Course Description
Introduction to language typology, which categorizes languages according to distinct structural features. Methods for compiling unbiased samples and defining comparable categories across languages as the foundation for identifying typological universals (correlations and limitations on the co-occurrence of linguistic structures), with the goal of understanding why such universals exist in language.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be held to a higher standard of work, in
terms of both breadth and depth of coverage, in all graded
assignments and will complete additional required readings.
Graduate students will also be required to choose a topic for an
independent research project in consultation with the
instructor. Potential topics include: (1) addressing a
controversy in the field of typology; (2) applying typological
methods to a new data set; (3) investigating the employment of
typological findings as a means of informing studies in other
subfields of linguistics; or (4) other topics as approved by
the instructor. This independent research will result in an
in-class presentation at the end of the semester and a final
research paper.
Athena Title
Language Typology
Prerequisite
LING 3060 or LING 3150 or LING 3150W or LING 3830
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Since typology explores the range of variation in language, the goal is to delimit possible human languages from impossible languages (as well as possible and impossible linguistic processes, both synchronically and diachronically). Typology is a fundamental area of research employed in refining theories in a wide array of linguistic subfields (as just one example, providing justification for the universal markedness constraints of Optimality Theory). Students will read and reflect on a number of chapters and articles investigating typology and will complete exercises in applying typological methods. From this, they will learn various means of sampling languages and which method is most suited to a particular study. They will gain an understanding of the impact of definitions on the categorization of linguistic structures and how this affects findings of universality. They will gain an appreciation for theoretical controversies surrounding: 1) degrees of abstraction in analysis (and the "reality" of such abstractions), 2) the insights into human cognition provided by typological studies, and 3) the universality of typological "universals" (e.g., What categories can legitimately be described as truly "universal"? Are certain combinations of structures really impossible? Are absolute universals the byproduct of sampling?) Typology teaches students what they should expect to find in a given language based on a limited knowledge of its grammatical structure. Such predictions are of value to all language learners at early stages of acquisition and for field linguists in researching understudied languages and testing grammaticality hypotheses. It also helps the student realize when a language shows an exceptional structure and thus can be used as evidence to test the universal applicability of linguistic theories (e.g., ongoing controversies surrounding integration of ergativity into a generative framework). Students will be assessed through tests and frequent written assignments (applying typological methods or critiquing articles to guide discussions); graduate students will complete a final research project.
Topical Outline
Specific topics and readings may vary, but a typical outline is as follows: 1) the methods of language sampling 2) the impact of definition on language categorization 3) the forms of universals (or tendencies) that have been identified 4) the various explanations for the occurrence of imbalances in the distribution of linguistic structures (e.g., language contact, common descent, innateness, functional similarity) 5) the breadth of linguistic variation for selected features (including phonological, morpho-syntactic, and semantic features) 6) the impact of typological findings on other linguistic fields (e.g., critiquing synchronic or diachronic analyses, refining theoretical approaches, distinguishing internal [typical from a typological perspective] from external impacts [i.e., contact influence] on language, cognitive constraints)
Syllabus