This book is Volume 1 of a two-volume set on cross-linguistic variation in valency classes. It presents the results of the Leipzig Valency Classes Project at the Department of Linguistics of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, which was an empirical study of 70 core verb meanings for 30 languages around the world; material in the book also stems from workshops and conferences held in 2010, 2011, and 2013. The Leipzig Valency Classes Project is a large-scale effort to construct a typology of valency classes as a foundation for future cross-linguistic studies of verb classes and argument marking. Part 1 of this volume describes the framework developed by the Leipzig Valency Class Project and the questionnaire used in the research. Part 2 presents case studies on valency properties in languages of Africa and Eurasia; some of the languages studied include Nllng, Mandika, Emai, Yoruba, Modern Standard Arabic, Italian, Icelandic, Bezhta, North Tungusic, Ket, Japanese, Chintang, and Ainu. An online database called Valency Patterns Leipzig (ValPaL) is available. Annotation ©2016 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
Earlier empirical studies on valency have looked at the phenomenon either in individual languages or a small range of languages, or have concerned themselves with only small subparts of valency (e.g. transitivity, ditransitive constructions), leaving a lacuna that the present volume aims to fill by considering a wide range of valency phenomena across 30 languages from different parts of the world. The individual-language studies, each written by a specialist or group of specialists on that language and covering both valency patterns and valency alternations, are based on a questionnaire (reproduced in the volume) and an on-line freely accessible database, thus guaranteeing comparability of cross-linguistic results. In addition, introductory chapters provide the background to the project and discuss its main characteristics and selected results, while a series of featured articles by leading scholars who helped shape the field provide an outside perspective on the volume’s approach. The volume is essential reading for anyone interested in valency and argument structure, irrespective of theoretical persuasion, and will serve as a model for future descriptive studies of valency in individual languages.
