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Chapter 7: Universals…

Chapter 7: Universals…. … and language typology NOTES: About exercising : it keeps you healthy: physically & mentally… I’ve tried to match the slides to the order of the textbook this time…. Language Universals. Determine what is possible and impossible in language structure

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Chapter 7: Universals…

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  1. Chapter 7: Universals… … and language typology NOTES: About exercising: it keeps you healthy: physically & mentally… I’ve tried to match the slides to the order of the textbook this time…

  2. Language Universals • Determine what is possible and impossible in language structure • For Example • Languages appear to have • /p, b, t, d, k, g/ • OR JUST/p, t, k/ • BUT NOT/b, d, g/

  3. Word Order… • watashi-wa inu-ga mimashita I (subject) dog (object) saw(I saw a dog) (default structure) • watashi-ga inu-wa mimashita I (object) dog (subject) saw(A dog saw me) (marked structure) • *mimashita inu-ga watashi-wa (saw) dog (object) I (subject) SOV OSV VOS

  4. Word Order Continued • What is English’s default word order? • Can we change to a marked structure? • Why would we want to? • Given what we’ve discussed… • Is there a universal word order?

  5. Why Do We Care? (About Universals) • Practical • Simplifies language study & description • Theoretical Understanding • Human mind • Social organization of everyday life

  6. Cautions • Deep information on limited set • > 6,000 languages • < 1,000 well researched & documented • Cognitive & social inferences • Typically based on logic • (not solid proof)

  7. Language Typology Classifying languages according to their structural characteristics

  8. Typology Categories • Default Word Order • SVO, SOV, etc • Phonological Characteristics • Voiced stops or not • Language Groupings • May be mixed • Should be meaningful • Not related to language families

  9. Semantic Universals • Basic terms: (blue, dog, man…) • Morphologically simple • Less specialized in meaning • Not recent additions to the language • Pronouns • All languages (appear to) have • 1st person pronouns • 2nd person pronouns

  10. Phonological Universals • All languages: • At least three vowel phonemes • High front, Low, High back • Never more nasal vowels than non-nasal • Notice: Rules include • “either… or” • “tend to have…” • “generally…” Remember /p,t,k/ from slide #2

  11. Syntactic & Morphological • Word order revisited… • Tendency for Subject to precede Object • Word order can be manipulated for rhetorical effect • Standard word order affects • Possession • Prepositions vs. postpositions • Head noun of relative clauses

  12. Now You Try It • For a language you know, what is its word order? • What’s the relationship between: • Possessor and possessed • Pre/post-position & noun phrase • Relative Clause & head noun

  13. Hedges Revisited • Absolute Universals • All languages have at least 3 vowels • Universal Tendencies • Verb initial languages tend to use preposition + noun phrase

  14. Possible Origins of Universals • Monogenetic theory • All languages from one source • Physiological factors • Phonological: High, Low, Back • Cognitive processing • Children’s acquisition patterns • Social issues • Pronouns

  15. Recommended Exercises TBA Enough of each to get the point

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