Language Typology and Universals

Description

This course is an introduction into research on linguistic typology and linguistic universals, with special attention for research methods and explanatory principles. The course also familiarizes students with linguistic diversity outside the Indo-European language group. The course deals with classical typology ('how can linguistic systems be built?') as population typology ('which patterns appear more or less frequently, how is this diversity divided globally?'). four main components of linguistic typological research will be examined: (i) Compiling representative samples that represent genetic and areal diversity. 'Special cases' such as contact languages and sign languages will also be dealt with. (ii) Typologising the data; a tertium comparationis is drawn up and the structural possibilities of the set of data are subdivided into types. (iii) Systematising the data; generalisations are looked for, often in the form of relations between types, or with other characteristics of the linguistic system. (iv) Looking for explanations for these generalisations, functional, cognitive, interactinoal, anatomical etc. (classical typology), or historical, cultural, social (population typology). Each of these assignments is illustrated with conrete case studies from phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics or pragmatics.