Language In Complexity

Author : Geoffrey Sampson,David Gil,Peter Trudgill
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 328 pages
File Size : 50,7 Mb
Release : 2009-02-26
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780191567667

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Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable by Geoffrey Sampson,David Gil,Peter Trudgill Pdf

This book presents a challenge to the widely-held assumption that human languages are both similar and constant in their degree of complexity. For a hundred years or more the universal equality of languages has been a tenet of faith among most anthropologists and linguists. It has been frequently advanced as a corrective to the idea that some languages are at a later stage of evolution than others. It also appears to be an inevitable outcome of one of the central axioms of generative linguistic theory: that the mental architecture of language is fixed and is thus identical in all languages and that whereas genes evolve languages do not. Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable reopens the debate. Geoffrey Sampson's introductory chapter re-examines and clarifies the notion and theoretical importance of complexity in language, linguistics, cognitive science, and evolution. Eighteen distinguished scholars from all over the world then look at evidence gleaned from their own research in order to reconsider whether languages do or do not exhibit the same degrees and kinds of complexity. They examine data from a wide range of times and places. They consider the links between linguistic structure and social complexity and relate their findings to the causes and processes of language change. Their arguments are frequently controversial and provocative; their conclusions add up to an important challenge to conventional ideas about the nature of language. The authors write readably and accessibly with no recourse to unnecessary jargon. This fascinating book will appeal to all those interested in the interrelations between human nature, culture, and language.

Author : Matti Miestamo,Kaius Sinnemäki,Fred Karlsson
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 386 pages
File Size : 46,6 Mb
Release : 2008
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9027231044

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Language Complexity by Matti Miestamo,Kaius Sinnemäki,Fred Karlsson Pdf

Language complexity has recently attracted considerable attention from linguists of many different persuasions. This volume – a thematic selection of papers from the conference Approaches to Complexity in Language, held in Helsinki, August 2005 – is the first collection of articles devoted to the topic. The sixteen chapters of the volume approach the notion of language complexity from a variety of perspectives. The papers are divided into three thematic sections that reflect the central themes of the book: Typology and theory, Contact and change, Creoles and pidgins. The book is mainly intended for typologists, historical linguists, contact linguists and creolists, as well as all linguists interested in language complexity in general. As the first collective volume on a very topical theme, the book is expected to be of lasting interest to the linguistic community.

Author : G. Edward Barton,Robert C. Berwick,Eric Sven Ristad
Publisher : Bradford Books
Page : 350 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 1987
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 0262524058

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Computational Complexity and Natural Language by G. Edward Barton,Robert C. Berwick,Eric Sven Ristad Pdf

A nontechnical introduction to complexity theory: its strengths, its weaknesses, and how it can be used to study grammars.

Author : Eric Sven Ristad
Publisher : MIT Press
Page : 188 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 1993
Category : Computers
ISBN : 0262181479

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The Language Complexity Game by Eric Sven Ristad Pdf

This work elucidates the structure and complexity of human language in terms of the mathematics of information and computation. It strengthens Chomsky's early work on the mathematics of language, with the advantages of a better understanding of language and a more precise theory of structural complexity. Ristad argues that language is the process of constructing linguistic representations from the forms produced by other cognitive modules and that this process is NP-complete. This NP-completeness is defended with a phalanx of elegant and revealing proofs that rely only on the empirical facts of linguistic knowledge and on the uncontroverted assumption that these facts generalize in a reasonable manner. For this reason, these complexity results apply to all adequate linguistic theories and are the first to do so. Eric Sven Ristad is Assistant Professor of Computer Science at Princeton University. He is the coauthor of Computational Complexity and Natural Language. Contents:Foundation of the Investigation. Anaphora. Ellipsis. Phonology. Syntactic Agreement and Lexical Ambiguity. Philosophical Issues.

Author : Salikoko S. Mufwene,François Pellegrino,Christophe Coupé
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2017-03-30
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781107054370

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Complexity in Language by Salikoko S. Mufwene,François Pellegrino,Christophe Coupé Pdf

This book is about dynamical, social-interactional aspects of the emergence of complexity in language, explained by linguists, cognitivists, and modelers.

Author : Àngels Massip-Bonet,Gemma Bel-Enguix,Albert Bastardas-Boada
Publisher : Springer
Page : 331 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2019-01-11
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9783030045982

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Complexity Applications in Language and Communication Sciences by Àngels Massip-Bonet,Gemma Bel-Enguix,Albert Bastardas-Boada Pdf

This book offers insights on the study of natural language as a complex adaptive system. It discusses a new way to tackle the problem of language modeling, and provides clues on how the close relation between natural language and some biological structures can be very fruitful for science. The book examines the theoretical framework and then applies its main principles to various areas of linguistics. It discusses applications in language contact, language change, diachronic linguistics, and the potential enhancement of classical approaches to historical linguistics by means of new methodologies used in physics, biology, and agent systems theory. It shows how studying language evolution and change using computational simulations enables to integrate social structures in the evolution of language, and how this can give rise to a new way to approach sociolinguistics. Finally, it explores applications for discourse analysis, semantics and cognition.

Author : W.J. Savitch,E. Bach,W.E. Marsh,Gila Safran-Naveh
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 462 pages
File Size : 55,6 Mb
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Computers
ISBN : 9789400934016

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The Formal Complexity of Natural Language by W.J. Savitch,E. Bach,W.E. Marsh,Gila Safran-Naveh Pdf

Ever since Chomsky laid the framework for a mathematically formal theory of syntax, two classes of formal models have held wide appeal. The finite state model offered simplicity. At the opposite extreme numerous very powerful models, most notable transformational grammar, offered generality. As soon as this mathematical framework was laid, devastating arguments were given by Chomsky and others indicating that the finite state model was woefully inadequate for the syntax of natural language. In response, the completely general transformational grammar model was advanced as a suitable vehicle for capturing the description of natural language syntax. While transformational grammar seems likely to be adequate to the task, many researchers have advanced the argument that it is "too adequate. " A now classic result of Peters and Ritchie shows that the model of transformational grammar given in Chomsky's Aspects [IJ is powerful indeed. So powerful as to allow it to describe any recursively enumerable set. In other words it can describe the syntax of any language that is describable by any algorithmic process whatsoever. This situation led many researchers to reasses the claim that natural languages are included in the class of transformational grammar languages. The conclu sion that many reached is that the claim is void of content, since, in their view, it says little more than that natural language syntax is doable algo rithmically and, in the framework of modern linguistics, psychology or neuroscience, that is axiomatic.

Author : Bernd Kortmann,Benedikt Szmrecsanyi
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
Page : 270 pages
File Size : 46,9 Mb
Release : 2012-05-29
Category : Foreign Language Study
ISBN : 9783110229226

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Linguistic Complexity by Bernd Kortmann,Benedikt Szmrecsanyi Pdf

Linguistic complexity is one of the currently most hotly debated notions in linguistics. The essays in this volume reflect the intricacies of thinking about the complexity of languages and language varieties (here: of English) in three major contact-related fields of (and schools in) linguistics: creolistics, indigenization and nativization studies (i.e. in the realm of English linguistics, the “World Englishes” community), and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research: How can we adequately assess linguistic complexity? Should we be interested in absolute complexity or rather relative complexity? What is the extent to which language contact and/or (adult) language learning might lead to morphosyntactic simplification? The authors in this volume are all leading linguists in different areas of specialization, and they were asked to elaborate on those facets of linguistic complexity which are most relevant in their area of specialization, and/or which strike them as being most intriguing. The result is a collection of papers that is unique in bringing together leading representatives of three often disjunct fields of linguistic scholarship in which linguistic complexity is seen as a dynamic and inherently variable parameter.

Author : Lourdes Ortega,ZhaoHong Han
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 252 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2017-11-15
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027264961

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Complexity Theory and Language Development by Lourdes Ortega,ZhaoHong Han Pdf

This volume is both a state-of-the-art display of current thinking on second language development as a complex system. It is also a tribute to Diane Larsen-Freeman for her decades of intellectual leadership in the academic disciplines of applied linguistics and second language acquisition. The chapters therein range from theoretical expositions to methodological analyses, pedagogical proposals, and conceptual frameworks for future research. In a balanced and in-depth manner, the authors provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary understanding of second language development, with a wealth of insights that promise to break the status-quo of current research and take it to exciting new territory. The book will appeal to both seasoned and novice researchers in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, bilingualism, cognitive psychology, and education, as well as to practitioners in second or foreign language teaching of any language.

Author : Peter Robinson
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 358 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027207197

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Second Language Task Complexity by Peter Robinson Pdf

Understanding how task complexity affects second language learning, interaction and spoken and written performance is essential to informed decisions about task design and sequencing in TBLT programs. The chapters in this volume all examine evidence for claims of the Cognition Hypothesis that complex tasks should promote greater accuracy and complexity of speech and writing, as well as more interaction, and learning of information provided in the input to task performance, than simpler tasks. Implications are drawn concerning the basic pedagogic claim of the Cognition Hypothesis, that tasks should be sequenced for learners from simple to complex during syllabus design. Containing theoretical discussion of the Cognition Hypothesis, and cutting-edge empirical studies of the effects of task complexity on second language learning and performance, this book will be important reading for language teachers, graduate students and researchers in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, and cognitive and educational psychology.

Author : Martin Davis,Ron Sigal,Elaine J. Weyuker
Publisher : Academic Press
Page : 631 pages
File Size : 54,9 Mb
Release : 1994-02-03
Category : Computers
ISBN : 9780122063824

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Computability, Complexity, and Languages by Martin Davis,Ron Sigal,Elaine J. Weyuker Pdf

This introductory text covers the key areas of computer science, including recursive function theory, formal languages, and automata. Additions to the second edition include: extended exercise sets, which vary in difficulty; expanded section on recursion theory; new chapters on program verification and logic programming; updated references and examples throughout.

Author : Christiaan Wouter Kusters
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 432 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 2003
Category : Grammar, Comparative and general
ISBN : STANFORD:36105112532523

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Linguistic Complexity by Christiaan Wouter Kusters Pdf

Author : Nathanael Rudolph,Ali Fuad Selvi,Bedrettin Yazan
Publisher : Multilingual Matters
Page : 408 pages
File Size : 53,5 Mb
Release : 2020-08-07
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781788927444

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The Complexity of Identity and Interaction in Language Education by Nathanael Rudolph,Ali Fuad Selvi,Bedrettin Yazan Pdf

This book addresses two critical calls pertaining to language education. Firstly, for attention to be paid to the transdisciplinary nature and complexity of learner identity and interaction in the classroom and secondly, for the need to attend to conceptualizations of and approaches to manifestations of (in)equity in the sociohistorical contexts in which they occur. Collectively, the chapters envision classrooms and educational institutions as sites both shaping and shaped by larger (trans)communal negotiations of being and belonging, in which individuals affirm and/or problematize essentialized and idealized nativeness and community membership. The volume, comprised of chapters contributed by a diverse array of researcher-practitioners living, working and/or studying around the globe, is intended to inform, empower and inspire stakeholders in language education to explore, potentially reimagine, and ultimately critically and practically transform, the communities in which they live, work and/or study.

Author : Francesca Di Garbo , Bruno Olsson , Bernhard Wälchli
Publisher : Language Science Press
Page : 350 pages
File Size : 54,8 Mb
Release : 2024-05-22
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9783961101788

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Grammatical gender and linguistic complexity I by Francesca Di Garbo , Bruno Olsson , Bernhard Wälchli Pdf

The many facets of grammatical gender remain one of the most fruitful areas of linguistic research, and pose fascinating questions about the origins and development of complexity in language. The present work is a two-volume collection of 13 chapters on the topic of grammatical gender seen through the prism of linguistic complexity. The contributions discuss what counts as complex and/or simple in grammatical gender systems, whether the distribution of gender systems across the world’s languages relates to the language ecology and social history of speech communities. Contributors demonstrate how the complexity of gender systems can be studied synchronically, both in individual languages and over large cross-linguistic samples, and diachronically, by exploring how gender systems change over time. In addition to three chapters on the theoretical foundations of gender complexity, volume one contains six chapters on grammatical gender and complexity in individual languages and language families of Africa, New Guinea, and South Asia. This volume is complemented by volume two, which consists of three chapters providing diachronic and typological case studies, followed by a final chapter discussing old and new theoretical and empirical challenges in the study of the dynamics of gender complexity.

Author : John H. McWhorter
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter
Page : 353 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2011-06-30
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781934078402

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Linguistic Simplicity and Complexity by John H. McWhorter Pdf

In John McWhorter’s Defining Creole anthology of 2005, his collected articles conveyed the following theme: His hypothesis that creole languages are definable not just in the sociohistorical sense, but in the grammatical sense. His publications since the 1990s have argued that all languages of the world that lack a certain three traits together are creoles (i.e. born as pidgins a few hundred years ago and fleshed out into real languages). He also argued that in light of their pidgin birth, such languages are less grammatically complex than others, as the result of their recent birth as pidgins. These two claims have been highly controversial among creolists as well as other linguists. In this volume, Linguistic Simplicity and Complexity, McWhorter gathers articles he has written since then, in the wake of responses from a wide range of creolists and linguists. These articles represent a considerable divergence in direction from his earlier work.