This set of papers represents a unique collection; it is the first attempt ever to empirically test a hypothetical set of semantic and lexical universals across a number of genetically and typologically diverse languages. In fact the word 'collection' is not fully appropriate in…
The papers in this volume all explore one kind of functional explanation for various aspects of linguistic form - iconicity: linguistic forms are frequently the way they are because they resemble the conceptual structures they are used to convey, or, linguistic structures resemb…
This volume consists of papers presented at the Conference on Language Universals and Second Language Acquisition, University of Southern California, February 1982. Published with the papers are the remarks of the originally assigned discussants. The collection represents an imp…
"This book provides a current and interdisciplinary overview of work on the biology of language - what is sometimes called the "biolinguistic approach." A wide range of areas are investigated and reviewed by specialists: the micro-parametric theory of syntax, models of language …
Jenkins has succeeded in putting together a terrific volume. Some of the most creative minds in the fields tackle questions of utmost importance in biolinguistics. The clarity with which these essays are written and the insights expressed in them are sure to provide solid founda…
"Comparison of the grammars of human languages reveals systematic patterns of variation. Typology and universals research uncovers those patterns to formulate universal constraints on language and seek their exploration. In this essential textbook, William Croft presents a compr…
The 46 papers in this 4-volume collection pro-vide clear and certain evidence that the search for "implicational universals" of human language (that is, for valid empirical generalizations such as "if property Y exists in a language, then property X must exist as well") has esta…
