Language Typology

1
Language Typology

• Lecture 8

2
Two Dimensions for Examining Language

• Language Typology
• The study of the types of structures which exist
  in the worlds languages (parameters)
• Language Universals
• The study of the principles common to all
  languages
• suggests the existence of a Universal Grammar
  (UG)

3
Examples of Language Universals

• All have
• Both Cs and Vs
• Verbs and Ns
• the option of forming a question by rising
  intonation
• In nearly all
• Cs outnumber Vs
• The subject precedes the predicate
• The verb and the direct object are adjacent

4
Principles and Parameters

• Pioneered by Noam Chomsky
• All languages share a finite number of basic
  principles
• Universal Grammar
• Some of these principles are absolute
• Function across all languages
• Some can manifest finite set of options or
  parameters
• Determined by individual linguistic systems

5
The Source of Diversity

• Pinker
• Differences among languages, like differences
  among species, are the effects of three processes
  over long spans of time
• Heredity
• What we learn from those we grow up hearing speak
• Isolation
• Geographic social movements
• Variation
• Innovation to fit new circumstances

6
Language Myths

• Large groups of non-modern, traditional peoples
  tend to speak a single language.
• PNG is the most diverse area linguistically in
  the worldover 800 languages, some closely
  related, others completely different.
• Australia, parts of Africa, and Southeast Asia
  are similar
• They have simple grammatical structures
• They may have grammatical distinctions we do not
• E.g., 4th person pronominal systems exclusive
  we
• They have small vocabularies/cant deal with
  detail
• They are semantically complex when dealing with
  the things they encounter in their world

7
Language Myths

• They cant deal with the 21st century
• English did not always have the extensive
  vocabulary we have today
• Other languages can use similar strategies to
  adapt to the changing world.
• Borrowing
• Compounding/affixation
• Extending existing word meanings