Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact
- Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics
- The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Maps Volume I
- Figures Volume I
- Tables Volume I
- Contributors
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part One Language Contact and Genetic Linguistics
- 2 Language Contact and Historical Linguistics
- 3 The Chinese Expansion and Language Coexistence in Modern China
- 4 Tracing Language Contact in Africa’s Past
- 5 Populations in Contact: Linguistic, Archaeological, and Genomic Evidence for Indo-European Diffusion
- 6 The Impact of Autochthonous Languages on Bantu Language Variation: A Comparative View on Southern and Central Africa
- Part Two Linguistic Areas
- Part Three Language Spread
- Part Four Emergence and Spread of Some European Languages
- Part Five Language Diasporas
- Author Index
- Language Index
- Subject Index
- References
4 - Tracing Language Contact in Africa’s Past
from Part One - Language Contact and Genetic Linguistics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 June 2022
- The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact
- Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics
- The Cambridge Handbook of Language Contact
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Maps Volume I
- Figures Volume I
- Tables Volume I
- Contributors
- Preface
- Introduction
- Part One Language Contact and Genetic Linguistics
- 2 Language Contact and Historical Linguistics
- 3 The Chinese Expansion and Language Coexistence in Modern China
- 4 Tracing Language Contact in Africa’s Past
- 5 Populations in Contact: Linguistic, Archaeological, and Genomic Evidence for Indo-European Diffusion
- 6 The Impact of Autochthonous Languages on Bantu Language Variation: A Comparative View on Southern and Central Africa
- Part Two Linguistic Areas
- Part Three Language Spread
- Part Four Emergence and Spread of Some European Languages
- Part Five Language Diasporas
- Author Index
- Language Index
- Subject Index
- References
Summary
Medieval and classical periods in African history are a particular focus of this survey of language contact patterns seen on the African continent. The effects of languages associated with empires and kingdoms are shown to vary widely, with many such languages remaining influential even in the present day. Disentangling earlier patterns of language contact is a necessary step for those interested in reconstructing and classifying African languages. The great time depth and diversity found within each of the major African language phyla is mirrored by a dizzying array of contact patterns both within and across these phyla.
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- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Language ContactVolume 1: Population Movement and Language Change, pp. 84 - 121Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022