3. Amalia E. Gnanadesikan, Anne Boyle David - Dhivehi. The Language of the Maldives (Mouton-CASL Grammar Series [MCASL])[Retail].pdf

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Amalia E. Gnanadesikan
Dhivehi
Mouton-CASL Grammar Series
Editors
Anne Boyle David
Claudia M. Brugman
Thomas J. Conners
Amalia E. Gnanadesikan
Volume 3
Amalia E. Gnanadesikan
Dhivehi
|
The Language of the Maldives
Edited by
Anne Boyle David
This material is based upon work supported, in whole or in part, with funding from the United
States Government. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this
material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of
Maryland, College Park and/or any agency or entity of the United States Government.
ISBN 978-1-61451-304-9
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-1-61451-234-9
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-1-5015-0076-3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A CIP catalogue record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress.
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;
detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.
© 2017 University of Maryland. All rights reserved.
Cover photo: A thun’du kunaa, a traditional Maldivian mat. Photo by Gitanjali Gnanadesikan
Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck
♾ Printing on acid free paper
Printed in Germany
www.degruyter.com
Foreword
It is remarkable that, in this age of unprecedented global communication and interac-
tion, the majority of the world’s languages are as yet not adequately described. With-
out basic grammars and dictionaries, these languages and their communities of speak-
ers are in a real sense inaccessible to the rest of the world. This state of affairs is anti-
thetical to today’s interconnected global mindset.
This series, undertaken as a critical part of the mission of the University of Mary-
land Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL), is directed at remedying this
problem. One goal of CASL’s research is to provide detailed, coherent descriptions
of languages that are little studied or for which descriptions are not available in En-
glish. Even where grammars for these languages do exist, in many instances they are
decades out of date or limited in scope or detail.
While the criticality of linguistic descriptions is indisputable, the painstaking work
of producing grammars for neglected and under-resourced languages is often insuffi-
ciently appreciated by scholars and graduate students more enamored of the latest the-
oretical advances and debates. Yet, without the foundation of accurate descriptions of
real languages, theoretical work would have no meaning. Moreover, without profes-
sionally produced linguistic descriptions, technologically sophisticated tools such as
those for automated translation and speech-to-text conversion are impossible. Such
research requires time-consuming labor, meticulous description, and rigorous analy-
sis.
It is hoped that this series will contribute, however modestly, to the ultimate goal
of making every language of the world available to scholars, students, and language
lovers of all kinds. I would like to take this opportunity to salute the linguists at CASL
and around the world who subscribe to this vision as their life’s work. It is truly a noble
endeavor.
Richard D. Brecht
Founding Executive Director
University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language
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