Volume 17, Issue 3

This article presents data on cardinal numerals in three sign languages from small-scale communities with hereditary deafness. The unusual features found in these data considerably extend the known range of typological variety across sign languages. Some features, such as non-decimal numeral bases, are unattested in sign languages, but familiar from spoken languages, while others, such as subtractive sub-systems, are rare in sign and speech. We conclude that for a complete typological appraisal of a domain, an approach to cross-modal typology, which includes a typologically diverse range of sign languages in addition to spoken languages, is both instructive and feasible.

This article describes non-standard case-marking patterns attested in non-finite clauses headed by participles and infinitive in Lithuanian. Lithuanian is compared with other languages of the same geographical area as well as with typologically remote languages showing similar patterns. “Non-canonical” marking of subject and object in Lithuanian non-finite clauses is argued to be an instance of “complementizing” and “associating” case-marking as postulated for Australian languages. From a historical perspective Lithuanian constructions with “non-canonical” marking of core arguments in non-finite clauses are seen to show convergent morphosyntactic development of patterns originating from different sources.

Unlike previous work emphasizing European influences on Modern Hebrew as compared to the Biblical language advocated by the Hebrew revival movement, this article sets out to examine typological features of Modern Hebrew in its own right. Starting from literature on Standard Average European, I argue that Modern Hebrew differs from the European type in most features defined independently of literature on Hebrew. Notwithstanding many European influences, especially in phonology and semantics, and considerable differences to Biblical Hebrew, I will show that key structural similarities with European languages are remarkably few, and in most cases not due to the revival process.