Paradigms: The Economy of Inflection (Empirical Approaches to Language Typology [EALT] Book 9)

Research on language universals and research on linguistic typology are not antagonistic, but rather complementary approaches to the same fundamental problem: the relationship between the amazing diversity of languages and the profound unity of language. Only if the true extent of typological divergence is recognized can universal laws be formulated. In recent years it has become more and more evident that a broad range of languages of radically different types must be carefully analyzed before general theories are possible. Typological comparison of this kind is now at the centre of linguistic research. The series empirical approaches to language typology presents a platform for contributions of all kinds to this rapidly developing field. The distinctive feature of the series is its markedly empirical orientation. All conclusions to be reached are the result of a deepened study of empirical data. General problems are focused on from the perspective of individual languages, language families, language groups, or language samples. Special emphasis is given to the analysis of phenomena from little known languages, which shed new light on long-standing problems in general linguistics. The series is open to contributions from different theoretical persuasions. It thus reflects the methodological pluralism that characterizes the present situation. Care is taken that all volumes be accessible to every linguist and, moreover, to every reader specializing in some domain related to human language. A deeper understanding of human language in general, based on a detailed analysis of typological diversity among individual languages, is fundamental for many sciences, not only for linguists. Therefore, this series has proven to be indispensable in every research library, be it public or private, which has a specialization in language and the language sciences. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Birgit Sievert. Contributors Preface Of abundance and scantiness in inflection: A typological prelude Form and function in identifying cases Paradigm size, possible syncretism, and the use of adpositions with cases in flective languages Pragmatic disguise in pronominal-affix paradigms Geometric representation of paradigms in a modular theory of grammar Systematic versus accidental phonological identity Syncretism and the paradigmatic patterning of grammatical meaning Rasmus Rask’s dilemma The assessment of paradigm stability: Some Indo-European case studies Inflection classes: Two questions with one answer Organising principles for nominal paradigms in Daghestanian languages: Comparative and typological observations The geometry of verb paradigms in Teso-Turkana Author Index Subject Index Language Index

The series is a platform for contributions of all kinds to this rapidly developing field. General problems are studied from the perspective of individual languages, language families, language groups, or language samples. Conclusions are the result of a deepened study of empirical data. Special emphasis is given to little-known languages, whose analysis may shed new light on long-standing problems in general linguistics.

Tables 1 and 2 set out the inflected forms of the nouns for 'hand' in Turkish and Latin, el and manus, and give the meaning of each form at the head of the appropriate column and at the left-hand side of the appropriate row.