Lecture 3: Classification of Comparative Typology According to Dr. Buranov

Branches of Comparative Typology as to the object of investigation

	Structural typology: principles
	It aims to identify structural language types and universal features of lan­guages. Structural typology has 4 branches: 1) Language universals; 2) Typological classification; 3) Ethalon language; 4) Typological theory. The works of B. Uspenskiy, V. R. Nedyalkov, Ch. Hockette, Yu. Rojdestvenskiy.

Some general statements on linguistic universals

• The ultimate goal of Structural typology is identifying universal features of lan­guages.
• Language Universals are bound to the unification of language facts, identifying common/similar features specific to systems of all or separate language groups.
• The notion of Language Universals appeared in 1961 at the Congress of Linguists in New York where Joseph Greenberg, J. Jenkins, and I. Osgood proposed a Memoran­dum on Language/Linguistic Universals". They defined it as follows: "A Linguistic Universal is a certain feature specific to all languages of the world"
• There are many general universals concerning all languages of the world. They are:
• Wherever humans exist, language exists.
• There are no "primitive" languages - all languages are equally complex and equally capable of expressing any idea in the world.
• The vocabulary of any language can be expanded to include new words for new concepts.
• All languages change through time.
• The relationship between the sounds and meanings of spoken languages and between the gestures (signs) and meanings of sign languages are for the most part arbitrary.
• All human languages utilize a finite set of discrete sounds (or gestures) that are combined to form meaningful elements or words, which themselves form an infinite set of possible sentences.
• All grammars contain rules for the formation of words and sentences of a simi­lar kind.