Structure and usage do not explain each other: an analysis of German word-initial clusters
The present study focuses on German word-initial consonant clusters and asks whether feature-based phonotactic preferences correlate with patterns of type and token frequencies in present-day usage. The corpus-based analyses are based on a comprehensive list of such clusters, representing current us...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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De Gruyter
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Linguistics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2020-0030 |
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| author | Wiese Richard Orzechowska Paula |
| author_facet | Wiese Richard Orzechowska Paula |
| author_sort | Wiese Richard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The present study focuses on German word-initial consonant clusters and asks whether feature-based phonotactic preferences correlate with patterns of type and token frequencies in present-day usage. The corpus-based analyses are based on a comprehensive list of such clusters, representing current usage, and on a number of feature-based phonotactic preferences. Correlating the variables by means of a correlation analysis and a regression analysis leads to a number of observations relevant to the general topic of featural-segmental structures versus usage. First, out of eighteen correlations between (raw and logarithmic) type and token frequencies, and preferred feature patterns, only one significant correlation was found. Second, a regression analysis led to similar results: out of thirteen variables tested, only two contribute to logarithmic type and token frequencies. Only a limited set of cluster properties investigated in the present paper constitutes a relevant predictor of frequency measures. The study thus demonstrates, in accordance with other recent evidence, that preferred phonetic/phonological structures and their usage frequency constitute two separate domains for which distributions may not have to coincide. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2819bcc7b9e34f459b3ee0b74aef9615 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0024-3949 1613-396X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | De Gruyter |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Linguistics |
| spelling | doaj-art-2819bcc7b9e34f459b3ee0b74aef96152025-02-02T15:45:59ZengDe GruyterLinguistics0024-39491613-396X2023-09-016151259128410.1515/ling-2020-0030Structure and usage do not explain each other: an analysis of German word-initial clustersWiese Richard0Orzechowska Paula1Institut für Germanistische Sprachwissenschaft, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35041Marburg, GermanyFaculty of English, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, PolandThe present study focuses on German word-initial consonant clusters and asks whether feature-based phonotactic preferences correlate with patterns of type and token frequencies in present-day usage. The corpus-based analyses are based on a comprehensive list of such clusters, representing current usage, and on a number of feature-based phonotactic preferences. Correlating the variables by means of a correlation analysis and a regression analysis leads to a number of observations relevant to the general topic of featural-segmental structures versus usage. First, out of eighteen correlations between (raw and logarithmic) type and token frequencies, and preferred feature patterns, only one significant correlation was found. Second, a regression analysis led to similar results: out of thirteen variables tested, only two contribute to logarithmic type and token frequencies. Only a limited set of cluster properties investigated in the present paper constitutes a relevant predictor of frequency measures. The study thus demonstrates, in accordance with other recent evidence, that preferred phonetic/phonological structures and their usage frequency constitute two separate domains for which distributions may not have to coincide.https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2020-0030frequencygermanphonetic featuresphonotacticsusage-based phonology |
| spellingShingle | Wiese Richard Orzechowska Paula Structure and usage do not explain each other: an analysis of German word-initial clusters Linguistics frequency german phonetic features phonotactics usage-based phonology |
| title | Structure and usage do not explain each other: an analysis of German word-initial clusters |
| title_full | Structure and usage do not explain each other: an analysis of German word-initial clusters |
| title_fullStr | Structure and usage do not explain each other: an analysis of German word-initial clusters |
| title_full_unstemmed | Structure and usage do not explain each other: an analysis of German word-initial clusters |
| title_short | Structure and usage do not explain each other: an analysis of German word-initial clusters |
| title_sort | structure and usage do not explain each other an analysis of german word initial clusters |
| topic | frequency german phonetic features phonotactics usage-based phonology |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/ling-2020-0030 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT wieserichard structureandusagedonotexplaineachotherananalysisofgermanwordinitialclusters AT orzechowskapaula structureandusagedonotexplaineachotherananalysisofgermanwordinitialclusters |