Earlier empirical studies on valency have looked at the phenomenon either in individual
languages or a small range of languages or have concerned themselves with only small subparts
of valency (e.g. transitivity ditransitive constructions) leaving a lacuna that the present
volume aims to fill by considering a wide range of valency phenomena across 30 languages from
different parts of the world. The individual-language studies each written by a specialist or
group of specialists on that language and covering both valency patterns and valency
alternations are based on a questionnaire (reproduced in the volume) and an on-line freely
accessible database thus guaranteeing comparability of cross-linguistic results. In addition
introductory chapters provide the background to the project and discuss its main
characteristics and selected results while a series of featured articles by leading scholars
who helped shape the field provide an outside perspective on the volume's approach. The volume
is essential reading for anyone interested in valency and argument structure irrespective of
theoretical persuasion and will serve as a model for future descriptive studies of valency in
individual languages.
