Sound and Meaning in East Cushitic Languages (eBook)

Sumiyo Nishiguchi is an Associate Professor at the Center for Language Studies, Otaru University of Commerce. As a conference committee member of the English Linguistics Society of Japan, she has been leading the progressive field of linguistics since 2019. 

She holds a Ph.D. in Language and Culture (2010) and M.A. in English Linguistics (2003) from Osaka University, Japan, as well as an M.A. in Linguistics from the State University of New York, Stony Brook (2007). She has pursued research as a Junior Associate Professor at the Faculties of Science Division I and Management, Tokyo University of Science (since 2011), and as an Assistant Professor at the Center for International Cooperation in Engineering Education, University of Tokushima (since 2009). Her research interests include formal semantics, formal pragmatics and syntax. In the past 5 years, she has successfully accomplished a project with JSPS KAKANEHI on indexicality and negation in Dhaasanac and Somali languages. She is the author of 8 books and collected volumes and has published over 80 articles in national and international journals.

---

This book, one of the few English language publications on indigenous languages spoken in East Africa, highlights theoretical contributions on understudied East Cushitic languages, based on extensive data. It introduces readers to important fields such as the OT phonology and morphology of Dhaasanac and discusses the syntax of negation, semantics of focus, negation and context shift. It then examines negative polarity items and context sensitivity in the Rendille, Burji, Somali and Afar languages to offer broader insights into these phenomena. Given its focus, the book will appeal to researchers and students who are interested in formal semantics, pragmatics and indigenous studies around the globe, especially those wanting to learn about East Cushitic linguistics.