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Exploring Language Universals and Typology: Key Concepts and Structures

This chapter delves into language universals and typology, showcasing how languages can be structured. It examines potential and impossible elements in language formation, like phonetic characteristics and syntactic order. The default word order in English and other languages is analyzed, unveiling the significance of universals in simplifying linguistic studies and understanding cognitive processes. The section also reviews the classification of languages based on structural features, semantic universals, and the role of phonological traits.

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Exploring Language Universals and Typology: Key Concepts and Structures

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  1. Chapter 7: Universals… … and language typology NOTES: About exercising: it keeps you healthy: physically & mentally… I’ve tried to match the slides to the order of the textbook this time…

  2. Language Universals • Determine what is possible and impossible in language structure • For Example • Languages appear to have • /p, b, t, d, k, g/ • OR JUST/p, t, k/ • BUT NOT/b, d, g/

  3. Word Order… • watashi-wa inu-ga mimashita I (subject) dog (object) saw(I saw a dog) (default structure) • watashi-ga inu-wa mimashita I (object) dog (subject) saw(A dog saw me) (marked structure) • *mimashita inu-ga watashi-wa (saw) dog (object) I (subject) SOV OSV VOS

  4. Word Order Continued • What is English’s default word order? • Can we change to a marked structure? • Why would we want to? • Given what we’ve discussed… • Is there a universal word order?

  5. Why Do We Care? (About Universals) • Practical • Simplifies language study & description • Theoretical Understanding • Human mind • Social organization of everyday life

  6. Cautions • Deep information on limited set • > 6,000 languages • < 1,000 well researched & documented • Cognitive & social inferences • Typically based on logic • (not solid proof)

  7. Language Typology Classifying languages according to their structural characteristics

  8. Typology Categories • Default Word Order • SVO, SOV, etc • Phonological Characteristics • Voiced stops or not • Language Groupings • May be mixed • Should be meaningful • Not related to language families

  9. Semantic Universals • Basic terms: (blue, dog, man…) • Morphologically simple • Less specialized in meaning • Not recent additions to the language • Pronouns • All languages (appear to) have • 1st person pronouns • 2nd person pronouns

  10. Phonological Universals • All languages: • At least three vowel phonemes • High front, Low, High back • Never more nasal vowels than non-nasal • Notice: Rules include • “either… or” • “tend to have…” • “generally…” Remember /p,t,k/ from slide #2

  11. Syntactic & Morphological • Word order revisited… • Tendency for Subject to precede Object • Word order can be manipulated for rhetorical effect • Standard word order affects • Possession • Prepositions vs. postpositions • Head noun of relative clauses

  12. Now You Try It • For a language you know, what is its word order? • What’s the relationship between: • Possessor and possessed • Pre/post-position & noun phrase • Relative Clause & head noun

  13. Hedges Revisited • Absolute Universals • All languages have at least 3 vowels • Universal Tendencies • Verb initial languages tend to use preposition + noun phrase

  14. Possible Origins of Universals • Monogenetic theory • All languages from one source • Physiological factors • Phonological: High, Low, Back • Cognitive processing • Children’s acquisition patterns • Social issues • Pronouns

  15. Recommended Exercises TBA Enough of each to get the point

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