Edited Books
Links to papers and other info.
Xenolinguistics Cover
Vakoch, D. & J. Punske. 2024. Xenolingusitics: Towards a Science of Extraterrestrial Language. Routledge.
Xenolinguistics brings together biologists, anthropologists, linguists, and other experts specializing in language and communication to explore what non-human, non-Earthbound language might look like. The 18 chapters examine what is known about human language and animal communication systems to provide reasonable hypotheses about what we may find if we encounter non-Earth intelligence.
Showcasing an interdisciplinary dialogue between a set of highly established scholars, this volume:
Clarifies what is and is not known about human language and animal communication systems
Presents speculative arguments as a philosophical exercise to help define the boundaries of what our current science can tell us about non-speculative areas of investigation
Provides readers with a clearer sense of the how our knowledge about language is better informed through a cross-disciplinary investigation
Offers a better understanding of future avenues of research on language
This rich interdisciplinary collection will be of interest to researchers and students studying non-human communication, astrobiology, and language invention.
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Language Invention Cover
Punske, J., N. Sanders & A. Fountain. 2020. Language Invention in Linguistics Pedagogy. Oxford University Press.
This book is the first to explore the varied ways in which invented languages can be used to teach languages and linguistics in university courses. There has long been interest in invented languages, also known as constructed languages or conlangs, both in the political arena (as with Esperanto) and in the world of literature and science fiction and fantasy media - Tolkien's Quenya and Sindarin, Dothraki in Game of Thrones, and Klingon in the Star Trek franchise, among many others. Linguists have recently served as language creators or consultants for film and television, with notable examples including Jessica Coon's work on the film Arrival Christine Schreyer's Kryptonian for Man of Steel, David Adger's contributions to the series Beowulf, and David J. Peterson's numerous languages for Game of Thrones and other franchises.
The chapters in this volume show how the use of invented languages as a teaching tool can reach a student population who might not otherwise be interested in studying linguistics, as well as helping those students to develop the fundamental core skills of linguistic analysis. Invented languages encourage problem-based and active learning; they shed light on the nature of linguistic diversity and implicational universals; and they provide insights into the complex interplay of linguistic patterns and social, environmental, and historical processes. The volume brings together renowned scholars and junior researchers who have used language invention and constructed languages to achieve a range of pedagogical objectives. It will be of interest to graduate students and teachers of linguistics and those in related areas such as anthropology and psychology.