Cambridge Library Collection - Linguistics

This 1895 book, designed for classical students, brought to Britain the ideas of the German Neogrammarians on Indo-European comparative philology.

This 1875 teaching grammar/reader, aimed at helping students to grasp Assyrian cuneiform, includes texts, transliterations and translations.

Published in 1887, this was the first resource to provide Cornish translations for English words and phrases.

Henry Sweet's work on the sounds of English was first published in 1874, and in this revised version in 1888.

First published in 1857, this two-volume work covers obsolete, rare and dialectal English words, providing definitions, etymologies and illustrative examples.

The respected phonetician and philologist Henry Sweet (1845–1912) has had a lasting influence on the study and teaching of linguistics, particularly phonetics and Old English. Sweet is also known for being, in part, the inspiration for Henry Higgins in Shaw's Pygmalion. This two-volume work, first published in 1892–8, marks the start of a new tradition in the study of English, although it received little attention in Britain upon its publication. Building on developments in European linguistics, this was the first grammar of English to adopt a scientific approach to the description of language, in particular of phonology. This work is a thorough description of English grammar in comparison with that of Old English, and covers the parts of speech, phonology, accidence and syntax. Sweet's work is notable for its focus on the spoken language as well as the written, and for its use of casual speech as examples.

Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869), physician and author, published this first edition of his most famous work in 1852.

This 1808 work on the connections between Sanskrit and Indo-European languages is an important early contribution to comparative grammar.

A seminal 1921 work by the linguist Edward Sapir, outlining his influential ideas and hypotheses on language and its speakers.

American-born lawyer and author Lindley Murray (1745–1826) was hailed by his admirers as the 'father of English grammar'. First published in 1795 and reissued here in its 1830 forty-fourth edition, English Grammar became the definitive textbook on the subject in the early nineteenth century. Murray divides the work into four sections: orthography, etymology, syntax and prosody. Treating his subject methodically, he reasons that sound instruction in grammar should begin with the form and sound of letters, continue to the different types of words, include guidelines on the construction of sentences, and provide advice on correct pronunciation. Accordingly, the book commences with the alphabet before moving on to more complex subjects, from verb conjugation through to versification. An appendix gives advice on writing more effectively. The work's huge success, in Britain and the United States, as well as in translation, testifies to its rigorous and unpretentious approach.

Priestley integrates classical rhetorical principles with contemporary theories of mind in this lecture series, reissued here in its 1781 printing.

Priestley's 1762 outline for nineteen lectures on linguistic topics ranging from articulation and the alphabet to syntax and metre.

This pioneering 1908 work on northern Himalayan dialects is a compilation of separately printed studies.

This seminal work on phonetics by Henry Sweet (1845-1912), published in 1877, inspired a Europe-wide study of the subject.

Published 1911-22, this pioneering work entrenched scientific principles for the study of North America's indigenous peoples and languages.

Published 1911-22, this pioneering work entrenched scientific principles for the study of North America's indigenous peoples and languages.

Published 1911-22, this pioneering work entrenched scientific principles for the study of North America's indigenous peoples and languages.

'Why should Cornishmen learn Cornish?' asked Henry Jenner (1848–1934) in the preface to this 1904 publication, dating from the beginnings of the Cornish revival. Jenner admits that 'the reason ... is sentimental and not in the least practical'. Born in Cornwall, but raised in south-east England, Jenner worked at the British Museum from 1870 to 1909 and was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. He eventually retired to Cornwall where he became a leading figure in establishing the Old Cornwall Societies and the Gorseth Kernow. The Handbook begins by marshalling the evidence for the use of the Cornish language from the middle ages to the eighteenth century, and listing the manuscripts and books in which it is preserved. It describes the uncertainties surrounding spelling and pronunciation, and the complex system of initial consonant mutations, before explaining the parts of speech. It also includes a fascinating chapter on names.

First published in the 1870s, this three-volume comparative grammar covers sounds, nominals and verbs in the Indo-Aryan languages.

Robert Brough Smyth (1830–1889) was a successful Melbourne-based mining engineer and civil servant whose international contacts included the geologist Adam Sedgwick. He also spent 16 years as Secretary of the Board for the Protection of the Aborigines. In this study of the society and customs of indigenous Australians in the Victoria region, first published in 1878, he combines his own observations with those of others who lived or worked closely with the Aboriginal population. Volume 1 discusses the Aborigines' physical and mental characteristics, demographics, social interaction, rituals, daily life and mythology. Comparisons are made throughout with other indigenous populations, particularly those of nearby Pacific and Indonesian islands. Volume 2 focuses on language. The nine essays by European settlers which form the appendices explore a variety of anthropological topics and shed light on the complex relationship that existed between the indigenous Australian population and the Eu

A. W. Howitt's classic two-volume study, first published in 1904, investigates the organisation, practices and customs of the indigenous peoples he encountered during his forty years exploring Australia. He describes how he made 'close and friendly contact' with tribes who were, in his words, in a condition of 'complete savagery'. Howitt achieved considerable status among the Aborigines, and was even permitted to witness some of their sacred ceremonies. Focusing particularly on the social organisation of the tribes, their kinship systems and marriage rules, his book is a captivating account of a now-vanished civilisation.

Theodor Koch-Grünberg (1872–1924) was a noted German ethnologist and explorer whose work on the indigenous peoples of Brazil and Venezuela is still consulted by anthropologists, ethnologists and linguists. His most important publication was this five-volume account of his 1911–1913 expedition from the sandstone mountains bordering Brazil, Venezuela and Guyana through uncharted territory westwards to the Orinoco. Volume 1 describes the journey itself, and the author's reactions to his varied experiences. Volume 2 contains sixty myths and legends, eleven of them given in the original language as well as translation. Volume 3 describes the material and spiritual culture of a number of tribes, and includes a substantial appendix on music. Volume 4 contains linguistic data on nineteen languages, Cariban, Arawak and isolates, several of them previously undescribed. Volume 5 provides 185 photographs showing the physical characteristics of the different tribes Koch-Grünberg encountered on this