Toward a typology for additive markers

•Cross-linguistically, additives express not only pure additivity (also).•Common functions: even, topic switch, indefinites, concessives, NP coordination.•Some functions involve semantic scales and/or the expression of contrast.•Additives covering many core functions are mostly found in Eurasia.•Categorical and distance-based semantic maps for additives.

This study represents a typological investigation of additive markers that correspond to English too, also, and as well. It is cross-linguistically common for additives to fulfill a wide range of functions including, among others, scalar additivity, the marking of concessive clauses, indefinite pronouns, association with contrastive topics, and constituent coordination. Based on data from 42 languages from all over the world this paper proposes a list of functions that are commonly expressed by additives and provides explanations for how and why these functions relate to each other. The distribution of these functions and their connections are then interpreted by means of categorical and distance-based semantic maps.