Language and Linguistics Compass最新文献

Conjoined comparisons, consisting of two clauses containing antonymous or positive-negative predicate pairs, are among the most common comparison construction types in the world's languages. As research on degree constructions from a cross-linguistic perspective has increased, so too has the number of studies focused on conjoined comparisons. Although the number of languages that have received in-depth treatment is still fairly small, this growing body of research has already uncovered important aspects of cross-linguistic variation, to the point where we can now begin to hypothesize about the typology of conjoined comparisons. This article summarizes these findings, and takes the first steps towards developing a typology of conjoined comparison constructions, taking into account not only differences between conjoined comparisons, but also the overall degree-behaviour of the languages. It will be emphasized that the existence of conjoined comparison is not diagnostic of the absence of degrees in a language more generally.

Past work on Mayan languages has divided the family into two groups based on syntactic ergativity: ‘high-absolutive’ languages in which objects raise to a position above the ergative subject and enter into Agree with a high probe and ‘low-absolutive’ languages in which objects remain low and enter into Agree with a low probe. This object raising approach has been proposed to correlate with a constellation of syntactic properties, related to Ā-extraction constraints, morpheme order, nonfinite embedding, and binding effects. This paper adds a third option to the typology based on data from a Northern Mam variety in which objects systematically fail to agree. Though it appears to fall outside of the established paradigm, I argue that this ‘no-absolutive’ syntax is also directly predicted by an object raising analysis which locates variation in the presence or absence of [EPP] and $��\phi �$-probe features on $��v�/�{\text{Voice}}^0�$. To support this, I show how no-absolutive Northern Mam patterns as we would expect across all previously proposed correlates of object raising. This paper functions as Part II to Royer and Coon 2025, also in this volume.

Variationist sociolinguistics possesses two powerful techniques for examining language change across time: real-time analyses, where the relative distribution of variants is compared for two or more different points in time, and apparent-time analysis, where different age groups in the same study are taken to represent different stages of change. While real and apparent-time are often thought of as conflicting methodologies, in reality they work best in tandem, and have been used together since the earliest sociolinguistic studies. The present study examines three case studies based on Yucatan Spanish, a regional variety of Mexican Spanish in contact with Yucatec Maya, that differs in important ways from surrounding dialects. Due to its unique sociolinguistic context, Yucatan Spanish presents an ideal location to study language change in progress, and the case studies detailed will demonstrate how real and apparent-time methods complement each other to provide a more complete picture of language change as it happens.

There are about a dozen well-recognised types of nonverbal clause constructions, but the terminology by which these subtypes are known varies widely. This paper gives an overview of the major types and defines each term carefully, from the perspective of general syntax. For a number of well-established concepts that have no corresponding well-established term, I propose novel terms. There are four major predicational types (classificational, attributional, predlocative and appertentive), and four major nonpredicational types (equational, existential, predpossessive and hyparctic).

Large Language Models (LLMs) have dramatically transformed the AI landscape. They can produce remarkable fluent text and exhibit a range of natural language understanding and generation capabilities. This article explores how LLMs might be used for sociolinguistic research and, conversely, how sociolinguistics can contribute to the development of LLMs. It argues that both areas of research will benefit from a thoughtful, engaging collaboration. Sociolinguists are not merely end users of LLMs; they have a crucial role to play in the development of LLMs.

This article originally published online on 28 September 2024 with incorrect spellings. The article has been since updated to comply with standard US English spelling.

Sound symbolism refers to associations between language sounds (i.e., phonemes) and particular properties (e.g., certain shapes). For example, phonemes like /m/ are associated with roundness, while phonemes like /k/ are associated with spikiness. In this paper I review the accumulating evidence that different instances of sound symbolism can be observed as patterns in real words in existing lexicons (e.g., /m/ occurring more frequently in words for round things). The properties examined include shape, size, texture, valence and arousal. Such effects are an instance of both iconicity (words whose forms resemble their meanings) and systematicity (largescale patterns in the forms of related words in a language). I also discuss open questions on the topic, including how such patterns emerge, and their effects on language processing.