Department of Typology and Areal Linguistics

• Main information 
• Research interests of employees
• Areas of scientific work 
• Projects 
• Open meetings of the Department

Main information 

The Department was founded in May 2011 and consists of two sections: Department of typology (headed by full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Plungian) and Department of Areal Linguistics (headed by PhD, Dr.habil. Andrej Kibrik). Academic Secretary is Natalya Artamonova.

The Department provides the organizational unity of the typological and areal researches carried out at the University and expand their problems and the number of languages.  

The employees of the Department are engaged in studies on lexicology, grammar, phonetics, discourse structure of specific languages, areal linguistics, linguistic maps, general typology and language theory. Documentation of languages and creation of databases and text corpora are in the focus of the work. To process large amounts of languages data we use, computer methods, which are adapted to different materials and are continuously improved. The team's work combines the achievements of modern formal and functional approaches, considering the multiplicity of linguistic descriptions. 

Research interests of employees

Areas of scientific work 

1. Work on the encyclopedia "Languages of the World"

The aim of that area of research work is the description of the largest possible number of natural languages in a comparable form according to uniform standards. The publication "Languages of the World" forms the database for any comparative and typological research, and the recent volumes present the most complete typological descriptions of the corresponding language groups, made according to a single scheme specially developed for the Languages of the World edition.

This work includes a full cycle of preparation of an encyclopedic publication, from the development of the volume's concept, searching for authors and setting tasks to the edition of articles and preparation of maps to publish). In some cases, articles are written by the employees of the Department. The Department also carries out the layout of volumes.

2. Areal linguistics  

We carry out studies of the idioms of a particular region, as well as of their history and linguistic contacts -  in modern and ancient times. This work includes drawing isoglosses of various characteristics, specifying  boundaries of areas, clarifying reasons for the areal spread of language phenomena (substrate, prolonged contact, parallel development, etc.). In a number of diachronic studies, consider, among other things, possible influence of linguistic contacts, in order to confirm or refute hypotheses about the areal-typological features of specific languages and dialects.

Research is being conducted on the following areas: Europe, Ingria, the Caucasus, Northern Siberia, the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Pamirs, Northern India, Alaska.

3. Linguistic typology 

We carry out studies on all linguistic levels: phonetics, morphology, syntax, discursive structure, typological and grammatical semantics. The linguistic diversity is studied, including problems of language classification. For a number of idioms, we try to solve the problem of "language vs. dialect". Complex typologically oriented descriptions of specific languages, as well as individual linguistic phenomena, are created. The database of semantic transitions in languages of the World is being developed. 

4. Language data documentation and indigenous language support

Language data documentation and creation of text corpora one of the traditional areas of work in our Department. Many of the employees have an experience of fieldwork. This area is very crucial because many languages are endangered today, and their number is constantly growing.

In this area, the issues of transcription and transliteration are also being developed. 

Support for indigenous languages is a new offshoot of the work. The program of preservation of the languages of the Russian Federation has been formulated.

Projects 

Ongoing projects 

• Encyclopedia "Languages of the World"
• Study of grammar and vocabulary of the Kullui language based on the corpus of oral texts
• Upper Kuskokwim Athabaskan grammar
• Alaskan Russian 
• Mapping of the languages 
• Grammatical variation in verbal systems
• Semantic and syntactic typology of the European area
• Studies in grammar theory
• Creation of practical transcriptions for the languages of the World
• Catalog of semantic transitions in the languages of the World
• Dynamics of language contacts in the circumpolar region

Completed projects

• Languages of Moscow (2016-2018)
• Language as it is: Russian multimodal discourse (2014-2019)
• Program of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences "Corpus linguistics" (2011–2014)

Open meetings of the Department

Since 2015, the department has held open meetings at which both department staff and invited speakers deliver scientific presentations. Since 2015 a number of talks were given also in English, including:

• 25 January, 2018: Johanna Nichols (USA) “The Northern Hemisphere as a linguistic area”.
• 20 March, 2018: Per Durst-Andersen (Copenhagen) “The choice between an objective and a subjective voice. Towards a communicative-based typology of mood and modality”.
• 29 June, 2018: Кate Bellamy (Leiden University) “The changing face of language contact in Purepecha (Mexico)”.
• 3 October, 2019: Nguyễn Văn Hiệp “The Institute of Linguistics (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences) as a specialized research institution and the language picture of ethnic minorities in Vietnam”.

See also 

• Section of Typology