This book presents a wealth of information on some of the most interesting languages in the world, most of them little-known in the linguistics literature. The distinguished team of authors have each examined "valency-changing mechanisms" (phenomena including passives and causatives) in languages ranging from Amazonian Tariana to Alaskan Eskimo, from Australian Ngan'gityemerri to Tsez from the Caucasus. R. M. W. Dixon has also contributed a comprehensive chapter on causatives across the languages of the world. The volume will provide valuable insights both for formal theoreticians and for linguistic typologists.