This book investigates the cross-linguistic variation of parts of speech systems, specifically focusing on the grammatical markedness of adjectives. David Beck, a specialist in linguistic typology and North American indigenous languages, utilizes a broad sample of global languages to argue that adjectives occupy a distinct, often marked, position within the lexical hierarchies of human language. The work provides a formal framework for understanding how different languages categorize descriptive terms relative to nouns and verbs.

Linguists and typologists frequently cite this work as a rigorous examination of lexical categories that challenges traditional Indo-European-centric models of grammar. The text is noted for its dense academic prose and is considered a significant resource for researchers interested in the structural properties of adjectives.