Typology

Learning a new language can go a long way in teaching someone about how their own language functions. Think of the many ways to compare and contrast two languages—now think of comparing all the languages of the world. Patterns emerge as linguists study typology, which is the study of language structure. Through the various types of language typology, linguists have come to understand certain systematic patterns that help to classify the languages of the world.

Typology Definition

Typology is a field in linguistics that examines the structure of language.

The classification of languages illuminates the connections among the various languages in the world. Language typology always involves cross-linguistic comparison. That is to say, there is always a question of how at least two different languages compare structurally.

So, for example, you could study gender marking in Spanish, but that wouldn’t be typology because there must be the element of comparison (or contrast). The element of comparison assists linguists in drawing major conclusions about language, called universals. It’s also instrumental in translating languages, as it helps understand the shared formal characteristics among languages.

To examine gender marking in Spanish from a typological standpoint, you might compare or contrast it to other Romance languages that use a gendered grammatical system, such as French or Portuguese.

The goal of typology is to note and understand the variation, and the degree of variation, in languages. To this end, languages can be classified according to three criteria:

• Genealogy – Uses historical connections as grounds to classify languages into language families.

• Typology – Uses the basis of grammatical structure to classify languages according to observable patterns.

• Areal – Uses geographical criteria to draw connections between languages spoken in proximity to one another.

Typology Synonym

You might hear language typology referred to as "cross-linguistic typology" or simply "linguistic typology;" any of these terms are appropriate. Otherwise, there aren’t many other synonyms for this field of study.

Fig. 1 - The languages of the world have a lot to offer each other.

You might consider the terms classification, categorization, and arrangement intimately related to typology, though. These all have to go with placing things in groups based on shared characteristics, which is part of what typology strives to do.

Universals and Language Typology

As mentioned above, language universals are patterns seen across languages that linguists believe may be applicable to all languages or at least a subset of languages. Once these patterns are observed, linguists may draw generalizations based on these patterns, which become universals.

Here’s an English example: Paul ate (verb) sushi (object) for lunch.

This example illustrates a pattern seen in languages that follow the VO order. It is a word order universal, which is arguably the most famous language universals thanks to the work of linguist Joseph Greenberg.

Greenberg Universals

Much of what is known and studied in typology comes from Greenberg’s Universals of Language (1963), in which he proposed a set of universals related to roughly thirty languages. Many of these universals relate to word order, like the example above.

Because of his contribution to the field, typological universals are sometimes called Greenberg universals. These are generalizations about a systematic pattern found among the structures of various languages. These patterns might deal with:

• Word structure (morphology)

• Word arrangement (syntax) or

• Word or sound formation (phonology)

Universals may be absolute, meaning they’re without exception, or statistical, which means it’s a tendency and there may be exceptions. The example about VO and nominal modifiers is an absolute universal for this subset of languages that follow VO order; there are no known exceptions.

Typology Example

Typology might study various linguistic systems or specific phenomena found within a single language, or across multiple languages. Here’s an example of typology in action through linguistic research.

Paying attention to the lexical distinctions among participants, Majid et al. found that the various languages tended to distinguish between precise cuts (with words like slice and carve) and less precise breaks (with words like smash or bust).

Fig. 2 - Languages appear to have different verbs like cut, slice, and carve for precise incisions.

The group of researchers concluded that most languages—at least the twenty-eight observed—have a “general solution” to understanding and communicating this concept, and although there is variation, there are significant similarities in the division of these linguistic categories.

Typology is not just concerned with the classification of linguistic phenomena, but typologists typically seek to explain why these patterns or variances occur. Majid et al.’s research suggests that there is predictable regularity in the event categories defined by verbs, and this can be expected across multiple languages.

Types of Language Typology

There are three specific types of language typology:

• Qualitative

• Quantitative

• Theoretical

Qualitative typology deals with the comparison and contrast of languages. It explores cross-linguistic patterns and variances with a focus on structural formation.

Quantitative typology studies the distribution of structural patterns. This typically involves statistical observation of the linguistic phenomenon in question; in other words, drawing conclusions from statistical data.

Theoretical typology explains any variances in qualitative and quantitative characteristics. It may also examine things like language users' intentions and linguistic phenomena not seen in all languages.

The general term language typology typically encompasses all these sub-disciplines.

1. Asifa Majid, James S. Boster, and Melissa Bowerman. "The cross-linguistic categorization of everyday events: A study of cutting and breaking." ScienceDirect. August, 2008.