Linguistic Theory, Meet Languages of the Caucasus!

THE CAUCASUS is often called “the mountain of tongues”; this relatively small landmass between the Black and the Caspian Sea is home to almost a hundred languages, with three families indigenous to the area: Kartvelian, Nakh-Dagestanian, and Northwest Caucasian. The empirical base of general linguistics has been greatly enriched by sophisticated descriptive work on Caucasian languages. Furthermore, over the past twenty years or so, these languages have begun to make their entry into the arena of theoretical linguistics. Their potential, in terms of contributing directly to general theory and challenging existing theoretical constructs, is enormous. This workshop serves two related goals: First, it presents the richness of languages of the Caucasus to the general audience of linguists who do not necessarily work on these languages. Second, the workshop serves as an introduction to a number of theoretical challenges posed by these languages and as a platform for future topics of theoretical importance that can be explored in these languages. Finally, the workshop is a celebration of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Languages of the Caucasus (edited by Maria Polinsky).

Program

Posters

Venue

Student Cultural Center Xenia (see map)

16 Sofokli Venizelou str

74100 Rethymnon Crete