Typology of morphosyntactic parameters: Why are languages so predictable?
Ekaterina Lyutikova1, Anton Zimmerling2
1Lomonosov Moscow State University / 1,2Moscow Pedagogical State University / 1,2Pushkin State Russian Language Institute / 2Institute of Linguistics RAS
Abstract. This paper discusses the methodology of the parametric description of the world’s languages. The present day linguistic typology aims at once at describing the language diversity and at predicting it: the notion of predictability plays the crucial role, since the typology addresses the eternal questions ‘why the languages are so different’ and ‘why the languages are so similar’. Parameters differ from elementary linguistic features and have a hierarchical structure: they are based on hypotheses how the classes of the world’s languages can be grouped. The critic assessment of the concepts implemented in the parametric typology is a prerequisite of any successful application. Meanwhile, the set of such concepts cannot be reduced to the so called comparative concepts, i.e. concepts directly based on the comparison of language-specific data. The dialogue between the linguists involved in the parametrization of the world’s languages is motivated by the practical tasks they solve, rather than by the choice of any formal framework some of them may represent. One of the traditional dialogue forums is the series of the thematic international conferences “Typology of morphosyntactic parameters” (2011 ― ) and the series of TMP proceedings (2014 ― ). The first issue of the eponymous journal (2018, issue 1) develops this tradition and explores in the same field of research.
Keywords: linguistic typology, features, parametrization, grammar, morphosyntax, language diversity, conferences
For citation: Lyutikova E., Zimmerling A. Typology of morphosyntactic parameters: Why are languages so predictable? Typology of Morphosyntactic Parameters. 2018. Vol. 1, iss. 1. Pp. 11–30. (In Rus.)