The World Atlas Of Language Structures

"The World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS) provides ... 142 maps showing the geographic distribution of structural linguistic features"--Intro.

The World Atlas of Language Structures is a book and CD combination displaying the structural properties of the world's languages. 142 world maps and numerous regional maps - all in colour - display the geographical distribution of features of pronunciation and grammar, such as number of vowels, tone systems, gender, plurals, tense, word order, and body part terminology. Each world map shows an average of 400 languages and is accompanied by a fully referenced description of the structural feature in question. The CD provides an interactive electronic version of the database which allows the reader to zoom in on or customize the maps, to display bibliographical sources, and to establish correlations between features. The book and the CD together provide an indispensable source of information for linguists and others seeking to understand human languages. The Atlas will be especially valuable for linguistic typologists, grammatical theorists, historical and comparative linguists, and for those studying a region such as Africa, Southeast Asia, North America, Australia, and Europe. It will also interest anthropologists and geographers. More than fifty authors from many different countries have collaborated to produce a work that sets new standards in comparative linguistics. No institution involved in language research can afford to be without it.

The Atlas presents commentaries and colour maps showing how 130 linguistic features - phonological, syntactic, morphological, and lexical - are distributed among the world's pidgins and creoles. Designed and written by the world's leading experts, it is a unique resource of outstanding value for linguists of all persuasions throughout the world.

De atlas is online beschikbaar en laat door middel van overzichtelijke kaarten zien hoe taalstructuren wereldwijd gerealiseerd worden: welke talen hebben bijvoorbeeld wel of geen lidwoorden, in welke talen is de woordvolgorde anders dan in het Nederlands, hoe wordt in verschillende talen meervoud uitgedrukt, in welke talen komt het bijvoeglijknaamwoord voor het zelfstandig naamwoord en in welke erna en hoe is het kleurenspecturm in verschillende talen opgedeeld? Een bron aan informatie voor wie snel wil weten hoe het komt dat bepaalde NT2-leerders steeds dezelfde fouten maken, vanuit interferentie van de moedertaal.

Offers an introduction to linguistic typology that covers various linguistic domains from phonology and morphology over parts-of-speech, the NP and the VP, to simple and complex clauses, pragmatics and language change. This title also includes a discussion on methodological issues in typology.

Explores the nature of stress and accent patterns in natural language using a diverse range of theories, methods and data.

The Atlas and three-volume Survey present by far the most comprehensive source of reference ever published on the distribution and linguistic characteristics of the world's pidgin and creole languages. On sale as combined item at a special prepublication price they comprise a unique resource of outstanding value for linguists.

This title considers whether any generalisations can be made about word order in language. The chapters, written by international scholars, draw on data from several 'disharmonic' and typologically distinct languages, including Mandarin Chinese, Basque, French, English, Hixkaryana (a Cariban language), Khalkha Mongolian, Uyghur Turkic, and Afrikaans.