (283–328) takes up the syntactic structure of noun-headed phrases (i.e. nominal expressions). The authors maintain that Chinese noun phrases, like those in other languages, exhibit more complicated structures than perceived at first glance. They propose a full determiner phrase (i.e. a structure in which smaller phrases headed by a numeral expression, a classifier, and a noun can be embedded) and illustrate that such a framework permits deviations and affords explanations in terms of (in)definiteness, specificity, and compositional semantics.

Ch. 9 (329–71) discusses donkey anaphora, a linguistic phenomenon somewhere between definite coreference and variable binding. There are, according the authors, two types of donkey sentences each with their own distinctive properties. The insight into these two types of donkey sentences, the authors believe, may resolve an important controversy between two recently prominent theories for handling indefinite noun phrases and their referential properties.

This book will be helpful to both students hoping to know more about the formal treatment of Chinese syntax and to theoretical linguists interested in the universal principles of human languages.

Reviewed by Mark J. Elson, University of Virginia

This book is a study of the past tense system in nonstandard British English; specifically, the simple past and the past participle of so-called strong verbs (i.e. verbs characterized by ablaut; e.g. drink/drank/drunk) and weak verbs (i.e. verbs characterized by -ed in the past tense system; e.g. talk/talked/talked) that have become strong.

This book is comprised of seven chapters: an introduction (1–16), ‘Past tense theories’ (17–48), ‘Naturalness and the English past tense system’ (49–65), ‘Sellt and knowed: Non-standard weak verbs’ (66–97), ‘Drunk, seen, done and eat: Two-part paradigms instead of three-part paradigms’ (98–148), ‘Come and run: Non-standard strong verbs with a one-part paradigm’ (149–82), and the ‘Conclusion: Supralocalization and morphological theories’ (183–97). Additionally, there are two appendices (198–206), a bibliography (207–15), and an index (216–21). The database the author used is the Freiburg English dialect corpus (FRED). The exposition is clear and well organized, providing extensive data and an informative discussion of the competing models of morphology.

After introducing and defining relevant terminology (e.g. regular vs. irregular, strong vs. weak, standard vs. nonstandard), enumerating her sources, and establishing the classification of strong verbs in the first chapter, Lieselotte Anderwald  turns—in Ch. 2—to a brief survey of theoretical frameworks (e.g. lexical morphology, optimality theory, connectionist theory, network theory, natural morphology) in anticipation of the dialectal data.

In Ch. 3, still by way of background, A proceeds, on the basis of the concept of congruity in the theory of natural morphology, to outline the system-defining structural attributes of each class of strong verbs as they are attested in Standard British English. The following chapters then present dialectal deviations (e.g. Ch. 4 discusses formerly strong verbs that are now weak, such as sell and know).

By way of conclusion, A offers several generalizations, which include that: (i) nonstandard verbal systems are characterized by a high degree of nonstandardness (i.e. they do not conform with any frequency to standard forms), (ii) standard strong verbs have not frequently yielded to weakification (i.e. regularization), and (iii) the strong two-part pattern with past tense u (e.g. string/strung/strung) has expanded, even beyond verbs with i in the present; thus, cling/clung from cling/clang/clung; and come/come/come from come/came/come. A also considers the question of supralocalization (i.e. the emergence of a supraregional dialect), for which there seems to be little support, and returns finally to issues of theory.

With regard to theory and explanation, A takes a combinatory, or integrated, approach (47–49), which she labels cognitive, and about which she comments: ‘if we extend natural morphology with the psycholinguistically plausible network model, we can link a model employing sophisticated linguistic terminology with possible low-level neural mechanisms, resulting in a highly empirical framework that has been extensively tested and which makes interesting predictions for inflectional systems’ (48). However, A notes that the processes predicted by natural morphology have played a very small role (e.g. weakification has been relatively infrequent). She notes that strong verbs have been remarkably resilient and turns to network theory, which, in its assumption of the relevance of lexical relatedness in morphological change (as well as its refinement of the role of frequency due to natural morphology) permits her to justify the stability of strong verbs. Additionally, network theory accounts for the fact that, among a well-defined subgroup of strong verbs, u became prototypical for the past tense and on that basis was extended (183–84). A ends by noting the importance of dialectal information in its ability to enrich the discussion, not only of the data, but also of the positions taken by theoretical frameworks in their attempts to accommodate change (197).

Reviewed by Colette van Kerckvoorde, Bard College at Simon’s Rock

In 1998, the Federal Republic of Germany ratified the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, thereby promising that it would facilitate and encourage the use of (i) five specific regional languages (i.e. Danish and North Frisian in Schleswig-Holstein, Saterland Frisian in Lower Saxony, Lower Sorbian in Brandenburg, and Upper Sorbian in Saxony), (ii) one regional language (i.e. Low German), and (iii) one nonterritorial language (i.e. Romani). This Charter does not include the languages of recent immigrants to Germany that are much more present in the consciousness of the general public.

This book contains a brief introduction and a collection of eight papers about these languages, which were originally delivered at a 2007 conference in Bremen. Most of the papers are by members of each linguistic community and aim to be expository introductions: Each paper generally consists of an overview of the treatment of the language by the linguistic community in the past, a description of the current socio-political situation, statistical information, and an account of current initiatives to promote the use of the language and to preserve the culture, with a focus on education, the language of administration and public services, the media, and cultural activities.

Not surprisingly, all contributions follow a similar theme. Frequently, historical evidence indicates that use of the language was strongly discouraged in the past, which resulted in declining numbers of native speakers who are now senior members of the community, and children generally do not acquire the language as their mother tongue. As a rule, current speakers are bilingual and typically limit use of the minority language to interactions with immediate family members or with close friends. Attempts to revitalize the languages, especially in schools, face difficulties, because it is difficult to find qualified teachers who are also fluent speakers. Additionally, the minority language programs have to compete with English language instruction. The situation of Saterland Frisian serves as an example: In 1945, half of the Saterland population spoke the language. Currently, only twenty percent of approximately 10,000 inhabitants speak the language. Demographic changes and economic factors account for this decline: The region has seen an influx of people of non-Frisian origin who have no particular interest in adopting the minority language. Furthermore, industrialization affected the use of the language in the region. While the region has benefited economically, preservation of its cultural heritage is severely threatened. Efforts to revitalize Saterland Frisian are in place, but the lack of textbooks and pedagogical material in this language is an obstacle and the availability of fluent speakers is scarce. Volunteer programs exist; however these are primarily staffed by senior citizens, and thus it is difficult to make long-term plans.

All of the articles in this book are written in German and offer good introductions to the situation of the minority languages in Germany while highlighting the challenges that such languages face worldwide. Each author stresses that the future of their language is endangered.

Reviewed by Colette van Kerckvoorde, Bard College at Simon’s Rock

Several textbook-style introductions to the Old English (OE) language are currently available. Such works are usually written for students who major in English and whose primary aim is to develop necessary skills to read OE poetry and prose. Jeremy Smith’s book approaches this subject with a focus on the linguistic structures. He does not assume any prior knowledge of linguistics, and the result is a great beginners’ text for undergraduate students, to be used in an undergraduate course in conjunction with a collection of OE texts. Successful completion of such an introduction should provide the foundation for reading recent scholarship on OE as well as traditional, long-established reference works on OE.

This book contains seven chapters, two appendices, two glossaries, and a reference section. Ch. 1 serves as a general introduction to the textbook and to the origins of the English language. In Ch. 2, linguistic terminology that is required to describe OE sounds, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary is introduced, and S demonstrates how these terms are used in descriptions of sample words and short sentences. Ch. 3 deals with the structure of OE and analyzes a few longer excerpts in OE prose and poetry.

The first three chapters provide an elementary understanding of the subject matter, and the following four chapters expand on this information. What follows is a discussion of spelling and sounds (Ch. 4), of the OE lexicon (Ch. 5), of OE syntax (Ch. 6), and of OE inflectional morphology (Ch. 7). The material is consistently well explained and illustrated by means of several examples, and S also includes discussions of diachronic and dialectal variation. The only thing that may surprise the reader is the frequent absence of the traditional tables in the inflectional morphology section. Instead, paradigms are presented in one column, and it takes some time to get used to. At the end of each chapter, there is a list of key terms that were introduced and sometimes there are also a few exercises on the topic of the chapter.

The first appendix consists of a selection of OE texts. This section is designed for preliminary study only and should be supplemented with more OE texts from other sources. It is noteworthy that this selection includes runic and nonrunic inscriptions, excerpts from West Saxon and non-West Saxon texts, and a passage from the Peterborough Chronicle that exemplifies the transition to Middle English. Each text is accompanied by a short introduction and a present-day English translation. The second appendix contains discussion questions and a list of recommendations for further reading. At the end of the book there is a glossary of OE to present-day English. A second glossary contains an alphabetical list of key grammatical terms used in the book, along with an explanation for each one. The book ends with a list of references and an index.

Reviewed by Omaima Ayoub, Islamic Foundation School

This book portrays a complex picture of distributed morphology (DM), a modern framework that was proposed in the early 1990’s within the government and binding tradition and the minimalist program as an alternative to other models of universal grammar. In this book, Daniel Siddiqi provides an overview of the major parts of DM (i.e. argument selection, the structure of the verb phrase, nominal compounds in English, stem allomorphy and suppletion) and proposes some revisions to the model (e.g. minimize exponence, eliminate readjustment rules, incorporate a feature blocking system).

Part 1 includes three introductory chapters. Ch. 1 ‘Syntax within the word’, provides a synopsis of the major elements of DM. Ch. 2, ‘Distributed morphology’, details the fundamentals of DM and demonstrates how it is different from lexicalist minimalism. Ch. 3, ‘Morphological operations in DS: From spellout to PF’, outlines three morphological processes in DM (i.e. morphological merger, fusion/fission, and readjustment rules).

Part 2, ‘On a theory of root allomorphy’, comprises five chapters. Ch. 4, ‘Root allomorphy’, offers an analysis of root allomorphy within DM and exhibits a functional application of the new economy constraint (minimize exponence). Chs. 5 and 6, ‘Simplifying DM’ and ‘Expansion of the fusion analysis’, propose some revisions to the DM framework by highlighting the merits of a new constraint. Ch. 7, ‘Inflection in compounds’, explains how the same constraint can be used to propose a novel analysis for the blocking of regular inflection in English nominal compounds. Finally, Ch. 8, ‘Interim conclusions’ provides a summary of Part 2 as a whole.

Part 3, ‘Argument selection’, consists of five chapters. Ch. 9, ‘Argument selection within distributed morphology’, briefly surveys the phenomenon of subcategorization (i.e. argument selection) and describes how it is treated within this framework. Ch. 10, ‘Minimize exponence based account of subcategorization’, outlines the effects of fusion on an analysis of the argument selection of a verb. Ch. 11, ‘Subcategorization expanded’, discusses how a model based on the minimize exponence constraint would handle the behavior of verbs (e.g. polysemy of verbs, structural coercion, and dative alternations). Ch. 12, ‘The nature of verbs’, explores two possible analyses for the category selection of a verb within the DM framework and examines how DM might handle the phenomenon of verb classes. Finally, Ch. 13, ‘Interim conclusions’, sums up Part 3.

Part 4, ‘Odds and ends’, includes three chapters. Ch. 14, ‘Event semantics’, argues that the new minimize exponence constraint has a potential influence on the relationship between syntax and event semantics, whereas Ch. 15, ‘Typology and theory’, uses English data to detail some of the typological predictions for the inclusion of minimize exponence in the universal grammar model. Finally, Ch. 16, ‘Conclusions’, wraps up the book by recapitulating all four parts.

Reviewed by Itzhak Hadani, Haifa, Israel

Sam Rakover is professor emeritus of Psychology at the University of Haifa, with vast experience in research on animals (e.g. mice, rats, fish) and humans. In his long academic career he has shown great interest in the philosophy of science and mind. In 1990, he published a highly significant book (Metapsychology: Missing links in behavior, mind and science, New York: Solomon) that treated the mind-body problem at length. His multifaceted background is expressed here in its serious attempt to develop a new methodology to understand the behavior of cats and humans. Among other things, this book tackles the question of whether a cat has consciousness. Furthermore, assuming that a cat does have consciousness, how can its consciousness be studied scientifically? R sets about the task by means of a captivating analysis of the behavior of Max—his pet Himalayan cat—and of other animals.

R develops a new, original, research approach called methodological dualism. It coherently unites mechanistic explanations (which appeal to neurophysiological and computational factors accepted in the exact sciences) with mentalistic explanations (which appeal to the individual’s inner world, his or her will, belief, intentions, purpose, and so on). Methodological dualism is based on three assumptions: (i) in empirical tests, the methodological status of mentalistic and mechanistic hypotheses are the same; (ii) schemas (i.e. models) of mentalistic explanation satisfy the requirements of scientific methodology like schemas of mechanistic explanation; and (iii) the complex behavior of humans and animals is explained by means of multi-explanation theory, which is based on schemas of mentalistic and mechanistic explanation.

R maintains that the multi-explanation theory is likely to provide a better explanation of the behavior under study than a theory based only on one kind of explanation, such as the mechanistic explanation accepted in psychology. He illustrates this advantage through an analysis of the behavior of Max the cat: R shows clearly and rightly that mentalistic explanations are needed for the cat’s behavior and that the mechanistic explanations are wanting.

R succeeds in achieving two significant scientific accomplishments. First, he demonstrates that animals have consciousness, although it may not reach the level of human consciousness. R establishes and justifies his position, which runs counter to that of the French philosopher René Descartes, who deemed animals as machines. R’s second accomplishment is the development of the multi-explanation theory. In a highly reasoned way, this theory satisfies all of the meticulous scientific requirements that suggest explanations for behavior. This is no mean achievement, and in my opinion, is theoretical work of the highest order. I hope that psychologists will study the paradigm underlying this theory and adopt it.

R’s writing style is not light, but this circumstance is a factor of the weight and complexity of the subject at hand. Apart from it, all who query whether a cat has a soul (or a mind) dispel all doubts: to paraphrase the popular adage, a cat has not one, but nine lives.

Reviewed by Omaima Ayoub, Islamic Foundation School

The handbook of pragmatics serves the interdisciplinary nature of the field of pragmatics as a subdivision within language studies. This printed version of the online Handbook of pragmatics comes in a loose-leaf format to facilitate flexibility and expandability for new articles and revised versions of older ones. It is divided into three sections: the ‘User’s guide’, the ‘Manual’, and the handbook body.

The ‘User’s guide’ provides an inclusive index of all cross-references, and the ‘Manual’ includes a preface and a general introduction that present key information for the handbook authors and readers. The ‘Manual’ encompasses the major traditions that underlie the field of pragmatics, the major methods of research used in pragmatics inquiry, and the different kinds of notational systems used in the field. Urpo Nikanne’s ‘Conceptual semantics’ and Terhi Ainiala’s ‘Socio-onomastics’ are the two full-length papers from the ‘Manual’ included in this printed version. In ‘Conceptual semantics’, Nikanne illustrates the four features that define conceptual semantics as a part of generative linguistics: research objectives, background assumptions, methodological guidelines, and technical solutions. In ‘Socio-onomastics’ (i.e. sociolinguistic study of names), Ainiala examines the socio-onomastic research on Finnish place names.

The main body of the handbook is comprised of articles that are organized alphabetically. Varying in length and focus, these articles present an up-to-date overview of different topics within the field of linguistic pragmatics. Only six full-length articles are provided in the printed version of the handbook.

Martin Gill’s article, ‘Authenticity’, explains the complex concept of authenticity within sociolinguistics and pragmatics. Li Wei’s ‘Contact’ outlines the key causes, processes, and outcomes of language contact, discusses its theoretical and methodological approaches, and outlines its main issues within the field.

Liesbet Quaeghebeur’s contribution, ‘Embodiment’, draws on transcendental embodiment to discuss perception and cognition as different aspects of the embodiment hypothesis currently held in cognitive linguistics. Marjut Johansson and Eija Suomela-Salmi’s article, ‘Enonciation: French pragmatic approach(es)’, traces the history of the French enunciation theory and surveys its traditions and the formulation of its main concepts. Finally, in ‘Listener response’ Deng Xudong depicts a wide range of research traditions used in the study of the conversational phenomenon of listener responses. Xudong’s other article, ‘Overlap’, reviews a huge body of literature on the study of the conversational phenomenon of overlap.

Overall, The handbook of pragmatics is a valuable reference book for students and scholars of linguistics in general and sociolinguistics and pragmatics in particular.

Reviewed by Jung Sun Son, University of Texas, Arlington

The book From linguistic areas to areal linguistics is the ninetieth volume of the Studies in language companion series edited by Pieter Muysken. This volume presents language description and typology in terms of the areal contexts in which a language is spoken and discusses a number of case studies in areal linguistics. The book consists of one introductory chapter and five contributing articles, with four appended indexes (language, author, subject, and place; 275–93).

Ch. 1, ‘Introduction: Conceptual and methodological issues in areal linguistics’ (1–23), is composed of four parts. In Section 1, Muysken provides a brief overview of the book. Section 2 presents the definition of a linguistic area (Thomason 2001) and the conceptual and methodological issues of the six key dimensions used to define a linguistic area. In Section 3, language contact scenarios that may be responsible for establishing linguistic areas (e.g. borrowing, convergence, shift, linguistic levelling) are presented. Finally, in Section 4, the emergence of a linguistic area is illustrated by examining a large linguistic area: The Atlantic.

In ‘The problem of the Caucasian Sprachbund’ (25–93) Viacheslav A. Chirikba convincingly demonstrates that the Cocasus constitutes a Sprachbund by presenting the Cocasus-specific common features found on various levels of linguistic structure (e.g. in phonology, morphology, syntax, lexical semantics, and the lexicon). Chirikba argues that the two indigenous and unrelated Caucasian families, North Caucasian and Kartvelian, have formed a ‘union of linguistic families’ (26) over a period of several millennia of contact and that these families share a range of linguistic features. Additionally, Chirikba states that the main mechanism of the formation of the Caucasian Sprachbund is convergence (e.g. substrate).

In ‘East Nusantara as a linguistic area’ (95–149) Marian Klamer, Ger Reesink, and Miriam Van Staden provide historical and linguistic evidence that Austronesian and Papuan languages have influenced each other in the East Nusantara area. The authors focus on five features: (i) possessor-possessum order in adnominal possession, (ii) the order marking of the distinction between alienable and inalienable possession, (iii) class-final negation, (iv) subject-verb-object (SVO) order, and (v) an inclusive/exclusive opposition in the pronominal paradigm. They propose that of these five areal features, the first three are Papuan features that have diffused into the Austronesian languages, whereas the last two are Austronesian features that have diffused into the Papuan languages.

In ‘The Guaporé-Mamoré region as a linguistic area’ (151–79) Mily Crevels and Hein Van der Voort claim that the Guaporé-Mamoré region (i.e. the Amazonian state of Rondonia in Brazil and the adjacent lowland areas of Bolivia) is a possible linguistic area. The authors provide archeological and historical evidence for linguistic diffusion among the languages in that region, although these two areas have great linguistic diversity. Crevels and Van der Voort also demonstrate that the Guaporé-Mamoré languages share a number of structural features such as prefixes, evidentials, directionals, verbal morphology, lack of classifiers, and an inclusive/exclusive distinction although they diverge dramatically at the lexical level.

Ch. 5, ‘An integrated areal-typological approach’ (181–219), by Olga Mišeska Tomić explores local convergence of morphosyntactic features in the Balkan Sprachbund. To uncover various convergent and divergent tendencies of Balkan Sprachbund morphosyntax, Tomić examines the individual typological features of the Balkan languages that appear to interact with other features in the structure of the determiner phrase (DP) or in the clause of individual languages. Additionally, Tomić considers sociolinguistic factors and dialectal variation.

Finally, in ‘Zhuang: A Tai language with some Sinitic characteristics’ (221–74) Rint Sybesma discusses a single areal feature—namely, post-verbal modal acq (translated as ‘can’ in English). This feature is shared by four languages: Zhuang, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Lao in Indo-China and Southern China. In particular, this chapter focuses on how two Tai languages, Zhuang and Lao, differ in their use of acq as a post-verbal modal element: post-verbal acq in Lao can have an ability reading, whereas in Zhuang it cannot, because in Zhuang, resultative constructions cannot have a secondary can reading.

This book is a valuable contribution to descriptive, comparative, historical, and typological linguistics. I highly recommend this volume to linguists working in those fields.

REFERENCE

THOMASON, SARAH G. 2001. Language contact: An introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.