Monographs

Papers in Historical Linguistics

The Nostratic Dictionary

by Aharon Dolgoposky
The concept of the language family, as a group of genetically related languages, has been well established in historical linguistics for more than two hundred years. But the notion of the macrofamily, a larger unit, comprising several language families with all their daughter languages, is a much more recent one. The Nostratic macrofamily, comprising many of the principal language families of Eurasia and North Africa has been most vigorously championed by the eminent Russian-born linguist Aharon Dolgopolsky.The appearance of the Nostratic Dictionary represents an important moment in Nostratic studies, for the first time presenting a sufficient body of evidence to permit the evaluation by linguists of the status of the proposed Nostratic macrofamily, and by implication of other macrofamilies also.

The McDonald Institute has for some years been active in the field of archaeology and language and is proud to publish this work in its series Studies in the Prehistory of Languages, recognising the highly significant impact which the general acceptance by historical linguists of the Nostratic macrofamily would have upon the whole study of the prehistory of languages and for the potential investigation, by archaeological means, of the social contexts in which early languages and proto-languages were spoken. It does so as a further contribution to the ongoing debate on the complex relationships between archaeology and language.

This is a preliminary publication of work by the author up to November 2006 without final correction of the proofs. It will continue to be updated as and when amendments become available. The publication and its updates are accessible on-line at http://www.dspace.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/196512.

Copies of the hardback version priced at cost. All such requests should be directed to the McDonald Institute Production Office.
Review of the Dictionary by Professor Gábor Takács, Institute of Linguistics, Hungarian Academy of Science.

The Nostratic Macrofamily and Linguistic Palaeontology
The Nostratic Macrofamily and Linguistic Palaeontology

edited by Aharon Dolgopolsky
Do all or most languages in the world descend from a single proto-language? And if so what can we tell from linguistic analysis about the speakers of this ancient tongue? These are the two questions at the heart of this controversial book and the themes clearly outlined by Colin Renfrew in his introduction. The theory of a Nostratic proto-language is not new, but the extremely detailed presentation of historical linguistic evidence provided here is. The lists of possible linguistic roots are not for the faint-hearted, but for serious linguists they provide real meat on which to chew, and, the publishers hope, provide a solid basis for debate.
Hardback | £20/US$36 | ISBN 978-0-951942-07-9 | xxii+116 pp. | 245 x 172 mm | 1999
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Nostratic: Examining a Linguistic Macrofamily
Nostratic: Examining a Linguistic Macrofamily

edited by Colin Refrew and Daniel Nettle
This volume of essays examines the claim that a linguistic macrofamily can be identified which includes not only the Indo-European and Afroasiatic language families but also the Kartvelian, Uralic, Altaic and Dravidian families. The Nostratic case was put by Aharon Dolgopolsky in his The Nostratic Macrofamily and Linguistic Palaeontology, and it is here evaluated critically by linguists specialising in the language families concerned.
Hardback | £30/US$54 | ISBN 978-1-902937-00-7 | xxii+398 pp. | 245 x 172 mm | 428 ills. | 1999
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Time Depth in Historical Linguistics
Time Depth in Historical Linguistics (2 vols)

edited by Colin Renfrew, April McMahon & Larry Trask
Time depth constitutes one of the most difficult problems in historical linguistics, its evaluation being crucial for any systematic comparison with archaeological or genetic data, and hence basic to any broader historical interpretation. Time Depth in Historical Linguistics will be indispensable for anyone seriously concerned with issue of time depth in languages, and for all archaeologists and geneticists seeking an integration between their own discipline and the early history of languages.
Paperback | £50/US$80 | ISBN 1-902937-06-6 | 2 Vols | Vol 1 - xiv+307pp. | 20 ills. 4 | tables; Vol 2 - vi+ 371 pp. | 41 ills. | 29 tables | 2000

America Past, America Present: Genes and Languages in the Americas and Beyond
America Past, America Present: Genes and Languages in the Americas and Beyond

edited by Colin Renfrew (2000)
Aspects of the prehistory of the Americas currently remain little understood, with suggested dates for the first human colonization varying widely between 40,000 and 14,000 years ago.  In this volume molecular geneticist and historical linguists debate the evidence for the first peopling of the Americas, and for the subsequent emergence of the remarkable genetic and linguistic diversity still seen among Native Americans to this day.  The arguments against the controversial 'three waves of migration' proposal made by the distinguished linguist Joseph Greenberg are scrutinized.
Paperback £30/US$50 | ISBN 978-1-902937-01-4 | x + 175pp. | 245 x 172 mm | 12 ills. | 13 tables | 2000
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