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Learnable and unlearnable languages

Learnable and unlearnable languages. Kees Hengeveld. Introduction. Can a typologist contribute to the Learnability discussion? Can we distinguish between learnable and unlearnable languages? A methodological problem: unlearnable languages have not been attested

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Learnable and unlearnable languages

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  1. Learnable and unlearnable languages Kees Hengeveld

  2. Introduction • Can a typologist contribute to the Learnability discussion? • Can we distinguish between learnable and unlearnable languages? • A methodological problem: unlearnable languages have not been attested • The alternative: determining degrees of learnability • The implication: some languages are harder/easier to learn than others

  3. Introduction • Transparency as a crucial factor in language acquisition • Implicational relations between degrees of transparency can be uncovered through typological research • The resulting hierarchy helps to identify the most opaque/transparent features of language • and to identify the most opaque/ transparent language systems

  4. Contents 1. Transparency 2. Defining Transparency in FDG 3. Typology 4. Typology and acquisition 5. Implications for other fields of language study 6. Conclusions

  5. 1. Transparency

  6. Transparency Turkish el-ler-im-de hand-PL-1.SG.POSS-LOC ‘in my hands’ Mastered before the age of two

  7. Transparency Dutch de bal DEF.COMM ball(COMM) het paard DEF.NEUT horse(NEUT) Not completely mastered at the age of seven

  8. Transparency: overgeneralization Dutch ik koop-te < ik kocht I buy-PST.SG I buy.PST.SG ‘I bought’ Turkish overgeneralization impossible

  9. Transparency ≠ simplicity Turkish Koş-uş-tur-ul-a-ma-dı-y-sa-lar. run-RECIPR-CAUS-PASS-ABIL-NEG-PST.VIS-y-COND-PL ‘If they haven’t been made available for our service.’ Dutch verbal system with tense, number, person

  10. Transparency: Esperanto Design feature of Esperanto Esperanto La uson-a prezid-ant-o Bush pretend-is, ke Irako […] DEF USA-adj preside-PRES.PRTC-N Bush pretend-PST that Iraq ‘The US president Bush pretended that Iraq […]’

  11. 2. Defining transparency in FDG

  12. Frames, Lexemes, Primary operators Formulation Interpersonal Level Representational Level Templates, Auxiliaries, Secondary operators Morphosyntactic Encoding Morphosyntactic Level Prosodic patterns, Morphemes, Tertiary operators Phonological Encoding Phonological Level

  13. Interpersonal Level (π M1: [ Move (π A1: [ Discourse Act (π F1)Illocution (π P1)S Speaker (π P2)A Addressee (π C1: [ Communicated Content (π T1)Φ Ascriptive Subact (πR1)Φ Referential Subact ] (C1)Φ Communicated Content ] (A1)Φ Discourse Act ] (M1)) Move 

  14. Representational Level (π p1: Propositional Content (π ep1: Episode (π e1: State-of-Affairs [(π f1: [ Configurational Property (π f1) Lexical Property (π x1)Φ Individual ] (f1)) Configurational Property (e1)Φ]) State-of-Affairs (ep1)) Episode (p1)) Propositional Content

  15. Morphosyntactic Level (Le1: Linguistic Expression (Cl1: Clause (Xp1 : Phrase (Xw1 : Word (Xs1) Stem (Aff1) Affix (Xw1)) Word (Xp1)) Phrase (Cl1)) Clause (Le1)) Linguistic Expression

  16. Phonological Level (π U1: Utterance (π IP1: Intonational Phrase (π PP1: Phonological Phrase (π PW1: Phonological Word (π F1: Foot (π S1) Syllable (F1)) Foot (PW1)) Phonological Word (PP1)) Phonological Phrase (IP1)N Intonational Phrase (U1)) Utterance

  17. Frames, Lexemes, Primary operators Formulation Interpersonal Level Representational Level Templates, Auxiliaries, Secondary operators Morphosyntactic Encoding Morphosyntactic Level Prosodic patterns, Morphemes, Tertiary operators Phonological Encoding Phonological Level

  18. Relations between Levels Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level Phonological Level

  19. Relations between Levels Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level Phonological Level

  20. Relations between Levels Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level Phonological Level

  21. Relations between Levels Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level Phonological Level

  22. Relations within Levels Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level: Form X → Form Y Phonological Level

  23. Relations within Levels Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level Phonological Level: Form X → Form Y

  24. Relations between and within Levels Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level: Form X → Form Y Phonological Level: Form X → Form Y

  25. Interpersonal - Representational Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level Phonological Level

  26. No apposition One Interpersonal unit should map onto one representational unit Sri Lankan Malay Mr Sebastian aada, se aada kitham duuva arà-oomong. Mr Sebastian exist 1.SG exist 1.PL two NON.PAST-speak ‘You are here, I am here, the two of us are talking.’ Chickasaw Aboha anõ’k-akõ Danib-aa-binni’li-li-tok. house in-CONTR.NONSUBJ Dan COM-LOC-sit-1.SG.A-PST ‘I sat with Dan in the house.’

  27. Predication No limitations on which semantic units can be chosen as predicates Kharia Lebu ɖel=ki. man come=M.PST ‘The man came.’ Bhagwan lebu=ki ro ɖel=ki. God man=m.pst and come=m.pst ‘God became man [=Jesus] and came [to earth].’

  28. Interpersonal/Representational - Morphosyntactic Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level Phonological Level

  29. No grammatical relations Pragmatic/semantic alignment system Acehnese Lȏn teungöh=lȏn=jak. 1 M=1.A=go ‘I am going.’ Gopnyan galak=geuh that. 3.POL happy=3.POL.U very ‘He is very happy.’

  30. No discontinuity Pragmatic/semantic units map onto a single morphosyntactic unit English The guy who is going to fix my lock has arrived. The guy has arrived who is going to fix my lock.

  31. Function marking not sensitive to nature of input Phrase rather than head marking Nama ǁ’iĩp ke ‘áop=àkè ǂaí. 3.SG.M DECL man=ACC REM.PAST call ‘He called the man.’ Siíkxm ke kè ǁnàú ǁ’iíp kò !úu !xáis=à . 1.PL.M.DUDECL REM.PAST hear 3.SG.M REC.PAST go COMP=ACC ‘We heard that he had just left.’

  32. Interpersonal/Representational/Morphosyntactic - Phonological Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level Phonological Level

  33. Phonological and morphosyntactic phrasing run parallel Acehnese [Ureueng='nyan] [ka=geu=jak='woe] [ba'roe] person=DEM INCH=3=go=return yesterday ‘That person returned yesterday.’ Dutch [Ik] [[wou] [dat [hij] [kwam]]]. ['kʋɑu] ['dɑti] ['kʋɑm] I want.PST COMP he come.PST ‘I wish he would come.’

  34. Phonological Phonological weight does not influence position Spanish Lo=ví. 3.SG.ACC=see.PRF.PST.IND.3.SG ‘I saw him.’ Ví a tu vecino. see.PRF.PST.IND.3.SG OBJ 2.SG.POSS neighbour ‘I saw you neighbour.’

  35. Within the Morphosyntactic Level Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level: Form X → Form Y Phonological Level

  36. No expletive elements Tagalog Marami-ng pera. lot-LNK money ‘There is a lot of money.’ “A lot of money”

  37. No tense copying Amele Naus uqa ege [qila bele-q-an fo=ec] sisil-t-en. Naus he I today go-1.PL-FUT Q=NMLZ ask-1.SG/3.SG-REM.PST ‘Naus asked me whether we would go today.’

  38. No grammatical gender, declination, conjugation Spanish casa ‘house’ is arbitrarily assigned to the class of feminine nouns árbol ‘tree’ is arbitrarily assigned to the class of masculine nouns

  39. No agreement Spanish la-ø casa-ø viej-a-ø DEF.F-SG house(F)-SG old-F-SG ‘the old house’ el árbol-ø viej-o-ø DEF.M.SG tree(M)-SG old-M-SG ‘the old tree’

  40. No fusional morphology No stem alternation Wambon en- ande- na- eat(basic stem) eat(PAST/FUT/IMP.PL stem) eat(IMP.SG stem) No cumulation Spanish compr-é. buy-IND.PAST.PF.1.SG ‘(I) bought.’

  41. No phonological adaptation Interpersonal Level Representational Level Morphosyntactic Level Phonological Level: Form X → Form Y

  42. No phonological adaptation Quechua nasal assimilation: tayta-n=paq ‘father-3.POSS=PURP’ ‘for his father’ -> taytampaq Spanish diphtongization: dormir ‘sleep’ duerme ‘sleeps’ Dutch degemination: pakkans ‘chance to be caught’ -> pakans Turkish vowel harmony: gel-miș ‘come-RES’ gör-müș ‘see-RES’

  43. 3. Typology

  44. Sample Diu Indo-Portuguese (Leufkens 2010) Dutch Esperanto (Jansen fc.) Kharia (Leufkens fc.) Pichi (Leufkens 2010) Quechua (Grández Ávila fc.) Sri Lankan Malay (Nordhoff fc.)

  45. Two scales • Learnable/unlearnable languages • Learnable/unlearnable features

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