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Cognitive basis for word order universals: two case studies| title | Cognitive basis for word order universals: two case studies |
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| start_date | 2025/02/14 |
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| schedule | 14h30-16h30 |
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| online | yes |
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| location_info | sur zoom |
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| summary | Despite their striking diversity, human languages exhibit many typological tendencies (statistical universals). Explanations for the origin of typological tendencies vary. For example, some argue that cognitive factors play a role, while others argue that they are largely driven by accidents of history or language change. In this talk, I will present two series of artificial language learning experiments testing the cognitive basis for two word order tendencies: cross-category harmony and word order of numeral classifiers. Our results suggest that cognition plays different role in shaping these two tendencies. Specifically, in the first case, we observed a consistent learning bias, suggesting that the tendency is at least partly shaped by the feature of human cognitive systems. However, in the second case, we consistently observed a huge disparity between language learning and typology, suggesting that this tendency is more likely to be results of cognitive-external factors. |
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| responsibles | NC |
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Workflow history| from state (1) | to state | comment | date |
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| submitted | published | | 2025/02/10 13:05 UTC |
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