Home Typology in American linguistics: An appraisal of the field
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Typology in American linguistics: An appraisal of the field

  • Larry M Hyman EMAIL logo , Johanna Nichols EMAIL logo and Lynn Nichols EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: July 31, 2007
Linguistic Typology
From the journal Volume 11 Issue 1

Abstract

The field of linguistic typology, a centuries-old enterprise, is showing extraordinary new vitality and growth. While it fell somewhat to the wayside during the early generative period, linguists of all persuasions now acknowledge the importance of the study of all aspects of comparative grammar: phonetics, phonology,morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, discourse. The significance of typology to both synchronic and diachronic linguistics is also widely recognized. Crosslinguistic work figures centrally in formal, functional, and cognitive approaches to linguistic theory, as well as in descriptive and historical research. The quest for linguistic universals and the documentation of linguistic diversity, once thought to be logically independent (if indeed not contradictory) concerns, are typically integrated in current research. The dramatic rebirth and increase of interest in linguistic diversity is in part fueled by the commitment of linguists and others in the scholarly community to the documentation and preservation of endangered languages. The interdisciplinary and increasingly joint efforts between geneticists, linguists, archeologists etc. in tracing the exodus of the human population from Africa and into other parts of the world relies heavily on the expertise of specialists of languages from all parts of the world.

1Correspondence address:Department of Linguistics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-2650, U.S.A.
2Correspondence address:Slavic Department, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-2650, U.S.A.
3Correspondence address:Department of Linguistics, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-2979, U.S.A.
Received: 2005-12-17
Published Online: 2007-07-31
Published in Print: 2007-07-20

© Walter de Gruyter

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Preface
  2. What or where can we do better? Some personal reflections on (the tenth anniversary of) Linguistic Typology
  3. Wider and deeper
  4. What is universal about typology?
  5. Extent and limits of linguistic diversity as the remit of typology – but through constraints on what is diversity limited?
  6. Representative sampling and typological explanation: A phenomenological lament
  7. Typology and linguistic theory in the past decade: A personal view
  8. A note on linguistic theory and typology
  9. The importance of typology in explaining recurrent sound patterns
  10. Linguistic typology: Morphology
  11. Pre-established categories don't exist: Consequences for language description and typology
  12. Linguistic typology requires crosslinguistic formal categories
  13. Typological approaches to lexical semantics
  14. Chinese linguistics and typology: The state of the art
  15. Interfaces between linguistic typology and child language research
  16. Typology in American linguistics: An appraisal of the field
  17. What, if anything, is typology?
  18. Typology in the 21st century: Major current developments
  19. Some thoughts on the reason for the lesser status of typology in the USA as opposed to Europe
  20. Methodology and the empirical base of typology
  21. Where's phonology in typology?
  22. Linguistic typology and theory construction: Common challenges ahead
  23. On the relationship of typology to theoretical syntax
  24. A few lessons from typology
https://doi.org/10.1515/LINGTY.2007.016

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Preface
  2. What or where can we do better? Some personal reflections on (the tenth anniversary of) Linguistic Typology
  3. Wider and deeper
  4. What is universal about typology?
  5. Extent and limits of linguistic diversity as the remit of typology – but through constraints on what is diversity limited?
  6. Representative sampling and typological explanation: A phenomenological lament
  7. Typology and linguistic theory in the past decade: A personal view
  8. A note on linguistic theory and typology
  9. The importance of typology in explaining recurrent sound patterns
  10. Linguistic typology: Morphology
  11. Pre-established categories don't exist: Consequences for language description and typology
  12. Linguistic typology requires crosslinguistic formal categories
  13. Typological approaches to lexical semantics
  14. Chinese linguistics and typology: The state of the art
  15. Interfaces between linguistic typology and child language research
  16. Typology in American linguistics: An appraisal of the field
  17. What, if anything, is typology?
  18. Typology in the 21st century: Major current developments
  19. Some thoughts on the reason for the lesser status of typology in the USA as opposed to Europe
  20. Methodology and the empirical base of typology
  21. Where's phonology in typology?
  22. Linguistic typology and theory construction: Common challenges ahead
  23. On the relationship of typology to theoretical syntax
  24. A few lessons from typology
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 9.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/LINGTY.2007.016/html
Scroll to top button