Language complexity: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:45, 10 November 2020

Revision as of 06:07, 26 December 2020

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== History ==

Throughout the 19th century, differential complexity was taken for granted. The classical languages [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]], as well as [[Sanskrit]], were considered to possess qualities which could be achieved by the rising European [[national language]]s only through an elaboration that would give them the necessary structural and lexical complexity that would meet the requirements of an advanced civilization. At the same time, languages described as 'primitive' were naturally considered to reflect the simplicity of their speakers.<ref name="Joseph2012" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Arkadiev|first=Peter|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1197563838|title=The complexities of morphology|last2=Gardani|first2=Francesco|publisher=|others=|year=2020|isbn=978-0-19-260551-1|edition=|___location=Oxford|pages=1-2|oclc=1197563838}}</ref> On the other hand, [[Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel|Friedrich Schlegel]] noted that some nations "which appear to be at the very lowest grade of intellectual culture", such as [[Basque language|Basque]], [[Sámi languages|Sámi]] and some [[native American languages]], possess a striking degree of elaborateness.<ref name="Joseph2012" />

=== Equal complexity hypothesis ===

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| ___location = Oxford

| publisher = Oxford University Press

| pages =

| year = 2014

| isbn = 9780199685301}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=December 2016}} As to date, there have been research projects on language complexity, and several workshops for researchers have been organised by various universities.<ref name="Miestamo2008" />

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==Bibliography==

{{refbegin}}

*{{cite book | ref = harv | last = Miestamo | first = Matti | title = Language Complexity: Typology, Contact, Change | publisher = John Benjamins Publishing Company | ___location = Amsterdam | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-90-272-3104-8 }}

*{{cite book | ref = harv | last = Ristad | first = Eric | title = The Language Complexity Game | publisher = MIT Press | ___location = Cambridge | year = 1993 | isbn = 978-0-262-18147-1 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/languagecomplexi00rist }}

*{{cite book | ref = harv | last = Sweet | first = Henry | year = 1899 | title = The practical study of languages; a guide for teachers and learners | publisher = J. M. Dent & Co. | ___location = London | url = https://archive.org/details/practicalstudyof00swee | accessdateaccess-date = 2011-03-15 }}

*{{cite book | last = Sampson | first = Geoffrey | title = Language Complexity as an Evolving Variable | publisher = Oxford University Press | ___location = Oxford Oxfordshire | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-0-19-954522-3 }}

{{refend}}