Causatives and Causation is the first comprehensive study of causative constructions found in the world's languages. This important new research, based on a data base of more than 600 languages, not only investigates fully the richness and variety of causative types, but also presents an alternative perspective to the traditional typological approach. The new typology enables a better understanding of how the human mind cognizes causation and how this is reflected in language.

Causatives and Causation is also an important attempt to integrate language typology with diachrony by constructing a diachronic model of causative affixes on the basis of this new typology. Drawing on the theoretical insight of Role and Reference Grammar, this book provides a case study of the causative constructions in Korean, providing additional support for both the proposed new typology and the diachronic model.

It also examines the pragmatic foundations of causatives, an important but previously unexplored area of study. This book will be essential and stimulating reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students involved in language typology and universals, historical linguistics, language and cognition, and pragmatics and will be an invaluable reference book for professional linguists in both teaching and research.