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Non-aprioristic typology as a discovery tool

  • Zygmunt Frajzyngier
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Functional-Historical Approaches to Explanation
This chapter is in the book Functional-Historical Approaches to Explanation

Abstract

Aprioristic approaches to typology, whether based on assumptions about cognition or real-world reference or on categories exhibited in a single language or groups of languages, are likely to overlook important functions that just happen to lie outside of the aprioristically assumed categories. The present study proposes that a typology can be used as a tool in finding what facts in languages require an explanation. It can also be used as a tool in providing an explanation of why certain expressions in language have the form they have. The typology may even explain why lexical items that have the same reference have different properties across the languages. In order to be useful for the above tasks the typology must be non-aprioristic. The present study consists of three major themes: (1) a discussion of theoretical issues involved in aprioristic and non-aprioristic typology; (2) a proposal for the form of non-aprioristic typology; (3) an illustration of non-aprioristic typology in the domain of locative predication in some Chadic languages.

Abstract

Aprioristic approaches to typology, whether based on assumptions about cognition or real-world reference or on categories exhibited in a single language or groups of languages, are likely to overlook important functions that just happen to lie outside of the aprioristically assumed categories. The present study proposes that a typology can be used as a tool in finding what facts in languages require an explanation. It can also be used as a tool in providing an explanation of why certain expressions in language have the form they have. The typology may even explain why lexical items that have the same reference have different properties across the languages. In order to be useful for the above tasks the typology must be non-aprioristic. The present study consists of three major themes: (1) a discussion of theoretical issues involved in aprioristic and non-aprioristic typology; (2) a proposal for the form of non-aprioristic typology; (3) an illustration of non-aprioristic typology in the domain of locative predication in some Chadic languages.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction ix
  4. Part I. Typological studies
  5. Non-aprioristic typology as a discovery tool 3
  6. Chorophorics, or the difference between place as an entity and place as a position in space 27
  7. On the diachrony of the ‘Ethical Dative’ 43
  8. Part II. Contributions to historical linguistics
  9. Biactantial agreement in the Gongduk transitive verb in the broader Tibeto-Burman context 69
  10. The dinguist’s dilemma 83
  11. Part III. TAME and case alignment
  12. Person-sensitive TAME marking in Galo 107
  13. Agent case marking in Sahaptian 131
  14. Part IV. Multi-clause constructions
  15. The Kurtöp - si construction 155
  16. Verb serialization in Ede from a diachronic perspective 179
  17. Tense-aspect morphology from nominalizers in Newar 195
  18. Part V. Functional motivation and extension
  19. Predicting reference form 223
  20. Causation as “functional sink” in Northern Paiute 237
  21. The challenge of Maa ‘Away’ 259
  22. Name index 283
  23. Language index 287
  24. Subject index 291
https://doi.org/10.1075/tsl.103.01fra

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction ix
  4. Part I. Typological studies
  5. Non-aprioristic typology as a discovery tool 3
  6. Chorophorics, or the difference between place as an entity and place as a position in space 27
  7. On the diachrony of the ‘Ethical Dative’ 43
  8. Part II. Contributions to historical linguistics
  9. Biactantial agreement in the Gongduk transitive verb in the broader Tibeto-Burman context 69
  10. The dinguist’s dilemma 83
  11. Part III. TAME and case alignment
  12. Person-sensitive TAME marking in Galo 107
  13. Agent case marking in Sahaptian 131
  14. Part IV. Multi-clause constructions
  15. The Kurtöp - si construction 155
  16. Verb serialization in Ede from a diachronic perspective 179
  17. Tense-aspect morphology from nominalizers in Newar 195
  18. Part V. Functional motivation and extension
  19. Predicting reference form 223
  20. Causation as “functional sink” in Northern Paiute 237
  21. The challenge of Maa ‘Away’ 259
  22. Name index 283
  23. Language index 287
  24. Subject index 291
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