Causatives and Causation: A Universal -typological perspective

by Song; Jae Jung

• ISBN13: 9780582289185
• ISBN10: 0582289181
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1996-08-20
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Causatives and Causation is the first comprehensive study of causative constructions found in the world's languages. This important new research, based on a data base of more than 600 languages, not only investigates fully the richness and variety of causative types, but also presents an alternative perspective to the traditional typological approach. The new typology enables a better understanding of how the human mind cognizes causation and how this is reflected in language. Causatives and Causation is also an important attempt to integrate language typology with diachrony by constructing a diachronic model of causative affixes on the basis of this new typology. Drawing on the theoretical insight of Role and Reference Grammar, this book provides a case study of the causative constructions in Korean, providing additional support for both the proposed new typology and the diachronic model. It also examines the pragmatic foundations of causatives, an important but previously unexplored area of study.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Preamble

A Typology of causative constructions

Language sample

Some operating terms

The COMPACT type

The AND type

The PURP type

Implicativity: a residual issue

The evolution of causative affixes

Introduction

Other studies on origins of causative affixes

A diachronic model of causative affixes

Causative affixes: a diachronic track-down

Implicativity and reduction

Closing remarks

Korean: A PURP-type language

Introduction

PURP causative and purposive constructions

The Clause Linkage Theory

Clause linkage in PURP causative and purposive constructions

Problems for the Clause Linkage Theory

A diachronic solution to the problems

The functional basis of the typology

Introduction

Implicativity as the distinguishing feature

Cognitive basis of the typology

Pragmatic basis of the typology

Comrie's theory of causatives: an alternative interptetation

Introduction

Comrie's theory of causatives

A critique of Comrie's theory

Data

An alternative interpretation: NP density control

Further evidence for NP density control

Finale

Appendix: Data base

Bibliography

Author index

language index

Subject Index

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