DiscoverHistory and Philosophy of the Language SciencesPodcast episode 51: Martin Haspelmath
Podcast episode 51: Martin Haspelmath

Podcast episode 51: Martin Haspelmath

Update: 2025-10-31
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Description

In this interview, Martin Haspelmath talks about how he got started in linguistics, the rise of large-scale areal typology in the 1990s, language description vs language comparison, and the current state of the field.









<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized">Portrait of Martin Haseplmath<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo: Swen Reichhold/Uni Leipzig</figcaption></figure>



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Intro and outro: Bach, Cello Suite no. 1 in G major, Prelude. Recording from Wikipedia.





References for Episode 51





Dryer, M. S., et al. 2013. The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. München: Max Planck Digital Library. http://wals.info/





Haspelmath, M. 1993. A Grammar of Lezgian. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.





Haspelmath, M. 2010. Comparative concepts and descriptive categories in crosslinguistic studies. Language, 86(3), 663-687. http://dx.doi.org/10.1353/lan.2010.0021





Michaelis, S. M., Maurer, P., Haspelmath, M., & Huber, M., eds. 2013. The Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures Online. Leipzig: MPI für evolutionäre Anthropologie. http://apics-online.info

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Podcast episode 51: Martin Haspelmath

Podcast episode 51: Martin Haspelmath

James McElvenny