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Verbs constitute one of the basic building blocks of a clause, setting the structure of arguments and expressing the relationships among nouns in various thematic roles. In general terms, verbs are lexical items expressing verb-oriented notions such as activities, processes, and states. In morphology-rich languages, the syntactic and lexical roles of verbs are mediated by typologically-oriented morphological means. The current Special Issue contrasts the structure and functions of verbs in languages from two morphologically rich, yet typologically different families. The articles in the Special Issue present spoken and written aspects of verbs in usage and development in German (a Germanic language) on the one hand, in Hebrew, Neo-Aramaic, and Arabic (Semitic languages), on the other. From a theoretical linguistic perspective, we ask how the different typological features of these languages affect the function of verbs in sentences, and from a psycholinguistic perspective, we ask how typological differences affect the processing of verbs in the mature minds of adults and in the developing minds of children.
Verbs constitute one of the basic building blocks of a clause, setting the structure of arguments and expressing the relationships among nouns in various thematic roles. In general terms, verbs are lexical items expressing verb-oriented notions such as activities, processes, and states. In morphology-rich languages, the syntactic and lexical roles of verbs are mediated by typologically-oriented morphological means. The current Special Issue contrasts the structure and functions of verbs in languages from two morphologically rich, yet typologically different families. The articles in the Special Issue present spoken and written aspects of verbs in usage and development in German (a Germanic language) on the one hand, in Hebrew, Neo-Aramaic, and Arabic (Semitic languages), on the other. From a theoretical linguistic perspective, we ask how the different typological features of these languages affect the function of verbs in sentences, and from a psycholinguistic perspective, we ask how typological differences affect the processing of verbs in the mature minds of adults and in the developing minds of children.
This paper presents the first case of dramatic and large-scale loss of linguistic diversity. Language death has been part of our history as long as languages were spoken, but in the fourth millennium bce urbanisation and a growing regional economy caused a decrease in both language and typological diversity on a much larger scale than ever before. The first cities in Mesopotamia had developed writing and administration which centralised power and disseminated its influence. In particular, standard languages that were used for official purposes over large areas emerged. Written standard language slowed down the rate of change and consolidated diverging dialects. The larger areas in which languages were spoken in combination with increased mobility and long-distance contacts increased language contact and decreased typological differentiation. Massive population movements due to natural and human made disasters wiped out whole linguistic lineages through language shifts. In effect, this was a first wave globalisation, resulting in the first extensive linguistic diversity eradication.
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