Linguistic Typology
Code: 100272Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Catalan Philology: Literary Studies and Linguistics | OP | 4 |
| Spanish Language and Literature | OP | 3 |
| Spanish Language and Literature | OP | 4 |
| English Studies | OP | 3 |
| English Studies | OP | 4 |
| English and Catalan Studies | OP | 3 |
| English and Catalan Studies | OP | 4 |
| English and Spanish Studies | OP | 3 |
| English and Spanish Studies | OP | 4 |
| Catalan and Spanish Studies | OP | 3 |
| English and French Studies | OP | 4 |
| English and Classics Studies | OP | 3 |
| English and Classics Studies | OP | 4 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Joaquim Llisterri Boix
- Email :
- joaquim.llisterri@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Cristina Real Puigdollers
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
It is recommended that students be able to read academic papers in English on topics related to the contents of the course.
Objectives
The course pursues two main objectives: (1) to offer a general overview of linguistic typology that incorporates the analysis of phenomena of a phonetic, phonological, morphological, and syntactic nature; and (2) to present the working methods and tools specific to linguistic typology.
Learning outcomes
- Identifying the main and secondary ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
- Analysing various types of linguistic data.
- Establishing typological generalizations.
- Identifying different theoretical options or ways of dealing with the same problem from alternative theoretical frameworks.
- Solving problems of grammatical analysis.
- Identify principal and secondary ideas and express them using correct language.
- Solve problems of grammatical analysis.
- Identify different theoretical options or ways to address the same problems from alternative theoretical frameworks.
- Establish typological generalisations.
- Analyse different types of linguistic data.
- Identify main and secondary ideas and express them with linguistic correctness.
- Identify different theoretical options or ways of approaching the same problems from alternative theoretical frameworks.
- Use the appropriate and specific terminology of the literary studies.
- Analyse various types of linguistic data.
- Accurately drawing up normative texts.
- Identifying main and supporting ideas and expressing them with linguistic correctness.
- Establish typological generalizations.
- Solving problems autonomously.
- Solving problems autonomously.
- Use and interpret texts of interdisciplinary nature about the connections between linguistics and other disciplines.
- Appropriately use the different available formal and technical resources.
- Identify the main and secondary ideas and express them with linguistic correctness.
- Solve problems autonomously.
- Accurately drawing up normative texts.
- Resolving problems independently.
Contents
1.- The languages of the world
Number and distribution of the world's languages. Language families. Criteria for the classification of languages: genetic, geographic, sociolinguistic, and typological.
2.- Fieldwork methodology
Fieldwork. The corpus. Informants. Recording the corpus. Tools for the collection and processing of linguistic data.
3.- Phonetic typology
Phonetic typology: current state, methodological problems, and resources. Segmental elements: vowel sounds and consonant sounds in the world's languages. Suprasegmental elements: the use of fundamental frequency; the phonetic manifestation of stress; rhythmic typologies.
4.- Phonological typology
Databases for the study of phonological typology. Segmental structure: segment inventories, vowel systems, and consonant systems. Suprasegmental structure: length contrasts, tonal contrasts, and stress contrasts. Syllable structure.
5.- Morphological typology
Classifiers. Nominal aspect and tense. Noun incorporation. Argument changes (applicatives, causatives). Verbs of direction and posture. Evidentiality. Nominalizations.
6.- Syntactic typology
Systems of personal, possessive, and demonstrative pronouns. Morphosyntactic alignment (accusativity, ergativity, etc.). Constituent order.
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completion of exercises and presentations | 11.5 | 0.46 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 |
| Use of tools and resources specific to the discipline | 13.5 | 0.54 | 13 |
| Discussion of the assigned readings and the proposed exercises | 15 | 0.6 | 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 |
| Study of the subject contents | 40 | 1.6 | 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12 |
| Readings and consultation of supplementary materials | 22 | 0.88 | 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12 |
| Presentation of the course contents | 35 | 1.4 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 14 |
The teaching methodology combines sessions devoted to presenting the syllabus with sessions focused on the discussion of readings, the completion of exercises, in-class presentations, and the use of resources developed for the study of typology.
The schedule with the content of the various sessions will be specified on the day the course is presented. It will also be published on the Moodle classroom, together with a detailed description of the exercises and practical work, the various teaching materials, and any information necessary for properly following the course.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ev3 - Take-home exercises on topics 5 and 6 of the syllabus | 20% | 5 | 0.2 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 |
| Ev1 - In-person written test on the contents of topics 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the syllabus | 40% | 1.5 | 0.06 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 |
| Ev2 - Take-home exercises on topics 3 and 4 of the syllabus | 20% | 5 | 0.2 | 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 25 |
| Ev4 - Oral presentations in class | 20% | 1.5 | 0.06 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 |
1.- Continuous assessment
The final grade for the course is obtained from four assessment tasks:
(Ev1) In-person written test on the contents of topics 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the syllabus: 40% of the final grade.
(Ev2) Take-home exercises on topics 3 and 4 of the syllabus: 20% of the final grade.
(Ev3) Take-home exercises on topics 5 and 6 of the syllabus: 20% of the final grade.
(Ev4) Oral presentations in class: 20% of the final grade.
Detailed information on each of the tasks will be provided at the start of the course. These four tasks are the only elements considered in the grade. Class attendance is not a criterion considered in the assessment.
To pass the course, students must obtain a grade equal to or higher than 4.9 (/10) in the weighted average of the grades of the four assessment tasks and, in addition, must have obtained a minimum mark of 4 (/10) on the in-person written test on the content of the syllabus (Ev1). If this second requirement is not met, the maximum grade for the course will be 4.5 (/10).
Failure to submit an assignment without a reasonable cause documented and justified results in a score of 0 (zero).
The take-home exercises must be the result of each student's individual work, and students may be interviewed by the lecturers on the content of the work submitted.
During the in-person written test on the content of the syllabus (Ev1), students may use whatever reference material they consider appropriate, but only on paper; no electronic device may therefore be used.
Students who have submitted assignments worth less than 30% of the total grade for the course are considered "Not assessable".
At the time of each assessment activity, information will be provided in the Moodle classroom on the procedure and the date for reviewing the grades.
To be eligible for the resit, students must have obtained a grade between 3.5 and 4.8 (/10) and have submitted a set of assessment tasks whose weight is equivalent to at least 2/3 of the total grade for the course.
The resit will consist of an in-person written test on the content of topics 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the course syllabus and on the exercises corresponding to topics 3, 4, 5, and 6; the in-class oral presentations are excluded from the resit.
Should a student commit any irregularity that could lead to a significant variation in the grade of an assessment activity, that assessment activity will be graded with 0 (zero), regardless of any disciplinary procedure that may be initiated. If several irregularities occur in the assessment acts, the final grade for this course will be 0 (zero).
In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is not permitted in any of its phases. Any work that includes fragments generated with AI will be considered a breach of academic honesty and will result in the activity being graded with a 0 with no possibility of a resit, or in greater sanctions in serious cases.
Exchange programme students who request to bring an exam forward must present to the lecturer a written document from their home university justifying their request.
2.- Single assessment
The final grade for the course is obtained from four learning evidences:
(Ev1) In-person written test on the contents of topics 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the syllabus: 40% of the final grade.
(Ev2) Take-home exercises on topics 3 and 4 of the syllabus: 20% of the final grade.
(Ev3) Take-home exercises on topics 5 and 6 of the syllabus: 20% of the final grade.
(Ev4) Oral presentations in class: 20% of the final grade.
These four evidences are the only elements used in the single assessment of the course. The written test (Ev1) will take place on the day on which this test is scheduled for the students who have chosen continuous assessment; the exercises (Ev2 and Ev3) will be submitted on the same day on which the written test is held. Depending on the number of students who opt for single assessment, the oral presentations (Ev4) may be individual or will necessarily have to be carried out in groups.
In the case of single assessment, the same criteria will apply for assessment and for the resit as for continuous assessment.
Bibliography
Aikhenvald, A. Y., & Dixon, R. M. W. (Eds.). (2017). The Cambridge handbook of linguistic typology. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316135716
Croft, W. (2003). Typology and universals (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511840579
Dryer, M. S., & Haspelmath, M. (Eds.). (2013). The world atlas of language structures online. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. https://wals.info
Igartua, I. (2023). Fundamentos de tipología lingüística. Síntesis.
Moravcsik, E. A. (2013). Introducing language typology. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511978876
Song, J. J. (Ed.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of linguistic typology. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199281251.001.0001
Song, J. J. (2018). Linguistic typology. Oxford University Press.
Velupillai, V. (2012). An introduction to linguistic typology. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/z.176
More specific reading lists will be provided during the semester.
Software
Boersma, P., & Weenink, D. (2026). Praat: Doing phonetics by computer (Version 6.4.67) [Computer Software]. University of Amsterdam. http://www.praat.org
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (PAUL) Classroom practices | 1 | Catalan | first semester | morning-mixed |