A simultaneous-equation regression model of language complexity trade-offs /

In this paper we develop a statistical model of language complexity trade-offs using four typological measures (related to phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon). The data come from the 100-language sample that appears in the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS), and the trade-offs are calc...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Coloma, Germán, 1965-
Format: Book
Language:Spanish
Published: Buenos Aires : Universidad del CEMA, 2016
Series:Serie documentos de trabajo (Universidad del CEMA) ; n. 597
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.ucema.edu.ar/publicaciones/download/documentos/597.pdf
Description
Summary:In this paper we develop a statistical model of language complexity trade-offs using four typological measures (related to phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon). The data come from the 100-language sample that appears in the World Atlas of Language Structures (WALS), and the trade-offs are calculated using different types of correlation coefficients. All those coefficients are statistically insignificant when they are computed using a standard (product-moment) methodology, but they become significant when we use simultaneous-equation regression methods, especially the ones based on seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) and three-stage least squares (3SLS). These results are related to ideas suggested in the theoretical literature, especially in the one about language as a complex adaptive system.
Physical Description:21 p.
Bibliography:Bibliografía: p. 15-16.
ISSN:1668-4575