The Mystery of Culture Contacts, Historical Reconstruction, and Text Analysis: An Emic Approach

by Kenneth Lee Pike

Renowned linguist Kenneth L. Pike and his coauthors offer three previously unpublished essays that apply theoretical linguistic research to the areas of historical linguistics, cross-cultural communications, and text analysis.

"Toward the Historical Reconstruction of Matrix Patterns in Morphology" establishes a comprehensive theory of morphological structure based on a number of languages. "Understanding Misunderstanding as Cross-Cultural Emic Clash" examines the crucial role that language plays in the numerous problems encountered in contacts between people from divergent cultural backgrounds. "The Importance of Purposive Behavior in Text Analysis" explores the centrality of establishing the relationship of reality to what is actually expressed in a text.

112 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1995

About the author

Kenneth Lee Pike (June 9, 1912 – December 31, 2000) was an American linguist and anthropologist. He was the originator of the theory of tagmemics, the coiner of the terms "emic" and "etic" and the developer of the constructed language Kalaba-X for use in teaching the theory and practice of translation.

In addition, he was the First President of the Bible-translating organization Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), with which he was associated from 1942 until his death.