LINFER: inferring implications from the WALS database

In linguistic typology, implications typically emerge as a result of in-depth study of a few related linguistic parameters. Another way to find implications is to infer them from a typological database with a large number of variables. In this contribution, I discuss the LINFER computer program that was developed precisely for this goal. I have applied the program to the database on which the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS) is based, arguably one of the largest typological databases available. In this paper, I will report on some first findings. Further, I will show that around one in every 2000 value pairs from the WALS leads to an acceptable and potentially interesting implication. A simulation shows that this is 4 times as many as a purely random dataset of the same size would produce.