160154 VO LV zu Typologie und komparativer Grammatiktheorie VO (2019S)

Natural languages share a number of intriguing similarities while also exhibiting fascinating differences. And while languages can be classified on the basis of different criteria (such as phonological, morphological and syntactic), this course will focus on syntactic typology, in particular what Baker (2009) refers to as “Formal Generative Typology” (FGT), which has grown out of the ‘Principles and Parameters’ research paradigm, and which seeks to answer questions such as the following: What properties of natural human languages are universal? What properties of natural human languages vary from one human language to another? Which aspects of variation are systematic and grammatical in nature, and which aspects of variation are random and/or idiosyncratic? What do the answers to all three preceding questions reveal about natural language as a product of the human mind?