Search

In this paper, we operationalize register differences at the intersection of formality and mode, and distinguish four broad register categories: spoken informal (conversations), spoken formal (parliamentary debates), written informal (blogs), and written formal (newspaper articles). We are specifically interested in the comparative probabilistic/variationist complexity of these registers – when speakers have grammatical choices, are the probabilistic grammars regulating these choices more or less complex in particular registers than in others? Based on multivariate modeling of richly annotated datasets covering three grammatical alternations in two languages (English and Dutch), we assess the complexity of probabilistic grammars by drawing on three criteria: (a) the number of constraints on variant choice, (b) the number of interactions between constraints, and (c) the relative importance of lexical conditioning. Analysis shows that contrary to theorizing in variationist sociolinguistics, probabilistic complexity differences between registers are not quantitatively simple: formal registers are consistently the most complex ones, while spoken registers are the least complex ones. The most complex register under study is written-formal quality newspaper writing. We submit that the complexity differentials we uncover are a function of acquisitional difficulty, of on-line processing limitations, and of normative pressures.

A probabilistic grammar approach to language assumes that grammatical knowledge has a probabilistic component and that this probabilistic knowledge of language is derived from language experience. It is assumed that the extent and nature of grammatical knowledge is reflected in language variation. In the present paper, the probabilistic variation patterns of the Estonian exterior locative cases and the corresponding postpositions are determined by exploring a large, manually annotated dataset of Estonian web texts. It is proposed that there are both similarities and differences in the morphosyntactic knowledge on the part of Estonian speakers as pertains to the three alternations: allative ~ peale ‘onto’, adessive ~ peal ‘on’, ablative ~ pealt ‘off’. The study points towards the stability and direction of the factors that have been found significant in the previous studies. Multivariate analysis of corpus data shows that the grammatical knowledge of Estonian exterior cases and the corresponding postpositions is probabilistic and regulated by both morphosyntactic and semantic factors. Kokkuvõte. Jane Klavan: Eesti keele väliskohakäänete ja kaassõnade peal, peale, pealt kasutus eestikeelses veebis. Tõenäosusliku grammatika raamistikus eeldatakse, et grammatiline teadmine hõlmab endas tõenäosuslikku komponenti ja et see tõenäosuslik komponent pärineb suures osas keele kasutuse kogemusest. Sellistelt põhimõtetelt lähtuvate uurimuste eesmärgiks on mõõta grammatilise teadmise ulatust ja olemust nagu see peegeldub keelelises varieeruvuses. Esitan suuremahulise korpusuurimuse eesti keele väliskohakäänete ja nendega rööpselt tarvitatavate kaassõnade (peale, peal, pealt) paralleelsest kasutusest eestikeelsetel veebilehtedel. Korpusandmete multifaktoriaalne analüüs näitab, et grammatiline teadmine sellest rööpsest kasutusest on tõenäosuslik ja et seda reguleerivad nii morfosüntaktilised kui semantilised tegurid.

Academic writing in the second half of the twentieth century witnesses a notable decrease in be-passives in British and American English (AmE). This trend is more advanced in the soft than in the hard sciences; with the exception of AmE, moreover, regional variation is not highly significant. This paper aims to discover whether the use of passives is conditioned by the same factors across seven different varieties of English (both as a first and as an institutionalized second language). For this purpose, we automatically retrieve central be-passives and active transitives from syntactically annotated International Corpus of English corpora and code for factors that are likely to play a role in the choice between active and passive (such as the semantics of the participant roles or the length of the constituents). Our results show that, while the same factors predict the choice of a passive over an active verb phrase across first- and second-language varieties, subtle differences are found in the effect size that some factors (animacy, givenness and length of passive subject) have, notably in Hong Kong and Philippine English. Some (but not all) of these find an explanation in substrate influence.

Inspired by work in comparative sociolinguistics and quantitative dialectometry, we sketch a corpus-based method (Variation-Based Distance & Similarity Modeling-VADIS for short) to rigorously quantify the similarity between varieties and dialects as a function of the correspondence of the ways in which language users choose between different ways of saying the same thing. To showcase the potential of the method, we present a case study that investigates three syntactic alternations in some nine international varieties of English. Key findings include that (a) probabilistic grammars are remarkably similar and stable across the varieties under study; (b) in many cases we see a cluster of "native" (a.k.a. Inner Circle) varieties, such as British English, whereas "non-native" (a.k.a. Outer Circle) varieties, such as Indian English, are a more heterogeneous group; and (c) coherence across alternations is less than perfect. ispartof: Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications vol:2 pages:1-14 ispartof: location:Switzerland status: Published online

This paper introduces a new resource designed to facilitate the quantitative investigation of syntactic variation in spoken language from a comparative perspective. The datasets comprise homogeneously annotated collections of “interchangeable” (i.e. competing) genitive and dative variants in four varieties of English: American English, British English, Canadian English, and New Zealand English. To showcase the empirical potential of the data source, we present a suggestive analysis that investigates the extent to which the probabilistic grammar of genitive and dative variant choice differs across varieties. The statistical analysis reveals that while there are a number of subtle probabilistic contrasts between the regional varieties under study, there is overall a striking degree of cross-varietal homogeneity. We conclude by outlining directions for future research. This article is part of the Special Collection: Probabilistic grammars: Syntactic variation in a comparative perspective

In this paper, I propose that Probabilistic Grammar may benefit from incorporating theoretical insights from Cognitive (Socio)Linguistics. I begin by introducing Cognitive Linguistics. Then, I propose a model of the domain-general cognitive constraints (markedness of coding, statistical preemption, and structural priming) that condition language (variation). Subsequently, three case studies are presented that test the predictions of this model on three distinct alternations in English and Spanish (variable agreement with existential 'haber', variable agreement with existential 'there be', and Spanish subject pronoun expression). For each case study, the model generates empirically correct predictions. I conclude that, with the support of Cognitive Sociolinguistics, Probabilistic Grammar may move beyond description towards explanation. This article is part of the special collection: Probabilistic grammars: Syntactic variation in a comparative perspective

We sketch a project that marries probabilistic grammar research to scholarship on World Englishes, thus synthesizing two previously rather disjoint lines of research into one unifying project with a coherent focus. This synthesis is hoped to advance usage-based theoretical linguistics by adopting a large-scale comparative and sociolinguistically responsible perspective on grammatical variation. To highlight the descriptive and theoretical benefits of the approach, we present case studies of three syntactic alternations (the particle placement, genitive, and dative alternations) in four varieties of English (British, Canadian, Indian, and Singapore), as represented in the International Corpus of English. We report that the varieties studied share a core probabilistic grammar which is, however, subject to indigenization at various degrees of subtlety, depending on the abstractness of the syntactic patterns studied.