'Cognitive Typology'

[Paolo Ramat]

Answer to the query by Wolfgang Schulze:

To my knowldge the term 'Cognitive Typology' has never been used before the announcement of the very interesting programm of the Antwerp conference.
In my eyes CT can be but a shortening for 'Cognitive Linguistics and Linguistic Typology', meaning by this the interface between the cognitive and the typological approach to language. Some linguistic types (or,better,some typologically relevant constructions) can be more widespread than others because they are easier to process. For instance, analytic constructions come closer to the principle 1 form:1 meaning; and we may indeed observe the evolution from more synthetic to more analytic strategies in many linguistic traditions. Of course, this it is not to mean that all languages must participate of such an evolution: many interfering factors can stop or reverse the general tendency. This is, I think, the perspective where the cooperation between cognitive and typological approaches can be fruitful.
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Prof. Paolo Ramat
Dipartimento di Linguistica
Università di Pavia
Strada Nuova 65                       Tel secretary  0039 0382 504 484
I-27100 PAVIA                             fax 0039 0382 504 487
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