Transactions of the Philological Society · 2005 · 94 citations · 19 references
Language StudiesLinguisticsApplied LinguisticsCorpus LinguisticsHistorical LinguisticsCorpus AnalysisLexical ComparisonText CollectionData Collection StrategyHistorical LexicostatisticsPilot Study DesignPilot Study Planning
Historical linguistics has recently revived quantitative methods, with lexicostatistics favored for its ease of manipulating lexical data, yet the critical question of how to fill predefined meaning slots has largely been overlooked. The study aims to address this gap by proposing an explicit data‑collection strategy that relies on fieldwork with multiple native speakers. This strategy is detailed in depth, emphasizing systematic fieldwork with several native speakers to gather lexicostatistical data. A pilot study applying the method revealed substantial variation in lexicostatistical data across different speakers.
In the last decade or so, historical linguistics has witnessed a renewed interest in the application of quantitative techniques to comparing and classifying languages. Among these quantitative techniques, approaches of a lexicostatistical nature enjoy particular popularity, possibly due to the relative ease of manipulating lexical data, and the convenience of a ‘fixed’ list with predefined meaning slots. However, the issue of how exactly these slots should be filled in the first instance has been curiously ignored. An attempt is made here to remedy this shortcoming by proposing an explicit data-collection strategy, which advocates fieldwork with several native speakers. This novel methodology is described in some depth, and the results from a pilot study are presented. These reveal considerable variation when lexicostatistical data are obtained from multiple speakers.
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On the Validity of Glottochronology
Knut Bergsland, Hans Vogt · Current Anthropology · 1962 · 300 citations