Subject: austronesian linguistics

marian klamer a grammar of kambera 1998 . 24 x 16 cm . xv , 448 pages . cloth dm 318 , - / approx . us $ 199 . 00 isbn 3-11 - 016187 - 7 mouton grammar library 18 mouton de gruyter * berlin * new york this volume presents the first detailed , systematic and comprehensive description of the phonology , morphology and syntax of kambera , a polysynthetic austronesian ( central malayo - polynesian ) language spoken by approximately 150 . 000 speakers on the island of sumba in eastern indonesia . although this language has drawn the attention of missionaries and anthropologists for over a century , up to now no systematic account of the structure of this language has been available . the study is based on primary language data , gathered by the author during fieldwork on sumba . starting out from a detailed analysis of kambera phonology , the study focusses on the morphology ; a detailed discussion of the morpho-syntactic properties of kambera is included . while an explictly theoretical approach has been avoided , insights from various grammatical theories are used to elucidate the structure of the language . the analyses are accessible to linguists of all theoretical persuasions . the grammar is richly illustrated with examples , most of which are taken from actual discourse . an appendix provides a selection of kambera texts . an index for easy reference completes the volume . this an important contribution to austronesian linguistics as well as to language typology and to general linguistic theory . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 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
