The Cambridge Handbook of Areal Linguistics

A thoroughly informed look at the treatment of language contact and change in key areas across the world.

This book offers a linguistically informed account of language contact and change, focussing on how language comes to cluster in certain geographical areas. It will be of interest to those working on the history of language families, documentation and classification, enabling the reader to understand areal linguistics within a broader linguistic context.Providing a contemporary and comprehensive look at the topical area of areal linguistics, this book looks systematically at different regions of the world whilst presenting a focussed and informed overview of the theory behind research into areal linguistics and language contact. The topicality of areal linguistics is thoroughly documented by a wealth of case studies from all major regions of the world and, with chapters from scholars with a broad spectrum of language expertise, it offers insights into the mechanisms of external language change. With no book currently like this on the market, The Cambridge Handbook of Areal Linguistics will be welcomed by students and scholars working on the history of language families, documentation and classification, and will help readers to understand the key area of areal linguistics within a broader linguistic context.