num_pages: 288
description: In this important and pioneering book Frederick Newmeyer seeks to explain the variety of languages. He combines the leading ideas of the functionalist and formalist approaches to linguistic typology, advocating principles of Universal Grammar to explain why some language types are impossible, and functional principles to explain why some grammatical features are more common than others.
language: English
title: Possible and Probable Languages: A Generative Perspective on Linguistic Typology
titlecomplete: Possible and Probable Languages: A Generative Perspective on Linguistic Typology
genres: Linguistics
ratings_count: 5
publisher: Oxford University Press