Quantitative Indices for Typologizing Asian and African Languages

Authors

  • Вадим Борисович Касевич St. Petersburg State University, 7–9, Universitetskaya nab., St. Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation

Abstract

This paper gives an interim report on a study done by a team of researches where typological indices are computed for a sample of 15 languages of Asia and Africa (Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Swahili, etc.). The indices are partly the same as introduced by J.Greenberg (cf. also Kasevich & Yahontov, eds. 1982), partly new offered in this study (such as percentage of one-, two-, three-syllable words, number of deictic and anaphoric pronouns per clause, etc.). The main distinctions of this study prom its predecessors are two: first, the indices cover not just morphology but also syntax and, to some extent, semantics; second, the quantitative typological findings are used to explain certain regularities in speech perception and production (for ex., if ‘longer’ words are typical for a language, that fact has specific bearing on the type of strategies chosen by the language speakers in speech perception).

Keywords:

linguistic typology, quantitative approach, languages of Asia and Africa

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Published

2009-09-21

How to Cite

Касевич, В. Б. (2009). Quantitative Indices for Typologizing Asian and African Languages. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Asian and African Studies, (3), 123–142. Retrieved from https://aasjournal.spbu.ru/article/view/1716

Issue

No. 3 (2009): Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Series 13. Asian Studies. African Studies

Section

Linguistics

License

Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. Asian and African Studies" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.