Situational diversity and linguistic complexity

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Abstract

In this paper, I introduce a situational approach to the study of linguistic complexity. As opposed to most research on linguistic complexity, which has focused on the grammatical complexity of languages, I consider this topic from a situational perspective. I make two proposals. First, I claim that languages can vary in their situational diversity. Languages that have been adapted for a wider range of communicative contexts are more situationally complex than languages that have been adapted for a narrower range of communicative contexts. To support this claim, I consider examples of situational diversity from across a range of different languages and varieties of languages, drawing on empirical research from linguistics and anthropology. Second, I claim that situational diversity can help explain variation in grammatical complexity. I propose that increasing situational diversity in a language over time should lead to decreasing grammatical complexity. Furthermore, I argue that this trade-off between situational and grammatical complexity could explain how overall linguistic complexity could be maintained across languages and over time.
Original languageEnglish
Article number9
JournalLinguistics Vanguard
Volume0
Issue number0
Early online date7 Nov 2022
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 7 Nov 2022

Keywords

  • language complexity
  • language evolution
  • language variation and change
  • linguistic typology
  • register variation

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