Impact Factor: 3.565

Published since January 1, 1997

Linguistic Typology

ISSN: 1613-415X

Editor-in-chief: Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm

Founded by: Frans Plank

About this journal

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

Your Benefits

broad focus on the study of language typology and cross-linguistic variation
timely publication of high-quality peer-reviewed articles
freely available Editor’s choice articles

History

Linguistic Typology has been published by Mouton de Gruyter / De Gruyter Mouton for the Association for Linguistic Typology (ALT) since 1997. Frans Plank (Konstanz / Oxford) was the Founding Editor of the journal, and, with volume 22, Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm took over in 2018.

Other publications in the field

Empirical Approaches to Language Typology [EALT]
Linguistics
Linguistics Vanguard
Mouton Handbooks of Indo-European Typology [MHIET]
STUF – Language Typology and Universals

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Supplementary Materials

Topics

External Links

Volume 26 Issue 3

October 2022

Publicly Available October 6, 2022

Frontmatter

Page range: i-iii

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Research Articles

Open Access November 29, 2021

Towards a typology of middle voice systems

Guglielmo Inglese

Page range: 489-531

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Abstract

The middle voice is a notoriously controversial typological notion. Building on previous work (e.g. Kemmer, Suzanne. 1993. The middle voice . Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins), in this paper I propose a new working definition of middle markers as inherently polyfunctional constructions which are partly associated with valency change in opposition to bivalent (or more) verbs and partly lexically obligatory with monovalent verbs. Based on this definition, the paper undertakes a systematic survey of 149 middle voice constructions in a sample of 129 middle-marking languages. Evidence from the sample shows that middle voice systems display a much richer variation in forms and functions than is reported in the literature. This richer empirical evidence challenges some of the mainstream views on middle marking, especially its purported connection with reflexivity and grooming-type events, and calls for an overall rethinking of the typology of the middle voice.

Open Access February 28, 2022

Challenges of sampling and how phylogenetic comparative methods help: with a case study of the Pama-Nyungan laminal contrast

Jayden L. Macklin-Cordes, Erich R. Round

Page range: 533-572

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Abstract

Phylogenetic comparative methods are new in our field and are shrouded, for most linguists, in at least a little mystery. Yet the path that led to their discovery in comparative biology is so similar to the methodological history of balanced sampling, that it is only an accident of history that they were not discovered by a linguistic typologist. Here we clarify the essential logic behind phylogenetic comparative methods and their fundamental relatedness to a deep intellectual tradition focussed on sampling. Then we introduce concepts, methods and tools which will enable typologists to use these methods in everyday typological research. The key commonality of phylogenetic comparative methods and balanced sampling is that they attempt to deal with statistical non-independence due to genealogy. Whereas sampling can never achieve independence and requires most comparative data to be discarded, phylogenetic comparative methods achieve independence while retaining and using all comparative data. We discuss the essential notions of phylogenetic signal; uncertainty about trees; typological averages and proportions that are sensitive to genealogy; comparison across language families; and the effects of areality. Extensive supplementary materials illustrate computational tools for practical analysis and we illustrate the methods discussed with a typological case study of the laminal contrast in Pama-Nyungan.

Open Access December 10, 2021

Object and handling handshapes in 11 sign languages: towards a typology of the iconic use of the hands

Victoria Nyst, Marta Morgado, Timothy Mac Hadjah, Marco Nyarko, Mariana Martins, Lisa van der Mark, Evans Burichani, Tano Angoua, Moustapha Magassouba, Dieydi Sylla, Kidane Admasu, Anique Schüller

Page range: 573-604

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Abstract

This article looks at cross-linguistic variation in lexical iconicity, addressing the question of to what extent and how this variation is patterned. More than in spoken languages, iconicity is highly frequent in the lexicons of sign languages. It is also highly complex, in that often multiple motivated components jointly shape an iconic lexeme. Recent typological research on spoken languages finds tentative iconic patterning in a large number of basic lexical items, underlining once again the significance of iconicity for human language. The uncontested and widespread use of iconicity found in the lexicons of sign languages enables us to take typological research into lexical iconicity to the next level. Indeed, previous studies have shown cross-linguistic variation in: a) the use of embodying and handling handshapes in sign languages (mostly of European origin) and b) the frequency of space-based size depiction in African and European sign languages. The two types of variation may be interrelated, as handling handshapes may use space-based size depiction. In this study, we first replicate earlier studies on the distribution of embodying and handling handshapes, this time in a data set consisting of a relatively large set of sign languages ( n = 11), most of which are used in Africa. The results confirm significant variation across these sign languages. These findings are then compared to the use of space-based size depiction, revealing that these patterns independently from the distribution of embodying/handling handshapes. We argue that the results call for expanding typological studies on representational strategies in iconic signs beyond the now relatively well studied instrument/manipulation alternation. Fine-grained analyses on a multitude of iconic features in signs are likely to reveal cross-linguistic variation in iconic tendencies in SL lexicons.

Publicly Available November 17, 2021

Statistical bias control in typology

Matías Guzmán Naranjo, Laura Becker

Page range: 605-670

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Abstract

In this paper, we propose two new statistical controls for genealogical and areal bias in typological samples. Our test case being the effect of VO-order effect on affix position (prefixation vs. suffixation), we show how statistical modeling including a phylogenetic regression term (phylogenetic control) and a two-dimensional Gaussian Process (areal control) can be used to capture genealogical and areal effects in a large but unbalanced sample. We find that, once these biases are controlled for, VO-order has no effect on affix position. Another important finding, which is in line with previous studies, is that areal effects are as important as genealogical effects, emphasizing the importance of areal or contact control in typological studies built on language samples. On the other hand, we also show that strict probability sampling is not required with the statistical controls that we propose, as long as the sample is a variety sample large enough to cover different areas and families. This has the crucial practical consequence that it allows us to include as much of the available information as possible, without the need to artificially restrict the sample and potentially lose otherwise available information.

Book Reviews

July 14, 2022

Review of Linlin Sun ‘Flexibility in the parts-of-speech system of classical Chinese’

Guillaume Jacques

Page range: 671-682

May 31, 2022

Old Japanese in a panchronic perspective

Juha Janhunen

Page range: 683-691

Open Access March 21, 2022

Jędrzejowski, Łukasz and Przemysław Staniewski: The linguistics of olfaction: Typological and diachronic approaches to synchronic diversity

Thomas Poulton

Page range: 693-704

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Open Access March 11, 2022

A desmemic architecture for autotyp: a review article

Adam J. R. Tallman

Page range: 705-717

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Editorial

September 20, 2022

Grammar highlights 2021

Jorge Emilio Rosés Labrada

Page range: 719-722

Ahead of Print / Just Accepted

Ahead of Print / Just Accepted

Volume 26 (2022)

Volume 25 (2021)

Volume 24 (2020)

Volume 23 (2019)

Volume 22 (2018)

Volume 21 (2017)

Volume 20 (2016)

Volume 19 (2015)

Volume 18 (2014)

Volume 17 (2013)

Volume 16 (2012)

Volume 15 (2011)

Volume 14 (2010)

Volume 13 (2009)

Volume 12 (2008)

Volume 11 (2007)

Volume 10 (2006)

Volume 9 (2005)

Volume 8 (2004)

Volume 7 (2003)

Volume 6 (2003)

Volume 5 (2001)

Volume 4 (2000)

Volume 3 (1999)

Volume 2 (1998)

Volume 1 (1997)

5-year Impact Factor	1.915
Cite Score	2.7
European Reference Index for the Humanities
Impact Factor	3.565
Journal Citation Indicator	2.13
SCImago Journal Rank	1.015
Source Normalized Impact per Paper	2.367

Submit

Submission
All submissions to Linguistic Typology must be strictly anonymised and are to be submitted via https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/lity. Articles can be accompanied by supplementary online materials (e.g., examples, lists of sources, queries to databases, etc., contact the Editor for details). Please make sure to read the Information for Authors and the De Gruyter Mouton journal style sheet before submitting.

Your benefits of publishing with us

Rapid online publication ahead-of-print with short turnaround times

Optional open access publication

Every article easily discoverable because of SEO and comprehensive abstracting and indexing services

Secure archiving by De Gruyter and the independent archiving service Portico

Submission process

Submission of your paper in pdf form as an email attachment
Peer review process (you will be guided through every step)
Decision on your paper (8–10 weeks for submission to first decision)
If accepted: you have the option to publish it open access
Publication online and in print

Please note

Style must adhere to the De Gruyter Mouton journal style sheet and please also see the Information for Authors on this website on the 'Overview' tab under the heading 'Supplementary Files'.
The size limit for papers is maximum 15,000 words including references. If your paper is much longer than this consider an online Appendix with data or other supporting materials.
Do not submit work that has been submitted elsewhere or has been published previously.
Before submitting your article please have a look at our Publication Ethics Statement and our copyright agreement
Once your article is accepted you have the option to publish it open access.

Our repository policy allows you to distribute 30 PDF copies of your published article to colleagues (the PDF has to include the information that it is an author's copy). Please also feel free to distribute the link to the online abstract.
If you have any general questions please visit our FAQ page for journal authors

We look forward to receiving your manuscript!

Hybrid Open Access
Authors have the option to publish their article under an open access license. The standard article processing charge for a hybrid open access article is 2,000 Euro (plus VAT if applicable). Please note that corresponding authors from institutions with which we have a transformative agreement, can publish open access without paying the fee. More information on the eligible institutions and articles can be found here.

Editorial

Editor
Maria Koptjevskaja Tamm
Stockholm University, Sweden
e-mail: Linguistic_Typology@degruyter.com

Founding Editor
Frans Plank
Somerville College, University of Oxford, UK

Review Editors

Alena Witzlack-Makarevich (General Review Editor)
Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

Jorge Emilio Rosés Labrada (Grammar Review Editor)
University of Alberta, Canada

Assistant Editor
Angela Terrill
University of the South Pacific, Fiji
Punctilious Marvelid Ltd.
e-mail: punctilious.editing@gmail.com

Associate Editors
Dan Dediu (University of Barcelona, Spain)
Patience Epps (University of Texas, Austin, USA)
Jeff Mielke (North Carolina State University, Raleigh, USA)
Marianne Mithun (University of California at Santa Barbara, USA)
Brigitte Pakendorf (Dynamique du Langage, Centre national de la recherche scientifique & Université Lumière Lyon 2, France)
Masha Polinsky (University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA)
Mark van de Velde (LLACAN, Centre national de la recherche scientifique & Inalco, France)
Jean-Christophe Verstraete (University of Leuven, Belgium)
Fernando Zúñiga (Universität Bern, Switzerland)

(Deutsch)

Online ISSN: 1613-415X
Print ISSN: 1430-0532
Type: Journal
Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
First published: January 1, 1997
Publication Frequency: 3 Issues per Year