There are generally estimated to be about 4,000 to 6,000 languages in the world. This number alone gives us an idea of the immense diversity of languages of the world, but despite their differences, there also has to be an underlying unity to human languages.
Linguistic typology is the study of the structural variation within human language with a view to establishing limits on this variation and seeking explanations for the limits. In this volume, Jae Jung Song uses data from a wide range of languages to provide an up-to-date critical introduction to linguistic typology. Focusing on major topics ranging from basic word order to causative constructions, the book demonstrates how systematic patterns can be uncovered, and limits on, and explanations for, these systematic patterns can be sought and formulated. Practical and methodological issues such as data collection and language sampling are also discussed, as well as the application of linguistic typology and a brief survey of major European approaches to linguistic typology. _Linguistic Typology_ will be essential reading for students involved in linguistic typology and language universals, comparative morphology and syntax, historical linguistics, first or second language acquisition, and language and cognition.