Abstract
In a study of word shortening of HAVE and contraction of BE, it is found that both high transitional probability and high average context probability (low informativity) result in reduction. Previous studies have found this effect for content words and this study extend the findings to function words. Average context probability is by construction type, showing that words are shorter in constructions with high average predictability, namely in perfect constructions for HAVE and in future and progressive constructions for BE. These findings show that in cases of grammaticalization, it is not an increase in frequency that results in reduction, but a decrease in informativity.
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Appendix
This appendix contains correlation tables for the numeric predictors in each model.
Correlations of numeric predictors in HAVE duration model.
| Preceding JP | Following TP | Speaker speech rate | Word position | Following informativity | Preceding informativity | Construction log frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preceding JP | 1 | ||||||
| Following TP | −0.024 | 1 | |||||
| Speaker speech Rate | 0.040 | −0.075 | 1 | ||||
| Word position | 0.140 | −0.003 | 0.019 | 1 | |||
| Following informativity | −0.159 | 0.572 | −0.056 | −0.010 | 1 | ||
| Preceding informativity | −0.140 | 0.559 | −0.049 | −0.006 | 0.980 | 1 | |
| Construction log frequency | 0.084 | −0.022 | 0.03 | 0.021 | −0.026 | 0.175 | 1 |
Correlations of numeric predictors in BE contraction model.
| Preceding JP | Following TP | Speaker speech rate | Word position | Following informativity | Preceding informativity | Construction log frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preceding JP | 1 | ||||||
| Following TP | 0.103 | 1 | |||||
| Speaker speech rate | 0.015 | 0.009 | 1 | ||||
| Word position | 0.199 | 0.073 | −0.015 | 1 | |||
| Following informativity | −0.023 | 0.268 | 0.000 | 0.011 | 1 | ||
| Preceding informativity | 0.033 | −0.066 | −0.003 | 0.018 | −0.35 | 1 | |
| Construction log frequency | −0.029 | 0.248 | 0.002 | 0.005 | 0.957 | −0.575 | 1 |
©2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial Note
- Editorial
- Phonetics & Phonology
- Antonym adjective pairs and prosodic iconicity: evidence from letter replications in an English blogger corpus
- Is there phonological feature priming?
- Automated tableau generation using SPOT (Syntax Prosody in Optimality Theory)
- The effect of prosodic focus varies by phrasal tones: the case of South Kyungsang Korean
- Morphology & Syntax
- A cross-linguistic perspective on the Right-Hand Head Rule: the rule and the exceptions
- Cross-linguistic evidence for cognitive universals in the noun phrase
- An introduction to Nanosyntax
- Nanosyntax and syncretism in multidimensional paradigms
- Psycholinguistics & Neurolinguistics
- Cross-linguistic influence in bilingual productions of the English past tense in Arabic heritage speakers of Australian English
- Sociolinguistics and Anthropological Linguistics
- TP-internal focus and dialectal variation: the case of the Focalizing Ser
- Language policy and language planning in mainland Southeast Asia: Myanmar and Lisu
- Computational & Corpus Linguistics
- Effects of average and specific context probability on reduction of function words BE and HAVE
- Studying variation in Romanian: deletion of the definite article -l in continuous speech
- Computational construction grammar for visual question answering
- Cognitive Linguistics
- Language and creativity: a Construction Grammar approach to linguistic creativity
Articles in the same Issue
- Editorial Note
- Editorial
- Phonetics & Phonology
- Antonym adjective pairs and prosodic iconicity: evidence from letter replications in an English blogger corpus
- Is there phonological feature priming?
- Automated tableau generation using SPOT (Syntax Prosody in Optimality Theory)
- The effect of prosodic focus varies by phrasal tones: the case of South Kyungsang Korean
- Morphology & Syntax
- A cross-linguistic perspective on the Right-Hand Head Rule: the rule and the exceptions
- Cross-linguistic evidence for cognitive universals in the noun phrase
- An introduction to Nanosyntax
- Nanosyntax and syncretism in multidimensional paradigms
- Psycholinguistics & Neurolinguistics
- Cross-linguistic influence in bilingual productions of the English past tense in Arabic heritage speakers of Australian English
- Sociolinguistics and Anthropological Linguistics
- TP-internal focus and dialectal variation: the case of the Focalizing Ser
- Language policy and language planning in mainland Southeast Asia: Myanmar and Lisu
- Computational & Corpus Linguistics
- Effects of average and specific context probability on reduction of function words BE and HAVE
- Studying variation in Romanian: deletion of the definite article -l in continuous speech
- Computational construction grammar for visual question answering
- Cognitive Linguistics
- Language and creativity: a Construction Grammar approach to linguistic creativity