刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《语言类型学》2023年第1-3期

LINGUISTIC TYPOLOGY

Volume 27, Issue 1-3, 2023

Linguistic Typology（SSCI二区，2022 IF：2，排名：56/194）2023年第1-3期共发文26篇，其中研究性论文23篇，书评3篇。研究论文涉及对比焦点、南岛语研究、语音类型学、语言接触、标准否定、韵律类别、音韵学、信息结构等。欢迎转发扩散！（2023年已更完）

往期推荐：

目录

ISSUE 1

ARTICLES

■EuropeHeterogeneous sets: a diachronic typology of associative and similative plurals, by Caterina Mauri, Andrea Sansò, Pages 1–40.

■Cross-linguistic constraints and lineage-specific developments in the semantics of cutting and breaking in Japonic and Germanic, by John L. A. Huisman, Roeland van Hout, Asifa Majid, Pages 41–75.

■ Similarity of mirative and contrastive focus: three parameters for describing attention markers, by Juha Yliniemi, Pages 77–111.

■ Measuring and assessing indeterminacy and variation in the morphology-syntax distinction, by Adam J. R. Tallman, Sandra Auderset, Pages 113–156.

■ Estimative constructions in cross-linguistic perspective, by Guillaume Jacques, Pages 157–194.

BOOK REVIEWS

■ Jenneke van der Wal and Larry M. Hyman: The conjoint/disjoint alternation in Bantu, by Jeff Good, Pages 195–207.

■ Perspectives on information structure in Austronesian language, by Jozina Vander Klok, Pages 209–222.

ISSUE 2

ARTICLES

■ Current research in phonological typology, by Steven Moran, Shelece Easterday, Eitan Grossman, Pages 223–234.

■ Investigating the ‘what’, ‘where’ and ‘why’ of global phonological typology, by Ian Maddieson, Pages 245–266.

■ Canonical phonology and criterial conflicts: relating and resolving four dilemmas of phonological typology, by Erich R. Round, Pages 267–287.

■Refining explanation in Evolutionary Phonology: macro-typologies and targeted typologies in action, by Juliette Blevins, Ander Egurtzegi, Pages 289–311.

■ The prosodic foot beyond prosodic prominence: a preliminary survey, by Kirsten Culhane, Pages 313–339.

■ On the comparability of prosodic categories: why ‘stress’ is difficult, by Nikolaus P. Himmelmann, Pages 341–361.

■ Bootstrap co-occurrence networks of consonants and the Basic Consonant Inventory, by Dmitry Nikolaev, Pages 363–380.

■ Frequent violation of the sonority sequencing principle in hundreds of languages: how often and by which sequences?, by Ruihua Yin, Jeroen van de Weijer, Erich R. Round, Pages 381–403.

■ Diachronic phonological typology: understanding inventory structure through sound change dynamics, by Shelece Easterday, Joan Bybee, Pages 405–427.

■ Place typology and evolution of implosives in Indo-Aryan languages, by Qandeel Hussain, Jeff Mielke, Pages 429–453.

■ Estimating areal effects in typology: a case study of African phoneme inventories, by Matías Guzmán Naranjo, Miri Mertner, Pages 455–480.

■ Word prosody of African versus European-origin words in Afro-European creoles, by Ana Lívia Agostinho, Pages 481–507.

■ Towards a phonological typology of the Kalahari Basin Area languages, by Hirosi Nakagawa, Alena Witzlack-Makarevich, Daniel Auer, Anne-Maria Fehn, Linda Ammann Gerlach, Tom Güldemann, Sylvanus Job, Florian Lionnet, Christfried Naumann, Hitomi Ono, Lee J. Pratchett, Pages 509–535.

■ The typological frequency of consonants is highly predictive of their order of acquisition in English, by Caleb Everett, Sophie Schwartz, Pages 537–552.

ISSUE 3

ARTICLES

■ A sampling technique for worldwide comparisons of language contact scenarios, by Francesca Di Garbo, Ricardo Napoleão de Souza, Pages 553–589.

■ A cross-linguistic comparison of reference across five signed languages, by Lindsay Ferrara, Benjamin Anible, Gabrielle Hodge, Tommi Jantunen, Lorraine Leeson, Johanna Mesch, Anna-Lena Nilsson, Pages 591–627.

■ Standard negation: the curious case of South America, by Olga Krasnoukhova, Johan van der Auwera, Sietze Norder, Pages 629–666.

■ The Pahoturi River language family, with special reference to its verbal puzzlesK, by Kate L. Lindsey, Dineke Schokkin, Nairan Wu, Pages 667–731.

BOOK REVIEWS

■ Lawyer, Lewis C. 2021. A grammar of Patwin. Studies in the Native Languages of the Americas, by Uldis Balodis, Pages 733–744.

摘要

Heterogeneous sets: a diachronic typology of associative and similative plurals

Caterina Mauri, Dipartimento di Lingue, Letterature e Culture Moderne, Università di Bologna – Alma Mater Studiorum, Via Cartoleria 5, 40124, Bologna, Italy

Andrea Sansò, Dipartimento di Scienze Umane e dell’Innovazione per il Territorio, Università dell’Insubria, Via S. Abbondio 12, 22100, Como, Italy

AbstractThis paper provides a diachronic typology of what we call ‘heterogeneous plurals’, an overarching term comprising associative plurals (expressions meaning X[person] & company) and similative plurals (expressions meaning X and similar entities). Based on a 110-language sample, we identify the most recurrent sources of these two types of plurals by means of various types of evidence (homophony/identity, internal reconstruction, comparison with cognate languages). The two types of plurals develop out of different source types: while the sources of associative plurals include elements that work as set constructors (plural anaphoric elements, plural possessives, names meaning ‘group’), those of similative plurals comprise elements with vague reference such as interrogative/indefinite items or uncertainty markers. There are also a few source types that may develop into both associative and similative plurals, such as connectives (‘and/with’) and universal quantifiers (‘every/all’). The differences in the diachronic pathways leading to the two types of plurals are explained in terms of the different referential properties of the nominal bases from which they are formed (proper names/kin terms vs. common nouns), but also taking into account the typical discourse contexts in which the two types of plurals are employed. 

Key words associative plural, associativity, diachronic typology, heterogeneous plurals, similarity, similative plural

Cross-linguistic constraints and lineage-specific developments in the semantics of cutting and breaking in Japonic and Germanic

John L. A. Huisman, Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University & International Max Planck Research School, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Roeland van Hout, Centre for Language Studies, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

Asifa Majid, Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK

AbstractSemantic variation in the cutting and breaking domain has been shown to be constrained across languages in a previous typological study, but it was unclear whether Japanese was an outlier in this domain. Here we revisit cutting and breaking in the Japonic language area by collecting new naming data for 40 videoclips depicting cutting and breaking events in Standard Japanese, the highly divergent Tohoku dialects, as well as four related Ryukyuan languages (Amami, Okinawa, Miyako and Yaeyama). We find that the Japonic languages recapitulate the same semantic dimensions attested in the previous typological study, confirming that semantic variation in the domain of cutting and breaking is indeed cross-linguistically constrained. We then compare our new Japonic data to previously collected Germanic data and find that, in general, related languages resemble each other more than unrelated languages, and that the Japonic languages resemble each other more than the Germanic languages do. Nevertheless, English resembles all of the Japonic languages more than it resembles Swedish. Together, these findings show that the rate and extent of semantic change can differ between language families, indicating the existence of lineage-specific developments on top of universal cross-linguistic constraints. 

Key words cutting and breaking, Germanic, Japonic, semantic variation, semantics

Similarity of mirative and contrastive focus: three parameters for describing attention markers

Juha Yliniemi, SIL International, Leppävesi, Finland

AbstractThis article addresses the heretofore unacknowledged similarity of mirative-like and contrastive-focus-like functions by describing data from Denjongke (Tibetic, sip), Bih (Chamic, Vietnam, ibh) and Nepali (Indo-Aryan, nep). The similarity between mirative-like and contrastive-focus-like functions in the aforementioned languages is captured by the notion of something being brought to the forefront of attention. Mirative-like semantics are shown to be epiphenomenal to attention-oriented phenomena, and the functional domain in which the morphemes operate is shown to be attention rather than knowledge structure. The morphemes in the study are described in terms of three parameters, which are put forward as potentially useful tools for describing similar morphemes in other languages: speaker versus addressee orientation, clausal versus phrasal scope, and anaphoric versus cataphoric use. The first two parameters form a fourfold table in which the heuristically named “mirative-like function” has clausal scope and is speaker-oriented (i.e. speaker signals that something has come to the forefront of their attention). “Contrastive-focus-like function”, on the other hand, has phrasal scope and is addressee-oriented (i.e. speaker intends to bring something to the forefront of the addressee’s attention). Cognitively, contrastive-focus-like function is shown to establish joint attention. 

Key words attention, Indo-Aryan, information structure, intersubjectivity, joint attention, mirative, pragmatics, Tibetan

Measuring and assessing indeterminacy and variation in the morphology-syntax distinction

Adam J. R. Tallman, Department of English and American Studies, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Jena, Germany

Sandra Auderset, Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Linguistics, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, USA

AbstractWe provide a discussion of some of the challenges in using statistical methods to investigate the morphology-syntax distinction cross-linguistically. The paper is structured around three problems related to the morphology-syntax distinction: (i) the boundary strength problem; (ii) the composition problem; (iii) the architectural problem. The boundary strength problem refers to the possibility that languages vary in terms of how distinct morphology and syntax are or the degree to which morphology is autonomous. The composition problem refers to the possibility that languages vary in terms of how they distinguish morphology and syntax: what types of properties distinguish the two systems. The architecture problem refers to the possibility that languages vary in terms of whether a global distinction between morphology and syntax is motivated at all and the possibility that languages might partition phenomena in different ways. This paper is concerned with providing an overarching review of the methodological problems involved in addressing these three issues. We illustrate the problems using three statistical methods: correlation matrices, random forests with different choices for the dependent variable, and hierarchical clustering with validation techniques. 

Key words clustering, language variation, morphological autonomy, morphology-syntax distinction, random forest, typology

Estimative constructions in cross-linguistic perspective

Guillaume Jacques, CNRS-EPHE-CRLAO-INALCO, Paris, France

AbstractThis article deals with estimative (also called ‘tropative’) constructions meaning ‘find/consider X to be Y’, where Y stands for a noun or an adjective. It systematically investigates morphological estimatives and their relationship to causative, applicative and denominal derivations from synchronic and diachronic perspectives. In addition, the article presents a survey of periphrastic estimative strategies in the world’s languages. 

Key words applicative, causative, comparative, equipollent derivations, estimative, evaluative, incorporation, tropative

Current research in phonological typology

Ian Maddieson, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA; University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA

AbstractWhat? Where? and Why? are the principal questions to ask in relation to linguistic typological patterns, in phonology as elsewhere. However, assembling sufficient and reliable information on a large diverse sample of languages presents challenges. Some of these issues are discussed in this paper, based on the practices seen in various database projects, including WALS and LAPSyD and in the wider literature. The challenge of recognizing areal convergence can be aided by simple mapping techniques. The most scientifically challenging issue is explaining ‘why’ as this requires considering multiple physiological, psychological, social, and other effects. Recent efforts to correlate phonological features with climatic and environmental factors offer a further potentially interesting way forward.

Key words climate, databases, ejectives, environment, phonological typology, tone

Canonical phonology and criterial conflicts: relating and resolving four dilemmas of phonological typology

Erich R. Round, Surrey Morphology Group, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK; School of Languages and Cultures, University of Queensland, St Luica 4072, Australia

AbstractTypologists strive to compare like with like, but four dilemmas make this challenging in phonology: (1) the non-uniqueness of phonological analysis; and the existence of (2) multiple levels of analysis; (3) multiple theories of phonology; and (4) analytical interdependencies between phonological phenomena. Here I argue that the four dilemmas can be coherently related, and then addressed together. I introduce the concept of criterial conflicts, derived from notions in canonical typology. Criterial conflicts arise in the presence of an unexpected pairing of properties that pulls an analysis in two directions. This contradictory pull and its resolution in different directions leads by various paths to the four dilemmas. Concrete strategies are then discussed for countering the common, underlying problem. I observe that criterial conflicts are well handled by factorial analysis (i.e., multiple normalization) and multivariate analysis, but not by simple normalization. Illustrative examples are taken from the canonical typology of segments. 

Key words canonical phonology, canonical segment, canonical typology, criterial conflict, levels of analysis, non-uniqueness, phonological typology, segment typology

Refining explanation in Evolutionary Phonology: macro-typologies and targeted typologies in action

Juliette Blevins, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY), New York, USA

Ander Egurtzegi, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), IKER (UMR-5478), Bayonne, France

AbstractIn this paper, we highlight the role of typology in providing an empirical basis for explanation within Evolutionary Phonology with a focus on rare sound patterns and extra-phonetic explanation. Broad typological surveys of sound patterns or macro-typologies that include phonetic detail may, at once, support universal tendencies and document rare sound patterns, offering arguments for theories in which universal tendencies based on phonetic explanation are emergent properties of markedness-free grammars. However, in order to explain rarity and explore extra-phonetic factors, targeted typologies, narrowed by specific structural properties or contact histories, may be necessary. In this study, the complementary roles of broad and targeted typologies are illustrated through recent case studies of three basic components of phonological systems—sound inventories, alternations, and phonotactics—, with a focus on non-phonetic explanations that have enhanced the predictive power of the Evolutionary framework. 

Key words aspirate nasalization, epenthesis, explanation, final voicing, macro-typology, phonological typology, rare sound patterns, targeted typology

The prosodic foot beyond prosodic prominence: a preliminary survey

Kirsten Culhane, Department of General Linguistics, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

AbstractThis paper presents a preliminary survey of foot-sensitive phenomena and foot structure separate from prosodic prominence or classifications such as ‘iambic’ and ‘trochaic’. It considers the evidence for and structure of the foot in a sample of 30 languages which demonstrate at least one foot-sensitive phenomenon which cannot be attributed to prosodic prominence. It finds that in the sample, there is considerable diversity in terms of: a) the type of evidence for and role played by the foot, b) the extent to which there is evidence for the foot, and c) the segmental structure of the foot. These findings demonstrate that the role of the foot is more diverse than often characterised. The findings of this paper also demonstrate that cross-linguistic differences between foot structures are more fine-grained than differences in the distribution of prosodic prominence or syllable weight; accounting for the diversity observed requires reference to the segmental structure of feet. In light of these findings, this paper calls for more examination of the prosodic foot separate from prosodic prominence, and which takes into consideration the variables of cross-linguistic diversity documented here. 

Key words phonological typology, prosodic domains, prosodic foot, prosodic phonology, stress

Clare Kramsch and Lihua Zhang: The Multilingual Instructor: What Foreign Language Teachers Say about their Experience and Why it Matters

Jean-Marc Dewaele, Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK

Abstract As multilingual language teachers ourselves, we believe that this book brings an end to the ongoing debate regarding native speakers versus non-native speakers in language teaching research with a single, well-aimed blow. Nevertheless, situated in a complex, ecological context, the idea of being multilingual instructors as recommended by Kramsch and Zhang remains a highly challenging goal for many language teachers to pursue. We start this review by outlining what the book achieves, before we comment on some outstanding issues that still deserve more attention.

Key words xxx, xxx, xxx, xxx

On the comparability of prosodic categories: why ‘stress’ is difficult

Nikolaus P. Himmelmann, Universität zu Köln, Köln, Germany

Abstract This article argues that the prosodic category stress in West Germanic languages, which implicitly underlies practically all work on stress, is a complex cluster concept consisting of at least six dimensions which in turn involve a number of subdimensions. Because of its complexity, this concept is not useful for cross-linguistic comparison. A promising starting point for further typological inquiry is one of the six dimensions, i.e. acoustic and auditory prominence. However, identifying acoustic and auditory prominence distinctions cross-linguistically is also not straightforward and requires considerable empirical effort. Nevertheless, cross-linguistic comparison is still possible in the case of ‘difficult’ cluster concepts such as stress and does not require the use of arbitrary comparative concepts.

Key words cross-linguistic comparison, duration, prosody, stress, syllable

Bootstrap co-occurrence networks of consonants and the Basic Consonant Inventory

Dmitry Nikolaev, IMS, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

Abstract It has been recently shown by Nikolaev and Grossman that it is possible to provide a fine-grained typological analysis of consonant inventories of the world’s languages by investigating co-occurrence classes of segments, i.e. groups of segments that tend to be found together in inventories. Nikolaev and Grossman argued that the structure of many of such co-occurrence classes is in contradiction with the Feature-Economy Principle. As a side product of this analysis, a new definition of the Basic Consonant Inventory (BCI)—a cluster of segments forming the bedrock of consonantal inventories of the world’s languages—was provided. This paper replicates the co-occurrence study in an arguably more robust way. In addition to making a methodological contribution, it shows that some of the co-occurrence classes defined by Nikolaev and Grossman, including the BCI, are not statistically stable and may be an artefact of the imbalance in the language sample used for the analysis. The findings of the authors regarding the Feature-Economy Principle, however, were corroborated.

Key words Basic Consonant Inventory, co-occurrence classes, linguistic areas, network analysis, phonological typology

Frequent violation of the sonority sequencing principle in hundreds of languages: how often and by which sequences?

Ruihua Yin, School of Languages and Cultures, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia

Jeroen van de Weijer, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, P.R. China

Erich R. Round, School of Languages and Cultures, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia; Surrey Morphology Group, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK

Abstract The Sonority Sequencing Principle (SSP) is a fundamental governing principle of syllable structure; however, its details remain contested. This study aims to clarify the empirical status of the SSP in a cross-linguistic study of 496 languages. We adopt a phonetically-grounded definition of sonority – acoustic intensity – and examine how many languages contain SSP-violating clusters word-initially and word-finally. We consider the treatment of complex segments both as sonority units and as clusters. We find a significant proportion of languages violate the SSP: almost one half of the language sample. We examine which clusters cause the violations, and find a wide range: not only the notorious case of clusters with sibilants, but also with nasals, approximants and other obstruents. Violations in onsets and codas are not symmetrical, especially when complex segments are treated as units. We discuss where existing theoretical accounts of the SSP require further development to account for our crosslinguistic results.

Key words consonant clusters, factorial analysis, phonological typology, phonotactics, sonority, sonority hierarchy, sonority sequencing principle, syllable structure

Diachronic phonological typology: understanding inventory structure through sound change dynamics

Shelece Easterday, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, USA

Joan Bybee,  University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

Abstract We advocate for a diachronic typological approach to phonology, arguing that explanation for phonological structure must appeal to dynamic processes. We outline basic assumptions and explanatory mechanisms of this framework and demonstrate its utility by applying it to aspects of consonant phoneme inventory structure. Examining sound change paths through which palatal(ized) and ejective consonants emerge, we show that initial conditions in a language influence the likelihood of a sound change occurring, and that sound change trajectories may differ in their lifespans and the ease with which they are entered into. Regarding more general theoretical issues, we find that focusing on the dynamic processes that create inventories is more likely to produce accurate predictions about the patterns observed than structural generalizations such as feature economy. We conclude that further elucidating the details of sound change will lead to a fuller and more explanatory phonological typology.

Key words consonant inventories, diachronic typology, ejectives, feature economy, palatalization, sound change

Place typology and evolution of implosives in Indo-Aryan languages

Qandeel Hussain, Department of General Linguistics, Universität Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany; University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada; North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA

Jeff Mielke, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA

Abstract It is widely known that implosives are prevalent in African languages. While Sindhi is considered a textbook example of implosives in Indo-Aryan, the exact distribution of implosives, their development, and place typology are still poorly understood. The present study investigates the typology and evolution of implosives in Indo-Aryan languages and shows that the relationship between implosion and place of articulation in these languages is different from what is seen in global studies. We argue that the relatively high frequency of retroflex implosives in Indo-Aryan languages is due to the high frequency of retroflexes in those languages in general. The findings also indicate that South Asia is another hotspot where languages possess typologically-overloaded inventories of implosives at bilabial, dental-alveolar, retroflex, palatal, and/or velar places of articulation. The aerodynamic constraints and articulatory similarities between implosives and voiced geminates indicate a plausible sound change which led to the evolution of implosives in Indo-Aryan languages.

Key words geminates, implosives, Indo-Aryan, typology, voicing

Estimating areal effects in typology: a case study of African phoneme inventories

Matías Guzmán Naranjo, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Breisgau, Germany

Miri Mertner, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tubingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Abstract In this paper, we combine several statistical techniques (multivariate probit models, Gaussian processes, and phylogenetic regression) into a new approach for exploring the areal patterns associated with the presence and absence of typological features. This model allows us to estimate and control for areal and genetic effects, the correlations between features, and their expected frequency of occurrence in the data. We use this model to explore the distribution of consonants in African languages, inferring several linguistic areas which have been proposed in the literature. Our results suggest that the combination of these methods is a promising new way of approaching language contact.

Key words areal bias, Gaussian process, language contact, phonology, phylogenetic regression, quantitative typology

Word prosody of African versus European-origin words in Afro-European creoles

Ana Lívia Agostinho, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil

Abstract This paper is concerned with word-prosodic systems of Afro-European creole languages that show a correlation between the lexical origin (African vs. European) and prosodic pattern. The discussion is based on the evidence from four languages: Saramaccan, Nigerian Pidgin English, Pichi, and Lung’Ie. I examine how the study of word-prosodic systems of creoles can contribute to phonological typology and to the debate of whether creoles are different from non-creoles. I hypothesize that such systems are the result of extreme language contact and can only be found in creole languages. The existence of these systems further confirms that sociohistorical processes – such as historic contact – can shape phonological systems. Finally, I conclude that the analysis of African-origin words is crucial to further our understanding of creole phonology.

Key words accent, creole languages, creole typology, prosodic split, stress, tone, word-prosodic typology

Towards a phonological typology of the Kalahari Basin Area languages

Hirosi Nakagawa, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, Tokyo, Japan

Alena Witzlack-Makarevich, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

Daniel Auer, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Anne-Maria Fehn, CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; BIOPOLIS Program in Genomics, Biodiversity and Land Planning, CIBIO, Campus de Vairão, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany

Linda Ammann Gerlach, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Tom Güldemann, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Sylvanus Job, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Florian Lionnet, Princeton University, Princeton, USA

Christfried Naumann, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Hitomi Ono, Reitaku University, Kashiwa, Japan

Lee J. Pratchett, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Abstract This article reports some results of the first large-scale, comprehensive survey of the phonological systems of the Khoisan languages of the Kalahari Basin Area. These languages are famous for their large sets of click phonemes, a typologically rare characteristic otherwise found only in a limited number of languages worldwide. They are also unique because the click phonemes carry a high functional load in terms of phonemic and lexical distinctions in the respective systems. Finally, these languages have strikingly similar and highly skewed root phonotactics. The article provides empirical support for a range of claims and speculations that have been made about these typologically rare systems of the Kalahari Basin Area.

Key words African languages, clicks, Kalahari Basin Area, Khoe-Kwadi languages, Khoisan languages, Kx’a languages, phonological typology, Tuu languages

The typological frequency of consonants is highly predictive of their order of acquisition in English

Caleb Everett, University of Miami, Coral Gables, USA

Sophie Schwartz, The George Washington University, Washington, USA

Abstract The order of acquisition of consonants by children is impacted by both language-specific and species-wide factors. The latter factors also help to motivate the crosslinguistic commonness of some consonants. Here we explore the extent of overlap between crosslinguistic commonness and order of acquisition. We test how well the typological commonness of consonants is predictive of their order of acquisition in English, and vice versa, helping to shed light on the extent to which general cognitive and physical factors are explanatory vis-à-vis the acquisition of specific consonant types. We utilize several different sources to demonstrate that typological frequency and order of acquisition are indeed highly mutually predictive. We rely on acquisition data from English. We demonstrate that the crosslinguistic usage of a consonant is a better predictor of its order of acquisition than the language-specific factors tested.

Key words acquisition, frequency, PHOIBLE, phonetics, phonology

A sampling technique for worldwide comparisons of language contact scenarios

Francesca Di Garbo, University of Aix-Marseille, CNRS Laboratory Parole et Langage, Marseille, France; University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Ricardo Napoleão de Souza, Linguistics and English Language, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Abstract Existing sampling methods in language typology strive to control for areal biases in typological datasets as a means to avoid contact effects in the distribution of linguistic structure. However, none of these methods provide ways to directly compare contact scenarios from a typological perspective. This paper addresses this gap by introducing a sampling procedure for worldwide comparisons of language contact scenarios. The sampling unit consists of sets of three languages. The Focus Language is the language whose structures we examine in search for contact effects; the Neighbor Language is genealogically unrelated to the Focus Language, and counts as the potential source of contact influence on the Focus Language; the Benchmark Language is a relative of the Focus Language neither in contact with the Focus nor with the Neighbor language, and is used for disentangling contact effects from genealogical inheritance in the Focus Language. Through this design, we compiled a sample of 49 three-language sets (147 languages in total), which we present here. By switching the focus of typological sampling from individual languages to contact relations between languages, our method has the potential of uncovering patterns in the diffusion of language structures, and how they vary and change.

Key words areal linguistics, areal typology, contact, diffusion, inheritance, sampling

A cross-linguistic comparison of reference across five signed languages

Lindsay Ferrara, Department of Language and Literature, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway

Benjamin Anible, Department of Language and Literature, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway

Gabrielle Hodge, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia; and University College London, London, England

Tommi Jantunen, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

Lorraine Leeson, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Johanna Mesch, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

Anna-Lena Nilsson, Department of Language and Literature, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU, Trondheim, Norway

Abstract Do signers of different signed languages establish and maintain reference the same way? Here we compare how signers of five Western deaf signed languages coordinate fully conventionalized forms with more richly improvised semiotics to identify and talk about referents of varying agency. The five languages (based on a convenience sample) are Auslan, Irish Sign Language, Finnish Sign Language, Norwegian Sign Language, and Swedish Sign Language. Using ten retellings of Frog, Where Are You? from each language, we analyze tokens of referring expressions with respect to: (a) activation status (new vs. maintained vs. re-introduced); (b) semiotic strategy (e.g., pointing sign, fingerspelling, enactment); and (c) animacy (human vs. animal vs. inanimate object). Statistical analysis reveals many similarities and some differences across the languages. For example, signers of each language typically used conventionalized forms to identify new referents, and less conventional strategies to maintain and reintroduce referents. Differences were mainly observed in relation to the patterning across animacy and activation categories and in the use of fingerspelled words from ambient spoken/written languages. We suggest that doing reference in these signed languages involves both signed language-specific and ecology-specific strategies. The latter may be attributed to the different social and historical trajectories of each language.

Key words animacy, Frog story, referential expression, semiotic strategies, signed language typology, signed languages

Standard negation: the curious case of South America

Olga Krasnoukhova, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands; University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium

Johan van der Auwera, University of Antwerp, Antwerpen, Belgium

Sietze Norder, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science Group, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands; Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands

Abstract This study compares standard negation in the indigenous languages of South America to the rest of the world. We show that South American languages not only prefer postverbal negation to preverbal negation and negative morphology to syntax, but postverbal morphological negation to any other negation strategy. The predominance of this strategy makes South America distinct from other macro-areas. The study also considers the areal distribution of negation on the South American continent. It shows that negation strategies each have their own concentration area. Postverbal morphological negation, which is the dominant strategy, turns out to be concentrated in the northwest of the continent, with the highest density around the boundaries between Colombia, Peru and Brazil. We suggest that the preference for postverbal morphological negation in South America is likely to be the result of language-internal mechanisms of negation renewal, coupled with language contact.

Key words areality of negation, morphological negation, postverbal negation, South American languages, standard negation, syntactic negation

The Pahoturi River language family, with special reference to its verbal puzzles

Kate L. Lindsey, Boston University, Boston, USA

Dineke Schokkin, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand

Nairan Wu, Boston University, Boston, USA

Abstract This profile of the Pahoturi River language family of southern Papua New Guinea draws from extensive fieldwork on Idi [ISO 639-3: idi] and Ende [kit] – two of six varieties comprising this family – and brief surveying of the other four, which we illustrate in print for the first time. We present the first typological treatment of Pahoturi River in pursuit of shining more light on this understudied corner of the linguistic landscape. This profile is organized into two parts: first, we present sections on the basic structures and systems of Pahoturi River, illustrated with examples from across the family and supplemented with descriptions of Idi and Ende as relevant. From our preliminary data on the four other varieties, we gather that they are similar to Idi and Ende in many respects, but more investigation is warranted. Second, we provide an in-depth treatment of the verbal complex of Idi and Ende. We highlight two intriguing aspects of these complex systems – analytic constructions and ditransitive indexing – that distinguish the Pahoturi River family and the linguistic region of southern New Guinea.

Key words auxiliary constructions, copulas; ditransitives, exponence, light verb constructions, Pahoturi River, Papuan, syncretism, verbal adjuncts, verbal number

期刊简介

Linguistic Typology provides a forum for all work of relevance to the study of language typology and cross-linguistic variation. It welcomes work taking a typological perspective on all domains of the structure of spoken and signed languages, including historical change, language processing, and sociolinguistics. Diverse descriptive and theoretical frameworks are welcomed so long as they have a clear bearing on the study of cross-linguistic variation. We welcome cross-disciplinary approaches to the study of linguistic diversity, as well as work dealing with just one or a few languages, as long as it is typologically informed and typologically and theoretically relevant, and contains new empirical evidence.

《语言类型学》为所有有关语言类型学和跨语言差异的研究提供了一个平台。期刊欢迎类型学视角下的有关口语和手势语的结构的所有领域的文章，包括历时演变、语言加工和社会语言学。只要对跨语言差异研究有明确影响，我们也欢迎多样性的描写和理论框架。我们还欢迎以跨学科的方法研究语言多样性的文章，以及关注一种或几种语言的文章，只要其在类型学上有依据、在类型学和理论上相关并包含实证数据。

官网地址：

https://www.degruyter.com/journal/key/lity/html?lang=en

本文来源：Linguistic Typology官网

点击文末“阅读原文”可跳转官网

课程推荐

欢迎加入

“语言学心得交流分享群”

“语言学考博/考研/保研交流群”请添加“心得君”入群请务必备注“学校/单位+研究方向/专业”

今日小编：的嘞着呢

  审     核：心得小蔓

转载&合作请联系

"心得君"

微信：xindejun_yyxxd

点击“阅读原文”可跳转下载