Meaning and Universal Grammar: Theory and Empirical Findings

ISBN-10
1588113221
ISBN-13
9781588113221
Category
Language Arts & Disciplines
Pages
337
Language
English
Published
2002
Authors
Anna Wierzbicka, Cliff Goddard

Description

This book develops a bold new approach to universal grammar, based on research findings of the natural semantic metalanguage (NSM) program. The key idea is that universal grammar is constituted by the inherent grammatical properties of some 60 empirically established semantic primes, which appear to have concrete exponents in all languages. For six typologically divergent languages (Mangaaba-Mbula, Mandarin Chinese, Lao, Malay, Spanish and Polish), contributors identify exponents of the primes and work through a substantial set of hypotheses about their combinatorics, valency properties, complementation options, etc. Each study can also be read as a semantically-based typological profile. Four theoretical chapters by the editors describe the NSM approach and its application to grammatical typology. As a study of empirical universals in grammar, this book is unique for its rigorous semantic orientation, its methodological consistency, and its wealth of cross-linguistic detail. Table of Contents Volume 1: The Search for the Shared Semantic Core of All Languages Semantic Primes and Universal Grammar Semantic Primes and Universal Grammar in Malay The Natural Semantic Metalanguage of Spanish The Universal Syntax of Semantic Primes in Mandarin ChineseTable of Contents Volume 2: Part 1: Individual Language Studies The Syntax of Semantic Primes in Mangaaba-Mbula Semantic Primes and Universal Grammar in Polish Combinatorial Properties of Natural Semantic Metalanguage Expressions in Lao Part 2: General Semantic Primes and Linguistic Typology The On-going Development of the NSM Research Program

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