The Semantics of Negation across Time and Space

人类语言有很多方法来描述世界上没有、没有或不会发生的事情。这一语言领域被称为“否定”。世界各地的语言有不同的方式来描述这些主题，并且语言的这一领域随着时间的推移而变化。这个概念没有被明确地教导（孩子们从来没有被明确地指导如何谈论不存在的事情，或者没有发生的事情），并且能够理解否定对于理解人们在说话或手势时所说的话至关重要。然而，即使在一种语言中，否定的策略也可以有很大的不同。这种基本的、普遍的意义和变异的结合，使语言学--对语言的科学研究--成为研究人类思想和人类社会的强大工具。语言模式可以像考古遗址一样进行调查，以揭示人类社会的过去方面，例如哪些群体相互接触。通过探索语言变化的极限，这个项目提供了一个了解人类思维的窗口。这个研究项目使用几种方法来研究语言。第一种方法涉及到对语言的详细研究，这些语言有先前的文档，也就是说，已经有一些关于它们的书面信息，比如语料库和参考语法。第二种是与土著语言的母语使用者一起工作（亲自或通过视频聊天），对单词和短语的精确含义进行实验。方法包括翻译任务，叙述的语言分析，并引发图片的描述。第三，该项目使用机器学习、数据科学和计算遗传学中最先进的统计方法，来发现和理解不同语言之间的关系。通过分析语言中固有的系统模式，可以理解语言如何随着时间的推移而变化，以及为什么有些含义是稳定的，而另一些则不是。该项目为学生提供定量方法的培训，并涉及语言和社会方面的教学。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Human languages have many ways of describing things that do not, have not, or will not happen in the world. This area of language is called 'negation'. Languages across the world have different ways of describing these topics, and this area of language changes over time. The concept is not explicitly taught (children are never explicitly instructed in how to talk about things that aren't there, or that don't happen), and being able to understand negation is critical to understanding what people say when they speak or sign. Yet even within a language, strategies for negation can vary extensively. This combination of basic, universal meaning and variation is what makes linguistics--the scientific study of language--such a powerful tool for investigating both the human mind and human society. Language patterns can be investigated like archaeological sites, to uncover past aspects of human society, such as which groups have been in contact with one another. By exploring the limits of how languages vary, this project offers a window into the human mind.This research project uses several methods to study language. The first involves detailed investigations of languages with prior documentation--that is, languages which already have some written information about them, such as corpora and reference grammars. The second involves work (in person and through video chat) with native speakers of indigenous languages, conducting experiments about precise meanings of words and phrases. Methods include translation tasks, linguistic analysis of narratives, and eliciting descriptions of pictures. Thirdly, this project uses state of the art statistical methods in machine learning, data science, and computational phylogenetics, to discover and to understand the relationships between different languages. Through analyzing the systematic patterns inherent in language, it is possible to understand how languages change over time and why some meanings are stable while others are not. This project provides training in quantitative methods to students, and involves teaching about language and society. It is planned that research findings will be published in academic journals and through public science outlets.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.