4 search hits
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Chao Yuen Ren (1892–1982)
(2005)
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Randy J. LaPolla
- Y. R. Chao is easily the most famous linguist to have come out of China. Born before the end of the last dynasty in China, he received a traditional Confucian education, but was also one of the first Chinese people to be sent to the West for training in modern Western science (under the Boxer Indemnity Fund). The remarkable breadth and scope of his studies included physics, mathematics, linguistics, musical and literary composition, and translation, and he was a pioneer in many of these fields.
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The inclusive-exclusive distinction in Tibeto-Burman languages
(2005)
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Randy J. LaPolla
- A survey of 170 Tibeto-Burman languages showed 69 with a distinction between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns, 18 of which also show inclusive- exclusive in Idual. Only the Kiranti languages and some Chin languages have inclusive-exclusive in the person marking. Of the forms of the pronouns involved in the inclusive-exclusive opposition, usually the exclusive form is less marked and historically prior to the inclusive form, and we find the distinction cannot be reconstructed to Proto-Tibeto-Burman or to mid level groupings. Qnly the Kiranti group has marking of the distinction that can be reconstructed to the proto level, and this is also reflected in the person-marking system.
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Typology and complexity
(2005)
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Randy J. LaPolla
- For the Workshop I was asked to talk about complexity in language from a typological perspective. My way of approaching this topic was to ask myself some questions, and then see where the answers led. The first one was of course, "What sort of system are we looking at complexity in - what kind of system is language?"
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Direct and indirect speech in Tagalog
(2005)
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Randy J. LaPolla
Dory Poa
- Tagalog is an Austronesian language of the Philippines. It is the basis for one of the two official languages of the Philippines, Pilipino, and as such potentially spoken by 81 million people, though there are many sub-varieties.
