
Copulas
Universals in the Categorization of the Lexicon
Regina Pustet(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 5. May 2005
Book
Paperback/Softback
278 pages
978-0-19-928180-0 (ISBN)
Description
Copulas (in English, the verb to be) are conventionally defined functionally as a means of relating elements of clause structure, especially subject and complement, and considered to be semantically empty or meaningless.They have received relatively little attention from linguists. Dr Pustet in this extensive cross-linguistic study goes some way towards correcting this neglect. In doing so she takes issue with both accepted definition and description. She presents an analysis of grammatical descriptions of over 160 languages drawn from the language families of the world. She shows that some languages have a single copula, others several, and some none at all. In a series of statistical analyses she seeks to explain why by linking the distribution of copulas to variations in lexical categorization and syntactic structure. She concludes by advancing a comprehensive theory of copularization which she relates to language classification and to theories of language change, notably grammaticalization.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Scholars and advanced students of language typology and syntax.
Illustrations
numerous figures & tables
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
425 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-928180-0 (9780199281800)
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Other editions
Additional editions

Book
06/2003
Oxford University Press
€103.60
Shipment within 15-20 days
Person
Regina Pustethas a Ph.D. in General Linguistics from the University of Cologne. She teaches at the University of Munich. Her research activities have focused on various aspects of functional-typological language theory, such as case marking and lexical categorization, and include descriptive work especially on Native American languages.
Content
PREFACE ; LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ; 1. Copulas in Current Research ; 2. Copulas in Cross-Linguistic Perspective ; 3. Copularization and Lexical Semantics ; 4. The Multi-Factor Model of Copularization ; 5. Synopsis