We are happy to announce a talk by Gerd Carling (GU) in the Syntax Colloquium.
The talks will take place in person. Room NG 2.701
Date: November 27, 2023
Time: 4 pm – 6 pm ct
Title: “Perspectives on phylogenetic methods of syntax reconstruction: do they solve problems or create new ones?”
Abstract:
Perspectives on phylogenetic methods of syntax reconstruction: do they solve problems or create new ones?
Syntactic reconstruction has a long history in linguistic literature. Beginning with models based on the comparative method, developed by Neogrammarians in the late 19 th century, syntactic reconstruction continued to follow the development of different theoretical approaches of the 20th century. An important model of reconstruction emerged from the typological approach in the mid 20 th century, and more recent models have been using, e.g., construction grammar as a basis for reconstruction. The use of phylogenetic modelling is the most recent approach in this area. Here, the uncertainty of the status of syntactic features at earlier language states is computed probabilistically. The seminar will give an introduction and overview to comparative phylogenetic reconstruction: the advantages, the constraints, and the ways in which these models support or contradict earlier attempts towards reconstruction.
Carling, Gerd, and Chundra Cathcart. 2021a. Evolutionary dynamics of Indo-Eurpean alignment patterns. Diachronica 38(3): 358–412. doi: https://doi.org/10.1075/dia.19043.car
Carling, Gerd, and Chundra Cathcart. 2021b. Reconstructing the evolution of Indo-European grammar. Language 97(3): 561–598.
Jäger, Gerhard. 2019. Computational historical linguistics. Theoretical Linguistics 45 (3/4): 151–182. doi: 10.1515/tl-2019-0011