Measuring language typicality, with special reference to the Americas
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Bernard Comrie
Abstract
The World Atlas of Language Structures provides a means of calculating the index of typicality of a language, as the average of the percentage of the world’s languages that share that language’s feature value for each feature. Concentrating on languages represented by at least 100 features gives a sample of 115 languages, including 29 indigenous languages of the Americas. While indigenous languages of the Americas occupy a broad range on the index of typicality, from positions 13 to 115 – in contrast to Indo-European languages of Europe, which all fall well within the bottom half of the range – there are some striking more local results, e.g., languages of interior Amazonia fall in the “very atypical” range of 107 to 115.
Abstract
The World Atlas of Language Structures provides a means of calculating the index of typicality of a language, as the average of the percentage of the world’s languages that share that language’s feature value for each feature. Concentrating on languages represented by at least 100 features gives a sample of 115 languages, including 29 indigenous languages of the Americas. While indigenous languages of the Americas occupy a broad range on the index of typicality, from positions 13 to 115 – in contrast to Indo-European languages of Europe, which all fall well within the bottom half of the range – there are some striking more local results, e.g., languages of interior Amazonia fall in the “very atypical” range of 107 to 115.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Language contact and change in the Americas 1
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Part I North America: California
- Yuki, Pomoan, Wintun, and Athabaskan 17
- The role of passives in the formation of hierarchical systems in Northern California 33
- Assessing the effects of language contact on Northeastern Pomo 67
- Synchronic and diachronic accounts of phonological features in Central Chumash languages 91
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Part II North America: Athabaskan, Iroquoian, and Uto-Aztecan
- Contact and semantic shift in extreme language endangerment 107
- “Excorporation” in a Dene (Athabaskan) language 139
- Contact and change in Oneida 167
- Huron/Wendat interactions with the Seneca language 189
- The usual suspects 219
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Part III Northern Mexico, Mesoamerica, and South America
- Language documentation and historical linguistics 249
- The Jakaltek Popti’ noun classifier system 273
- Language contact and word structure 297
- Auxiliation and typological shift 315
- Discourse pattern replication in South Conchucos Quechua and Andean Spanish 339
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Part IV The Americas and beyond
- Measuring language typicality, with special reference to the Americas 365
- Words for ‘dog’ as a diagnostic of language contact in the Americas 385
- Index 411
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Language contact and change in the Americas 1
-
Part I North America: California
- Yuki, Pomoan, Wintun, and Athabaskan 17
- The role of passives in the formation of hierarchical systems in Northern California 33
- Assessing the effects of language contact on Northeastern Pomo 67
- Synchronic and diachronic accounts of phonological features in Central Chumash languages 91
-
Part II North America: Athabaskan, Iroquoian, and Uto-Aztecan
- Contact and semantic shift in extreme language endangerment 107
- “Excorporation” in a Dene (Athabaskan) language 139
- Contact and change in Oneida 167
- Huron/Wendat interactions with the Seneca language 189
- The usual suspects 219
-
Part III Northern Mexico, Mesoamerica, and South America
- Language documentation and historical linguistics 249
- The Jakaltek Popti’ noun classifier system 273
- Language contact and word structure 297
- Auxiliation and typological shift 315
- Discourse pattern replication in South Conchucos Quechua and Andean Spanish 339
-
Part IV The Americas and beyond
- Measuring language typicality, with special reference to the Americas 365
- Words for ‘dog’ as a diagnostic of language contact in the Americas 385
- Index 411
