Theoretical Approaches To Universals
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Author | : Artemis Alexiadou |
Publisher | : John Benjamins Publishing |
Total Pages | : 327 |
Release | : 2002-08-08 |
Genre | : Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | : 9027297568 |
The present volume has its origin in the GLOW conference on Universals hosted in Berlin in March 1999. The papers in this volume are concerned both with formal as well as with substantive universals. All the contributions attempt to identify universal properties of the language faculty, as well as the source of cross-linguistic variation. They cover a wide range of empirical phenomena across languages such as locality, deletion, verb classes, XP-split constructions, Quantifier Raising, the EPP, the Person Case Constraint etc. Some of the articles pay particular attention to the organization of the grammar, the type of operations that are effective, the role of features in determining variation, and primitive notions of phrase-structure (c-command, Agree etc.). Others show how structural differences capture semantic and morphological differences within a language and across languages, and how these are the ultimate source of linguistic variation. The book is of primary interest to researchers and students in syntactic theory, comparative syntax, and linguistic variation.
Author | : Jan Wohlgemuth |
Publisher | : Walter de Gruyter |
Total Pages | : 299 |
Release | : 2010-03-26 |
Genre | : Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | : 3110220938 |
Universals of language have been studied extensively for the last four decades, allowing fundamental insight into the principles and general properties of human language. Only incidentally have researchers looked at the other end of the scale. And even when they did, they mostly just noted peculiar facts as ''quirks'' or ''unusual behavior'', without making too much of an effort at explaining them beyond calling them ''exceptions'' to various rules or generalizations. Rarissima and rara, features and properties found only in one or very few languages, tell us as much about the capacities and limits of human language(s) as do universals. Explaining the existence of such rare phenomena on the one hand, and the fact of their rareness or uniqueness on the other, is a reasonable and interesting challenge to any theory of how human language works. The present volume for the first time compiles selected papers on the study of rare linguistic features from various fields of linguistics and from a wide range of languages.
Author | : William Croft |
Publisher | : Cambridge University Press |
Total Pages | : 372 |
Release | : 2003 |
Genre | : Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | : 9780521004992 |
A thorough rewriting to reflect advances in typology and universals in the past decade.
Author | : D. M. Armstrong |
Publisher | : CUP Archive |
Total Pages | : 204 |
Release | : 1978 |
Genre | : Philosophy |
ISBN | : 9780521280327 |
This is a study, in two volumes, of one of the longest-standing philosophical problems: the problem of universals. In volume I David Armstrong surveys and criticizes the main approaches and solutions to the problems that have been canvassed, rejecting the various forms of nominalism and 'Platonic' realism. In volume II he develops an important theory of his own, an objective theory of universals based not on linguistic conventions, but on the actual and potential findings of natural science. He thus reconciles a realism about qualities and relations with an empiricist epistemology. The theory allows, too, for a convincing explanation of natural laws as relations between these universals.
Author | : Morten H. Christiansen |
Publisher | : Oxford University Press |
Total Pages | : 312 |
Release | : 2009-03-17 |
Genre | : Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | : 0190294116 |
Languages differ from one another in bewildering and seemingly arbitrary ways. For example, in English, the verb precedes the direct object ('understand the proof'), but in Japanese, the direct object comes first. In some languages, such as Mohawk, it is not even possible to establish a basic word order. Nonetheless, languages do share certain regularities in how they are structured and used. The exact nature and extent of these "language universals" has been the focus of much research and is one of the central explanatory goals in the language sciences. During the past 50 years, there has been tremendous progress, a few major conceptual revolutions, and even the emergence of entirely new fields. The wealth of findings and theories offered by the various language-science disciplines has made it more important than ever to work toward an integrated understanding of the nature of human language universals. This book is the first to examine language universals from a cross-disciplinary perspective. It provides new insights into long standing questions such as: What exactly defines the human capacity for language? Are there universal properties of human languages and, if so, what are they? Can all language universals be explained in the same way, or do some universals require different kinds of explanations from others? Language Universals is unique in starting with the assumption that the best way to approach these and related questions is through a dialogue between a wide range of disciplines, including linguistics, cognitive neuroscience, philosophy, computer science and biology.
Author | : Sergio Scalise |
Publisher | : Springer Science & Business Media |
Total Pages | : 302 |
Release | : 2008-10-11 |
Genre | : Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | : 1402088256 |
This book collects the contributions presented at the international congress held at the University of Bologna in January 2007, where leading scholars of different persuasions and interests offered an up-to-date overview of the current status of the research on linguistic universals. The papers that make up the volume deal with both theoretical and empirical issues, and range over various domains, covering not only morphology and syntax, which were the major focus of Greenberg’s seminal work, but also phonology and semantics, as well as diachrony and second language acquisition. Diverse perspectives illustrate and discuss a huge number of phenomena from a wide variety of languages, not only exploring the way research on universals - tersects with different subareas of linguistics, but also contributing to the ongoing debate between functional and formal approaches to explaining the universals of language. This stimulating reading for scientists, researchers and postgraduate students in linguistics shows how different, but not irreconcilable, modes of explanation can complement each other, both offering fresh insights into the investigation of unity and diversity in languages, and pointing to exciting areas for future research. • A fresh and up-to-date survey of the present state of research on Universals of Language in an international context, with original contributions from leading specialists in the eld. • First-hand accounts of substantive ndings and theoretical observations in diff- ent subareas of linguistics. • Huge number of linguistic phenomena and data from diffferent languages a- lyzed and discussed in detail.
Author | : Farhang Zabeeh |
Publisher | : Springer Science & Business Media |
Total Pages | : 79 |
Release | : 2012-12-06 |
Genre | : Philosophy |
ISBN | : 9401196028 |
The primary purpose of this book is to depict the main features of the classical problem of universals in order to provide a better understand ing of the various suggestions made by the moderns towards the solution of that problem. The work is not historical; however, since knowledge of the history of the problem is essential for understanding the import of the new approach, references are given to classical theories and interpretations are offered without any pretension that they are either exhaustive or final. I have tried to argue that the problem, though often appearing in metaphysical guise, is, in fact, part of the more general problem of semantics, i.e., the relation between words and the world. The medieval theory that universals are the meaning of general words is linked here with a recent theory that the meaning of a word is explainable in terms of its function and not in terms of its putative denotation. What comes of this fusion is this: that if the medieval theory that universals are the meaning of general words is in any way credible, then to know the meaning of such words requires close attention to their functions on the ground that words in general do not mirror the world, rather they are tools used to change it.
Author | : Leonard James Eslick |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 171 |
Release | : 1936 |
Genre | : Knowledge, Theory of |
ISBN | : |
Author | : Simon Kirby |
Publisher | : OUP Oxford |
Total Pages | : 178 |
Release | : 1999-04-22 |
Genre | : Language Arts & Disciplines |
ISBN | : 0191583529 |
This book explores issues at the core of modern linguistics and cognitive science. Why are all languages similar in some ways and in others utterly different? Why do languages change and change variably? How did the human capacity for language evolve, and how far did it do so as an innate ability? Simon Kirby looks at these questions from a broad perspective, arguing that they can (indeed must) be studied together. The author begins by examining how far the universal properties of language may be explained by examining the way it is used, and how far by the way it is structured. He then considers what insights may be gained by combining functional and formal approaches. In doing so he develops a way of treating language as an adaptive system, in which its communicative and formal roles are both crucial and complementary. In order to test the effectiveness of competing theories and explanations, Simon Kirby develops computational models to show what universals emerge given a particular theory of language use or acquisition. He presents here both the methodology and the results. Function, Selection, and Innateness is important for its argument, its methodology, and its conclusions. It is a powerful demonstration of the value of looking at language as an adaptive system and goes to the heart of current debates on the evolution and nature of language.
Author | : Mohsen Kermanshahi |
Publisher | : Universal-Publishers |
Total Pages | : 266 |
Release | : 2007-05 |
Genre | : Science |
ISBN | : 1581129432 |
The intention of this work is to inform the non-specialist and the curious, who are intrigued by finding deeper understandings of our existence. With a clear, easily comprehensible and non-technical language, Universal Theory invites the layperson to join in the most exciting non-fictional adventure. It also welcomes the scientists who have reached roadblocks in their investigations and are willing to take a leap into the unexplored and often avoided areas of study. Universal Theory follows quantum mechanics' lead to challenge the boundaries between known physics and the unknown realm. "A new way of thinking or change in perspective may be needed to achieve a Theory of Everything and a true understanding of reality. Mohsen Kermanshashi has done an outstanding job in providing that new insight. Universal Theory is clearly written, thought-provoking, and fun to read. Highly recommended." Robert Armstrong, TOE Quest Editor