Quantitative historical linguistics : a corpus framework

Quantitative historical linguistics : a corpus framework / Gard B. Jenset and Barbara McGillivray.

This book outlines a new framework for quantitatively assessing models and hypotheses in historical linguistics. It offers an in-depth explanation and discussion of the benefits of working with quantitative methods, corpus data, and corpus annotation, and the advantages of open and reproducible rese...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jenset, Gard B. (Author)
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2017.
Series:Oxford studies in diachronic and historical linguistics ; 26.
Oxford linguistics.
Subjects:
Historical linguistics.
historical linguistics.
LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES > Linguistics > General.
Historical linguistics
Online Access:Click for online access
Table of Contents:
  • Cover; Quantitative Historical Linguistics: A Corpus Framework; Copyright; Contents; Series preface; List of figures and tables; 1: Methodological challenges in historical linguistics; 1.1 Aims of this book; 1.2 Context and motivation; 1.2.1 Empirical methods; 1.2.2 Models in historical linguistics; 1.2.3 A new pace; 1.3 Main claims; 1.3.1 The example-based approach; 1.3.2 The importance of corpus annotation; 1.3.3 Problems with certain quantitative analyses; Letting numbers speak for themselves; Dealing with linguistic complexity; 1.3.4 Problems with the research process; New technologies
  • 1.3.5 Conceptual difficulties1.4 Can quantitative historical linguistics cross the chasm?; 1.4.1 Who uses new technology?; The innovators; The visionaries; The early majority; Thelatemajority; The sceptics; 1.4.2 One size does not fit all: the chasm; 1.4.3 Perils of the chasm; 1.5 A historical linguistics meta study; 1.5.1 An empirical baseline; 1.5.2 Quantitative historical research in 2012; 2: Foundations of the framework; 2.1 A new framework; 2.1.1 Scope; 2.1.2 Basic assumptions; The historical linguistic reality is lost; Philological and text-critical research is fundamental
  • Grammars and dictionaries are indispensableQualitative models; 2.1.3 Definitions; Evidence; Claim; Truth and probability; Historical corpus; Linguistic annotation scheme; Hypothesis; Model; Trend; 2.2 Principles; 2.2.1 Principle 1: Consensus; 2.2.2 Principle 2: Conclusions; 2.2.3 Principle 3: Almost any claim is possible; 2.2.4 Principle 4: Some claims are stronger than others; 2.2.5 Principle 5: Strong claims require strong evidence; 2.2.6 Principle 6: Possibly does not entail probably; 2.2.7 Principle 7:The weakest link; 2.2.8 Principle 8: Spell out quantities
  • 2.2.9 Principle 9: Trends should be modelled probabilistically2.2.10 Principle 10: Corpora are the prime source of quantitative evidence; 2.2.11 Principle 11: The crud factor; 2.2.12 Principle 12: Mind your stats; 2.3 Best practices and research infrastructure; 2.3.1 Divide and conquer: reproducible research; 2.3.2 Language resource standards and collaboration; 2.3.3 Reproducibility in historical linguistics research; Documentation; Sharing and publishing research objects; 2.3.4 Historical linguistics and other disciplines; 2.4 Data-driven historical linguistics
  • 2.4.1 Corpus-based, corpus-driven, and data-driven approaches2.4.2 Data-driven approaches outside linguistics; 2.4.3 Data and theory; Theory in data representation; Theoretical assumptions; Data and theoretical hypotheses; 2.4.4 Combining data and linguistic approaches; 3: Corpora and quantitative methods in historical linguistics; 3.1 Introduction; 3.2 Early experiments; 3.3 A bad case of glottochronology; 3.4 The advent of electronic corpora; 3.5 Return of the numbers; 3.6 What's in a number anyway?; 3.7 The case against numbers in historical linguistics

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