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Article published In:
Languages in Contrast
Vol. 17:2 (2017) ► pp.255–278

Applied Language Typology

Applying typological insights in professional practice

| University of East Anglia

In this paper we introduce and outline a new research area, Applied Language Typology (ALT). ALT builds on fundamental typological findings in morphology, syntax and semantics. ALT examines the attested and potential practical consequences of these contrasts for different professional contexts of communication, such as translation, the law and second language learning and teaching. We propose three general organising principles that underlie ALT, illustrating how these principles enable us to identify exact points of language contrasts that result in significant practical difficulty, and we suggest future directions in ALT research for the benefit of academics and language practitioners.

Keywords: applied language typology, contrastive language studies, L2 acquisition, L2 teaching, law, language awareness, translation, witness memory
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Language typologies in action: The ALT criteria
  • 3.Applying insights from morphological typology
  • 4.Applying syntactic typology
  • 5.Semantic typology applied
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 19 September 2017
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/lic.17.2.05fil
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