A Cross-Linguistic Typology — Universality, Variation & the Grammar of Adjectives Across the World's Languages
Edited by R. M. W. Dixon & Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald • Research Centre for Linguistic Typology, La Trobe University
Oxford University Press • Explorations in Language and Space, Vol. 1 • 2006 (Paperback) • 392 Pages • ISBN 978-0-19-920346-8
Does every language have adjectives? For much of the 20th century, linguists debated whether adjectives were a universal grammatical category or merely an artifact of European-language bias in linguistic theory. Some languages appeared to have no adjectives at all; others blurred the boundary between adjectives and nouns, or adjectives and verbs, so thoroughly that the category seemed to dissolve under cross-linguistic scrutiny.
This landmark volume — the inaugural publication of OUP's prestigious Explorations in Language and Space series — argues that every language does have a distinct adjective class, but that these vary dramatically in size, grammatical character, and relationship to other word classes. Edited by R. M. W. Dixon and Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald, it opens with Dixon's sweeping theoretical overview of cross-linguistic parameters of adjective class variation, then deploys thirteen specialist chapters covering languages from across the globe — all based on fine-grained original fieldwork.
The findings are striking: some languages have adjective classes virtually indistinguishable from nouns; others behave like verbs; some have two distinct adjective classes; in some languages the adjective class is large and open, while in others it numbers only a dozen or so closed members. The typological framework here has become the standard reference for cross-linguistic work on adjectives and word classes.
"This volume will clearly be useful to anyone interested in adjectives and the nature of linguistic categorization, but Dixon & Aikhenvald's primary contribution is to encourage a re-examination of adjectives in the world's languages."
— Linguist List 16.1219✦ About the Editors ✦
Research Centre for Linguistic Typology, La Trobe University • Two of the Most Prolific and Influential Typologists of the Modern Era
R. M. W. Dixon is one of the most distinguished field linguists and typologists of the 20th century. His grammars of Australian languages (Dyirbal, Yidin) are classics of the genre; his theoretical works — Ergativity (CUP 1994) and Basic Linguistic Theory (OUP 2010–12) — define the field. As founder of the Research Centre for Linguistic Typology at La Trobe University, he has shaped a generation of typologists.
Alexandra Y. Aikhenvald is widely regarded as the world's leading authority on Amazonian languages and among the most prolific contributors to linguistic typology. Her OUP monographs — Classifiers (2000), Evidentiality (2004), Imperatives and Commands (2010), and Serial Verbs (2018) — are each the definitive cross-linguistic reference in their domains.
Languages & Topics — 13 Specialist Chapters
Typological Overview (Dixon) — Cross-linguistic parameters of adjective class variation; size, openness, semantic types, and grammatical properties across languages
Japanese (Backhouse) — Two distinct adjective classes; the complex noun-adjective boundary in Japanese morphosyntax
Manange & Qiang (Genetti / Huang) — Two Tibeto-Burman languages with strikingly different adjective systems
Tariana (Aikhenvald) — Arawak language of Northwest Amazonia; a small closed adjective class in a polysynthetic language
Mam & Papantla Totonac (England / Levy) — Mayan and Totonacan languages of Mesoamerica; adjective-verb distinctions in head-marking languages
Russian & Korean (Corbett / Sohn) — Richly inflected Indo-European adjective system vs. the stative-verb adjective pattern of Korean
Jarawara (Dixon) — A small, closed adjective class of ~30 members in Southern Amazonia; theoretical implications of minimal adjective inventories
Wolof, Semelai & Lao (McLaughlin / Kruspe / Enfield) — West African, Austroasiatic, and Tai-Kadai languages; adjective-noun and adjective-verb boundaries
Unread or lightly read copy in essentially new condition. Cover is clean with minimal handling/shelf wear. Binding is tight; spine is uncreased. Pages are clean and crisp throughout — no writing, underlining, or highlighting anywhere. Please see photos.
Typologists, syntacticians, and morphologists working on word classes, adjectives, or the noun/verb/adjective distinction cross-linguistically — this is the standard reference for the field. Essential for graduate courses in linguistic typology, morphosyntax, or field linguistics. A natural companion to Aikhenvald's other OUP typology monographs (Classifiers, Evidentiality, Serial Verbs) and to Dixon's Basic Linguistic Theory. The first volume in an important OUP series — collectors of the Explorations in Language and Space series will want this inaugural entry.
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