Linguistic Variation Yearbook

The Linguistic Variation Yearbook is devoted to the study of the nature and scope of linguistic variation from the point of view of a Minimalist program. This enterprise aims at expressing the results and insights attained in generative grammar in a principled way. It critically examines and severely constrains the technical and notational apparatus available within the theory of grammar. The study of linguistic variation has developed both on the level of variation among closely related languages (microvariation, dialectology) and of the level of variation within and among larger typological groups (macrovariation). Similarly, the study of synchronic and diachronic variation has likewise expanded, raising new tensions between explanatory and descriptive adequacy. The emphasis of the Yearbook is to relate the patterns of linguistic variation found among languages to the organization of the language faculty proper, taking into account its relations with other faculties of the mind/brain within the domain of Cognitive Science. It offers a forum for empirical and theoretical developments which further both our understanding of the nature of linguistic diversity and its preservation.

The Linguistic Variation Yearbook publishes annually a collection of (invited) articles on a theme that is current in and important to the research on linguistic variation within the generative framework.