Syntax: A Functional Typological Introduction (2 Volumes)
by Talmy Givón
Category: Language Arts & Disciplines

The long-awaited second volume of the two-volume work on syntax from a functional-typological perspective. Grammar is viewed as a non-arbitrary language-processing device, to be understood in terms of the various substantive parameters relevant to language: Communicative function, cognitive processing, socio-culture and neuro-biology. Distortions in this complex yet highly iconic code are due to conflicting functional requirements, most commonly introduced into the code through the course of diachronic change. Cross-linguistic variation within each functional domain is highly constrained, and yields a coherent typology of the most natural ways the same communicative function can be performed. The volume covers the syntax of complex clauses, and is organized according to the following plan: Chapter 12: “Noun phrases” Chapter 13: “Verbal complements” Chapter 14: “Voice and de-transitivization” Chapter 15: “Relative clauses” Chapter 16: “Contrastive focus constructions” Chapter 17: “Marked topic constructions” Chapter 18: “Non-declarative speech acts” Chapter 19: “The grammar of interclausal coherence” Chapter 20: “The grammar of referential coherence as mental processing instructions” Chapter 21: “Markedness and iconicity in syntax”.