The Role of Functions in Syntax
A unified approach to language theory, description, and typology
Published on 10. March 2016
Book
Hardback
308 pages
978-90-272-0692-3 (ISBN)
Description
The main aim of this book is to address a fundamental question in linguistics, namely why languages are similar and why they are different. The study proposes that languages are fundamentally similar when they encode the same meanings in their grammatical systems and that languages are different when they encode different meanings. Even if languages encode the same meaning, they may differ with respect to the formal means used to code those meanings. This approach allows for a typology based on functional domains, subdomains and functions coded in individual languages. The outcome of the study is a unified approach to language theory, linguistic typology, and descriptive linguistics. The argumentation for the hypotheses and the proposed approach is supported by analyses of data from more than a dozen languages, including English, Polish, French, Wandala, Mina, Hdi, and several other Chadic languages. The study is accessible to a wide variety of linguists.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
+ index
Weight
700 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-272-0692-3 (9789027206923)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Zygmunt Frajzyngier | Erin Shay
The Role of Functions in Syntax
A unified approach to language theory, description, and typology
E-Book
03/2016
1st Edition
John Benjamins Publishing Company
€122.99
Available for download
Persons
Content
1. Acknowledgments; 2. List of abbreviations; 3. Chapter 1. The importance of meaning for syntax; 4. Chapter 2. Theoretical foundations of the proposed approach; 5. Chapter 3. Why the meaning encoded in the grammatical system matters; 6. Chapter 4. Lexical and morphological coding means and their implications; 7. Chapter 5. Linear orders as coding means; 8. Chapter 6. A methodology for the discovery of meanings encoded in the grammatical system; 9. Chapter 7. The distinction between the meaning encoded in the grammatical system and inferences from utterances; 10. Chapter 8. Indirectly affected argument, benefactive, and malefactive; 11. Chapter 9. The clause and the meanings encoded in the grammatical system; 12. Chapter 10. Clausal predications in English; 13. Chapter 11. Clausal predications in Polish; 14. Chapter 12. Clausal predications in Wandala; 15. Chapter 13. Towards a non-aprioristic typology of functional categories; 16. Chapter 14. Conclusions, implications, and open questions; 17. References; 18. Subject index; 19. Language index; 20. Name index