Causatives and Causation is the first comprehensive study of causative constructions found in the world's languages. This important new research, based on a data base of more than 600 languages, not only investigates fully the richness and variety of causative types, but also presents an alternative perspective to the traditional typological approach. The new typology enables a better understanding of how the human mind cognizes causation and how this is reflected in language. Causatives and Causation is also an important attempt to integrate language typology with diachrony by...

This textbook provides a critical introduction to major research topics and current approaches in linguistic typology, the study of structural variation in human language and of the limits on that variation. Jae Jung Song draws on a wide range of cross-linguistic data to describe what linguistic typology has revealed both about language in general and about the rich variety of ways in which meaning and expression are achieved in the world's languages. Following an introduction to the subject matter and its history, the first part of the book explores theoretical issues and approaches, as well...

This textbook provides a critical introduction to major research topics and current approaches in linguistic typology, the study of structural variation in human language and of the limits on that variation. Jae Jung Song draws on a wide range of cross-linguistic data to describe what linguistic typology has revealed both about language in general and about the rich variety of ways in which meaning and expression are achieved in the world's languages. Following an introduction to the subject matter and its history, the first part of the book explores theoretical issues and approaches, as well...