Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Evolutionary dynamics of Indo-European alignment patterns

Carling, Gerd LU and Cathcart, Chundra LU (2021) In Diachronica 38(3). p.358-412
Abstract
This paper employs phylogenetic modeling to reconstruct the alignment system of Indo-European. We use a data set of categorical morphosyntactic features, which take states such as ‘nominative-accusative’, ‘active-stative’, or ‘ergative’. We analyze these characters with a standard Bayesian comparative phylogenetic method, inferring transition rates between character states on the basis of a phylogenetic representation of the languages in the data. Using these rates, we then reconstruct the probability of presence of traits at the root and nodes of Indo-European. We find that the most probable alignment system for Proto-Indo-European is a nominative-accusative system, with low probabilities of neutral marking and ergativity in the... (More)
This paper employs phylogenetic modeling to reconstruct the alignment system of Indo-European. We use a data set of categorical morphosyntactic features, which take states such as ‘nominative-accusative’, ‘active-stative’, or ‘ergative’. We analyze these characters with a standard Bayesian comparative phylogenetic method, inferring transition rates between character states on the basis of a phylogenetic representation of the languages in the data. Using these rates, we then reconstruct the probability of presence of traits at the root and nodes of Indo-European. We find that the most probable alignment system for Proto-Indo-European is a nominative-accusative system, with low probabilities of neutral marking and ergativity in the categories lower in grammatical hierarchies (nouns, past). Using a test of phylogenetic signal, we find that characters pertaining to categories higher in hierarchies show greater phylogenetic stability than categories lower in hierarchies. We examine our results in relation to theories of Proto-Indo-European alignment as well as to general typology. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
historical linguistics, evolutionary linguistics, Proto-Indo- European, linguistic typology, grammar evolution, alignment, syntactic reconstruction
in
Diachronica
volume
38
issue
3
pages
358 - 412
publisher
John Benjamins Publishing Company
external identifiers
  • scopus:85116224296
ISSN
0176-4225
DOI
10.1075/dia.19043.car
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
dca4d22b-23a6-4c5c-ba75-3a2b440bd795
date added to LUP
2019-10-10 09:18:25
date last changed
2023-12-04 01:37:49
@article{dca4d22b-23a6-4c5c-ba75-3a2b440bd795,
  abstract     = {{This paper employs phylogenetic modeling to reconstruct the alignment system of Indo-European. We use a data set of categorical morphosyntactic features, which take states such as ‘nominative-accusative’, ‘active-stative’, or ‘ergative’. We analyze these characters with a standard Bayesian comparative phylogenetic method, inferring transition rates between character states on the basis of a phylogenetic representation of the languages in the data. Using these rates, we then reconstruct the probability of presence of traits at the root and nodes of Indo-European. We find that the most probable alignment system for Proto-Indo-European is a nominative-accusative system, with low probabilities of neutral marking and ergativity in the categories lower in grammatical hierarchies (nouns, past). Using a test of phylogenetic signal, we find that characters pertaining to categories higher in hierarchies show greater phylogenetic stability than categories lower in hierarchies. We examine our results in relation to theories of Proto-Indo-European alignment as well as to general typology.}},
  author       = {{Carling, Gerd and Cathcart, Chundra}},
  issn         = {{0176-4225}},
  keywords     = {{historical linguistics; evolutionary linguistics; Proto-Indo- European; linguistic typology; grammar evolution; alignment; syntactic reconstruction}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{358--412}},
  publisher    = {{John Benjamins Publishing Company}},
  series       = {{Diachronica}},
  title        = {{Evolutionary dynamics of Indo-European alignment patterns}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/dia.19043.car}},
  doi          = {{10.1075/dia.19043.car}},
  volume       = {{38}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}