Reconsidering the Puebloan Languages in a Southwestern Areal Context

Areal linguistics is the study of diffused linguistic features across different languages which are geographically contiguous and culturally connected. My research attempts to standardize definitions for the vocabulary surrounding linguistic diffusion which will apply cross-areally. I also examine these definitions within the case study of the Pueblo and Southwest regions of North America. These areas have been culturally linked, but no agreement has been made as to whether or not these make up a linguistic area with sub-areas or are both part of a much larger area including the Great Basin, southern Plains, and southern Californian languages

Diminutives

Despite renewed interest in morphological issues in recent times, the diminutive has largely been ignored, due, in part, to the lack of a comprehensive introduction to the topic. The present thesis aims to remedy this situation. The diminutive is studied by considering different aspects separately; thus there are chapters dealing with meaning (Chapter 3), form (Chapter 4), the use of sounds (Chapter 5), history (Chapter 7) and the way in which diminutives could be integrated into a grammar (Chapter 6). At every stage the arguments are linked to current theories and models in linguistics. The discussion is based on data from over fifty languages (see Appendix A). Although most of this material has been collected from written sources in various languages, so much data specifically on diminutives has never before been available in one place and in one language. Such a large and varied data-base has made it possible to use a more universal approach as patterns and trends emerge which could not have been recognised in a more limited study on a single language or a small group of closely related languages. These universal trends are dealt with specifically in Chapter 8. Moreover, a number of new facts about diminutives in individual languages have emerged from this study. In this respect the findings concerning modern Standard English are perhaps of particular interest. A number of maps accompany the text. One of these, introducing Appendix A, attempts for the first time to present the synthetic diminutive as it manifests itself in the languages of Western and Central Europe