Grs LX 700 Language Acquisition and Linguistic Theory Week Transfer and the “initial state” for L2A. And other things

Typological universals

• 1960’s and 1970’s saw a lot of activity aimed at identifying language universals, properties of Language.

• Class of possible languages is smaller than you might think.

• If a language has one property (A), it will necessarily have another (B).

• +A+B, –A–B, –A+B but never +A–B.

(Typological) universals

• All languages have vowels.

• If a language has VSO as its basic word order, then it has prepositions (vs. postpositions).

Markedness

• Having duals implies having plurals

• Having plurals says nothing about having duals.

• Having duals is marked—infrequent, more complex. Having plurals is (relative to having duals) unmarked.

• Generally markedness is in terms of comparable dimensions, but you could also say that being VSO is marked relative to having prepositions.

Markedness

• “Markedness” actually has been used in a couple of different ways, although they share a common core.

• Marked: More unlikely, in some sense.

• Unmarked: More likely, in some sense.

• You have to “mark” something marked; unmarked is what you get if you don’t say anything extra.

“Unlikeliness”

• Typological / crosslinguistic infrequency.

• VOS word order is marked.

• More complex constructions.

• [ts] is more marked than [t].

• The non-default setting of a parameter.

• Non-null subjects?

• Language-specific/idiosyncratic features.

• Vs. UG/universal features…?

Berlin & Kay 1969: Color terms

• (On the boundaries of psychophysics, linguistics, anthropology, and with issues about its interpretation, but still…)

• Basic color terms across languages.

• It turns out that languages differ in how many color terms count as basic. (blueish, salmon-colored, crimson, blond, … are not basic).

Berlin & Kay 1969: Color terms

• The segmentation of experience by speech symbols is essentially arbitrary. The different sets of words for color in various languages are perhaps the best ready evidence for such essential arbitrariness. For example, in a high percentage of African languages, there are only three “color words,” corresponding to our white, black, red, which nevertheless divide up the entire spectrum. In the Tarahumara language of Mexico, there are five basic color words, and here “blue” and “green” are subsumed under a single term.

• Eugene Nida (1959)

Berlin & Kay 1969: Color terms

• Arabic (Lebanon)

• Bulgarian (Bulgaria)

• Catalan (Spain)

• Cantonese (China)

• Mandarin (China)

• English (US)

• Hebrew (Israel)

• Hungarian (Hungary)

• Ibibo (Nigeria)

• Indonesian (Indonesia)

Eleven possible basic color terms

• White, black, red, green, yellow, blue, brown, purple, pink, orange, gray.

• All languages contain term for white and black.

• Has 3 terms, contains a term for red.

• Has 4 terms, contains green or yellow.

• Has 5 terms, contains both green and yellow.

• Has 6 terms, contains blue.

• Has 7 terms, contains brown.

• Has 8 or more terms, chosen from {purple, pink, orange, gray}

Color hierarchy

• White, black

• Red

• Green, yellow

• Blue

• Brown

• Purple, pink, orange, gray

• Even assuming these 11 basic color terms, there should be 2048 possible sets—but only 22 (1%) are attested.

Color terms

• BW Jalé (New Guinea) ‘brilliant’ vs. ‘dull’

• BWR Tiv (Nigeria), Australian aboriginals in Seven Rivers District, Queensland.

• BWRG Ibibo (Nigeria), Hanunóo (Philippines)

• BWRY Ibo (Nigeria), Fitzroy River people (Queensland)

• BWRYG Tzeltal (Mexico), Daza (eastern Nigeria)

• BWRYGU Plains Tamil (South India), Nupe (Nigeria), Mandarin?

• BWRYGUO Nez Perce (Washington), Malayalam (southern India)

Color terms

• Interesting questions abound, including why this order, why these eleven—and there are potential reasons for it that can be drawn from the perception of color spaces which we will not attempt here.

• The point is: This is a fact about Language: If you have a basic color term for blue, you also have basic color terms for black, white, red, green, and yellow.