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Title Language complexity : typology, contact, change / edited by Matti Miestamo, Kaius Sinnemäki, Fred Karlsson
Published Amsterdam ; Philadelphia : John Benjamins Pub. Co., ©2008

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Description 1 online resource (xiv, 356 pages) : illustrations
Series Studies in language companion series, 0165-7763 ; v. 94
Studies in language companion series ; v. 94. 0165-7763
Contents Complexity in linguistic theory, language learning and language change / Wouter Kusters -- Grammatical complexity in a cross-linguistic perspective / Matti Miestamo -- Complexity trade-offs between the subsystems of language / Gertraud Fenk-Oczlon & August Fenk -- Complexity trade-offs in core argument marking / Kaius Sinnemäki -- Assessing linguistic complexity / Patrick Juola -- How complex are isolating languages? / David Gil -- Complexity in isolating languages : lexical elaboration versus grammatical economy / Elizabeth M. Riddle -- Grammatical resources and linguistic complexity : Sirionó as a language without NP coordination / Östen Dahl -- Why does a language undress? strange cases in Indonesia / John McWhorter -- Morphological complexity as a parameter of linguistic typology : Hungarian as a contact language / Casper de Groot -- Language complexity and interlinguistic difficulty / Eva Lindström -- Complexity in nominal plural allomorphy / Antje Dammel & Sebastian Kürschner -- The simplicity of Creoles in a cross-linguistic perspective / Mikael Parkvall -- Complexity in numeral systems with an investigation into Pidgins and Creoles / Harald Hammarström -- Explaining Kabuverdianu nominal plural formation / Angela Bartens & Niclas Sandström -- Complexity and simplicity in minimal lexica : the lexicon of Chinook jargon / Päivi Juvonen
Summary I examine the ways the minimal lexicon of a pidgin language, Chinook Jargon, gains maximal efficiency when put into use in a contemporary fictional text. The paper first describes the lexicon used from a structural point of view. It then examines the use of multifunctional lexical items in comparison to English. The results of these studies show, that 1) there is no bound morphology (neither derivational nor inflectional) in the variety studied and, 2) there is much more multifunctionality in the pidgin text than in the English texts. Finally, it is argued that the results show that the lexico
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and indexes
Notes Print version record
Subject Typology (Linguistics)
Languages in contact.
Linguistic change.
Creole dialects.
Pidgin languages.
LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES -- Linguistics -- Historical & Comparative.
Creole dialects
Languages in contact
Linguistic change
Pidgin languages
Typology (Linguistics)
Form Electronic book
Author Miestamo, Matti, 1972-
Sinnemäki, Kaius.
Karlsson, Fred.
ISBN 9789027291356
9027291357
9789027231048
9027231044
1282276956
9781282276956