CURRENTLY SOLD OUT

Basic Word Order: Functional Principles by Russell S Tomlin (Paperback, 2016)

About this product

Product Information

This book examines the frequencies of the six possible basic word (or constituent) orders (SOV, SVO, VSO, VOS, OSV, OVS) provides a typologically grounded explanation for those frequencies in terms of three independent, functional principles of linguistic organization. From a database of nearly 1,000 languages and their basic constituent orders, a sample of 400 languages was produced that is statistically representative of both the genetic and areal distributions of the world's languages. This sample reveals the following relative frequencies (in order from high to low) of basic constituent order types: (1) SOV and SVO, (2) VSO, (3) VOS and OVS, (4) OSV. It is argued that these relative frequencies can be explained to be the result of the possible interactions of three fundamental functional principles of linguistic organization. Principle 1, the thematic information principle, specifies that initial position is the cross-linguistically favoured position for clause-level thematic information. Principle 2, the verb-object bonding principle, describes the cross-linguistic tendency for a transitive verb and its object to form a more tightly integrated unit, syntactically and semantically, than does a transitive verb and its subject. Principle 3, the animated principle, describes the cross-linguistic tendency for semantic arguments which are either more animate or more agentive to occur earlier in the clause. Each principle is motivated independently of the others, drawing on cross-linguistic data from more than 80 genetically and typologically diverse languages. Given these three independently motivated functional principles, it is argued that the relative frequency of basic constituent order types is due to the tendency for the three principles to be maximally realized in the world's languages. SOV and SVO languages are typologically most frequent because such basic orders reflect all three principles. The remaining orders occur less frequently because they reflect fewer of the principles. The 1,000-language database and the genetic and areal classification frames are published as appendices to the volume.

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd
ISBN-13
9781138964426
eBay Product ID (ePID)
223478887

Product Key Features

Book Title
Basic Word Order: Functional Principles
Author
Russell S Tomlin
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Publication Year
2016
Number of Pages
328 Pages

Dimensions

Item Height
234mm
Item Width
156mm
Item Weight
454g

Additional Product Features

Title_Author
Russell S Tomlin
Series Title
Routledge Library Editions: Linguistics
Country/Region of Manufacture
United Kingdom

Best Selling in Books

See all

Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Books

The Concise 48 Laws Of Power by Robert Greene (Paperback, 2002)
4.5 out of 5 stars based on 21 product ratings
AU $20.39 New
---- Used
KJV, Gift and Award Bible, Leather-Look, Black, Red Letter, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, King James Version by Zondervan (Paperback, 2017)
4.9 out of 5 stars based on 18 product ratings
AU $12.99 New
---- Used
The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery by Brianna Wiest (Paperback, 2020)
5.0 out of 5 stars based on 6 product ratings
AU $23.99 New
AU $15.39 Used
The Tintin Collection (The Adventures of Tintin - Compact Editions) by Herge (Hardcover, 2015)
4.9 out of 5 stars based on 8 product ratings
AU $180.00 New
---- Used
The Orthodox Study Bible, Hardcover: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World (Hardcover, 2008)
4.7 out of 5 stars based on 7 product ratings
AU $63.49 New
---- Used
Atomic Habits: the life-changing million-copy #1 bestseller by James Clear (Paperback, 2018)
4.8 out of 5 stars based on 25 product ratings
AU $19.89 New
AU $17.50 Used
Recipetin Eats Dinner by Nagi Maehashi (2022, Paperback)
5.0 out of 5 stars based on 9 product ratings
AU $28.38 New
AU $22.99 Used

Save on Books

Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Books

Frank Herbert'S Dune Saga 3-Book Boxed Set: Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of
AU $44.95
Trending at AU $48.47
The Satanic Bible by Anton Szandor Lavey (English) Mass Market Paperback Book
AU $18.97
Trending at AU $19.31
A Gentleman in Moscow: The worldwide bestseller by Amor Towles (Paperback, 2017)
AU $14.00
Trending at AU $17.58
F*Ck Off! This Is MY Coloring Book: the Very F*Cking Best of John T | Swear Word
AU $15.30
Trending at AU $16.11

Shop by category

Basic Word Order: Functional Principles by Russell S Tomlin (Paperback, 2016)

About this product

Product Information

Product Identifiers

Product Key Features

Dimensions

Additional Product Features

Best Selling in Books

The Concise 48 Laws Of Power by Robert Greene (Paperback, 2002)

KJV, Gift and Award Bible, Leather-Look, Black, Red Letter, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, King James Version by Zondervan (Paperback, 2017)

The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery by Brianna Wiest (Paperback, 2020)

The Tintin Collection (The Adventures of Tintin - Compact Editions) by Herge (Hardcover, 2015)

The Orthodox Study Bible, Hardcover: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World (Hardcover, 2008)

Atomic Habits: the life-changing million-copy #1 bestseller by James Clear (Paperback, 2018)

Recipetin Eats Dinner by Nagi Maehashi (2022, Paperback)

Save on Books

Frank Herbert'S Dune Saga 3-Book Boxed Set: Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of

The Satanic Bible by Anton Szandor Lavey (English) Mass Market Paperback Book

A Gentleman in Moscow: The worldwide bestseller by Amor Towles (Paperback, 2017)

FCk Off! This Is MY Coloring Book: the Very FCking Best of John T | Swear Word

You may also like

Non-Fiction Functionalism Paperback Fiction & Books

Fiction Paperback William S. Burroughs & Fiction Books

William S. Burroughs Non-Fiction Paperback Fiction & Books

Non-Fiction Functionalism Hardcover Books

Paperback Calendars (Current)

Australian Paperbacks