Language complexity: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 06:00, 8 November 2011

Revision as of 06:03, 8 November 2011

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Guy (1994)<ref>Jacques Guy, [http://wiw.org/~jkominek/lojban/9412/msg00214.html "Complexity in language"], originally posted at sci.lang 1994 Dec. 1.</ref> illustrates the point by comparing two [[Santo languages]] he has worked on that are about as closely related as French and Spanish, [[Tolomako language|Tolomako]] and [[Sakao language|Sakao]], both spoken in the village of [[Port-Olry]]. Since these languages are very similar to each other, and equally distant from English, he holds that neither is inherently biased as being seen as more easy or difficult by an English speaker.

;===Phonology===

Sakao has more, and more difficult, vowel distinctions than Tolomako:

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;===Morphology===

With [[Inalienable possession|inalienably possessed]] nouns, Tolomako inflections are consistently regular, whereas Sakao is full of irregular nouns:

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Here Tolomako "mouth" is invariably ''{{IPA|tsiɣo-}}'' and "hair" invariably ''{{IPA|βulu-}},'' whereas Sakao "mouth" is variably ''{{IPA|œsɨŋœ-, ɔsɨŋɔ-, œsœŋ-}}'' and "hair" variably ''{{IPA|uly-, ulœ-, nøl-}}.''

;===Syntax===

With [[deixis]], Tolomako has three degrees (here/this, there/that, yonder/yon), whereas Sakao has seven.