Edinburgh Handbook of Evaluative Morphology

Book excerpt: This book reviews and debates the latest theoretical approaches to evaluative morphology. This handbook covers the field of evalautive morphology i.e. the morphological processes used in word formation of diminutives, augmentatives, prejoratives and amelioratives. It maps the theoretical achievements in the field and offers innovative approaches to the major questions. Its discusses the scope of evaluative morphology, its formal, semantic, pragmatic, sociolinguistic and word formation issues and its relation to child language acquistion. It covers both the synchronic method and dischronic perspective, and analyses evaluative morphology in selected language families. The majority of chapters make use of extensive databases to support theoretical considerations with relevant, empirical data in order to provide a comprehensive and in depth picture of the field. Divided into 2 distinct parts, the handbook begins with 13 chapters discussing evaluative morphology in relation to areas such as pragmatics, semantics, linguistic universals and sociolinguistics. The second part is comprised of descriptive chapters, broken into the following subsets: Eurasia, South East Asia and Oceania, Australia New Guinea, Africa, North America and South America. This is the first volume to comprehensively review and evaluate the field. It's theoretical chapters are based on extensive language samples. It explains on going professional development and practice based and action research. It features 70 contributors based in 31 different countries: Basque, Catalan, Georgian, Hungarian, Israeli Hebrew, Ket, Latvian, Luxemburgeois, Modern Greek, Nivkh, Persian, Slovak, Swedish, Tatar, Telugu, Udihe, Apma, Chinese, Lisu, Muna, Tagalog, Tibetan, Yami, Dalabon, Iatmul, Jingulu, Kaurna, Rembarrnga, Warlpiri, Yukulta and its relatives Kayardild and Lardil, Berber, Classical and Moroccan Arabic, Ewe, Konni, Selee, Shona, Somali, Zulu, Choctaw, Dena'ina, Huave, Inuktitut, Plains Cree, Slavey, Cabecar, Jaqaru, Kwaza, Lule, Huautla Mazatec, Toba, Wichi, and, Yurakare.