1. … and language typology
Chapter 7: Universals…
… and language typology
NOTES:
About exercising: it keeps you healthy: physically & mentally…
I’ve tried to match the slides to the order of the textbook this time…

2. Language Universals
Determine what is possible and impossible in language structure
For Example
Languages appear to have
/p, b, t, d, k, g/
OR JUST /p, t, k/
BUT NOT /b, d, g/

3. Word Order…
watashi-wa inu-ga mimashita I (subject) dog (object) saw (I saw a dog) (default structure)
watashi-ga inu-wa mimashita I (object) dog (subject) saw (A dog saw me) (marked structure)
*mimashita inu-ga watashi-wa (saw) dog (object) I (subject)
SOV
OSV
VOS

4. Word Order Continued What is English’s default word order?
Can we change to a marked structure?
Why would we want to?
Given what we’ve discussed…
Is there a universal word order?

5. Why Do We Care? (About Universals)
Practical
Simplifies language study & description
Theoretical Understanding
Human mind
Social organization of everyday life

6. Cautions Deep information on limited set Cognitive & social inferences
> 6,000 languages
< 1,000 well researched & documented
Cognitive & social inferences
Typically based on logic
(not solid proof)

7. Classifying languages according to their structural characteristics
Language Typology
Classifying languages according to their structural characteristics

8. Typology Categories Default Word Order Phonological Characteristics
SVO, SOV, etc
Phonological Characteristics
Voiced stops or not
Language Groupings
May be mixed
Should be meaningful
Not related to language families

9. Semantic Universals Basic terms: (blue, dog, man…) Pronouns
Morphologically simple
Less specialized in meaning
Not recent additions to the language
Pronouns
All languages (appear to) have
1st person pronouns
2nd person pronouns

10. Phonological Universals
All languages:
At least three vowel phonemes
High front, Low, High back
Never more nasal vowels than non-nasal
Notice: Rules include
“either… or”
“tend to have…”
“generally…”
Remember /p,t,k/ from slide #2

11. Syntactic & Morphological
Word order revisited…
Tendency for Subject to precede Object
Word order can be manipulated for rhetorical effect
Standard word order affects
Possession
Prepositions vs. postpositions
Head noun of relative clauses

12. Now You Try It For a language you know, what is its word order?
What’s the relationship between:
Possessor and possessed
Pre/post-position & noun phrase
Relative Clause & head noun

13. Hedges Revisited Absolute Universals Universal Tendencies
All languages have at least 3 vowels
Universal Tendencies
Verb initial languages tend to use preposition + noun phrase

14. Possible Origins of Universals
Monogenetic theory
All languages from one source
Physiological factors
Phonological: High, Low, Back
Cognitive processing
Children’s acquisition patterns
Social issues
Pronouns

15. Recommended Exercises
TBA
Enough of each to get the point