Chamic and Beyond: Studies in Mainland Austronesian Languages (Pacific Linguistics 569)

Pacific Linguistics Research School of Pacific and Asian Stu. 2005. Illustrated.. Trade paperback. Very good. light cover wear, small stain on outside fore edge. 271 p., bibliography. . A collection of papers dealing with issues in the 'Mainland Austronesian Languages', Chamic, Acehnese and Moken/Moklen-not a single genetic sub-grouping but a number of related languages that have undergone parallel typological restructuring away from their Austronesian heritage, converging on a type that places them on the southern periphery of the broader Mainland Southeast Asian Linguistic Area. In prehistoric times speakers of these languages migrated to the Asian mainland from insular Southeast Asia. Over many years of independent development plus prolonged contact with mainland languages, they have shifted typologically, particularly towards reduced word structure, increased phoneme inventory, and more isolating syntax. The emphasis of the papers is on historical change, particularly in respect of lexical borrowings and the evolution of phonological systems.