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Title Linguistic universals / edited by Ricardo Mairal and Juana Gil
Published Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2006

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Description 1 online resource (xii, 216 pages) : illustrations
Contents A first look at universals / Ricardo Mairal and Juana Gil -- Linguistic typology / Kees Hengeveld -- Universals in a generative setting / Cedric Boeckx -- In search of universals / Ian Maddieson -- Morphological universals / Andrew Spencer -- Syntactic typology / Bernard Comrie -- Some universals of verb semantics / Robert D. Van Valin, Jr. -- Language change and universals / Joan Bybee
Summary "The discovery of 'linguistic universals'--the properties that all languages have in common--is a fundamental goal of linguistic research. Linguists face the task of accounting for why languages, which apparently differ so greatly from one another on the surface, display striking similarities in their underlying structure. This volume brings together a team of leading experts to show how different linguistic theories have approached this challenge. Drawing on work from both formal and functional perspectives, it provides a comprehensive overview of the most notable work on linguistic universals--with chapters on syntax, semantics, phonology, morphology, and typology--and explores a range of central issues, such as the relationship between linguistic universals and the language faculty, and what linguistic universals can tell us about our biological make-up and cognitive abilities. Clear, succinct, and fully up-todate, it will be invaluable to anyone seeking a greater understanding of the phenomenon that is human language."--Publisher's description
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-212) and index
Notes English
Print version record
Subject Linguistic universals.
Language acquisition.
LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES -- Linguistics -- Historical & Comparative.
Language acquisition
Linguistic universals
Form Electronic book
Author Mairal Usón, Ricardo, 1965-
Gil, Juana
ISBN 9780511618215
0511618212
0511249780
9780511249785
051124925X
9780511249259
9780511250293
0511250290
1107161606
9781107161603
1280702222
9781280702228
9780511248702
0511248709
0511319290
9780511319297