An introduction to African languages - Childs, George Tucker (John Benjamins Pub. Co., 2003)
Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-260) and index
An Introduction to African Languages; Title page; LCC page; Table of contents; Acknowledgements and dedication; Preface; Abbreviations; List of Maps; List of Figures; List of Tables; 1 Introduction; 2 The classification of African languages; 3 Phonetics and phonology; 4 Morphology; 5 Syntax and semantics; 6 Historical and typological issues; 7 Social effects on the languages of Africa; Appendices; References; Index
This book introduces beginning students and non-specialists to the diversity and richness of African languages. In addition to providing a solid background to the study of African languages, the book presents linguistic phenomena not found in European languages. A goal of this book is to stimulate interest in African languages and address the question: What makes African languages so fascinating? The orientation adopted throughout the book is a descriptive one, which seeks to characterize African languages in a relatively succinct and neutral manner, and to make the facts accessible to a wide