July 25, 2020
Introducing the Typological Questions Page
One of the primary goals of this project is to develop tools for surrogate language typology. In this post, I’ll introduce a new page in aid of that goal: the Typological Questions page, an informal l...
Lucas James
Keywords: MethodologyTypology
One of the primary goals of this project is to develop tools for surrogate language typology. In this post, I’ll introduce a new page in aid of that goal: the Typological Questions page, an informal list of generalizable questions about the phenomenon of speech surrogacy.
There are plenty of challenges in thinking typologically about surrogate systems. Detailed information about existing systems is limited, and for extinct systems, it is virtually non-existent. Genetic history—if that is even the right way to think about these systems—is exceedingly difficult to trace. Generalizing our knowledge, especially across continents and modalities, calls for a database of information that will never be complete.
Despite these challenges, progress is possible. Hopefully, this project can collate a wealth of knowledge that will be helpful for this purpose. We are now capable of using technology to collaborate across institutions and disciplines, not to mention continents. There’s plenty to be excited about.
With that in mind, I want to use the Typological Questions page as a tool to encourage our own curiosity. As data and ideas pop up—through this blog as well as the wider community of scholars interested in surrogate languages—I’ll return to this page as a tool to frame and generalize those insights.
While I'm focused on the typological perspective, other questions from other corners of linguistics and other disciplines will certainly come up. These non-typological and cross-disciplinary questions will be included in their own section on this page too. The point is to help us open the door for inquiry into all the many aspects of surrogate language.
We’re including this as a persistent page on this site, in case it can serve the same purpose for others. But in the meantime, I’d love to hear from others what questions you are mulling over, whether typological or not. Please contact me if you’d like to contribute to the page!
-Lucas James