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To what extent are languages structurally different and where do they follow universal patterns?
This question of the variance and invariance of language structures is the basic question asked by language typologists.
In my course, I shall try to explain the typological perspective along the following three steps:
- Short discussion of the formal and the functional approach to Language Universals followed by
an introduction of the methods used in language typology (cognitive/semantic basis, language sampling,
types of universals). The phenomena to be discussed will be word order, argument structure and
its morphosyntactic representation, and parts of speech. At the end of this part, I shall try to show
that no linguistic approach is able to make generalizations about the structure of possible human languages.
- The application of typological methods yields certain universals for which typologists try
to present functional motivations. I shall discuss cognitive motivations as well as
motivations based on discourse and pragmatics.
- The diachronic perspective of typology as discussed in research on grammaticalization
and the impact of language contact on our assumptions on Language Universals will provide the basis
for taking up again the question of formalism vs. functionalism. It may well be that the explanatory
potential of the human cognitive equipment and language contact is considerably underestimated in theories
dealing with Language Universals.
The following list of topics presents some more details on the structure of my course:
- The problem of cross-linguistic comparability (formal vs. functional approaches and the cognitive/semantic
definition of the phenomena to be analysed typologically);
- The setting up of a language sample;
- Types of universals illustrated on the basis of classical word-order typology
(from Greenberg 1966 to Dryer 1992), from implicational universals to hierarchies to semantic maps;
- Argument structure and its morphosyntactic representation (nominative/accusative, ergative/absolutive,
active/inactive systems, on the universal status of the syntactic category of subject);
- Parts of speech (noun/verb distinction, the status of adjectives);
- The cognitive motivations of Language Universals (assumptions on how the human cognitive
equipment works, iconicity, parsing/processing);
- Motivations from discourse and pragmatics;
- Grammaticalization and the diachronic perspective of language typology;
- Language contact / Linguistic areas and assumptions on Language Universals;
- A comparison of the formal and the functional approach to Language Universals;
- Outlook and conclusion.
Requirements for credits will be talked about in the first meeting. Maybe there will be a one hour written test at the end of the course.
Literature:
Bisang, Walter. 2001. "Areality, grammaticalization and language typology.
On the explanatory power of functional criteria and the status of Universal
Grammar", in: Bisang, Walter. ed. Language typology and universals, 175 -
223. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
Downloadable Handouts:
Handout 1: Typology 1: Introduction
Handout 2: Typology 2: On sampling
Handout 3: Typology 3: Universals I: Types of Universals, Greenberg's Universals
Handout 4: Typology 4: Universals II: Hawkins, Dryer
Handout 5: Typology 5: Argument structure and its morphosyntactic representation: nominative/accusative, ergative/absolutive, active/inactive, direct/inverse
Handout 6: Typology 6: Parts of speech
Handout 7: Typology 7: Practical typological work
Handout 8: Typology 8: Motivations I: Parsing (Hawkins 1994)
Handout 9: Typology 9: Motivations II: Discourse: The discourse basis of ergativity
Handout 10: Typology 10: Motivations III: Iconicity
Handout 11: Typology 11: Language contact and typology. Conclusion
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