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An Introduction to Linguistic Typology
(From publisher's web site):
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.
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.
517 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 30, 2022
This book is like an introductory linguistics text on steroids. It has individual chapters on phonology, syntax, morphology, pragmatics, etc., each with an introductory overview to the subject, and then a really detailed overview of all of the ways that languages around the world may differ in the area. Typological surveys of the world's languages are cited thoroughly to present general trends concerning the commonness or uncommonness of different linguistic features, and separate statistics and discussions are provided for contact languages and sign languages. Utterances with detailed glosses from hundreds of very different languages are provided as examples.
If you're like me and you're looking to brush up on your linguistics knowledge and expose yourself to to a wider variety of languages, this book is for you! The book was published in 2012, making it fairly recent, but if there's ever a second edition (maybe there'll be a proper typological survey like WALS but for sign languages someday?), I will buy it.
If there ever is a second edition, this is my wishlist:
* Add "particle" to the index/glossary. The word comes up pretty often but I couldn't find the definition in the book.
* Add some discussion about languages that have no coordination. It is mentioned in a footnote that 12 such languages appear in WALS, which is a fascinating statistic given how important subordination was to the philosophy of language for a long time. I read about this in _Don't Sleep, There are Snakes_ (Piraha language) as well as _The Unfolding of Language_ (which states that ancient linguistic material seems to indicate complete lack of subordination).
* Some discussion on number systems would be interesting.
* I wish the references in the back gave page numbers were each reference were used.
* There were no stats on grammaticalization paths; this is likely a failing of the literature, not of the book.
* Many paragraphs that summarize geographical stats from APiCS and WALS could be better expressed via a heat map or other visualization. I do like the color maps that are included, though!
* This is a pet peeve of mine, but we don't need to start every discussion of an aspect of sign languages with, "it has this just like spoken languages!" I think linguistically-minded readers will know that this is the default already; it's much more interesting to focus on the differences, such as classifiers or the grammaticalization of gestures.
That looks like a long list, but keep in mind that I only wrote so many notes because I liked the book so much :D
If you're like me and you're looking to brush up on your linguistics knowledge and expose yourself to to a wider variety of languages, this book is for you! The book was published in 2012, making it fairly recent, but if there's ever a second edition (maybe there'll be a proper typological survey like WALS but for sign languages someday?), I will buy it.
If there ever is a second edition, this is my wishlist:
* Add "particle" to the index/glossary. The word comes up pretty often but I couldn't find the definition in the book.
* Add some discussion about languages that have no coordination. It is mentioned in a footnote that 12 such languages appear in WALS, which is a fascinating statistic given how important subordination was to the philosophy of language for a long time. I read about this in _Don't Sleep, There are Snakes_ (Piraha language) as well as _The Unfolding of Language_ (which states that ancient linguistic material seems to indicate complete lack of subordination).
* Some discussion on number systems would be interesting.
* I wish the references in the back gave page numbers were each reference were used.
* There were no stats on grammaticalization paths; this is likely a failing of the literature, not of the book.
* Many paragraphs that summarize geographical stats from APiCS and WALS could be better expressed via a heat map or other visualization. I do like the color maps that are included, though!
* This is a pet peeve of mine, but we don't need to start every discussion of an aspect of sign languages with, "it has this just like spoken languages!" I think linguistically-minded readers will know that this is the default already; it's much more interesting to focus on the differences, such as classifiers or the grammaticalization of gestures.
That looks like a long list, but keep in mind that I only wrote so many notes because I liked the book so much :D
October 5, 2020
This is a great handbook to start on the journey of linguistic typology. I applaud the effort on including sing languages because these languages are too often forgotten in manuals!
I appreciated the clear definitions given by the author and the numerous exercises and questions to verify the knowledge acquired through readings.
I appreciated the clear definitions given by the author and the numerous exercises and questions to verify the knowledge acquired through readings.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews