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Streams of words: hydrological lexicon in Jahai

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Author

Summary, in English

This article investigates hydrological lexicon in Jahai, a Mon-Khmer language of the Malay Peninsula. Setting out from an analysis of the structural and semantic properties as well as the indigenous vs. borrowed origin of lexicon related to drainage, it teases out a set of distinct lexical systems for reference to and description of hydrological features. These include (1) indigenous nominal labels subcategorised by metaphor, (2) borrowed nominal labels, (3) verbals referring to properties and processes of water, (4) a set of motion verbs, and (5) place names. The lexical systems, functionally diverse and driven by different factors, illustrate that principles and strategies of geographical categorisation can vary systematically and profoundly within a single language.

Publishing year

2008

Language

English

Pages

182-199

Publication/Series

Language Sciences

Volume

30

Issue

2-3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • General Language Studies and Linguistics

Keywords

  • Jahai
  • Lexical semantics
  • Loanwords
  • Metaphor
  • Motion verbs
  • Place names

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0388-0001