RVN Webinar Series - The Historical Linguistics of Hunter Gatherers in East Africa: A discussion
Channel: Rift Valley Network
Date: 2022-04-24

-Note: This talk has not gone through a process of peer review, and 
findings should therefore be treated as preliminary and subject to change.
-How to cite: Mous, Maarten. 2022. The Historical Linguistics of Hunter Gatherers in East Africa: A discussion. Talk Given at Rift Valley Webinar Series. 20/04/2022.
-DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6473341
-Abstract: This seminar is more a guided discussion than an ex cathedra presentation on issues that nag me while doing historical linguistics on data from Hunter-Gatherer groups. I take “Hunter-Gatherer” as a very general label for groups that are characterised (rightly or wrongly) as such, and I want to reach a better insight into which distinctions to make among them that are relevant for linguistic study (like immediate and delayed return is for social organisation). After a general introduction the seminar, time is used for one discussion question after the next, all briefly introduced below:
     Q1: Which distinctions to make among Hunter-Gatherer groups in East Africa that have relevance for (socio-)linguistics?
     Q2: Is ethno-linguistic identity less vital for (some of the) Hunter-Gatherer groups?
     Q3: Is there less memory of history of the group among Hunter-Gatherer groups?
     Q4: What are the linguistic properties of Hunter-Gatherer languages?
     Q5: What of this to keep in mind in doing historical linguistics involving languages of Hunter-Gatherer groups?
-Follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/RiftValleyNetwork
-For more, visit Maarten's page at: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/maarten-mous