Creolization in the Divergence of Tibeto-Burman Languages

Abstract

One dimension along which language families differ considerably is in the range of typological variation across languages of the same stock. Indo-European, for example, shows dramatic divergence in word order patterning (contrast Irish, English, and Bengali) and inflectional complexity (contrast Russian and English). We have long been aware that typological divergence is often a result of contact with other languages: the typological consistency of Indic with the OV patterns of its South Asian neighbors, or the fact that within Finno-Ugric we find tendencies toward VO typology in Europe rather than Siberia, are hardly coincidental.