Language Regard: Methods, Variation and Change. Edited by Evans, Betsy E.; Benson, Erica J.; Stanford, James N.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Pp. xxv + 304. ISBN 978-1-107-16280-8; ...$110 (ebk $88).
Les variations de la fréquence textuelle au cours du temps constituent l’observable privilégié d’une linguistique diachronique quantitative. Pour saisir ce que nous apprennent d’un changement ...linguistique les différents observables de fréquence (d’occurrence, des types, prévalence), nous étudions ici la construction en plein N et montrons, d’abord, que le motif empirique de la courbe en S permet d’identifier automatiquement deux phases dans l’établissement de la construction, ensuite, que l’une d’elles coïncide plutôt avec une diffusion sociale, l’autre à une expansion sémantique.
Resumen La presente contribución indaga en la difusión de los vocativos representativos del cheli en las décadas posteriores al auge contracultural, y más allá, en los factores subyacentes al cambio ...lingüístico micro-diacrónico. Más en concreto, se estudia empíricamente cómo se han propagado los vocativos contraculturales de mayor importancia en el paradigma cheli (p. ej. tío/-a ), en contraste con vocativos de significado y uso generales (p. ej. chico/-a ), en el español coloquial de los últimos cincuenta años, prestando especial atención a los cambios de productividad de las formas bajo análisis. Para ello, se recurre a la consulta de varios corpus orales, a saber, CORLEC (años 90), COLAm (años 2000), y CORMA (2016–2019), que recogen datos conversacionales de diferentes décadas. Estos datos se complementan con informaciones documentales y testimoniales. Los resultados sugieren que los rasgos semánticos y la fuerza expresiva de los vocativos juegan un papel primordial en su ruta de difusión hasta fechas recientes.
De wervelkolom van taalverandering Van de Velde, Freek; Piersoul, Jozefien; De Smet, Isabeau
Nederlandse taalkunde (Groningen),
10/2020, Letnik:
25, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The spine of language change In his contribution to the 2005 anniversary issue of the journal Nederlandse Taalkunde, Fred Weerman remarked on the famous S-curve underlying language change, and ...claimed that a good explanation for this pattern is still lacking. We pick up the thread and assess what 15 years of research have clarified about the nature of the curve. We look at two aspects: the onset of the curve (also known as the ‘actuation problem’), and the sigmoid trajectory (known as ‘propagation’). For the actuation problem, we highlight the role of external variables, notably the role of cities in what kind of changes are more likely to occur. Higher urbanization leads to morphological simplification. For the propagation, we investigate the underlying mathematics of the curve, and its conceptual motivation. We argue that the lesser-known probit function is conceptually more insightful than the commonly used logit function, and marginally outperforms the latter as well, when tested on real data. The difference is so small, however, that in actual practice, the logit function, which is mathematically simpler, may continue to be preferred
What is the explanation for vigorous variation between was and were in plural existential constructions, and what is the optimal tool for analyzing it? Previous studies of this phenomenon have used ...the variable rule program, a generalized linear model; however, recent developments in statistics have introduced new tools, including mixed-effects models, random forests, and conditional inference trees that may open additional possibilities for data exploration, analysis, and interpretation. In a step-by-step demonstration, we show how this well-known variable benefits from these complementary techniques. Mixed-effects models provide a principled way of assessing the importance of random-effect factors such as the individuals in the sample. Random forests provide information about the importance of predictors, whether factorial or continuous, and do so also for unbalanced designs with high multicollinearity, cases for which the family of linear models is less appropriate. Conditional inference trees straightforwardly visualize how multiple predictors operate in tandem. Taken together, the results confirm that polarity, distance from verb to plural element, and the nature of the DP are significant predictors. Ongoing linguistic change and social reallocation via morphologization are operational. Furthermore, the results make predictions that can be tested in future research. We conclude that variationist research can be substantially enriched by an expanded tool kit.
The evolution of language has developed into a large research field. Two questions are particularly relevant for this strand of research: firstly, how did the human capacity for language emerge? And ...secondly, which processes of cultural evolution are involved both in the evolution of human language from non-linguistic communication and in the continued evolution of human languages? Much research on language evolution that addresses these two questions is highly compatible with the usage-based approach to language pursued in cognitive linguistics. Focusing on key topics such as comparing human language and animal communication, experimental approaches to language evolution, and evolutionary dynamics in language, this Element gives an overview of the current state-of-the-art of language evolution research and discusses how cognitive linguistics and research on the evolution of language can cross-fertilise each other. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
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