Association for Linguistic Typology

Association for Linguistic Typology
Name	Association for Linguistic Typology
Founded	1991
Headquarters	University of Leipzig
Region served	Worldwide
Fields	Linguistics, typology, language documentation

Association for Linguistic Typology

The Association for Linguistic Typology is an international scholarly society dedicated to the comparative study of structural patterns across the world's languages. Founded by typologists and field linguists to promote cross-linguistic description, the association links researchers from institutions such as Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, University of Leipzig, University of Cambridge, and Stanford University and engages with broader communities connected to projects at SIL International, Interface, CNRS, and University of California, Berkeley.

History

The association emerged in the late 20th century amid debates involving figures associated with Joseph Greenberg-influenced typology, dialogues echoing work from Noam Chomsky critique contexts and comparative approaches of scholars like Joseph H. Greenberg, Morris Halle, Roman Jakobson, Edward Sapir, and Benjamin Lee Whorf. Early organizers included academics who had affiliations with Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, SOAS University of London, University of Oxford, Harvard University, Yale University, University of Toronto, University of Amsterdam, and University of Chicago. The institutional development of the association paralleled initiatives at Linguistic Society of America, European Linguistic Society, Association for Computational Linguistics, International Phonetic Association, and regional bodies such as Société de Linguistique de Paris and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sprachwissenschaft.

Mission and Activities

The association's mission emphasizes empirical cross-linguistic comparison, typological generalizations, and documentation, collaborating with projects tied to Endangered Languages Project, UNESCO, Digital Endangered Languages and Musics Archives Network, ELAR, and language revitalization efforts like those supported by National Science Foundation grants, Humboldt Foundation, and initiatives at Smithsonian Institution. Activities engage scholars from University of Melbourne, Australian National University, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, University of Queensland, University of Leiden, University of Warsaw, University of Stockholm, and research centers such as Leiden University Centre for Linguistics, MPI for Psycholinguistics, and Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

Publications

The association sponsors peer-reviewed outlets and special issues in journals associated with publishers like De Gruyter, Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Wiley-Blackwell, and Elsevier. It collaborates on edited volumes that place typological findings alongside work by contributors from MIT Press, Routledge, John Benjamins Publishing Company, Springer Nature, and series tied to Studies in Typology and Linguistic Theory and conference proceedings comparable to those of ACL Anthology and Proceedings of the International Congress of Linguists. Contributors have included scholars from University of California, Los Angeles, Columbia University, Brown University, Princeton University, Michigan State University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, University of Potsdam, University of Vienna, University of Zürich, and University of Bern.

Conferences and Workshops

The association organizes biennial conferences and satellite workshops in collaboration with universities and institutes such as University of Leiden, University of Konstanz, University of Cologne, University of Manchester, Trinity College Dublin, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, University of Barcelona, University of Lisbon, Universidade de São Paulo, University of Buenos Aires, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Seoul National University, Kyoto University, University of Tokyo, Australian National University, Monash University, and University of Auckland. Workshops frequently intersect with themes explored at meetings of Societas Linguistica Europaea, North American Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics, Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting, International Congress of Linguists, and specialized venues like Workshop on Structure and Constituency in Languages of the Americas.

Governance and Membership

Governance follows an elected council model with officers drawn from institutions comparable to University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, University of Pennsylvania, University of Maryland, Rutgers University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Indiana University Bloomington, and University of Kansas. Membership includes professors, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students affiliated with research bodies such as Max Planck Society, British Academy, European Research Council, Academy of Finland, and national academies like Royal Society, National Academy of Sciences, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and Austrian Science Fund.

Awards and Recognition

The association bestows prizes and recognitions for excellence in typological research, dissertation awards, and lifetime achievement honors in the spirit of accolades like the Berggruen Prize and awards given by Linguistic Society of America and British Academy. Award recipients have had careers involving institutions such as University of Chicago, Brown University, Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of California, Berkeley, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, SOAS University of London, University of California, Santa Barbara, and University of California, Davis.

Category:Linguistic societies Category:Linguistic typology