The Languages of the Andes

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by Willem Adelaar and Pieter Muysken

Cambridge University Press

Due/Published June 2004, 744 pages, cloth

ISBN 052136275X

The Andean and Pacific regions of South America are home to a remarkable variety of languages and language families, with a range of typological differences. This linguistic diversity results from a complex historical background, comprising periods of greater communication between different peoples and languages, and periods of fragmentation and individual development. The Languages of the Andes is the first book in English to document in a single volume the indigenous languages spoken and formerly spoken in this linguistically rich region, as well as in adjacent areas. Grouping the languages into different cultural spheres, it describes their characteristics in terms of language typology, language contact, and the social perspectives of present-day languages. The authors provide both historical and contemporary information, and illustrate the languages with detailed grammatical sketches. 1 half-tone 103 tables 13 maps

 Contents

1. Introduction: the languages of the Andes
2. The Chibcha Sphere
3. The Inca Sphere
4. Languages of the Eastern Slopes
5. The Araucanian Sphere
6. Languages of Tierra del Fuego
7. Varieties of Spanish in the Andes.