Linguistic typology meets register variation: Manner salience in English, French and Mandarin children’s storybooks and adult novels

This study investigates how linguistic typology and register variation jointly shape the expression of manner in motion events across English (satellite-framed), French (verb-framed), and Mandarin (hybrid). By analyzing children’s storybooks and adult novels, we examine the lexicalization patterns of manner verbs and alternative expressions of manner (AEMs) within Talmy’s (2000) typological framework and Slobin’s (2006) gradient model. Results reveal that register shifts amplify preexisting typological tendencies, yet the degree of amplification varies significantly. English, structurally flexible, demonstrates consistent richness in manner verb diversity and specificity across registers, with adult novels doubling verb types compared to children’s texts. French, constrained by verb-framed architecture, relies heavily on AEMs to compensate for limited path-verb flexibility, showing minimal lexical expansion. Mandarin exhibits hybrid adaptability: children’s texts favor basic verbs, while adult novels activate satellite-framed strategies, doubling manner verb types and increasing AEM usage. These findings challenge Talmy’s binary typology, advocating for a dynamic model that integrates structural constraints and register-specific adaptations. The study underscores the necessity of incorporating sociolinguistic variables into typological research.