Actionality classes and cross-linguistic coding tendencies.Typological research and development of an analysis software tool

该项目将通过展示语言形式的跨语言模式和语言使用的一般趋势之间的联系，记录和解释语法普遍性，即动词中的跨语言编码趋势。分析这一普遍性的基本组成部分将由一个分析软件工具进行，该工具将在项目期间开发。该提案的主张是，频繁表达的意义往往是由零编码形式（形式频率对应）表达的。数量频率和形式是齐普夫定律（1935）的组成部分，我们将通过将频率-形式关系扩展到频率-形式/功能关系来追求这一定律，因为编码不对称表达了动词的体类和体类之间的区别，并具有语义含义：在零编码情况下，目的动词倾向于表达完成体，而收集动词倾向于表达非完成体，在显性编码情况下，目的动词倾向于表达非完成体。形式（编码）频率对应关系将检查一些欧洲和非欧洲语言中的集邮/telic动词编码的不对称性。一般来说，出现频率更高的组合倾向于在不同语言中公开地进行零编码，而出现频率更低的组合倾向于公开地进行编码。提出的解释是，高频率，因此更高的概率项目是更可预测的比低频率的项目，和可预测的内容不需要公开表达或可以表达的较短的形式。假设频率只是构成可预测性的一系列因素之一，其目的是披露和衡量这些因素。形式-频率对应使语言结构更有效（Zipf 1949），但仍然需要证明存在一种机制来创建和维持这些有效的结构：由说话者对用户友好的话语的偏好驱动的语言变化的重复实例。因此，该项目结合了跨语言的语法研究和跨语言语料库研究。形式频率对应仍然在很大程度上被语言学家忽视和忽视，因此目前的项目将对我们对人类语言的总体理解产生重大影响。该项目的技术成果将是分析软件工具。为了揭示可预测性的组成部分，该工具提供了一对基于统计熵和基于概率的技术。该项目的这一部分不仅包括软件编程，还包括对结果的评估和解释，并对理论的形成做出了重要贡献。这些结果将使我们更深入地了解我们在谈论可预测的编码不对称性时的含义。 未来的研究将通过随机最优理论（Bresnan et al. 2001）或进化博弈论（Jäger 2007）等形式化方法来处理项目主题。

This project will document and explain a grammatical universal, i.e. cross-linguistic coding tendencies in verbs with actional classes and aspect classes by demonstrating a link between cross-linguistic patterns of language form and general trends of language use. Essential components of the analysis of this universal will be carried out by an analysis software tool which will be developed during the project. The claim of the proposal is that frequently expressed meanings tend to be expressed by zero-coded forms (form-frequency correspondences). The quantities frequency and form are components of Zipfs law (1935) which will be pursued by extending the frequency-form relation to a frequency-form/function-relation, since the coding asymmetries express distinctions between actional and aspect classes of verbs and have semantic implications: With zero-coding, telic verbs tend to express perfective aspect and atelic verbs imperfective aspect, respectively, with overt-coding it is the other round. The form (coding)-frequency-correspondence will be examined inspecting the asymmetry in the coding of atelic/telic verbs in a number of European and non-European languages. In general, combinations that occur more frequently tend to be zero-coded overtly across languages, while the combinations that occur more rarely tend to be coded overtly. The proposed explanation is that higher-frequency and thus higher probability items are more predictable than lower-frequency items, and predictable content need not be expressed overtly or can be expressed by shorter forms. The hypothesis is that frequency is just one of a set of factors that constitute predictability, and it is aimed at disclosing and weighting these factors. Form-frequency correspondences make language structure more efficient (Zipf 1949), but it still needs to be shown that there exists a mechanism that creates and maintains these efficient structures: recurrent instances of language change driven by the speakers preference for user-friendly utterances. The project thus combines cross-linguistic research on grammar and cross-linguistic corpus research. Form-frequency correspondences are still largely overlooked and ignored by linguists, so the current project will have a significant impact on our general understanding of human language. The technological output of this project will be analysis software tool. In order to disclose components of predictability, the tool provides a couple of statistical entropy based and probability based techniques. This part of the project comprises not only software programming but also evaluation and interpretation of the results and contributes essentially to theory forming. The results will allow for deeper insights what we mean when talking about predictably of coding asymmetries. Future research will deal with the projects topics by means of formalisms such as stochastic optimality theory (Bresnan et al. 2001) or evolutionary game theory (Jäger 2007).