Dependencies in language: On the causal ontology of linguistic systems book cover
Language · 2017 · en

Dependencies in language: On the causal ontology of linguistic systems

by N. J. Enfield (editor)

About this book

This collection examines what it means for one feature of language to depend on another. Edited by N. J. Enfield, it brings together work on linguistic structure, language learning, cognition, gesture and historical change to distinguish causal relationships from patterns that merely occur together.

Fifteen chapters investigate word order, sound systems, classifiers, word classes, child language development and the emergence of communicative systems. Contributors compare dependencies operating within a language with those linking language to its speakers and surroundings. The complete illustrated 2017 volume retains the authors' examples, references and index.