An Introduction to Linguistic Typology

Abstract

This clear and accessible introduction to linguistic typology covers all linguistic domains from phonology and morphology over parts-of-speech, the NP and the VP, to simple and complex clauses, pragmatics and language change. There is also a discussion on methodological issues in typology. This textbook is the first introduction that consistently applies the findings of the World Atlas of Language Structures, systematically includes pidgin and creole languages and devotes a section to sign languages in each chapter. All chapters contain numerous illustrative examples and specific feature maps. Keywords and exercises help review the main topics of each chapter. Appendices provide macro data for all the languages cited in the book as well as a list of web sites of typological interest. An extensive glossary gives at-a-glance definitions of the terms used in the book. This introduction is designed for students of courses with a focus on language diversity and typology, as well as typologically-oriented courses in morphology and syntax. The book will also serve as a guide for field linguists.

Clausal coordination in Finnish Sign Language

“…Bril 2010;Reintges 2010). On the level of clauses, the notion of asymmetric coordination refers, in practice, to the clause chain construction found, for instance, in the languages of Papua New Guinea, Australia, and the Americas (Velupillai 2012). In clause chaining, typically more than two clauses are combined without any overt syntactic marker, and typically only the last clause in the string is inflected for TMA (Velupillai 2012).…”

Causative constructions in Woirata, Kisar Island (Southwest Maluku, Indonesia)

“…Song (1996) defines a causative construction as a linguistic expression that denotes a complex situation consisting of two events: (1) the causing event in which a causer does something, and (2) the caused event in which a causee carries out an action or undergoes a change of condition or state as a result of the causer's action. Velupillai (2012) states that causative constructions essentially merge two separate events into one single complex event which in turn increases the valency of the original event by one. Causatives are commonly divided into three different types, lexical, morphological, and analytic.…”

Culture-Specific Conceptualisations of Beauty

“…Such an approach opens entirely new avenues of research [3,11] and attempts to explore the limits and possibilities of human language by comparing the structures of a range of diverse languages [10]. It allows revealing important distinctions as well as similarities embedded in the cultures chosen for the analysis and represented in the languages respectively.…”

“…One of the main features of beauty is that it can be detected in any of the temporal and spatial dimensions, in different historical and social conditions. 6 10 , Uroda wielki orator, wielki mocarz 'Beauty is great speaker, great potantate', the influence of which is so strong that it can even capture: Uroda każdego zniewoli 'Beauty can captivate anyone' 11 In the Russian language there are eloquent expressions found in the novels 'The Brothers Karamazov' and 'The Idiot' of the outstanding Russian classic Fyodor Dostoevsky, where the characters of novels reflecting on the beauty believe it can save the world: Красота спасет мир 'Beauty will save the world', they call it 'terrible' and provide it with the characteristics of mystery and mysticism: Ужасно то, что красота есть не только страшная, но и таинственная вещь. Тут диавол с Богом борется, а поле битвы -сердца людей 'The terrible thing is that beauty is not only fearful but also mysterious.…”

“…and their unexpected reaction to unattractive girls: Ukr. Така погана, що й жаби б не їли 'So bad even the frog would not eat', Така ладна, що як на двір вийде, то всі пси брешуть 'So good-looking that when she goes outside, all the dogs start barking'; Як вигляне у вікно, то три дні собаки брешуть, а одна, як 10 It is interesting to note that the Chinese used to analyse very picky girl's looks before calling her a beauty: 品頭論足 (pǐn tóu lùn zú) 'criticise head and feet' means 'make critical remarks about a woman' physical appearance trying to find fault.' 20 By contrast, it is believed that attractive girls go through life easier, because they cause a greater degree of confidence and trust: Pol.…”