Full Description
Women in the History of Linguistics is a ground-breaking investigation into women's contribution to the description, analysis, and codification of languages across a wide range of different linguistic and cultural traditions. Notably, the volume looks beyond Europe to Africa, Australia, Asia, and North America, offering a systematic and comparative approach to a subject that has not yet received the scholarly attention it deserves. In view of women's often limited educational opportunities in the past, their impact is examined not only within traditional and institutional contexts, but also in more domestic and less public realms. The chapters explore a variety of spheres of activity, including the production of grammars, dictionaries, philological studies, critical editions, and notes and reflections on the nature of language and writing systems, as well as women's contribution to the documentation and maintenance of indigenous languages, language teaching and acquisition methods, language debates, and language use and policy. Attitudes towards women's language-both positive and negative-that regularly shape linguistic description and analysis are explored, alongside metalinguistic texts specifically addressed to them as readers. Women in the History of Linguistics is intended for all scholars and students interested in the history of linguistics, women's studies, social and cultural history, and the intersection between language and gender
Contents
Wendy Ayres-Bennett and Helena Sanson: Women in the history of Linguistics: Distant and neglected voices
1: Anneli Luhtala: Visible and invisible women in ancient linguistic culture
2: Helena Sanson: Women and language codification in Italy: Marginalized voices, forgotten contributions
3: Wendy Ayres-Bennett: Women as authors, audience, and authorities in the French tradition
4: María Luisa Calero Vaquera: The contribution of women to the Spanish linguistic tradition: Four centuries of surviving words
5: Sónia Coelho, Susana Fontes, and Rolf Kemmler: The female contribution to language studies in Portugal
6: Sylvie Archaimbault: Women and the elaboration of a Russian language norm
7: Nicola McLelland: Women in the history of German language studies: 'That subtle influence for which women are best suited'?
8: Marijke van der Wal and Jan Noordegraaf: The extraordinary and changing role of women in Dutch language history
9: Tove Bull, Toril Swan, and Carol Henriksen: Obstacles and opportunities for women linguists in Scandinavia
10: Carol Percy: British women's roles in the standardization and study of English
11: Bernhard Maier: The female quest for the Celtic tongues of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales
12: Margaret Thomas: Early American women's participation in language scholarship
13: Raina Heaton, Eve Okura Koller, and Lyle Campbell: Women's contributions to early American Indian linguistics
14: Jane Simpson: Language studies by women in Australia: 'A well-stored sewing basket'
15: Momoko Nakamura: The history of the regulation and exploitation of women's speech and writing in Japan
16: Mariarosaria Gianninoto: Women and language in Imperial China: 'Womenly words'
17: Laurie L. Patton: Women and language in the Early Indian Tradition
18: Fatima Sadiqi: Women and the codification and stabilization of the Arabic language
19: Helma Pasch: European women and the description and teaching of African languages
