Subject: koyra chiini ( songhay languages / west africa )

jeffrey heath a grammar of koyra chiini the songhay of timbuktu 1998 . 24 x 16 cm . xvi , 453 pages . cloth dm 298 , - / approx . us $ 186 . 00 isbn 3-11 - 016285 - 7 mouton grammar library 19 mouton de gruyter * berlin * new york this volume presents the first grammar in english of a language of the songhay family of west africa . a sharp typological boundary separates koyra chiini in the timbuktu area from other songhay languages of west africa , including koroboro senni of nearby gao . for example , koyra chiini differs from these other languages in its basic constituent order ( vo ) and in its syntax of focalization and relativization ( extraction with zero traces ) . since the phonology is fairly simple , this grammar emphasizes grammatical categories and morphosyntax . topics covered in depth include pronominal categories , logophorics , np conjunction , instrumentals , aspect , the subjunctive mood , the ` all ' quantifier , serial verbs , focalization , discourse-functional particles , and relativization . there is a concluding chapter on topics in spatio-temporal and lexical semantics . though the main grammar is based squarely on the timbuktu variety , there is a short appendix on dialects farther upriver , and a long appendix on djenne chiini , a remarkable offshoot of koyra chiini spoken in the songhay enclave city of djenne . djenne chiini has seven vowel qualities to koyra chiini 's five , and has a different syntax based on in situ rather than extracted focalization and relativization . this comparative material is of special importance in that koyra chiini ( and djenne chiini ) are possible semi-creolized songhay varieties dating from the westward expansion of the songhay empire ( capital : gao ) of the late middle ages . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ mouton de gruyter walter de gruyter , inc . postfach 30 34 21 200 saw mill river road d-10728 berlin hawthorne , ny 10532 germany usa fax : + 49 ( 0 ) 30 26005-351 fax : + 1 914 747-1326 email : mouton @ degruyter . de publications by de gruyter can also be ordered via world wide web : http : / / www . degruyter . com
