Explaining Language Universals
1st Edition
Published on 22. February 1990
Book
Paperback/Softback
416 pages
978-0-631-17456-1 (ISBN)
Description
This book addresses one of the most fundamental questions that can be asked about language: how can we explain language universals? There are currently many different views of this question. Some argue for the innateness of general linguistic principles within the human species. Others see a more social foundation to language, with linguistic structure reflecting various communicative functions. Yet others appleal to the psychological demands placed upon language-users in producing and comprehending language in real time. Language is also seen as a reflection of our human perceptual and cognitive apparatus. And there are also more grammar-internal explanations, whereby one part of the grammar (such as some aspect of surface form) is explained by another (such as the semantics of that form).
This book is a state-of-the-art vollume which brings together all of these different views. The contributors have each benn asked to offer some general explanation for which they see evidence, and to provide illustrative universal data supporting it.
This book is a state-of-the-art vollume which brings together all of these different views. The contributors have each benn asked to offer some general explanation for which they see evidence, and to provide illustrative universal data supporting it.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Hoboken
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 155 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
652 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-631-17456-1 (9780631174561)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
John A. Hawkins is Professor and Chairman of Department in Linguistics at the University of Southern California.
Content
Part 1 Introduction: explaining language universals, John A.Hawkins.
Part 2 Innateness and Learnability: the innateness hypothesis, Teun Hoekstra and Jan G.Kooij Language acquisitions - schemas replace universal grammar, Michael A.Arbib and Jane C.Hill
The "no negative evidence" problem - how do children avoid constructing an overly general grammar?, Melissa Bowerman. Max-Planck Institut fur Psycholinguistik, Nijmegen.
Part 3 Semantic and Pragmatic Explanations: on semantics and the binding theory, Edward L.Keenan
Concessive connecitves and concessive sentences - cross-linguistic regularities and pragmatic principles, Ekkehard Konig
A discourse approach to the cross-linguistic category "adjective", Sandra A.Thompson
Coreference and conjunction reduction in grammar and discourse, Bernard Comrie.
Part 4 Cognitive, Perceptual and processing explanations: language, perception and the world, Michael Lee
Parameterizing the language processing system - left-vs. right-branching within and across languages, Lyn Frazier and Keith Rayner
Psycholinguistic factors in morphological asymmetry, John A.Hawkins, and Anne Cutler.
Part 5 the diachronic dimension: integrating diachronic and processing principles in explaining the suffixing preference, Christopher J.Hall
The diachronic dimension in explanation, Joan L.Bybee.
Part 2 Innateness and Learnability: the innateness hypothesis, Teun Hoekstra and Jan G.Kooij Language acquisitions - schemas replace universal grammar, Michael A.Arbib and Jane C.Hill
The "no negative evidence" problem - how do children avoid constructing an overly general grammar?, Melissa Bowerman. Max-Planck Institut fur Psycholinguistik, Nijmegen.
Part 3 Semantic and Pragmatic Explanations: on semantics and the binding theory, Edward L.Keenan
Concessive connecitves and concessive sentences - cross-linguistic regularities and pragmatic principles, Ekkehard Konig
A discourse approach to the cross-linguistic category "adjective", Sandra A.Thompson
Coreference and conjunction reduction in grammar and discourse, Bernard Comrie.
Part 4 Cognitive, Perceptual and processing explanations: language, perception and the world, Michael Lee
Parameterizing the language processing system - left-vs. right-branching within and across languages, Lyn Frazier and Keith Rayner
Psycholinguistic factors in morphological asymmetry, John A.Hawkins, and Anne Cutler.
Part 5 the diachronic dimension: integrating diachronic and processing principles in explaining the suffixing preference, Christopher J.Hall
The diachronic dimension in explanation, Joan L.Bybee.