Published by De Gruyter Mouton

Volume 22 Issue 1 -

Issue of Linguistic Typology

Contents
Journal Overview

Publicly Available May 1, 2018

Prefaces

Publicly Available April 27, 2018

Introduction from the new Editor: Linguistic Typology today and tomorrow

Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm

Page range: 1-12

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Publicly Available April 27, 2018

The Founding Editor’s envoi: A rose by any other name …

Frans Plank

Page range: 13-15

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Articles

April 27, 2018

Optional ergative, agentivity and discourse prominence – Evidence from Yali (Trans-New Guinea)

Sonja Riesberg

Page range: 17-50

Abstract

A phenomenon often termed “optional ergative marking” is found in a number of genetically unrelated languages. Yali, a Trans-New Guinea language spoken in West Papua, shows striking similarities to optional ergative systems as described in the literature. This paper focuses on the relation between agentivity and discourse prominence, and argues in favour of a systematic distinction between semantic and syntactic contexts as conditioning factors for optional ergative marking. It further provides new evidence for the close interplay of ergative marking and what has been termed “discourse prominence” in descriptions of some other languages and shows that in Yali, optional ergative marking operates on both the global and the local level of discourse.

Publicly Available April 27, 2018

Predicative reduplication: Functions, their relationships and iconicities

Yuèyuán Lǐ, Dan Ponsford

Page range: 51-117

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Abstract

We survey the predicative functions of reduplication and analyze the relationships between them in terms of semantic affinity and iconicity. Forty-five functions are identified in 108 languages. The most frequent ones have to do with repetition/continuity of events, multiplicity of participants, and intensity. Reduplication can be polysemous. Based on high cross-linguistic frequency of expression by a common reduplicative form and cases of ambiguity, we identify semantic affinities among twelve functions, together comprising a semantic map. We also analyze the functions in terms of five iconicities—iconic relationships between specific aspects of form and meaning. An interesting relationship emerges: for any pair of semantically closely related functions, the iconicities of one are always a superset of the iconicities of the other. On the widely-held assumption that initial uses are high in iconicity, the picture is one of monotonic loss of iconicity as use is extended. As well as showing empirically how the functions relate to each other, we also review three earlier proposals which were largely based on reasoning.

April 25, 2018

Subordinate and interrogative clause negation in Iquito

Cynthia Hansen

Page range: 119-163

Abstract

This paper describes a specific non-standard negation strategy in Iquito, a moribund Zaparoan language spoken in northern Peruvian Amazonia. This strategy is used in finite subordinate clauses (namely adverbial dependent clauses and relative clauses), as well as information questions, and it utilizes two negative markers: a negative particle which is also found in standard negation, and a verbal affix which does not function as a negator in any other context. Using existing typological characterizations of subordinate clause negation, we see that Iquito exhibits the following attested traits: it uses the standard negator in a different position, it also utilizes a distinct negator, and it employs more negators in the subordinate clause than in the main clause. But unlike the languages presented in the literature, Iquito utilizes these parameters simultaneously. Additionally, the position of the standard negator changes within the subordinate clause, depending on the reality status of the clause. Using Iquito as a case study, I propose a set of parameters for comparing subordinate clause and interrogative negation strategies to standard negation strategies, which include the type of negator used, its position, the overall number of negators, the potential for interaction with other grammatical categories, such as reality status, and the resulting word order of the clause. This set of parameters expands the initial typological characterizations of subordinate clause negation strategies.

Book Review

April 28, 2018

Boye, K. P. Kehayov (eds.): Complementizer Semantics in European Languages

Nina Dobrushina

Page range: 165-173

Obituary

Open Access April 28, 2018

Depth, brilliance, clarity: Andrey Anatolyevich Zaliznyak (1935–2017)

Pavel Iosad, Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm, Alexander Piperski, Dmitri Sitchinava

Page range: 175-184

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About this journal

Open Access

As part of De Gruyter‘s Subscribe to Open program, we plan to transform Linguistic Typology to Gold Open Access in 2024. For details on S2O, please see here.

Objective

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.

Linguistic Typology is published by De Gruyter Mouton for the Association for Linguistic Typology (ALT). For membership and subscription details, contact the Secretary: Dmitry Idiatov

Article formats

• Research articles
• Target articles with peer commentary (If you have an idea for one, contact the Editor)
• Special issues (If you have an idea for a Special Issue, contact the Editor)
• Debates (contact the Editor)
• Language profiles, family portraits and areal surveys
• Review articles (reviewing two or more books, or a whole subject area)
• Book reviews (all book reviews are commissioned by Review Editors)
• Methodological contributions (e.g., reports on and reviews of toolkits, databases, software, collection of texts and corpora, archival collections resulting from fieldwork etc.) These should include a discussion of how/why the material is of typological relevance.
• Squibs (very short and often humorous pieces on a very specific topic intended to encourage debate)
• Contact the Editor if you have an idea that is not represented here

Volume 22 Issue 1 -

Issue of Linguistic Typology

Frontmatter

Introduction from the new Editor: Linguistic Typology today and tomorrow

The Founding Editor’s envoi: A rose by any other name …

Optional ergative, agentivity and discourse prominence – Evidence from Yali (Trans-New Guinea)

Abstract

Predicative reduplication: Functions, their relationships and iconicities

Abstract

Subordinate and interrogative clause negation in Iquito

Abstract

Boye, K. P. Kehayov (eds.): Complementizer Semantics in European Languages

Depth, brilliance, clarity: Andrey Anatolyevich Zaliznyak (1935–2017)