Distributional biases in language families
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Balthasar Bickel
Abstract
This paper introduces a method (the Family Bias Method) that estimates statistical biases in diachronic developments on the basis of synchronic samples. Estimates of developments are sought from their expected synchronic results: if a structure S outnumbers non-S significantly in a family, a change toward S in this family was more likely than a change away from it – either because S was there in the protolanguage and then hardly ever got lost, or because S was not there and then it was was innovated early or often in the family. If structures are balanced in a family, no signal can be inferred: unless we know the protolanguage, diversification could have proceeded in any direction. Using extrapolation methods, signals for diachronic biases can also be estimated for isolates and small families, which represent over half of the known families. If most families show a bias, but there are as many biases toward S as against S worldwide, this suggests genealogical stability. If most biases are in the same direction, this suggests a diachronic universal or, if they are limited to certain geo-historical regions, areal trends or hotbed effects. Evidence for the theoretical assumptions of the Family Bias Method comes mainly from demonstrating that synchronic distributions in families cannot be successfully explained by alternative approaches, such as those assuming general stability indices.
Abstract
This paper introduces a method (the Family Bias Method) that estimates statistical biases in diachronic developments on the basis of synchronic samples. Estimates of developments are sought from their expected synchronic results: if a structure S outnumbers non-S significantly in a family, a change toward S in this family was more likely than a change away from it – either because S was there in the protolanguage and then hardly ever got lost, or because S was not there and then it was was innovated early or often in the family. If structures are balanced in a family, no signal can be inferred: unless we know the protolanguage, diversification could have proceeded in any direction. Using extrapolation methods, signals for diachronic biases can also be estimated for isolates and small families, which represent over half of the known families. If most families show a bias, but there are as many biases toward S as against S worldwide, this suggests genealogical stability. If most biases are in the same direction, this suggests a diachronic universal or, if they are limited to certain geo-historical regions, areal trends or hotbed effects. Evidence for the theoretical assumptions of the Family Bias Method comes mainly from demonstrating that synchronic distributions in families cannot be successfully explained by alternative approaches, such as those assuming general stability indices.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
-
Part I. Structures and typologies
- Discourse semantics and the form of the verb predicate in Karachay-Balkar 3
- Typology and channel of communication 47
- Marking versus indexing 69
- Head-marking languages and linguistic theory 91
- Lessons of variability in clause coordination 125
- Noun classes grow on trees 153
- Affecting valence in Khumi 171
- Capturing diversity in language acquisition research 195
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Part II. Distributions in time and space
- Who inherits what, when? 219
- Polysynthesis in the Arctic/Sub-Arctic 241
- A (micro-)accretion zone in a remnant zone? 265
- A history of Iroquoian gender marking 283
- The satem shift, Armenian siseṙn, and the early Indo-European of the Balkans 299
- Penultimate lengthening in Bantu 309
- Culture and the spread of Slavic 331
- The syntax and pragmatics of Tungusic revisited 357
- Some observations on typological features of hunter-gatherer languages 383
- Typologizing phonetic precursors to sound change 395
- Distributional biases in language families 415
- The morphology of imperatives in Lak 445
- Subgrouping in Tibeto-Burman 463
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Part III. A (cautionary) note on methodology
- Real data, contrived data, and the Yokuts Canon 477
- Language index 495
- Name index 499
- Subject index 505
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface vii
-
Part I. Structures and typologies
- Discourse semantics and the form of the verb predicate in Karachay-Balkar 3
- Typology and channel of communication 47
- Marking versus indexing 69
- Head-marking languages and linguistic theory 91
- Lessons of variability in clause coordination 125
- Noun classes grow on trees 153
- Affecting valence in Khumi 171
- Capturing diversity in language acquisition research 195
-
Part II. Distributions in time and space
- Who inherits what, when? 219
- Polysynthesis in the Arctic/Sub-Arctic 241
- A (micro-)accretion zone in a remnant zone? 265
- A history of Iroquoian gender marking 283
- The satem shift, Armenian siseṙn, and the early Indo-European of the Balkans 299
- Penultimate lengthening in Bantu 309
- Culture and the spread of Slavic 331
- The syntax and pragmatics of Tungusic revisited 357
- Some observations on typological features of hunter-gatherer languages 383
- Typologizing phonetic precursors to sound change 395
- Distributional biases in language families 415
- The morphology of imperatives in Lak 445
- Subgrouping in Tibeto-Burman 463
-
Part III. A (cautionary) note on methodology
- Real data, contrived data, and the Yokuts Canon 477
- Language index 495
- Name index 499
- Subject index 505
