The book represents the results of a synchronic and diachronic cross-African survey of quotative indexes. 39 African languages were selected to represent the genealogical and geographical diversity of the continent. It is the first typological investigation of direct reported discourse of this magnitude in a large group of languages. The bookwill be of interest to linguists working on African languages as well as typologists working on similar studies in other geographical areas.

Tom Güldemann, Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.