In recent years research on comparative typology has led to reveal regularities and to formulate new constraints upon variation for a broad range of phenomena. As the amount of typological research increased, a growing interest arose for the implications that findings in the typological field might have on second language acquisition.

Anna Giacalone Ramat: Introduction · Bernard Comrie: Typology and language acquisition: The case of relative clauses · Stephen Matthews and Virginia Yip: Relative clauses in early bilingual development: Transfer and universals · Giuliano Bernini: Learner varieties and language types: The case of indefinite pronouns in non-native Italian · Björn Hammarberg and Maria Koptjevskaja-Tamm: Adnominal possession: combining typological and second language perspectives · Anna Giacalone Ramat: Gerunds as optional categories in second language learning · Daniel Véronique: Iconicity and finiteness in the development of early grammar in French as L2 and in French-based creoles · Yasuhiro Shirai and Yumiko Nishi: Lexicalization of aspectual structures in English and Japanese · Henriëtte Hendricks: Using nouns for reference maintenance: A seeming contradiction in L2 discourse · Rosanna Sornicola: Cross-linguistic comparison and second language acquisition: An approach to Topic and Left-detachment constuctions from the perspective of spoken language · Mary Carroll and Christane von Stutterheim: Typology and information organisation: Perspective taking and language-specific effects in the construal of events · Stefania Giannini: Typological comparison and interlanguage phonology: maps or gaps between typology and language learning of sound systems?