For some time the assumption has been widely held that for a majority of the world's languages, one can identify a "basic" order of subject and object relative to the verb, and that when combined with other facts of the language, the "basic" order constitutes a useful way of typologizing languages. New debate has arisen over varying definitions of "basic", with investigators encountering languages where branding a particular order of grammatical relations as basic yielded no particular insightfulness. This work asserts that ...
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For some time the assumption has been widely held that for a majority of the world's languages, one can identify a "basic" order of subject and object relative to the verb, and that when combined with other facts of the language, the "basic" order constitutes a useful way of typologizing languages. New debate has arisen over varying definitions of "basic", with investigators encountering languages where branding a particular order of grammatical relations as basic yielded no particular insightfulness. This work asserts that explanatory factors behind word order variation go beyond the syntactic and are to be found in studies of how the mind grammaticizes forms, processes information, and speech act theory considerations of speakers' attempts to get their hearers to build one, rather than another, mental representation of incoming information. Thus three domains must be distinguished in understanding order variation: syntactic, cognitive and pragmatic. The works in this volume explore various aspects of this assertion.
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Seller's Description:
Fine. No Jacket. 1992, First Edition. 320 pp. Hardcover, brown cloth covers. Fine copy. No dust jacket. Though unmarked, this book came from the collection of the noted linguist Paul Hopper, who, in addition to his other scholarly work, was one of the editors of the Typological Studies in Language series.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good with No dust jacket as issued. 1556194080. Name and date on front free endpaper, otherwise text clean and solid; no dust jacket; Typological Studies in Language; Vol. 22; 1 x 9 x 6.5 Inches; 320 pages.
