Ksenia Shagal's dissertation deals with a relevant topic that has not so far been investigated in the way it is done here. While a lot of work has been done on clause linkage in general, as well as on converbs and relative clauses in particular, the category of `participle' (in the sense of an adnominal modifier) has not received the same amount of attention in typological studies. The study is comprehensive and detailed in its analyses, drawing out both overall tendencies and exceptions to tendencies. It presents new information to the field and is overall carefully executed, excellently organized and well-written, pointing out methodological challenges all the way through. The dissertation is based on an impressive set of 100 languages.
The Joseph Greenberg Award is presented by Association for Linguistic Typology.