Deriving the Wug-Shaped Curve: A Criterion for Assessing Formal Theories of Linguistic Variation

In this review, I assess a variety of constraint-based formal frameworks that can treat variable phenomena, such as well-formedness intuitions, outputs in free variation, and lexical frequency-matching. The idea behind this assessment is that data in gradient linguistics fall into natural mathematical patterns, which I call quantitative signatures. The key signatures treated here are the sigmoid curve, going from zero to one probability, and the wug-shaped curve, which combines two or more sigmoids. I argue that these signatures appear repeatedly in linguistics, and I adduce examples from phonology, syntax, semantics, sociolinguistics, phonetics, and language change. I suggest that the ability to generate these signatures is a trait that can help us choose between rival frameworks.

A diachronic explanation for cross-linguistic variation in the use of inverse-scope constructions

This study investigates the cross-linguistic variation in the use of inverse-scope constructions such as All that glitters is not gold for expressing "Not all X are Y" propositions. In particular, it seeks to explain why these constructions are in use and even common in some languages but lacking in others. It is argued that the cross-linguistic variation is explained by competition with alternative scope-transparent constructions, but only when the history of individual languages is taken into consideration. When a language develops a novel construction such as Not all that glitters is gold, which expresses scope relations transparently, it may take several centuries before this novel construction finally pushes a pre-existing inverse-scope construction out of use. In the meantime, inverse scope is used alongside its scope-transparent competitor. Thus, the universal bias for scope transparency has a weak synchronic effect, but it drives systematic historical developments across languages.

Translating authorial presence

Of increasing interest in cross-linguistic variation in academic discourse is the way in which writers use first-person pronouns (FPPs) to promote their agency. While research has shown that language specific socio-cultural, rhetorical and lexico-grammatical factors impact levels of self-concealment vs. self-promotion, less attention has been paid to the ways in which translated texts are sensitive to these discoursal traditions. We address this gap by analyzing frequency, rhetorical use, and grammatical form of FPPs in a corpus of research article (RA) abstracts in biology written by Russian and international researchers in two peer-reviewed bilingual journals. Three subcorpora were analyzed: (i) L1 Russian abstracts; (ii) the same abstracts translated into English; (iii) abstracts by international biologists in English from the same journals. The FPP tokens were identified and their frequency, rhetorical use, and forms were compared. The results show significant differences between the corpora which supports previous findings on cross-cultural variation in authorial presence in research genres. The results also suggest that the translation not only transfers L1 linguistic code but also adds a stronger emphasis on author agency. Implications for translating RAs into English as an exercise in linguistic, cognitive, and pragmatic equivalence as well as for accommodating discourse conventions of English as a lingua franca of science are explored.

From mommet to ugly: An analysis of the linguistic duality and idiolect of Tess Durbeyfield in the Spanish translations of Tess of the d’Urbervilles

The current study aims at critically exploring the resulting identity of Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ main character, Tess Durbeyfield, in the Spanish translations through the analysis of her linguistic variation. Throughout the novel, Tess is characterised by a unique duality in linguistic variation, which shapes her identity. She is capable of using both dialectal and non-dialectal marks, which differentiates her from the rest of the novel’s characters. To reach thus the goal of this research, that is, to verify whether Tess Durbeyfield’s multifaceted identity is maintained in the Spanish translations, it is essential to analyse the linguistic variation of the novel’s heroine in the target texts. For the project, the three Spanish translations that exist of the novel have been analysed (carried out in 1924, 1994 and 2017). In order to reach this aforementioned objective, the strategies carried out by the different translators regarding linguistic variation will be analysed, focusing on the possible identity distortion that these decisions may entail in the heroine’s characterization. In order to observe Tess Durbeyfield’s idiolect and linguistic variation, all dialogues from the novel and its corresponding translations have been analysed and classified. In the project, through selected dialogues, it will be observed whether the translation strategies regarding the heroine’s linguistic variation imply a reconfiguration of Tess’s identity in the target texts

MINUTELLA, Vincenza. (Re)Creating Language Identities in Animated Films. Dubbing Linguistic Variation. Switzerland, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, 424 pp., ISBN 978-3-030-56637-1

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Object and handling handshapes in 11 sign languages: towards a typology of the iconic use of the hands

This article looks at cross-linguistic variation in lexical iconicity, addressing the question of to what extent and how this variation is patterned. More than in spoken languages, iconicity is highly frequent in the lexicons of sign languages. It is also highly complex, in that often multiple motivated components jointly shape an iconic lexeme. Recent typological research on spoken languages finds tentative iconic patterning in a large number of basic lexical items, underlining once again the significance of iconicity for human language. The uncontested and widespread use of iconicity found in the lexicons of sign languages enables us to take typological research into lexical iconicity to the next level. Indeed, previous studies have shown cross-linguistic variation in: a) the use of embodying and handling handshapes in sign languages (mostly of European origin) and b) the frequency of space-based size depiction in African and European sign languages. The two types of variation may be interrelated, as handling handshapes may use space-based size depiction. In this study, we first replicate earlier studies on the distribution of embodying and handling handshapes, this time in a data set consisting of a relatively large set of sign languages (n = 11), most of which are used in Africa. The results confirm significant variation across these sign languages. These findings are then compared to the use of space-based size depiction, revealing that these patterns independently from the distribution of embodying/handling handshapes. We argue that the results call for expanding typological studies on representational strategies in iconic signs beyond the now relatively well studied instrument/manipulation alternation. Fine-grained analyses on a multitude of iconic features in signs are likely to reveal cross-linguistic variation in iconic tendencies in SL lexicons.

Perceptual mapping of linguistic variation in Saudi Arabic dialects

This article provides a perceptual dialectology account of linguistic diversity in Saudi Arabia. Using the map-drawing and labeling task, the study examined the perceptions and ideologies of 674 speakers of Saudi Arabic dialects about the perceived boundaries of regional dialect varieties, as well as their social evaluation of and beliefs about the dialects. The analysis of the results as displayed in composite maps using a Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping program revealed that respondents identified five major dialect areas as having the most distinct features: the Najdi, Hijazi, southern, eastern, and northern regions. Ten categories of respondents’ labels emerged out of the qualitative analysis: style, influence, Bedouin/urban, fast, open/closed, vowel lengthening, unique vocabulary, alternation of /k/ and /g/, attraction, and social media. The present findings show the salience of certain linguistic and social features that respondents associate with certain dialect areas. Such perceptions can ultimately guide and enhance future descriptions and analyses of actual linguistic variation in Saudi Arabia.

Correction by Focus: Cleft Constructions and the Cross-Linguistic Variation in Phonological Form

A challenging issue of cross-linguistic variation is that the same syntactic construction may appear in different arrays of contexts depending on language. For instance, cleft constructions appear with contrastive focus in English, but in a larger array of contexts in French. A part of the cross-linguistic variation may be due to prosodic differences, since prosodic possibilities determine the array of focus structures that can be mapped onto one and the same syntactic configuration. In the present study, we compare languages with flexible nuclear-accent placement (English, German), with languages that do not use this prosodic strategy (French, Mandarin Chinese). In a speech production experiment, we examine the prosodic realization of contrastive focus and identify prosodic reflexes of focus in all languages. The presence of different phonetic reflexes of focus suggests that – anything else being equal – the same syntactic constructions should be possible in the same array of contexts. In an acceptability study with written questionnaires, we examined the felicity of cleft constructions in contexts licensing a focus within the cleft clause. This focus structure is orthogonal to the preferred focus structure of cleft constructions and can appear in cases of second-occurrence foci (in contexts of correction). The obtained judgments reveal a distinction between languages with flexible nuclear-accent placement (English, German) and languages with other types of reflexes of focus (French, Chinese): languages of the former type have an advantage in using cleft constructions with a focus within the cleft clause, which shows that the array of contexts of using clefts in English and German is not a proper subset of the array of contexts applying to the same constructions in French and Chinese. The obtained differences can be explained by the role of prosodic devices and corroborate the view that prosodic reflexes of focus have different semantic-pragmatic import: it is easier to establish a focus structure that is orthogonal to the syntax in a language with flexible nuclear-accent placement (English, German); this does not hold for prosodic correlates of focus that reinforce the articulation of prosodic constituents (French) or the articulation of lexical tones (Chinese).