FunctionalSyntaxandUniversalGrammar(CambridgeStudiesinLinguistics)

Thekeyargumentofthisbook,originallypublishedin1984,isthatwhenhumanbeingscommunicatewitheachotherbymeansofanaturallanguagetheytypicallydonotdosoinsimplesentencesbutratherinconnecteddiscourse-complexexpressionsmadeupofanumberofclauseslinkedtogetherinvariousways.Anecessarypreconditionforintelligiblediscourseisthespeaker'sabilitytosignalthetemporalrelationsbetweentheeventsthatarebeingdiscussedandtorefertotheparticipantsinthoseeventsinsuchawaythatitisclearwhoisbeingtalkedabout.Agreatdealofthegrammaticalmachineryinalanguageisdevotedtothistask,andFunctionalSyntaxandUniversalGrammarexploreshowdifferentgrammaticalsystemsaccomplishit.Thisbookisanimportantattempttointegratethestudyoflinguisticformwiththestudyoflanguageuseandmeaning.Itwillbeofparticularinteresttofieldlinguistsandthoseconcernedwithtypologyandlanguageuniversals,andalsotoanthropologistsinvolvedinthestudyoflanguagefunction.