Grammatical typology and frequency analysis: number availability and number use
Résumé
The Smith-Stark hierarchy, a version of the Animacy Hierarchy, offers a typology of the cross-linguistic availability of number. The hierarchy predicts that the availability of number is not arbitrary. For any language, if the expression of plural is available to a noun, it is available to any noun of a semantic category further to the left of the hierarchy. In this article we move one step further by showing that the structure of the hierarchy can be observed in a statistical model of number use in Russian. We also investigate three co-variates: plural preference, pluralia tantum and irregularity effects; these account for an item's behaviour being different than that solely expected from its animacy position.
Domaines
Linguistique
Fichier principal
Brown, Corbett, Fedden, Hippisley & Marriott. 2013. Grammatical typolog.pdf (125.77 Ko)
Télécharger le fichier
Origine : Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s)