Description
Book SynopsisThis unique three-volume survey brings together a team of leading scholars to explore the syntactic and morphological structures of the world's languages. Clearly organized and broad-ranging, it covers topics such as parts-of-speech, passives, complementation, relative clauses, adverbial clauses, inflectional morphology, tense, aspect, mood, and diexis. The contributors look at the major ways that these notions are realized, and provide informative sketches of them at work in a range of languages. Each volume is accessibly written and clearly explains each new concept introduced. Although the volumes can be read independently, together they provide an indispensable reference work for all linguists and fieldworkers interested in cross-linguistic generalizations. Volume I covers parts-of-speech systems, word order, the noun phrase, clause types, speech act distinctions, the passive, and information packaging in the clause.
Table of Contents1. Parts-of-speech systems Paul Schachter and Timothy Shopen; 2. Word Order Matthew S. Dryer; 3. The major functions of the noun phrase Avery D. Andrews; 4. Clause types Matthew S. Dryer; 5. Speech act distinctions in grammar Ekkehard König and Peter Siemund; 6. Passive in the world's languages Edward L. Keenan and Matthew S. Dryer; 7. A typology of information packaging in the clause William A. Foley.
