Thomas Berg
Datos Biográficos
| ID | 101182 |
|---|---|
| NOMBRE | Thomas Berg |
| NOMBRES | Thomas |
| APELLIDO | Berg |
| FIRMA | BERG T |
| AFILIACIONES | Universität Hamburg |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5895-5457 |
| VERIFICADO | Sí |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 58 |
| TOTAL DE CITAS | 45 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 55 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 3 |
| PRIMER AÑO DE PUBLICACIÓN | 1985 |
| AÑO MÁS RECIENTE DE PUBLICACIÓN | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 4 |
Morpheme order inside the noun
This study presents a typological investigation of morpheme order in nouns consisting of a stem and two affixes. It is based on a genealogically stratified sample of 773 tokens from 472 languages. The grammatical categories under scrutiny include case, definiteness, diminution, gender, number and possession. At the level of stems and affixes, stem-suffix-suffix sequences are most common, prefix-stem-suffix sequences less common and prefix-prefix-…
Numerical place switching
Multi-constituent numerals involve a decision as to whether the lower value should precede or follow the higher value. While most languages go for consistent ordering, a minority of languages use both orders in the range from ‘11’ to ‘99’ (compare English seven-teen [unit-ten order] to seventy-two [ten-unit order]). This study presents a typological analysis of 258 inconsistent-order languages. Most, but not all inconsistent languages switch from…
Progress or regress in typology
In a series of articles, I investigated the interaction of gender and other grammatical categories from a typological perspective.In Berg (2020) I examined the interaction of nominal gender and word class, in particular personal pronouns and possessive determiners.The latter were broken down into possessors and possessums because they can be independently marked for gender.Berg (2024aBerg ( , 2024b) ) focussed on the interaction of gender and per…
Defining Neutrality, Combating Polarization
Douglas Laycock’s career in Religion Clause scholarship and advocacy spans two periods marked by two distinct concerns at the heart of the debates. This article connects them. In the first period, from the 1980s into the 2000s, the central issue was what general value or principle should drive Religion Clause decision-making. Laycock’s approach, substantive neutrality toward religion, focused on minimizing government effects on religious choices …
Morpheme order inside the verb
While much research activity has been devoted to variable morpheme order in individual languages, very little is known about morpheme order variation across languages. In an attempt to partially remedy this state of affairs, this study investigates the ordering patterns in complex words consisting of a verbal nucleus (V), a pronominal affix (PRO) and one of the following grammatical categories (X): past, future, negative, progressive and causativ…
Gender, number and person
According to the principle of informativity, more useful information is more likely to be coded than less useful information. This principle underlies Greenberg’s Universals 37 and 45, which state that a larger number of (sex-based) gender contrasts are on average found in singular than in non-singular forms. As an increase in group size lowers the probability of same sex groups, gender-specific personal pronouns are less useful in the non-singul…
Gender marking in the first-person singular
Since the sex of the speaker is normally as obvious as can be, there is no point in coding first-person singular gender – or so it may seem. This typological study examines the extent of sex-based gender marking in personal pronouns, possessive determiners, predicative adjectives, and verbs across first-, second-, and third-person singular. A worldwide perusal of grammars in addition to data elicitation yields a total of 115 languages with first-…
Paradigmatic consequences of the suffixing preference
As one of the most robust typological findings, the suffixing preference captures the empirical observation that grammatical categories are more likely to be coded by suffixes than by prefixes. The goal of this contribution is to explore the effects that this asymmetry may have on the inflectional paradigms of the languages of the world. Three empirical issues are addressed: do languages with either possessive prefixes or suffixes and languages w…
The effects of type and token frequency on word length
Inspired by Zipf’s Law of Abbreviation, previous research was mostly directed at the interaction of word length and token frequency. Much less is known about the relationship of word length and type frequency, let alone about the differential impact of type and token frequency on word length. These issues are examined on the basis of a non-representative sample of 10 languages. The token frequency analysis reveals that 8 of the 10 languages show …
Nominal and pronominal gender
The aim of this study is to scrutinize Greenberg’s Universal 43, which predicts pronominal gender in the presence of nominal gender. On the basis of a sample of 500 gendered and ungendered languages, gender marking is examined in nouns, personal pronouns, possessors and possessums. Ungendered languages outnumber gendered languages. Eight out of 12 logically possible gender constellations are attested in the database. In keeping with Greenberg, la…
Asymmetrical Intercalation in Germanic Complex Verbs
A shared feature of the Germanic languages is the occurrence of complex verbs consisting of the verb itself and what I refer to as the adverbal unit (AU). I examine the nature of the units that can be inserted into such complex verbs and compare intercalation patterns in AU-Vs and V-AUs. AU-Vs are found to be much more resistant to intercalation than V-AUs. The former accommodate the past participle marker, the infinitival linker, and—less common…
Ordering biases in cross-linguistic perspective
Capitalizing upon the typological fact that the same content may be coded in different positions and at different structural levels, this study examines whether the syntactic and the morphological levels exhibit different serial-order preferences. A large-scale comparison of word and morpheme order across six grammatical categories including definiteness and negation reveals that all six categories document the same interaction effect: the syntac…
The typology of adjective linkage
The tall and heavy tree falls.' 'The tall and heavy tree falls.' 'Phillip is tall and heavy.'Bulgarian cervenata obla (i) caša Cašata e cervena i obla.red.DET round (and) cup cup.DET is red and round 'the red round cup' 'The cup is red and round
The typology of adjective linkage
Adjectives have the logical options of being used predicatively or attributively as well as being conjoined syndetically or asyndetically. Moreover, attributive adjectives may occur prenominally and/or postnominally. On the basis of a sample of fifty-three languages, an analysis is performed of the interaction of syntactic function/position and type of linkage. While predicative adjectives generally prefer syndetic linkage, attributive adjectives…
The range of linguistic units
This study examines the role of distance in the decision among grammatical variants. The empirical test case is the English mandative subjunctive construction, which co-occurs with an embedded modal auxiliary, a subjunctive or an indicative verb form. The fact that the subjunctive is triggered by specific lexical items allows one to measure the distance between the triggering unit and the target verb. This distance is found to play a significant …
Forthcoming articles
The question of form in the forming of questions: The meaning and
Towards an explanation of the syntax of West Germanic particle verbs
While the unusual behaviour of particle verbs in West Germanic has been the subject of much debate, it still awaits a substantive explanation. These verbs undergo reversal and/or intercalation subject to such syntactic constraints as finiteness and clause type. Situated within Prototype Theory, this study defines the relevant grammatical categories in terms of varying degrees of syntacticity (i.e., sentence-likeness vs. word-likeness) of which co…
Frequency and serial order
Previous work on frequency has in the main focused on paradigmatic aspects such as irregularity and allomorphy. This study, in contrast, addresses the syntagmatic dimension and in particular examines the effect of token frequency on serial order. A simple prediction follows from the psycholinguistic observation that frequency facilitates the retrieval of linguistic units: frequent units should precede infrequent ones rather than vice versa in the…
The modification of compound nouns by three adjectives
This paper is the final instalment in a series of studies investigating the modification patterns in complex noun phrases (NPs) in English. It particularly focuses on the modification of two-noun compounds by three attributive adjectives. An analysis of all such NPs from the BNC reveals a strong preference for head modification over modifier modification, similar rates of convergent and divergent modification and the non-occurrence of crossed mod…
The Multiplanar Nature of Frequency
As reflected by the distinction between types and tokens, frequency is standardly conceived of in a two-dimensional fashion. This conception draws on the linguistic hierarchy in that token frequency is calculated at a higher structural level than type frequency. The fact that the linguistic hierarchy consists of more than two levels raises the possibility of investigating frequency from a multiplanar angle. This approach is illustrated with a thr…
From unit- and -ten to ten-before-unit order in the history of English numerals
In the course of its history, English underwent a significant structural change in its numeral system. The number words from 21 to 99 switched from the unit- and -ten to the ten-before-unit pattern. This change is traced on the basis of more than 800 number words. It is argued that this change, which took seven centuries to complete and in which the Old English pattern was highly persistent, can be broken down into two parts—the reordering of the…
Phonotactic constraints and sub-syllabic structure
Of late, a controversy has arisen over the internal structure of Korean syllables. While there is general agreement that non-phonotactic criteria argue for left-branching, Lee & Goldrick's (2008) left-branching phonotactic analysis is contradicted by Berg & Koops's (2010) claim as to a phonotactically symmetrical syllable structure. A comparison of the methodologies of the two studies, a revisit of the previous data and a new analysis cement the …
Elena Even-Simkin & Yishai Tobin, The regularity of the ‘irregular’ verbs and nouns in English. Amsterdam
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Moderner Wahlkampf
Linguistic Structure and Change
1. On the 'Art' of Explanation 2. Explanation from a Macrolinguistic Perspective 3. Method 4. Language Structure 5. Language Change 6. Poetic Language 7. Discussion 8. A Psycholinguistic Model of Language Structure and Change 9. Implications for Psycholinguistic Theory 10. The Overall Perspective: Reductionist or Non-Reductionist?
The unfolding of suprasegmental representations
An analysis of phonological speech errors in Arabic, English and German is carried out with a view to probing into the organization of segments within syllables and words. Arabic slips are shown to be less structure-sensitive than English and German ones. Being absent from underlying representation, suprasegmental structures are assumed to unfold gradually in real time. The erection of hierarchical representations is claimed to be slower in Arabi…
The resolution of number conflicts in English and German agreement patterns
This paper examines the strategies native speakers of American English and German employ in resolving number conflicts in subject-verb agreement. These conflicts are created by the competition of syntactic and semantic principles. Significant differences are found between the two groups of subjects. The English speakers tend to follow the semantic principle in certain lexical items and in N(sg) of NP(pl) constructions but the syntactic principle …
The role of inhibition in a spreading-activation model of language production. I. The psycholinguistic perspective
The aftermath of error occurrence
The range of linguistic units
This study examines the role of distance in the decision among grammatical variants. The empirical test case is the English mandative subjunctive construction, which co-occurs with an embedded modal auxiliary, a subjunctive or an indicative verb form. The fact that the subjunctive is triggered by specific lexical items allows one to measure the distance between the triggering unit and the target verb. This distance is found to play a significant …
A diachronic frequency account of the allomorphy of some grammatical markers
Allomorphy is a reaction of the morphological system to problems that the unrestrained application of inflectional and other rules creates at the phonological level. These problems are dealt with in some cases but left unattended in others. A diachronic analysis of English reveals that phonemically conditioned allomorphy originates from gradual sound change, with the old and the new variant forming a morphophonological paradigm. The historical st…
On The Complementary Nature Of Consonant And Vowel Harmony In Child And Adult Language
There is an intriguing complementary distribution of phonological harmony in child and adult language. Whereas vowel harmony is frequently, and consonant harmony rarely, found in fully-developed phonologies, the opposite is true of developing phonologies. This contrast materializes in the face of a long list of similarities suggesting that harmony in child and adult language is essentially the same process. The following three factors are shown t…
Syllabification in Finnish and German
Redundant-feature coding in the mental lexicon
First language acquisition. Method, description and explanation
Is voice a suprasegmental
Frequency and serial order
Previous work on frequency has in the main focused on paradigmatic aspects such as irregularity and allomorphy. This study, in contrast, addresses the syntagmatic dimension and in particular examines the effect of token frequency on serial order. A simple prediction follows from the psycholinguistic observation that frequency facilitates the retrieval of linguistic units: frequent units should precede infrequent ones rather than vice versa in the…
From unit- and -ten to ten-before-unit order in the history of English numerals
In the course of its history, English underwent a significant structural change in its numeral system. The number words from 21 to 99 switched from the unit- and -ten to the ten-before-unit pattern. This change is traced on the basis of more than 800 number words. It is argued that this change, which took seven centuries to complete and in which the Old English pattern was highly persistent, can be broken down into two parts—the reordering of the…
The interplay of left- and right-branching effects
Sound Change in Child Language
The goal of this study is to retrace in minute detail a single step forward in the phonological development of a German-speaking child. The sound change under focus is the acquisition of velar stops in word-initial positions. Naturalistic data were collected on a daily basis over a period of approximately one year (3;4.9–4;3.20) until the process was nearly completed. Production accuracy was found to be under the influence of four factors — the n…
Word‐final voicing in the history of English
Dans l'histoire de la langue anglaise, il existe deux processus diametralement opposes: les obstruantes sonores subissent un devoisement et les fricatives sourdes sont voisees en position finale de mot. Alors que le premier processus est totalement naturel en termes de motivation phonetique, le second peut etre considere comme non-naturel. L'explication traditionnelle de ces deux processus est que la regle de devoisement s'appliquerait aux mots a…
The whys and wherefores of suprasegmentalization
Is voice a suprasegmental
The aftermath of error occurrence
The whys and wherefores of suprasegmentalization
Speaking
Unreine Reime als Evidenz für die Organisation phonologischer Merkmale
The differential sensitivity of consonants and vowels to stress
Redundant-feature coding in the mental lexicon
First language acquisition. Method, description and explanation
Phonological harmony as a processing problem
This investigation focuses upon an outstanding aspect of child phonology – that of consonant harmony, relabelled ‘phonological harmony’ – and inquires whether representational or processing deficits are responsible for its occurrence. A detailed analysis of the oral output of one German-speaking girl (2;7.15–2;11) supports the contention that the Imperfect Processing Model fares much better in accounting for her harmony strategy than the Incomple…
The role of inhibition in a spreading-activation model of language production. II. The simulational perspective
The role of inhibition in a spreading-activation model of language production. I. The psycholinguistic perspective
The Phoneme Through a Psycholinguist’s Looking-Glass
Les phonemes peuvent-ils etre definis par leur capacite de creer des contrastes lexicaux ? Selon l'A. cette idee generalement admise est a abandonner, car, selon le point de vue psychologique developpe dans cette etude, le contraste cree par les phomenes se trouve non pas au niveau lexical mais au niveau phonologique. L'auteur veut d'ailleurs montrer, a travers cette redefinition du status du phoneme, que l'approche psycholinguistique peut permet…
Against Complementary Distribution
Si la question de savoir ce qui constitue un phoneme a ete oubliee, l'article tente de reouvrir le debat en placant le concept de phoneme dans le contexte des perspectives cognitives modernes sur le langage. L'auteur reexamine les trois aspects communement consideres dans une analyse phonemique : les aspects phonetique, fonctionnel et distributionnel
Sound Change in Child Language
The goal of this study is to retrace in minute detail a single step forward in the phonological development of a German-speaking child. The sound change under focus is the acquisition of velar stops in word-initial positions. Naturalistic data were collected on a daily basis over a period of approximately one year (3;4.9–4;3.20) until the process was nearly completed. Production accuracy was found to be under the influence of four factors — the n…
Word‐final voicing in the history of English
Dans l'histoire de la langue anglaise, il existe deux processus diametralement opposes: les obstruantes sonores subissent un devoisement et les fricatives sourdes sont voisees en position finale de mot. Alors que le premier processus est totalement naturel en termes de motivation phonetique, le second peut etre considere comme non-naturel. L'explication traditionnelle de ces deux processus est que la regle de devoisement s'appliquerait aux mots a…
The unfolding of suprasegmental representations
An analysis of phonological speech errors in Arabic, English and German is carried out with a view to probing into the organization of segments within syllables and words. Arabic slips are shown to be less structure-sensitive than English and German ones. Being absent from underlying representation, suprasegmental structures are assumed to unfold gradually in real time. The erection of hierarchical representations is claimed to be slower in Arabi…
The modality-specificity of linguistic representations
The resolution of number conflicts in English and German agreement patterns
This paper examines the strategies native speakers of American English and German employ in resolving number conflicts in subject-verb agreement. These conflicts are created by the competition of syntactic and semantic principles. Significant differences are found between the two groups of subjects. The English speakers tend to follow the semantic principle in certain lexical items and in N(sg) of NP(pl) constructions but the syntactic principle …
Stress Variation in British and American English
This study presents a comprehensive analysis of lexical‐stress variation in British and American English. A comparison of the pronunciations of all 75,000 entries in Wells's dictionary yields 932 stress‐divergent words. This set is found to differ from the entire lexicon in three respects of which the first appears to be more important than the others. The average frequency of the words is lower and their average length is higher. Furthermore, pr…
Linguistic Structure and Linguistic Change
Syllabification in Finnish and German
An Experimental Study of Syllabification in Icelandic
In many languages the syllabification of intervocalic consonants has been shown to be influenced by the principle of onset maximization, whereby as many segments are assigned to the subsequent syllable as are phonotactically legal. Icelandic, however, has been repeatedly argued to follow a coda maximization strategy even though opinion has remained divided on this. This paper is an attempt to address this issue from the psycholinguistic perspecti…
Moderner Wahlkampf
Moderner Wahlkampf. Blick hinter die Kulissen.
Motivation in Language
This volume contributes to the now one-century old question, ‘Is the link between forms and meanings in language essentially arbitrary, as Saussure put it, or is it on the contrary also considerably motivated?’ The greater part of the papers (Sections 1–3) analyze linguistic phenomena in which not arbitrary, but cognitively motivated links between form and meaning play a role. As such, the contributions in Section 1 examine selected aspects of mo…
Linguistics (46 obras) · Philosophy (37 obras) · Psychology (34 obras) · Computer Science (31 obras) · Linguistic Variation and Morphology (29 obras) · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation (29 obras) · Phonetics and Phonology Research (23 obras) · Mathematics (20 obras) · Philosophy (17 obras) · Artificial Intelligence (15 obras)