SIL Publications by Category
Linguistic Studies

Artistic and Rhetorical Patterns in Quechua Legendary Texts by Agot Bergli, PTT 3, 2010, 322 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-244-9, $36.00

Shows the role of specific linguistic structures in the creation of formulaic, artistic patterns in Quechua legendary narratives and explores how the patterns function in relation to concepts such as main event line and other rhetorical structures.

Aspects of the Morphology and Phonology of Konni by Michael C Cahill, PL 141, 2007, 537 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-184-8 $50.00

This study combines a descriptive and theoretical presentation of Kɔnni, a Gur language of northern Ghana. It presents an Optimality Theory analysis of the entire phonological system.

Aspects of Western Subanon Formal Speech by William C. Hall, PL 81, 1988, 207 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-093-4, $21.00

Describes the speech behavior of the Western Subanon people (southwestern Mindanao, Philippines) in formal situations such as ceremonies or litigation.

Aspects of Zaiwa Prosody: An Autosegmental Account by Mark W. Wannemacher, PL 129,1998, 168 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-054-4, $30.50

Presents a generative and autosegmental phonological analysis of the Zaiwa language with emphasis on prosodic components.

An Autosegmental Approach to Shilluk Phonology by Leoma G. Gilley, PL 103, 1992, 224 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-106-1, $18.00

Analyzes Shilluk (Western Nilotic, southern Sudan) using an autosegmental approach based on lexical phonology.

Biblical Hebrew and Discourse Linguistics edited by Robert D. Bergen, 1994, 560 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-007-0, $42.00

Contains 22 papers that approach the study of Biblical Hebrew and Biblical Hebrew texts from a discourse linguistics perspective.

Case and Agreement in Abaza by Brian O'Herin, PL 138, 2002, 304 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-135-0, $30.50

Provides descriptive coverage and a unified analysis of agreement system of Abaza grammar, a little-documented Northwest Caucasian language exhibiting an extensive agreement system.

Comparative Kadai: Linguistic Studies Beyond Tai edited by David B. Solnit; Jerold A. Edmondson, PL 86, 1989, 382 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-066-8, $26.50

Contains thirteen papers on these Kadai languages: Kam, Sui, Maonan, Mulam, Mak, Then, Ai-Cham, Be, Hlai (Li) and Lakkia.

Comparative Kadai: The Tai Branch edited by David B. Solnit; Jerold A. Edmondson, PL 124, 1997, 388 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-005-6, $36.50

Defines the linguistic range of an immense, interrelated and varied area extending from eastern India to southern China, including the southeast Asian peninsula.

Cubeo Grammar: Studies in the Languages of Colombia 5 by Nancy Morse and Michael Maxwell, PL 130, 1999, 212 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-044-5, $30.50

Gives an overview of Cubeo phonology, morphophonemics, word classes, clause structure and subordination. Examples are included.

Current Trends and Issues in Hispanic Linguistics edited by Lenard Struderus, PL 80, 1987, 132 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-012-5, $12.00

A sampling of some of the diverse studies recently carried out by investigators with varying divergent yet partially overlapping interests in the Spanish language.

Desano Grammar: Studies in the Languages of Colombia 6 by Marion Miller, PL 132, 1999, 190 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-076-6, $26.50

Presents comprehensive overview of Desano (southeast Colombia and Brazil) grammar, from phonetic to discourse features.

The Development of Textlinguistics in the Writings of Robert Longacre, ed. by Shin Ja J. Hwang, PTT 4, 2010, 444 pp. ISBN 978-1-55671-246-3, $46.00

This book brings together Robert Longacre’s articles on textlinguistics and discourse analysis scattered throughout journals and books. Longacre’s theory of textlinguistics focuses on the intersection of the morphosyntax and discourse structure.

A Discourse Analysis of First Corinthians by Ralph Bruce Terry, PL 120, 1995, 208 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-707-0, $26.95

Utilizes principles of discourse analysis, cultural anthropology and biblical studies to analyze First Corinthians.

Discourse Features of Ten Languages of West-Central Africa edited by Stephen H. Levinsohn, PL 119, 1995, 251 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-619-6, $31.50

Presents 12 papers on coherence, participant reference and Relevance Theory in Niger-Congo and Chadic languages of Cameroon.

Discourse Function of Conjoiners in the Pastoral Epistles by Jakob K. Heckert, 1996, 112 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-041-4, $24.95

Describes and compares six different conjoining particles in the Greek language.

The Dong Language in Guizhou Province, China by Guoqiao Zheng;Yaohong Long; translated by D. Norman Geary, PL 126, 1998, 284 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-051-3, $30.50

Presents studies of Dong (2.5 million in southwestern China) history, culture, tonal language, grammar, phonology, lexicon and orthography.

The Doyayo Language: Selected Studies by Marinus Wiering; Elisabeth Wiering, PL 121, 1994, 309 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-620-2, $29.00

Presents five articles about the features of Doyayo: phonology, indicative verb structure, tone patterns of nominals, major syntactic structures and folk tales.

The Dynamics of Sango Language Spread by Mark Karan, PS 7, 2001, 164 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-122-0, $26.50

A framework for discussion, research and intervention in language spread based on the results of a memory span test to evaluate the competence of a large number of subjects in a spreading language, Sango of the Central African Republic.

A Field Manual of Acoustic Phonetics by Joan L. G. Baart, 2010, 133 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-232-6, $22.00

This provides a practical and easy-to-understand introduction to acoustic speech analysis. It explains commonly used methods for displaying aspects of a speech wave. It illustrates how the results of acoustic analysis can be interpreted and used.

Fifty Years in Brazil: A Sampler of SIL Work 1958–2008, eds by Mary Ruth Wise, Robert A Dooley, and Isabel Murphy, 2008, 416 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-220-3, $40.00

Samples of the products of fifty years of SIL International’s work in Brazil range; includes some out-of-print articles and others available for the first time in this volume. Approximately half of the book is in Portuguese.

The French Imparfait and Passé Simple in Discourse by Sharon R. Rand, PL 116, 1993, 148 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-822-0, $16.00

Presents the results of the author's analysis of the use of the imparfait and passé simple tenses in French narrative discourse.

The Function of Verb Prefixes in Southwestern Otomí by Henrietta Andrews, PL 115, 1993, 115 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-605-9, $10.50

Discusses how Otomí verb prefixes include deixis in their function.

A Grammar of Bora with Special Attention to Tone by Wesley Thiesen and David Weber, PL 148, 2012, 584 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-301-9 $64.95

This is the first comprehensive linguistic study of Bora, a typologically unusual language spoken in Colombia and Peru, the result of four decades of work among the Bora people.

A Grammar of Sochiapan Chinantec: Studies in Chinantec Language 6 by David P. Foris; 2000, PL 135, 421 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-052-0, $30.50

Describes everything from Chinantec phonemes up through phrases and clauses to compound sentences; from changes of tone and stress to changes in nucleus to signal a wide variety of tense, aspect and related features.

Hixkaryana and Linguistic Typology by Desmond C. Derbyshire, PL 76, 1985, 281 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-082-8, $25.00

Presents a grammatical sketch of Hixkaryana (Carib language family of northern Brazil) and suggests its place in syntactic typology.

Ika Syntax: Studies in the Languages of Colombia 1 by Paul Frank, PL 94, 1990, 154 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-801-5, $12.00

Presents Ika grammar from a typological and functional perspective, which provides a good framework for writing broadly useful, descriptive grammars.

The Kifuliiru Language, Two Volume Set, by Karen Van Otterloo and Roger Van Otterloo, PL 146 and 147, 1132 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-279-1, $99.00

Includes
Volume 1: Phonology, Tone, and Morphological Derivation
Volume 2: A Descriptive Grammar

The Kifuliiru Language, Volume 1: Phonology, Tone, and Morphological Derivation, by Karen Van Otterloo, PL 146, 2011, 516 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-261-6, $52.99

This volume on Kifuliiru, a Bantu (J) language of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and its companion volume, The Kifuliiru Language: Volume 2: A Descriptive Grammar, is one of the most thorough and yet readable Bantu grammars available.

The Kifuliiru Language, Volume 2: A Descriptive Grammar, by Roger Van Otterloo, PL 147, 2011, 616 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-270-8, $59.99

This groundbreaking study addresses all grammatical levels of Kifuliiru, a Bantu (J) language of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Together with its companion volume, this set comprises one of the most thorough Bantu grammars available.

Language Death in Mesmes: a Sociolinguistic and Historical-Comparative Examination of a Disappearing Ethiopian-Semitic Language by Michael B Ahland, PL 145, 2010, 155 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-227-2, $25.00

Presents an historical examination of sound change and other developments in the very-nearly extinct Gurage language known as Mesmes while also considering the linguistic and social environments in which the language has been lost.

Mamaindé Stress: The Need for Strata by David Eberhard, PL 122, 1995, 169 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-003-2, $26.50

Analyzes the stress, phonology, aand morphology system of Mamaindé. Uses metrical and lexical phonology.
The Mamainde, a language of Brazil is also known as Northern Nambikuára (Ethnologue, 15th Ed.2005)

Modes in Dényá Discourse by Samson N. Abangma, PL 79, 1987, 139 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-007-1, $23.00

This study shows how discourse structure influences the use of verb forms. It looks at modes in narrative, procedural, expository, and hortatory discourse. The study includes five texts.

Occasional Papers in the study of Sudanese Languages #4 edited by Mary Ruth Wise; Richard L. Watson, 1985, 156 pp., $10.00

Occasional Papers in the study of Sudanese Languages #5 edited by Mary Ruth Wise; Richard L. Watson, 1984, 134 pp., $10.00

Phonological Studies in Four Languages of Maluku edited by Wyn D. Laidig; Donald A. Burquest, PL 108, 1992, 235 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-803-9, $18.00

Describes the phonologies of Sawai, Kisar, Larike and West Tarangan (Indonesia).

The Phonology of Mono by Kenneth Olson, PL 140, 2005, 311 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-160-2, $29.00

This describes the sound system of Mono, a Banda language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Phonology of Two Central Chadic Languages, by Tony Smith and Richard Gravina, PL 144, 2010, 267 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-231-9 $32.00

The Muyang and Mbuko phonologies present typologically unusual data, the bulk of which is found in the vowel systems. The works in this volume are the result of years of intensive contact with the speakers of Muyang and Mbuko by the authors.

A Pragmatic Analysis of Norwegian Modal Particles by Erik E. Andvik, PL 113, 1992, 152 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-188-7, $11.50

Studies a small class of uninflectable lexical items (particularly jo and na).

Proto Witotoan by Richard P. Aschmann, PL 114, 1993, 167 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-189-4, $18.00

Reconstructs the protolanguage of six languages found in the Amazonian areas of Peru, Colombia and Brazil.

Quiegolani Zapotec Syntax: A Principles and Parameters Account by Cheryl A. Black, 2000, PL 136, 365 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-099-5, $30.50

A careful syntactic analysis of Quiegolani Zapotec Syntax, presented descriptively and with a theoretical analysis.

A Reference Grammar of the Northern Embera Languages by Charles A. Mortensen, 1999, PL 134, 211 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-081-0, $30.50

Compares and contrasts Emberá-Katío and Northern Emberá (Colombia) proper with each other and with other languages of the Emberá branch of the Chocó family.

Retuara Syntax: Studies in the Languages of Colombia 3 by Clayton L. Strom, PL 112, 1992, 241 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-181-8, $19.00

Describes the grammar of the central Tucanoan language spoken by the Retuarã and Tanimuca people of southeastern Colombia.

The Semantic Structure of Written Communication, Fifth Revision, by John Beekman, John C. Callow, Michael F. Kopesec, 1981, 147 pp., $14.00

A basic text about Semantic Structure Theory, used widely in translation work.

The Structure of Evidential Categories in Wanka Quechua by Rick Floyd, PL 131, 1999, 216 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-066-7, $30.50

Provides a detailed look at the semantics of the evidential system of one Quechua language with implications for others.

Studying and Describing Unwritten Languages by Jacqueline M. C. Thomas; Luc Bouquiaux; translated by James Roberts, 1992, 737 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-814-5, $52.50

A one-volume English translation of a three-volume French work with techniques for gathering and processing data from unwritten languages.

A Survey of Linguistic Theories, Third Edition by Donald A. Burquest; Jerold A. Edmondson, 1998, 273 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-068-1, $30.50

A textbook that presents a sample of the more popular approaches to linguistic theorizing.

Switch Reference in Koasati Discourse by David P. Rising, PL 109, 1992, 98 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-813-8, $10.00

Contains a brief sociolinguistic note, a phonological description and a grammar outline of Koasati (Muskogean, TX).

Syntactic Change and Syntactic Reconstruction: A Tagmemic Approach by John R. Costello, PL 68, 1983, 107 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-092-7, $11.00

Shows how to reconstruct syntactic constructions, their constituents and the functions of these constituents for a protolanguage by applying certain procedures of internal and comparative reconstruction to data from other languages concerned.

Tense and Aspect in Obolo Grammar and Discourse by Uche Aaron, PL 128, 1999, 198 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-063-6, $30.50

Describes comprehensively and systematically the function of tense and aspect in the Obolo language (southeastern coastal Nigeria).

The Verbal Piece in Ebira by John R. Adive, PL 85, 1989, 176 pp., ISBN 978-0-88312-037-8, $14.00

Describes the verbal piece of Ebira (a Nigerian language), the most complex unit in the language from the mother tongue speaker's point of view.

Vietnamese Classifiers in Narrative Texts by Karen A. Daley, PL 125, 1998, 221 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-021-6, $30.50

Presents a summary of classifiers and their function in languages of the world and is perhaps the first discourse study of Vietnamese classifiers.

Word Order in Toposa: An Aspect of Multiple Feature-Checking by Helga Schröder, PL 142, 2008, 213 pp., ISBN 978-1-55671-181-7, $28.00

This study of Toposa, an Eastern Nilotic language spoken in Southern Sudan, is both data oriented and theoretical. It is valuable for upper level students of syntactic theory. It should also help further study of VSO languages and discourse research.