Global Syntactic Variation in Seven Languages: Toward a Computational Dialectology.

ABSTRACT: The goal of this paper is to provide a complete representation of regional linguistic variation on a global scale. To this end, the paper focuses on removing three constraints that have previously limited work within dialectology/dialectometry. First, rather than assuming a fixed and incomplete set of variants, we use Computational Construction Grammar to provide a replicable and falsifiable set of syntactic features. Second, rather than assuming a specific area of interest, we use global language mapping based on web-crawled and social media datasets to determine the selection of national varieties. Third, rather than looking at a single language in isolation, we model seven major languages together using the same methods: Arabic, English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

SUBMITTER: Dunn J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7861279 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature