Books in the Cambridge Library Collection - Linguistics series

First published in 1872, this three-volume comparative grammar of the Indo-Aryan languages was written by the British civil servant John Beames (1837-1902). Volume 1 focuses on phonetics and phonology, exploring the languages' vowel and consonant systems, and how their phonology has changed over time.

This three-volume work by Hugo Schuchardt (1842-1927), first published between 1866 and 1868, explores the development of Vulgar Latin, the language of the general population, as opposed to the classical, literary variety. The work focuses on the distinctive vowel changes that took place in Romance vernaculars over many centuries.

A Slovenian citizen of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Franz Miklosich (1813-91) extended the comparative method of analysis across the whole Slavonic language family. This four-volume comparative grammar of the Slavonic languages (1852-74) ranks among his most influential works. Volume 4 is reissued in the 1868-74 edition.

Berthold Delbruck's three volumes on Indo-European syntax were written to complete Karl Brugmann's monumental comparative grammar. They were first published between 1893 and 1900, and remain the fullest treatment of the subject. This, the second volume, discusses the verb, providing thorough coverage of tense, mood, infinitives and participles.

Theodor Koch-Grunberg (1872-1924) was director of Berlin's Ethnographical Museum. This two-volume work documents his expedition to North-West Brazil in 1903-1905. Though aimed at a lay readership, his account provides a wealth of information on the area and its indigenous tribes, their languages and customs.

Volume 1 of the monumental comparative grammar of the Indo-European languages by Karl Brugmann (1849-1919) is devoted to phonology. It focuses in turn on each Proto-Indo-European sound and its reflexes in the earliest attested languages of each language family, and also discusses Ablaut and sound changes.

Beitrage zur Ethnographie (1867) is the German scientist Carl von Martius' colourful and personal memoir of his early travels to Brazil in the years 1817-1820. He focuses on the indigenous peoples of America and in particular of Brazil, and addresses a wide range of ethnographic and linguistic topics.

British-born biologist Sir Baldwin Spencer, and his fieldwork partner, F. J. Gillen, an advocate of Aboriginal rights, carried out innovative in-depth studies on the native tribes of Central Australia. Volume 1 describes the region's topography, and the customs and beliefs of the Arunta Aborigines.

The eight volumes of the Grammatici Latini, edited by Heinrich Keil (1822-1894) and published by Teubner between 1855 and 1880, are an outstanding monument of nineteenth-century German philology. The first volume contains the work of Charisius and Diomedes.

The eight volumes of the Grammatici Latini, edited by Heinrich Keil (1822-1894) and published by Teubner between 1855 and 1880, are an outstanding monument of nineteenth-century German philology. The sixth volume contains works by Marius Victorinus and Maximus Victorinus together with other works on metre.

The eight volumes of the Grammatici Latini, edited by Heinrich Keil (1822-1894) and published by Teubner between 1855 and 1880, are an outstanding monument of nineteenth-century German philology. The seventh volume contains writings on orthography by Terentius Scaurus and Bede among others.

This 1892 dictionary lists loan words from European languages which entered mainstream English after 1470, together with loans from further afield. It shows how the English lexicon was dramatically expanded by these borrowings. Each entry includes the meaning of the word in its original language and historical examples of usage.

William Dwight Whitney (1827-94) was the foremost American philologist and Sanskrit scholar of the nineteenth century. This 1875 study of the development of languages shows how evolutionary theory was applied to other branches of academic study. Whitney concludes with a discussion of philological research methods.

Described by Ken Hale as 'nothing less than a masterpiece' and by P. H. Matthews as 'absolutely clear, astonishingly complete, factually fascinating', The Languages of Australia (1980) was a landmark in Australian linguistics. Its opening chapters provide a non-technical introduction to over two hundred languages forming this extraordinary linguistic heritage.

Produced in 1800 by a lieutenant of the East India Company for newcomers to India, this was the first glossary of Indian terms widely used by the English in daily life and administrative situations. While promoting communication, it was not designed for the formal study of Indian languages.

William Marsden (1754-1836) was a pioneer in the study of oriental languages, in particular those of modern-day Malaysia and Indonesia, where he lived for nine years. Published in 1796, this work helped fuel the growing interest in languages and philology at the turn of the nineteenth century.

The twentieth-century revival of interest in the Cornish language sprang from the efforts of activists like Henry Jenner (1848-1934), who published this Handbook in 1904, while employed at the British Museum. The book introduces the history of Cornish, its grammar, and topics including literature, names, dates and swearing.

Heymann Steinthal (1823-99) was a German philologist and university professor who insisted that the development of linguistics could be properly understood only when viewed within a general cultural and philosophical framework. This 1863 work explores Greek and Roman philology and philosophy and their relationship to logic.

Johan Ludwig Krapf (1810-81), a German-born missionary in Africa, is considered the father of Swahili studies in Europe. He created the first Swahili dictionary, which was published posthumously in 1882. This important lexicon also contains notes on Swahili culture and customs, together with an introduction to Swahili grammar.

Henry Sweet (1845-1912) was a philologist whose work was regarded as seminal. His textbooks on Old English remain standard works. The present work, first published in 1877, inspired European interest in phonetic studies. Sweet presents a general theory of phonetics, illustrated by examples of transcription from various languages.