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Cycle BCL - Cristina Guardiano

Phylogenetic reconstruction in syntax : the Parametric Comparison Method

jeudi 21 juin 2018 à 10h, salle 213

The Parametric Comparison Method (PCM) is a comparative procedure designed to investigate phylogenetic relationships between languages. It is based on the assumption that (syntactic) parameter theories may provide a radically new and mathematically reliable system or studying the historical evolution and classification of languages into families, and that the synchronic and the historical study of formal grammar can be ultimately related within a unified approach, made available precisely by the rise of parametric linguistics. In this talk, I will show that the PCM can be successfully used to attain historical adequacy : the fact that parametric classifications largely match the established families demonstrates the possibility of reconstructing history through syntactic parameters, which appear to carry a chronologically deep, statistically robust, and prevailingly vertical historical signal.

Cristina Guardiano

Dipartimento di Comunicazione ed Economia
Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia
Viale A. Allegri 9, 41121 Reggio Emilia, Italy

publié par Dijana Bojovic le