Review of "The language of the Modhupur Mandi (Garo), vol. I: grammar"

Abstract

Robbins Burling (henceforth B) is a distinguished example of the species known as “anthropological linguists”, to which Paul K. Benedict also belonged.1 B’s involvement with Bodo-Garo language and culture dates from the 1950’s, and at this moment (April, 2008) he is actually off doing fieldwork on still another language of this group, Dimasa. During the course of his decades-long work with Garo, B has obviously acquired considerable fluency in the language, although he emphasizes throughout this grammar (henceforth LMM) that he is still far from having native intuitions about difficult points...