古典的な言語類型の分類

Abstract

The traditional ways employed to classify language types are based on formalistic principles. In spite of the efforts of eminent scholars, including Edward Sapir, it seems impossible to achieve satisfactory results in the face of the perplexing diversity in the structure of existing languages. A new theory presented by Greenberg and others concerning constants or universals of language was expected to offer a clue to the mystery of language classification. However, the idea of linguistic universals is nothing but formalistic in its essence and does not offer typologists any useful perspectives in this concern. We would like to point out that their seemingly strict, logical expression of language universals may have contained, as contradictory as it seems, an illogical element in its result owing to their strict logical expression.