Skip to main content

Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

The Lillooet Language

Phonology, Morphology, Syntax

This book is the first complete descriptive grammar of Lillooet, an Indigenous Canadian language spoken in British Columbia, now threatened with extinction. The author discusses three major aspects of the language – sound system, word structure, and syntax – in great detail. The classical structuralism method of analysis, as developed in North America by Leonard Bloomfield and his followers, is used to look at every aspect of Lillooet in terms of its function and position within the whole structure of the language. Van Eijk explains terms and procedures in order to make the book accessible not only to the advanced linguist, but also to the undergraduate student with basic linguistic training. Written with great clarity and well organized, the book is illustrated with copious examples drawn from many years of fieldwork in St’át’imc territory.

300 pages | © 1997

First Nations Languages

Language and Linguistics: Language Studies


Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Symbols and abbreviations

Part 1: Phonology Chart of phonemes

1 Phonemes: General Information & Phonetic Data

2 Movement of the Stress

3 Distribution of schwa

4 Internal Sandhi

5 Retracted phonemes

6 Structure of roots

7 Special Questions

Part 2: Morphology Chart of morphological operations

8 Introduction to Morphology

9 The Nominalizer s-

10 Stem-Forming Prefixes

11 Compounding

12 Reduplication

13 Interior Glottalization

14 Aspectual Suffixes

16 Abstract Suffixes

17 Reflexive and Reciprocal Suffixes

18 Intransitivizers and Transitivizers

19 Numerals and Numerical Substitutes

20 Verbal Substitutes

21 Summing-Up of Stem-Formation

22 Personal Affixation

23 Invariable Words: General Remarks

24 Personal Pronouns and Related Substitutes

25 Demonstrative Pronouns

26 Demonstrative Adverbs

27 Proper Nouns

28 Full Word Conjunctions and Adverbs (Particles)

29 Sentence-Equivalents

30 Greetings, Exclamations, and Interjections

31 Articles

32 Enclitics

33 Proclitic Conjunctions

34 Prepositions

Part 3: Syntax

35 Introduction to Syntax

36 Mono-Clausal Sentences

37 Multi-Clausal Sentences

38 Syntax: Special Questions

Appendices

39 A Lillooet Text

40 Comparison of Lillooet Orthographies

Bibliography

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press