Functional Categories

An analysis of the grammatical elements ('functional categories') in language.

Pieter Muysken (Author)

9780521619981, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 22 May 2008

320 pages, 3 b/w illus. 43 tables
22.5 x 15 x 1.7 cm, 0.51 kg

In every language there are descriptive lexical elements, such as evening and whisper, as well as grammatical elements, such as the and -ing. The distinction between these two elements has proven useful in a number of domains, but what is covered by the terms, lexical and grammatical, and the basis on which the distinction is made, appear to vary according to the domain involved. This book analyses the grammatical elements ('functional categories') in language, a topic that has drawn considerable attention in linguistics, but has never been approached from an integrated, cross-disciplinary perspective. Muysken considers functional categories from the perspective of grammar, language history, language contact and psychology (including child language and aphasia). Empirically based, the book examines the available converging evidence from these various disciplines, and draws on comparative data from a wide range of different languages.

1. Introduction
Part I. Grammar: 2. Functional categories and language typology
3. Lexical, morphological and phonological dimensions of functional categories
4. Semantics and pragmatics
5. Theoretical syntax: the generative tradition
Part II. Historical Linguistics: 6. Grammaticalisation
7. Linguistic reconstruction
Part III. Psycholinguistics: 8. Speech production
9. Language development
10. Agrammatic aphasia and Specific Language Impairment
11. Language attrition and death
Part IV. Language Contact and Bilingual Speech: 12. Sign languages
13. Code-switching and code-mixing
14. Lexical borrowing
15. Pidgin and creole genesis
16. Mixed languages
17. Foreigner Talk
18. Towards a modular and multi-dimensional perspective.

Subject Areas: Grammar, syntax & morphology [CFK], Historical & comparative linguistics [CFF], Linguistics [CF]