Los índices de relatividad, densidad y eficiencia informativa en las lenguasestudio de las correlaciones matemáticas entre palabras y fonemas

  1. Vercher García, Enrique J. 1
  2. Bullejos Lorenzo, Manuel 2
  1. 1 Universidad Complutense de Madrid, España
  2. 2 Universidad de Granada, España
Journal:
ELUA: Estudios de Lingüística. Universidad de Alicante

ISSN: 0212-7636,  2171-6692

Year of publication: 2022

Issue: 37

Pages: 23-66

Type: Article

DOI: 10.14198/ELUA.18583 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openRUA editor

More publications in: ELUA: Estudios de Lingüística. Universidad de Alicante

Abstract

This article compiles and analyses, in 459 world languages, the number of words (tokens) and the number of sounds and phonemes (token conventional phonemic units or TCPU) that these languages use to express the same information (the source text used in the main analysis of our study is, specifically, the first 10 articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). Additionally, it studies the mathematical correlations existing between tokens, token conventional phonemic units and informative content; correlations which result in the so-called index of informative relativity (coefficient resulting from dividing the number of tokens by the number of TCPU’s), index of informative density (coefficient resulting from dividing the number of TCPU’s by the number of tokens), lexical informative efficiency index (coefficient resulting from dividing 100 by the number of tokens) and phonetic informative efficiency index (coefficient resulting from dividing 100 by the number of TCPU’s). The objective of the analysis is to shed more light on the mathematical principles of language, the so-called economy of language and knowledge of the characteristics of different languages based on their morphological typology. The research is focused on analysing the relationship existing between these indices and the predominant morphological typology of each language. The result is a large quantity of data and statistics from which we draw a series of conclusions regarding the use of lexical and phonetic resources in languages: 1) the index of informative relativity and the index of informative density depend on the morphological type; 2) the total number of TCPUs used to express the same information does not depend on the morphological type; 3) the difference between the total number of TCPUs used by different languages may be very large; 4) the correlation between the number of tokens and average TCPU value per token has a negative linear relationship (that is, the larger the number of words, the shorter the lengths of words); 5) a larger number of total tokens used to express the same information corresponds to a larger number of total TCPUs (the greater the total number of words, the greater the total number of phonemes); 6) the so-called economy of language does not seem to work in the same way in all languages, at least with regard to use of resources (phonemes). The present article introduces the aforementioned indices as new factors of study and description of languages, as well as a series of study tools that could be applied in the future to other linguistic research.

Bibliographic References

  • Adone, D., Brück, M. A. y Gabel, A. (2018). Kot nou vire tourne nou tand li. Serial Verb Constructions at the Interface between Grammar and Culture: Case-Study Kreol Seselwa (Seychelles Creole). Quaderni di Linguistica e Studi Orientali, 4, 15-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.13128/ QULSO-2421-7220-23838
  • Aikhenvald, A. Y. (2000). Classifiers: A typology of noun categorization devices. Oxford University Press.
  • Ainsworth, Z. (2018). The Veps Illative: The Applicability of an Abstractive Approach to an Agglutinative Language. Transactions of the Philological Society. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467- 968X.12142
  • Anderson, J. D. (1895). A Collection of Kachári Folk-Tales and Rhymes. Assam Secretariat Printing Office (online en The Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org/files/53506/53506-h/53506-h. htm).
  • Anderson, S. C. (2015). A Phonological Sketch of Lamnso’. SIL. https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/16/87/00/16870014076648162723540523929249624288/LamnsoPhonologySketch2015A4.pdf.
  • Aronoff, M. y Fudeman, K. (2005). What is morphology? Blackwell.
  • Berg, A., Pretorius, R. y Pretorius, L. (2012). Exploring the Treatment of Selected Typological characteristics of Tswana in LFG. En M. Butt y T. Holloway King (eds.). Proceedings of the LFG12 Conference. http://web.stanford.edu/group/cslipublications/cslipublications/LFG/17/ papers/lfg12bergetal.pdf.
  • Beshears, A. (2017). The Demonstrative Nature of the Hindi/Marwari Correlative [tesis doctoral, Queen Mary University of London]. https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/13/53/97/135397489734230802427407731441106180531/Beshears_A_PhD_131017.pdf. Bhosale, G., Kembhavi, S., Amberkar, A., Mhatre, S. y Popale, L. (2011). Processing of Kridanta (Participle) in Marathi. En Proceedings of ICON-2011: 9th International Conference on Natural Language Processing. Macmillan Publishers. https://www.cse.iitb.ac.in/~pb/papers/icon11- marathi-kridant.pdf.
  • Biggs, B. (1960). Morphology-Syntax in a Polynesian Language. The Journal of the Polynesian Society, 69 (4), 376-379. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20703854?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
  • Borchers, D. (2008). A Grammar of Sunwar: Descriptive Grammar, Paradigms, Texts and Glossary. BRILL.
  • Brassett, C., Brassett, P. y Lu, M. (2006). The Tujia language. Lincom Europa.
  • Cope, A. T. (1966). Zulu Phonology, Tonology and Tonal Grammar [tesis doctoral, University of Natal] https://researchspace.ukzn.ac.za/handle/10413/3320 Coupe, A. R. (2007). A Grammar of Mongsen Ao. De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110198522
  • Creissels, D. (2019). Morphology in Niger-Congo Languages. En The Oxford Encyclopedia of Morphology. http://www.deniscreissels.fr/public/Creissels-morphNC.pdf. https://doi.org/10.1093/ acrefore/9780199384655.013.535
  • Damonte, F. (2005). The Mirror Principle and the Order of Verbal Extensions: Evidence from Pular. En G. Booij et al. (eds.). On-line Proceedings of the Fifth Mediterranean Morphology Meeting (pp. 337-358). University of Bologna.
  • DeLancey, S. (2011). On the Origins of Sinitic. En Z. Jing-Schmidt (ed.). Proceedings of the 23rd North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics, (vol.1., pp. 51-64). University of Oregon.
  • Driem, G. van (1987). A Grammar of Limbu. Mouton De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110846812
  • Ferguson, C. A. (1982). Simplified registers and linguistic theory. En L. K. Obler y L. Menn (ed.). Exceptional Language and Linguistics (pp. 49-66). Academic Press.
  • Gelderen, E. van (2016). Cyclical Change Continued. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/la.227
  • Genetti, C. (2004). Tibeto-Burman languages of Nepal: Manange and Sherpa. Pacific Linguistics-The Australian National University.
  • Gerner, M. (2013). A Grammar of Nuosu. Mouton De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110308679
  • Gilley, L. (2004). Morphophonemic Orthographies in Fusional Languages: The Cases of Dinka and Shilluk. University of KhartoumSIL International.
  • Good, J. (2012). How to become a “Kwa” noun. Morphology, 22(2), 1-37. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11525-011-9197-2
  • Greenberg, J. H. (1954). A Quantitative Approach to the Morphological Typology of Languages. En R. F. Spencer (ed.). Method and Perspective in Anthopology: Paper in Honor of Wilson D. Wallis (pp. 192-220). University of Minnesota Press.
  • Greksáková, Z. (2018). Tetun in Timor-Leste: The Role of Language Contact in its Development. [Tesis doctoral, Universidade de Coimbra]. https://estudogeral.uc.pt/handle/10316/80665
  • Hale, A. y Sresthacharya, I. (1972). Toward a revision of Hale’s roman Newari orthography. Kathmandu: Summer Institute of Linguistics (disponible online https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/36851).
  • Hardman, M. J., Vásquez, J., Yapita, J. de D., et al. (2001). Aymara: Compendio de estructura fonológica y gramatical. Instituto de Lengua y Cultura Aymara. https://fhcevirtual.umsa.bo/ btecavirtual/?q=node/166
  • Hari, A. M. (2010). Yohlmo Grammar Sketch. Tribhuvan University.
  • Haspelmath, M., Dryer, M., Gil, D. y Comrie, B. (2005). The World Atlas of Language Structures. Oxford University Press.
  • Haspelmath, M. y Michaelis, S. M. (2017). Analytic and synthetic: Typological change in varieties of European languages. En I. Buchstaller y B. Siebenhaar (eds.). Language Variation European Perspectives VI: Selected papers from the 8th International Conference on Language Variation in Europe (ICLaVE 8), Leipzig 2015. John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/silv.19.01has
  • Heine, B. y Nurse, D. (2008). A linguistic geography of Africa. Cambridge University Press. https:// doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486272 Jitwiriyanon, S. (2019). Ban Pa La-U Sgaw Karen Tones: an Analysis of Semitones, Quadratic Trendlines and Coefficients. En RGJ Seminar Series LXXXII on Southeast Asian Linguistics (pp. 60-77). Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia at Mahidol University.
  • Kilarski, M. (2013). Nominal Classification: A History of its Study from the Classical Period to the Present. John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/sihols.121
  • King, D. (2010). Voice and Valence-Altering Operations in Falam Chin: A Role and Reference Grammar Approach [Tesis doctoral, The University of Texas at Arlington] http://www.tibetoburman.net/files/King_2010_Voice_and_valence-altering_operations_in_Falam_Chin.pdf.
  • King, J. T. (2008). A grammar of Dhimal [Tesis doctoral, Leiden University]. https://openaccess. leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/13072/Kopie%20van%20Dhimal%20Grammar. pdf?sequence=1
  • Konnerth, L., Morey, S., Sarmah, P. y Amos, T. (2015). North East Indian Linguistics 7. The Australian National University. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/156698443.pdf.
  • Kornai, A. (2001). Mathematical Linguistics. Springer-Verlag https://eprints.sztaki.hu/7913/1/ Kornai_1762289_ny.pdf
  • Krishan, S. (2001). A Sketch of Raji Grammar. 国立民族学博物館調査報告, 19, 449-497. http://doi. org/10.15021/00002153
  • Laboratorio de Lengua y Cultura Víctor Franco (2019). Jñatjo (mazahua). Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social.
  • Launey, M. (1992). Introducción a la lengua y a la literatura Náhuatl. Universidad nacional autónoma de México.
  • Lee, S.-W. (2011). Eastern Tamang Grammar Sketch [Trabajo de fin de máster, Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics]. https://www.sil.org/resources/archives/42567.
  • Leufkens, S. (2011). Kharia: A transparent language. Linguistics in Amsterdam, 4, 75-95. https://www. researchgate.net/publication/241888149_Kharia_a_transparent_language.
  • Mandelbrot, B. (1961). On the theory of word frequencies and on relatedmarkovian models of discourse. En R. Jakobson (ed.). Structure of language and its mathematical aspects (pp. 190- 219). American Mathematical Society. https://doi.org/10.1090/psapm/012/9970
  • Manson, K. (2003). Karenic Language Relationships: A Lexical and Phonological Analysis. Payap University. https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/76/92/97/76929773418782758038670312229278361244/ Manson_2003___Karen_lg_relationships.pdf. https://doi.org/10.1024/0369-8394.92.3.97
  • Martinet, A. (1955). Économie des changements phonétiques. Traité de phonologie diachronique. Éditions A. Francke.
  • Martinet, A. (1987). Sintaxis general. Gredos.
  • Martinet, A. (1993). Función y dinámica de las lenguas. Gredos.
  • Mchombo, S. (2004). The Syntax of Chichewa. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511486302
  • Mensah, E. O. (2010). On Efik Prefixing Morphology. The Buckingham Journal of Language and Linguistics, 3, 187-203. https://doi.org/10.5750/bjll.v3i0.31
  • Michaud, A. (2012). The Complex Tones of East/Southeast Asian Languages: Current Challenges for Typology and Modelling. Third International Symposium on Tonal Aspects of Languages (TAL2012), Nanjing, China, 2012, pp. 1-7. HAL Id: halshs-00676251. https://halshs.archivesouvertes.fr/halshs-00676251.
  • Micheli, I. (2018). Grammatical Sketch and Short Vocabulary of the Ogiek Language of Mariashoni. Università di Trieste.
  • Mihas, E. (2010). Essentials of Ashéninka Perené Grammar [Tesis doctoral, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee]. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/50198629_ESSENTIALS_OF_ ASHENINKA_PERENE_GRAMMAR.
  • Mnguhenen Sokpo, R. (2016). An Autosegmental Analysis of Tiv Phonology [Tesis doctoral, Benue State University] https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.424.286&rep=rep1 &type=pdf
  • Moran, S. y McCloy, D. (2019). PHOIBLE 2.0. Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History. http://phoible.org (21-10-2019).
  • Moreno Cabrera, J. C. (2003). Síntesis y análisis en las lenguas. Crítica de la morfología clásica y de algunas de sus aplicaciones sincrónicas y diacrónicas. Estudios de Lingüística de la Universidad de Alicante, 17, 465-504. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/16359747.pdf
  • Moreno Cabrera, J. C. (1997). Introducción a la Lingüística. Enfoque tipológico y universalista. Síntesis.
  • Musumali, G. (2014). Zambezi Lunda and Zambezi Luvale. Phonological and Lexical Similarities. Series 1. Phonemic contrasts. Autoedición. https://www.academia.edu/39625196/series_1_ phonemic_contrasts_of_lunda_and_luvale.
  • Mutaka, N. M. (2007). Kinande: A Grammar Sketch (Version 1.0). Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-Afranaph Project.
  • Naula Guacho, J. y Burns, D. D. (1975). Bosquejo gramatical del quichua de Chimborazo. Universidad Central del Ecuador.
  • Nchare, A. L. (2012). The Grammar of Shupamem. New York University. ling.auf.net/lingbuzz/001441/ current.pdf.
  • Ndze, W. F. (2015). A Comparative Morphological Analysis of Lamnsó and the English Compound Words. Ahmadu Bello University.
  • Nurse, D. (2007). Did the Proto-Bantu verb have a Synthetic or an Analytic Structure? SOAS Working Papers in Linguistics, 15, 239-256. https://www.soas.ac.uk/linguistics/research/workingpapers/ volume-15/file37812.pdf.
  • Osada, T. (2008). Mundari. En D.S. Anderson (ed.). The Munda Languages (pp. 99-164). Routledge.
  • Overall, S. E. (2007). A Grammar of Aguaruna. Research Centre for Linguistic Typology-La Trobe University.
  • Owen-Smith, T. (2014). Grammatical Relations in Tamang, a Tibeto-Burman Language of Nepal [Tesis doctoral, University of London] https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/23664/1/Owen-Smith_4167.pdf.
  • Paster, M. (2010). The Verbal Morphology and Phonology of Asante Twi. Studies in African Linguistics, 39(1), 77-120. https://doi.org/10.32473/sal.v39i1.107285
  • Paudyal, K. P. (2013). A Grammar of Chitoniya Tharu [Tesis doctoral, Tribhuvan University]. http://202.45.147.21:8080/jspui/bitstream/123456789/297/1/75.%20Krishna%20Prasad%20 Paudyal.pdf.
  • Passy, P. (1890). Etude sur les changements phonétiques et leurs caractères généraux. Firmin-Didot.
  • Payne, D. L. (1974). Nasality in Aguaruna. The University of Texas at Arlington.
  • Peirce, C. S. S. (1906). Prolegomena to an Apology for Pragmaticism. The Monist, 16, 492-546. https://doi.org/10.5840/monist190616436
  • Peterson, J. (2010). Kharia Texts. Glossed, translated and annotated by John Peterson. Autoedición. https://pure.mpg.de/rest/items/item_402190_2/component/file_679587/content.
  • Phillips, A. (1999). Western Thailand Pwo Karen Text Collection. Thammasat University-Summer Institut of Linguistics.
  • Plaisier, H. (1968). A Grammar of Lepcha [Tesis doctoral, Universidad de Leiden]. https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/handle/1887/4379
  • Poeta, T. (2016). Reference to objects in Makhuwa and Swahili discourse. University of London. https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/26161/1/4437_Poeta.pdf.
  • Pokharel, M., Donohue, M. y Gautam, B. (AÑO). Kusunda linguistics. The Australian National University. http://kusunda.linguistics.anu.edu.au/index.php
  • Poletto, R. (1998). Topics in Runyankore Phonology [Tesis doctoral, The Ohio State University].
  • Provencher, C. (2012). A Morpho-Syntactic Analysis of Marshallese Determiner Phrases [Tesis doctoral, Université du Québec à Montréal]. https://archipel.uqam.ca/4685/1/M12379.pdf.
  • Rai, T. M. (2017). A Sociolinguistic Survey of Chamling: A Tibeto-Burman Language. Tribhuvan University. http://cdltu.edu.np/site/images/linsun/chamling.pdf.
  • Ramos, P. A. (2015). La fonología y morfología del zapoteco de San Pedro Mixtepec [Tesis doctoral, Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social]. http://repositorio.ciesas. edu.mx/bitstream/handle/123456789/399/D278.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
  • Regmi, D. R. y Regmi, A. (2011). A Sociolinguistic Survey of Bhujel: A Tibeto-Burman Language. Tribhuvan University. http://cdltu.edu.np/site/images/linsun/bhujel.pdf.
  • Rich, F. (1963). Arabela phonemes and high-level phonology. En Benjamin F. Elson (ed.). Studies in Peruvian Indian Languages: I (pp. 193-206). Summer Institute of Linguistics of the University of Oklahoma.
  • Ringmacher, M. (1989). Los modelos tipológicos y la descripción del Guaraní. Amerindia, 14. https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/268000650_Los_modelos_tipologicos_y_la_descripcion_del_ Guarani.
  • Romano, A. (2018). Preliminary Analysis of Ditammari Tonal Patterns. Studi e Ricerche, 3, 251-261.
  • Sapir, J. D. (1969). A Grammar of Diola-Fogny. Cambridge University Press.
  • Sayce, A. H. (1880 [2015]). Introduction to the Science of Language. Volume 2. Cambridge University Press.
  • Schackow, D. (2015). A grammar of Yakkha (Studies in Diversity Linguistics 7). Language Science Press-Freie Universität. https://doi.org/10.26530/OAPEN_603340
  • Schadeberg, T. C. (1982). Nasalization in Umbundu. Journal of African Languages and Linguistics, 4, 109-132. https://doi.org/10.1515/jall.1982.4.2.109
  • Sibanda, G. (2004). Verbal Phonology and Morphology of Ndebele [Tesis doctoral, University of California]. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6cf9w3j2.
  • Štekauer, P., Valera, S. y Kőrtvélyessy, L. (2012). Word-Formation in the World’s Languages: A Typological Survey. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/lity-2013-0022
  • Sweet, H. (1888). A history of English sounds from the earliest period. Clarendon Press.
  • Thurgood, G. y LaPolla, R. J. (2003). The Sino-Tibetan Languages. Routledge.
  • Turin, M. (2012). A grammar of the Thangmi language: with an ethnolinguistic introduction to the speakers and their culture. BRILL.
  • UNITED NATIONS, Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://readtiger.com/www.unicode.org/udhr/assemblies/full_all.html and https://www.ohchr.org/SP/UDHR/Pages/SearchByLang.aspx.
  • Vendryes, J. (1939). Parler par Èconomie. En Mélanges de linguistique offerts à Charles Bally (pp. 49-62). Université de Genève-Georg & Cie.
  • Vercher García, E. J. (2011). Estudio comparado de partículas modales en ruso y español. EAE Publishing.
  • Vercher García, E. J. (2019). El modelo estructural-funcional del sistema de clases de palabras. El caso de las partículas modales en la lengua española. Analecta Malacitana (AnMal Electrónica), 46, 111-130.
  • Vesalainen, O. (2016). A Grammar Sketch of Lhomi. SIL International. https://www.sil.org/system/files/reapdata/27/32/78/27327800011828341569489257185488473676/sillcdd_34.pdf.
  • Vuillermet, M. (2013). The grammar of fear in Ese’eja. Syntax Circle. University of California.
  • Vydrin, V. (2016). Tonal inflection in Mande languages: The cases of Bamana and Dan-Gwtaa. En E. Palancar y L. Jean Léo (eds.). Tone and Inflection: New facts and new perspectives (pp. 83-105). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110452754-005
  • Walls, T. (2015). Tsafiki: A Linguistic Analysis of the Ecuadorian Language. [Trabajo de fin de grado, University of Central Arkansas] https://www.academia.edu/12048805/Tsafiki_A_Linguistic_ Analysis_of_the_Ecuadorian_Language.
  • Welmers, W. E. (1952). Notes on the Structure of Bariba. Language, 28 (1), 82-103. https://doi. org/10.2307/409991
  • Wetzel, L. (2018). Types and Tokens. En E. N. Zalta (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2018 Edition). The Metaphysics Research Lab.
  • Wilde, C. P. (2008). A Sketch of the Phonology and Grammar of Rājbanshi. University of Helsinki https://helda.helsinki.fi/bitstream/handle/10138/19290/asketcho.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.
  • Wojtylak, K. (2017). Verbal classifiers in Murui (Witotoan) What are they? En International Workshop “Genders and classifiers in Amazonia and beyond”, 10 de agosto de 2017. https://www.academia. edu/34231601/Verbal_Classifiers.
  • Wozny, D. y Cassin, B. (dirs.) (2014). Les intraduisibles du patrimoine en Afrique subsaharienne. Demopolis. https://doi.org/10.4000/books.demopolis.515
  • Zariquiey Biondi, R. (2011). A grammar of Kashibo-Kakataibo [Tesis doctoral, La Trobe University]. http://etnolinguistica.wdfiles.com/local--files/tese%3Azariquiey-2011/zariquiey_biondi_2011.pdf.
  • Zerbian, S. (2007). A First Approach to Information Structuring in Xitsonga/Xichangana. SOAS Working Papers in Linguistics, 15, 65-78. https://www.soas.ac.uk/linguistics/research/workingpapers/ volume-15/file37800.pdf.
  • Zipf, G. K. (1949). Human Behavior and the Principle of Least Effort. Addison-Wesley Press.
Data source: Dialnet