The Role of Functions in Syntax

A unified approach to language theory, description, and typology

Authors
ORCID logoZygmunt Frajzyngier | University of Colorado, Boulder
Erin Shay | University of Colorado, Boulder
Hardbound – Available
ISBN 9789027206923 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00
 
e-Book –
ISBN 9789027267283 | EUR 99.00 | USD 149.00
 
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The main aim of this book is to address a fundamental question in linguistics, namely why languages are similar and why they are different. The study proposes that languages are fundamentally similar when they encode the same meanings in their grammatical systems and that languages are different when they encode different meanings. Even if languages encode the same meaning, they may differ with respect to the formal means used to code those meanings. This approach allows for a typology based on functional domains, subdomains and functions coded in individual languages. The outcome of the study is a unified approach to language theory, linguistic typology, and descriptive linguistics. The argumentation for the hypotheses and the proposed approach is supported by analyses of data from more than a dozen languages, including English, Polish, French, Wandala, Mina, Hdi, and several other Chadic languages. The study is accessible to a wide variety of linguists.
[Typological Studies in Language, 111] 2016.  xvi, 308 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.111
Table of Contents
Cited byCited by 12 other publicationsFrajzyngier, Zygmunt2021. Typology of functional domains. In Linguistic Categories, Language Description and Linguistic Typology [Typological Studies in Language, 132], ► pp. 101 ff. 2021. Functional Domains, Functions, and the Notion of Complexity: The Systems of Reference. Frontiers in Communication 6 2022. Toward a functional typology of adpositions: theoretical implications. Folia Linguistica 56:1 ► pp. 123 ff. 2022. Meaning encoded in the grammatical system: a rejoinder. Folia Linguistica 56:2 ► pp. 461 ff. Frajzyngier, Zygmunt, Natalia Gurian & Sergei Karpenko2020. Language Contact. In The Handbook of Language Contact, ► pp. 689 ff. Frajzyngier, Zygmunt & Erin Shay2020. Contact and Afroasiatic Languages. In The Handbook of Language Contact, ► pp. 571 ff. Izre'el, Shlomo2022. The syntax of existential constructions. Journal of Speech Sciences 11 ► pp. e022001 ff. Liu, Meichun & Yingying Ye2020. Referential Instructions in Mandarin Nominal System: Bare Nominal Constructions Versus Prenominal Modifications. In From Minimal Contrast to Meaning Construct [Frontiers in Chinese Linguistics, 9], ► pp. 165 ff. Puddu, Nicoletta2021. Verbal vs. nominal reflexive constructions. In Linguistic Categories, Language Description and Linguistic Typology [Typological Studies in Language, 132], ► pp. 367 ff. Shor, Leon2020. Chapter 16. Negation in Modern Hebrew. In Usage-Based Studies in Modern Hebrew [Studies in Language Companion Series, 210], ► pp. 583 ff. Villalpando-Quiñonez, Jesús2021. Del aspecto a la evidencialidad. LIAMES: Línguas Indígenas Americanas 21 ► pp. e021009 ff. Wan, Guangrong & Yuehai Xiao2020. Frajzyngier, Zygmunt & Erin Shay. 2016. The role of functions in syntax: A unified approach to language theory, description, and typology . Studies in Language 44:1 ► pp. 270 ff. This list is based on CrossRef data as of 12 march 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.
Subjects

Linguistics

Semantics
Syntax
Theoretical linguistics
Typology

Main BIC Subject

CFK: Grammar, syntax

Main BISAC Subject

LAN009000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General
U.S. Library of Congress Control Number:  2015049998 | Marc record