A Grammar of May
An Austroasiatic Language of Vietnam
Series: - Grammars and Sketches of the World's Languages, Volume: 16
- Mainland and Insular South East Asia, Volume: 16
Editor / Translator:
Not only is May otherwise undescribed in writing, it is the only small Vietic language documented and analysed in such detail, and one of few endangered Austroasiatic languages described so thoroughly.
May is predominantly monosyllabic, yet retains traces of affixes and consonant clusters that reflect older disyllabic forms. It is tonal, and also manifests breathy phonation and vowel ongliding, yielding a remarkable complexity of syllable types. The lexicon, which is extensively documented, has a substantial archaic component. Consequently, the volume provides an invaluable resource for comparative historical and typological studies.
This book is an English translation of the 2018 Russian language monograph by Babaev and Samarina.
May is predominantly monosyllabic, yet retains traces of affixes and consonant clusters that reflect older disyllabic forms. It is tonal, and also manifests breathy phonation and vowel ongliding, yielding a remarkable complexity of syllable types. The lexicon, which is extensively documented, has a substantial archaic component. Consequently, the volume provides an invaluable resource for comparative historical and typological studies.
This book is an English translation of the 2018 Russian language monograph by Babaev and Samarina.
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Kirill Babaev, Ph.D. (2008), Doctor of Sciences (2013), Deputy Director of the Institute of Far Orient of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Associate Prof. at the Russian State University for Humanities. Author of 15 monographs, including Zialo: the Newly-Discovered Mande Language of Guinea (LINCOM, 2011).
Irina Samarina, is a researcher with the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow). Significant publications include Gelao Languages: Materials for the Comparative Dictionary of the Kadai Languages (Academia, 2011).
Paul Sidwell, Ph.D. (1999) is an Associate of Sydney University and President of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society. His research has focused on the history of the Austroasiatic language family, he co-edited The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages (Brill, 2014).
Irina Samarina, is a researcher with the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow). Significant publications include Gelao Languages: Materials for the Comparative Dictionary of the Kadai Languages (Academia, 2011).
Paul Sidwell, Ph.D. (1999) is an Associate of Sydney University and President of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society. His research has focused on the history of the Austroasiatic language family, he co-edited The Handbook of Austroasiatic Languages (Brill, 2014).
Editor-Translator’s Preface
Preface
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations
1 General Information
1.1 Vietic Languages: Classification and Typology
1.2 Chut Languages and People
1.3 May Language and Its Speakers
1.4 Composition and Methodology of Study
2 Phonology
2.1 Monosyllabization
2.2 Phonological Word
2.3 Major Syllable
2.4 Suprasegmental Characteristics and Prosodic Types
2.5 Minor Syllable / Presyllable
2.6 Phonetic Syntagma
2.7 Quasi Minor Syllables/Presyllables
2.8 Syllable vs. Morpheme
3 Word and Derivation
3.1 Word Structure
3.2 Sesquisyllabic Words
3.3 Derivation
3.4 Vocabulary Composition
4 Grammar
4.0 General Notes
4.1 Word Classes
4.2 Noun
4.3 Verbals
5 Syntax
5.1 Clause Argument Structure
5.2 Clause Classification
5.3 Complex Sentences
5.4 Communicative Syntactic Instruments
Appendix 1: Swadesh 100-Word List
Appendix 2: May-English-Vietnamese Vocabulary
Appendix 3: English–May Finder List
References
Index
Preface
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations
1 General Information
1.1 Vietic Languages: Classification and Typology
1.2 Chut Languages and People
1.3 May Language and Its Speakers
1.4 Composition and Methodology of Study
2 Phonology
2.1 Monosyllabization
2.2 Phonological Word
2.3 Major Syllable
2.4 Suprasegmental Characteristics and Prosodic Types
2.5 Minor Syllable / Presyllable
2.6 Phonetic Syntagma
2.7 Quasi Minor Syllables/Presyllables
2.8 Syllable vs. Morpheme
3 Word and Derivation
3.1 Word Structure
3.2 Sesquisyllabic Words
3.3 Derivation
3.4 Vocabulary Composition
4 Grammar
4.0 General Notes
4.1 Word Classes
4.2 Noun
4.3 Verbals
5 Syntax
5.1 Clause Argument Structure
5.2 Clause Classification
5.3 Complex Sentences
5.4 Communicative Syntactic Instruments
Appendix 1: Swadesh 100-Word List
Appendix 2: May-English-Vietnamese Vocabulary
Appendix 3: English–May Finder List
References
Index
Language typologists, historical linguists, Southeast Asian linguists. It should find a home in most university libraries and research collections.