The Slavic Languages : Unity in Diversity

Bringing together the research fields of sign language linguistics and information structure, this bookfocuses onthe realization of modal particles and focus particles in three European sign languages: German Sign Language, Sign Language of the Netherlands, and Irish Sign Language. As a cross-linguistic investigation based on a systematic methodological approach, thestudy analyzes the results particularly with regard to nonmanual features expressed by articulators such as the body, head, and face. The analyses of the data provide interesting insights into the syntax-prosody interface in sign languages and the interaction of syntax and prosody in general. Modal and focus particles have not been thoroughly investigated in sign languages. This volumepresents the first studyon this phenomenonand is thus an innovative contribution to the field. From a methodological and theoretical perspective, it draws onup-to-date linguistic tools and provides professionally elicited and annotated data. The bookaccounts for theresultswithin existing theoretical models. Given its specific focus on nonmanuals, the book contributes to recent debates on information structure and the syntax-prosody interface and will be of special interest to both sign and spoken language linguists. Preface Abbreviations of Journals Abbreviations of Languages and Dialects List of Symbols Towards a Phonemic Typology of the Slavic Languages The Historical Phonology of Common Slavic The Common Slavic Prosodic Pattern and its Evolution in Slovenian On Discretness and Continuity in Structural Dialectology The Phonemic Patterns of the Polish Dialects: A study in structural dialectology The Vocalic Systems of Modem Standard Slovenian The Dialect of Resia and the “Common Slovenian” Accentual Pattern Polish Mazurzenie and the Serbo-Croatian Palatals The Singular-Plural Opposition in the Slavic Languages The Grammatical Genders of the Slavic Languages The Fate of the Neuter in the Slovene Dialects The Collective and Counted Plurals of the Slavic Nouns The Interdependence of Paradigmatic and Derivational Patterns The Accentuation and Grammatical Categories of the -a Stems in South Slavic The South Slavic Infinitive and its Accentuation The Inflection of Serbo-Croatian Substantives and their Genitive Plural Endings Grammatical Neutralization in Slavic Expressive Forms The Appellative Forms (the Vocative and Imperative) of Bulgarian The Expressive Suffix -x- in Polish and in Other Slavic Languages Slavic Morphophonemics in its Typological and Diachronic Aspects The Asyllabic Verbal Stems in Slavic and Their Accentuation The Slavic Vocative and its Accentuation The Place and Function of Stress in Russian Nominal Forms with a Zero in the Ending The Accent Patterns of Bulgarian Substantives The Accentuation of the Russian Verb The Accentuation of the -l- Participle in Serbo-Croatian The Slavic Athematic (Nominal) Stems The Declension and Derivation of the Russian Simple Numerals Conservatism and Innovation in Slavic Adverbs: the Case of the Russian dóma “at home,” domój“home” Russ, večór, včerá; S-Cr. jùčē(r); Pol. wczoraj ‘yesterday.’ The Etymology of Common Slavic skot’b “cattle” and Related Terms Slavic Kinship Terms and the Perils of the Soul Index of Languages Index of Names