A Grammar of Semelai [Paperback]

This book provides a comprehensive reference grammar of Semelai, a previously undescribed and endangered language.This is the first full-scale grammar of a language from the Aslian subgroup, within the Mon-Khmer branch of the Austroasiatic family. Semelai is spoken by about 4,000 people in the lowland forests of the Malay Peninsula, and has many distinctive features of interest to linguistic typologists, phonologists (a rich phonemic system of 18 vowels and 32 consonants), morphologists (a concatenative system acquired through extended contact with Malay and a non-concatenative system inherited from proto-Mon-Khmer) and syntacticians. It provides a unique reference resource for both Mon-Khmer specialists and general linguists.This is the first full-scale grammar of a language from the Aslian subgroup, within the Mon-Khmer branch of the Austroasiatic family. Semelai is spoken by about 4,000 people in the lowland forests of the Malay Peninsula, and has many distinctive features of interest to linguistic typologists, phonologists (a rich phonemic system of 18 vowels and 32 consonants), morphologists (a concatenative system acquired through extended contact with Malay and a non-concatenative system inherited from proto-Mon-Khmer) and syntacticians. It provides a unique reference resource for both Mon-Khmer specialists and general linguists.This volume comprises the first comprehensive grammar of a language from the Aslian subgroup, within the Mon-Khmer branch of the Austroasiatic family. Spoken by approximately 4,000 people in the lowland forests of the Malay Peninsula, Semelai has many distinctive features of interest to linguistic typologists, phonologists, morphologists and syntacticians. The volume provides a unique reference resource for South-East Asian language specialists, as well as general linguists.1. Semelai; 2. Phonology and phonotactics; 3. Morphology; 4. Word classes; 5. The verb; 6. Pronouns: personal, ignorative, and demonstrative; 7. The noun phrasl#+