Linguistic Typology : Morphology and Syntax

There are generally estimated to be between 4,000 and 6,000 languages in the world. This number alone gives an idea of the immense diversity of languages: at the same time, there also has to be an underlying unity to human languages. Linguistic Typology is the study of the structural similarities between languages, regardless of their history, to establish a classification of languages. It provides an accessible overview of the most prominent areas of study and research in language typology, illustrated with many examples taken from a wide range of languages. Jae Jong Song offers an explanation for the different ways in which languages behave, and considers why languages are the way they are.

Language typology is the study of the structural similarities between languages regardless of their history, to establish a classification or typology of languages. It is a core topic of historical linguistics and is studied on all traditional linguistics degree courses. In recent years there has been increased interest the subject and it is an area we have been looking to commission a book in.
Jae Jung Song proposes to introduce the undergraduate reader to the subject, with discussion of topics which include - what is language typology and why is it studied; word order; language sampling; relative clauses; diachronic typology; and applications of language typology. There will also be discussion of the most prominent areas of research in the subject and readers will be able to review data selected from a wide range of languages to see how languages work and how differently they behave.