AfrikanistInnen / Nilo-SaharanistInnen, LinguistInnen
Das Kanuri gehört zur saharanischen Sprachfamilie und wird im Gebiet um den Tschadsee in den Staaten Nigeria, Niger und Tschad von über vier Millionen Menschen als regionale Verkehrssprache verwendet. Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle schrieb 1854 die erste umfangreiche Grammatik des Kanuri und gab im selben Jahr eine Textsammlung heraus. Johannes Lukas schloss 1925 sein Studium an der Wiener Universität mit der Dissertation zum Thema „Studien zur Kanuri Grammatik und Literatur an Hand unedierter Texte“ ab.
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Kanuri belongs to the Saharan language family and is spoken by more than 6 million people as a mother tongue in the area surrounding Lake Chad in Nigeria, Niger and Chad, partly in the Fezzan region of Libya. In 1854, Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle wrote the first full grammar of Kanuri and published a text collection in the same year. Johannes Lukas completed his studies at the University of Vienna (Austria) by the PhD thesis „Studien zur Kanuri Grammatik und Literatur an Hand unedierter Texte.“ During the past decades numerous linguistic Kanuri analyses were published. These have made it possible to get a more accurate picture of Kanuri grammar. Enriched by this picture, „Reference Grammar of Kanuri“ is the result of decades of study of the Kanuri language. Many decades of international scientific cooperation finally led to the creation of this profound grammar. It is undoubtably a contribution to better understand the structure of Kanuri language.
The question arises as to why we still need a new grammar. The answer to that is pretty simple. No grammar can claim to be perfect or complete, because our languages are too complex and rich for that. Thus, every new description contributes to completing our knowledge of the language. We should also be aware that linguistic structures can change. Of course, we can observe this in the Kanuri language as well.
„Reference Grammar of Kanuri“ gives information on origin, distribution, and linguistic relatives of Kanuri. The main part comprises phonology, morphology and syntax and is followed by an introduction to the different dialects within Kanuri and sociolinguistic considerations. The main purpose of this present study is to provide a comprehensive description of Kanuri on hierarchic grammatical levels. Special emphasis is also placed on typological features of the language in order to afford the non-Kanuri expert an insight into typical structural features of Kanuri grammar.
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Kanuri belongs to the Saharan language family and is spoken by more than 6 million people as a mother tongue in the area surrounding Lake Chad in Nigeria, Niger and Chad, partly in the Fezzan region of Libya. In 1854, Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle wrote the first full grammar of Kanuri and published a text collection in the same year. Johannes Lukas completed his studies at the University of Vienna (Austria) by the PhD thesis „Studien zur Kanuri Grammatik und Literatur an Hand unedierter Texte.“ During the past decades numerous linguistic Kanuri analyses were published. These have made it possible to get a more accurate picture of Kanuri grammar. Enriched by this picture, „Reference Grammar of Kanuri“ is the result of decades of study of the Kanuri language. Many decades of international scientific cooperation finally led to the creation of this profound grammar. It is undoubtably a contribution to better understand the structure of Kanuri language.
The question arises as to why we still need a new grammar. The answer to that is pretty simple. No grammar can claim to be perfect or complete, because our languages are too complex and rich for that. Thus, every new description contributes to completing our knowledge of the language. We should also be aware that linguistic structures can change. Of course, we can observe this in the Kanuri language as well.
„Reference Grammar of Kanuri“ gives information on origin, distribution, and linguistic relatives of Kanuri. The main part comprises phonology, morphology and syntax and is followed by an introduction to the different dialects within Kanuri and sociolinguistic considerations. The main purpose of this present study is to provide a comprehensive description of Kanuri on hierarchic grammatical levels. Special emphasis is also placed on typological features of the language in order to afford the non-Kanuri expert an insight into typical structural features of Kanuri grammar.
