Lutz Marten - Böcker

Argues that knowledge in language consists of being able to use it in speaking and understanding. This work analyses a variety of languages, from English to Japanese and Swahili. It is intended for those in the disciplines of language, linguistics, anthropology, education, psychology, cognitive science, law, media studies, and medicine.

This volume brings together leading scholars from Africa, Europe, the Americas and beyond to provide a detailed account of the languages of the Bantu family, which cover an area from Cameroon and Kenya in the north to South Africa in the south. The Bantu family is part of the Niger-Congo phylum and one of the world's biggest language groups, comprising around 500 languages. The family includes major languages with large numbers of speakers, such as Zulu, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili, the most widely spoken and taught African language, as well as many community languages and several endangered languages. Bantu languages feature prominently in the complex and multilingual language ecologies that are characteristic of the linguistic situation in much of Africa and they provide rich evidence for the study of theoretical and comparative linguistics, language contact, and language change. They play an important role in education, commerce, culture, and artistic expression, in the media and public discourse, in governance and social justice, and are central to the future of the continent and the well-being of its communities. The first part of The Oxford Guide to the Bantu Languages provides background and context, with chapters exploring the history of research in the field; language and prehistory in Bantu-speaking Africa; and typology and variation. Chapters in the second part offer broad comparative overviews of Bantu phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, socio- and applied linguistics, before Parts III - VII cover more specific topics in Bantu linguistics across a variety of subfields, ranging from structural issues such as the augment and melodic tone to historical and sociolinguistic topics such as Bantu languages in the diaspora and language policy and standardization. The chapters in the final part offer individual structural overviews of a range of languages from across the Bantu-speaking area. The book will be an essential resource for students and researchers specializing in the Bantu languages and for typologists and comparative linguists more broadly.

This volume explores the rich and complex pattern of morphosyntactic variation in the Bantu languages, providing a comprehensive overview of the wealth of empirical and conceptual work in the field. The chapters discuss data from some 80 Bantu languages as well as drawing on a wider comparative set of more than 200 languages from across Central, Eastern and Southern Africa: some studies focus on one specific language in a comparative context; some investigate fine-grained variation among a close-knit group of languages; and others present large-scale comparative studies spanning the whole of the Bantu-speaking area. The contributors address a range of topics from a micro-variation perspective, primarily in the areas of nominal and verbal morphology and syntax and information structure. The volume highlights key aspects of contemporary research in Bantu morphosyntax and outlines distinct and novel approaches to prominent questions; it combines the most recent thinking on morphosyntactic variation in Bantu with different theoretical and methodological approaches and novel empirical data from a wide range of languages.

This book explores the interaction of grammar and context in human communication. Lutz Marten focuses on verbs and verb phrases: he examines the relationship between language rules and linguistic behaviour, seeking to distinguish between language-specific syntactic knowledge and the general reasoning people need to understand and to make themselves understood. He considers how the component elements of linguistic theory explain what appear to be simple utterances but whose structure is hard to analyse - how, for example, 'Fran is baking Mary a cake in the oven' is different from 'Fran is baking Mary a cake in the kitchen'. The author's account of the interactions of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics is based on extensive observation among contrasting cultures and a variety of languages. He makes important contributions to understanding in all three areas. His book will appeal to linguistic theoreticians of all persuasions.

This collection examines how linguistically diverse diaspora communities experienced and translated the COVID-19 pandemic in London, exploring nuances of difference across them to better understand how these communities mediate public health discourses in the globalized city.Drawing on scholarship from cultural translation and an emic approach, the volume features rich and varied perspectives on the unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic from scholars working and living in over a dozen Asian and African language communities in the city. Building on data from online surveys and face-to-face-interviews with almost 200 community members, the book charts how information about the pandemic was disseminated across these different minority communities and, in turn, how these communities understood and translated it into their own cultural framework and against prevailing public discourses. The volume also looks forward to the recovery process and the needs of these communities, reinforcing the value of a socio-cultural translation approach in better understanding how to support these communities in the wake of global health crises moving forward.This book will be of interest not only to scholars in translation studies, intercultural communication, crisis communication, cultural studies, and post-colonial studies, but also to public health practitioners and community leaders.

Colloquial Swahili: The Complete Course for Beginners has been carefully developed by an experienced teacher to provide a step-by-step course to Swahili as it is written and spoken today. Combining a clear, practical and accessible style with a methodical and thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Swahili in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required. Colloquial Swahili is exceptional; each unit presents a wealth of grammatical points that are reinforced with a wide range of exercises for regular practice. A full answer key, a grammar summary, bilingual glossaries and English translations of dialogues can be found at the back as well as useful vocabulary lists throughout. Key features include:A clear, user-friendly format designed to help learners progressively build up their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills Jargon-free, succinct and clearly structured explanations of grammar An extensive range of focused and dynamic supportive exercises Realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of narrative situations Helpful cultural points explaining the customs and features of life in Swahili-speaking countries. An overview of the sounds of SwahiliBalanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Swahili is an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Swahili. Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues and texts from the book and will help develop your listening and pronunciation skills.