Skip to main content
Presented to you through Paradigm Publishing Services

John Benjamins Publishing Company

Visit our Partner Page See all our books
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Language complexity and interlinguistic difficulty

Abstract

This paper explores the related but distinct issues of linguistic complexity and difficulty, as from the viewpoint of an adult learner. Language complexity is seen as an objective property of a system, which could in principle be computed mathematically, while difficulty is grounded in the particular person who experiences the difficulty, involving factors such as the linguistic categories present and the nature of their marking in the learner’s own language. This reasoning will be illustrated with one non-Austronesian language, Kuot, and its three Austronesian neighbours, Nalik, Notsi and Madak, of north-central New Ireland, Papua New Guinea.

Abstract

This paper explores the related but distinct issues of linguistic complexity and difficulty, as from the viewpoint of an adult learner. Language complexity is seen as an objective property of a system, which could in principle be computed mathematically, while difficulty is grounded in the particular person who experiences the difficulty, involving factors such as the linguistic categories present and the nature of their marking in the learner’s own language. This reasoning will be illustrated with one non-Austronesian language, Kuot, and its three Austronesian neighbours, Nalik, Notsi and Madak, of north-central New Ireland, Papua New Guinea.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction: The problem of language complexity vii
  4. I. Typology and theory
  5. Complexity in linguistic theory, language learning and language change 3
  6. Grammatical complexity in cross-linguistic perspective 23
  7. Complexity trade-offs between the subsystems of language 43
  8. Complexity trade-offs in core argument marking 67
  9. Assessing linguistic complexity 89
  10. How complex are isolating languages? 109
  11. Complexity in isolating languages: Lexical elaboration versus grammatical economy 133
  12. Grammatical resources and linguistic complexity: Sirionó as a language without NP coordination 153
  13. II. Contact and change
  14. Why does a language undress? Strange cases in Indonesia 167
  15. Morphological complexity as a parameter of linguistic typology: Hungarian as a contact language 191
  16. Language complexity and interlinguistic difficulty 217
  17. Complexity in nominal plural allomorphy: A contrastive survey of ten Germanic languages 243
  18. III. Creoles and pidgins
  19. The simplicity of creoles in a cross-linguistic perspective 265
  20. Complexity in numeral systems with an investigation into pidgins and creoles 287
  21. Explaining Kabuverdianu nominal plural formation 305
  22. Complexity and simplicity in minimal lexica: The lexicon of Chinook Jargon 321
  23. Index of languages 341
  24. Index of authors 345
  25. Index of subjects 349
Language Complexity
This chapter is in the book Language Complexity
https://doi.org/10.1075/slcs.94.14lin

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Introduction: The problem of language complexity vii
  4. I. Typology and theory
  5. Complexity in linguistic theory, language learning and language change 3
  6. Grammatical complexity in cross-linguistic perspective 23
  7. Complexity trade-offs between the subsystems of language 43
  8. Complexity trade-offs in core argument marking 67
  9. Assessing linguistic complexity 89
  10. How complex are isolating languages? 109
  11. Complexity in isolating languages: Lexical elaboration versus grammatical economy 133
  12. Grammatical resources and linguistic complexity: Sirionó as a language without NP coordination 153
  13. II. Contact and change
  14. Why does a language undress? Strange cases in Indonesia 167
  15. Morphological complexity as a parameter of linguistic typology: Hungarian as a contact language 191
  16. Language complexity and interlinguistic difficulty 217
  17. Complexity in nominal plural allomorphy: A contrastive survey of ten Germanic languages 243
  18. III. Creoles and pidgins
  19. The simplicity of creoles in a cross-linguistic perspective 265
  20. Complexity in numeral systems with an investigation into pidgins and creoles 287
  21. Explaining Kabuverdianu nominal plural formation 305
  22. Complexity and simplicity in minimal lexica: The lexicon of Chinook Jargon 321
  23. Index of languages 341
  24. Index of authors 345
  25. Index of subjects 349
Downloaded on 16.4.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1075/slcs.94.14lin/html
Scroll to top button