Explanation in typology : diachronic sources, functional motivations and the nature of the evidence
This volume provides an up-to-date discussion of a foundational issue that has recently taken centre stage in linguistic typology and which is relevant to the language sciences more generally: To what extent can cross-linguistic generalizations, i.e. statistical universals of linguistic structure, b...
Enregistré dans:
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| Andre forfattere: | , , |
| Format: | Livre numérique |
| Sprog: | Anglais |
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Berlin :
Language Science Press
C 2019.
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| Serier: | Conceptual foundations of language science
3 |
| Fag: | |
| Online adgang: | https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/220 Accès Université d'Orléans |
| Kommentar: |
Description d'après la consultation, 2020-04-25 Titre provenant de l'écran-titre Language Science Press (hors Licence nationale) |
| Autres localisations: | Voir dans le Sudoc |
| Summary: | This volume provides an up-to-date discussion of a foundational issue that has recently taken centre stage in linguistic typology and which is relevant to the language sciences more generally: To what extent can cross-linguistic generalizations, i.e. statistical universals of linguistic structure, be explained by the diachronic sources of these structures? Everyone agrees that typological distributions are the result of complex histories, as languages evolve into the variation states to which synchronic universals pertain (Hawkins 1988). However, an increasingly popular line of argumentation holds that many, perhaps most, typological regularities are long-term reflections of their diachronic sources, rather than being target-driven by overarching functional-adaptive motivations. On this view, recurrent pathways of reanalysis and grammaticalization can lead to uniformsynchronic results, obviating the need to postulate global forces like ambiguity avoidance, processing efficiency or iconicity, especially if there is no evidence for such motivations in the genesis of the respective constructions. On the other hand, the recent typological literature is equally ripe with talk of complex adaptive systems , attractor states and cross-linguistic convergence . One may wonder, therefore, how much room is left for traditional functional-adaptive forces and how exactly they influence the diachronic trajectories that shape universal distributions. The papers in the present volume are intended to provide an accessible introduction to this debate. Covering theoretical methodological and empirical facets of the issue at hand, they represent current ways of thinking about the role of diachronic sources in explaining grammatical universals, articulated by seasoned and budding linguists alike. |
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| Emne beskrivelse: | Description d'après la consultation, 2020-04-25 Titre provenant de l'écran-titre Language Science Press (hors Licence nationale) |
| Format: | Navigateur Web |
| Bibliografi: | Bibliographie en fin de chapitres. Index |
| ISBN: | 9783961101474 |
| Adgang: | Accès libre en ligne à l'intégralité de la ressource Conditions de réutilisation soumise à la licence Creative Commons. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (consultée le 08/06/2026) |