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Comparison of the grammars of human languages reveals systematic patterns of variation. Research in typology and universals attempts to uncover those patterns, to formulate the universal constraints on language that define those patterns, and to seek explanations for the universals. In this volume, the first of its kind, William Croft provides the reader with a comprehensive introduction to the method and theory used in typology-universals research, together with an overview of basic grammatical differences between languages. He discusses theoretical issues ranging from the most fundamental - on what basis can the grammars of diverse languages be compared? - to the most abstract - what is the role of functional and historical explanation of language universals? - and gives extensive illustration from the world's languages. Numerous case studies provide extended examples of the methodologies applied to specific problems. As well as explicating basic concepts established in the last thirty years, current areas of typological research are thoroughly covered (including diachronic typology and the functional-typological approach). This textbook will appeal to scholars and students alike in linguistics and anthropology.

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Preface and acknowledgments(p. xi)
• List of abbreviations(p. xiii)
• 1 Introduction(p. 1)
• 1.1 Definitions and scope of typology(p. 1)
• 1.2 Cross-linguistic comparison(p. 4)
• 1.3 The problem of cross-linguistic comparability(p. 11)
• 1.4 Non-typological factors and the sampling problem(p. 18)
• 1.5 Data sources(p. 25)
• 2 Typological classification(p. 27)
• 2.1 Introduction(p. 27)
• 2.2 The concept of a linguistic type (strategy)(p. 27)
• 2.3 Morphological typology(p. 39)
• 3 Implicational universals(p. 44)
• 3.1 Restrictions on possible language types(p. 44)
• 3.2 Unrestricted and implicational universals(p. 46)
• 3.3 Deeper explanations for word-order universals(p. 53)
• 4 Markedness in typology(p. 64)
• 4.1 Introduction(p. 64)
• 4.2 Markedness and implicational universals(p. 67)
• 4.3 Criteria for markedness(p. 70)
• 4.3.1 Structure(p. 72)
• 4.3.2 Behavior(p. 77)
• 4.3.2.1 Inflectional behavior(p. 77)
• 4.3.2.2 Distributional behavior(p. 81)
• 4.3.3 Frequency(p. 84)
• 4.3.4 Neutral value(p. 89)
• 4.4 Conclusion(p. 91)
• 5 Grammatical hierarchies(p. 95)
• 5.1 Introduction(p. 95)
• 5.2 Hierarchies, implicational universals and markedness(p. 96)
• 5.3 The principal grammatical hierarchies(p. 98)
• 5.3.1 Number(p. 98)
• 5.3.2 The grammatical relations hierarchy and NP accessibility(p. 101)
• 5.3.3 Animacy, definiteness and hierarchy of features(p. 111)
• 5.3.4 Bondedness (the modifier hierarchy)(p. 117)
• 5.4 Phonological hierarchies(p. 120)
• 5.5 Conclusion(p. 122)
• 6 Prototypes and the interaction of typological patterns(p. 124)
• 6.1 Introduction(p. 124)
• 6.2 Clusters and typological evidence for prototypes(p. 124)
• 6.2.1 Animacy and definiteness(p. 127)
• 6.2.2 Transitivity(p. 130)
• 6.3 Markedness reversals and complementary prototypes(p. 134)
• 6.3.1 Some phonological examples(p. 134)
• 6.3.2 Case, animacy and verb type(p. 136)
• 6.3.3 Nouns, verbs and adjectives(p. 139)
• 6.3.4 Other markedness reversals(p. 143)
• 6.4 More complex interactions(p. 147)
• 6.4.1 Place of articulation(p. 147)
• 6.4.2 Person(p. 149)
• 6.5 Typology and syntactic analysis(p. 150)
• 7 External motivation and the typology of form-function relations(p. 155)
• 7.1 Introduction(p. 155)
• 7.2 Markedness and economic motivation(p. 156)
• 7.2.1 Frequency(p. 156)
• 7.2.2 Other external explanations for markedness patterns(p. 160)
• 7.3 Iconicity(p. 164)
• 7.3.1 "Isomorphism" and polysemy(p. 165)
• 7.3.2 Iconic motivation(p. 171)
• 7.3.2.1 Conceptual distance and constituent structure(p. 174)
• 7.3.2.2 Syntactic categories, objects and events(p. 183)
• 7.3.2.3 Other universals of linguistic structure(p. 189)
• 7.4 Competing motivations(p. 192)
• 7.5 Typological conspiracies and communicative motivation(p. 197)
• 7.6 Conclusion(p. 202)
• 8 Diachronic typology(p. 203)
• 8.1 Introduction(p. 203)
• 8.2 The dynamicization of synchronic typology(p. 203)
• 8.3 From states to processes(p. 218)
• 8.4 Directionality of change(p. 227)
• 8.5 Grammaticalization(p. 230)
• 8.5.1 Correlated grammaticalization processes(p. 230)
• 8.5.1.1 Phonological(p. 231)
• 8.5.1.2 Morphosyntactic(p. 233)
• 8.5.1.3 Functional(p. 236)
• 8.5.2 Some issues in grammaticalization(p. 240)
• 8.6 Conclusion(p. 244)
• 9 Linguistic explanation in the dynamic paradigm(p. 246)
• 9.1 Introduction(p. 246)
• 9.2 Description, explanation and generalization(p. 247)
• 9.3 Internal generalizations: language-internal and cross-linguistic(p. 249)
• 9.4 External generalizations: language and biology(p. 252)
• 9.5 Diachronic explanations and synchronic grammar(p. 256)
• Notes(p. 260)
• References(p. 278)
• Map of languages cited(p. 293)
• Author index(p. 301)
• Language index(p. 304)
• Subject index(p. 307)