The phonological mediation of morphological complexity: Verb stem leveling in the history of French

Probus ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Barbara E. Bullock
Keyword(s):  
Morphological Complexity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Phonological Mediation

Two new species of freshwater sponges from Neotropical and Afrotropical Regions

Zootaxa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4728 (3) ◽  
pp. 363-371
Author(s):  
ULISSES PINHEIRO ◽  
LUDIMILA CALHEIRA ◽  
CELINA MARTINS ◽  
LIESL JANSON ◽  
RICKY TAYLOR ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Valid Species ◽  
Single Specimen ◽  
Freshwater Sponges ◽  
Freshwater Systems ◽  
Morphological Complexity ◽  
Afrotropical Region ◽  
Two New Species ◽  
History Of ◽  
Climatic History

Geographic distributions of freshwater sponges are related to the geological and climatic history of the continents, on the presence of gemmules and the morphological complexity of this resistant body to withstand change. Gemmules are characteristic of the freshwater Families Spongillidae, Metaniidae and Potamolepidae. However, Acanthotylotra alvarengai, Echinospongilla brichardi and a number of other species within the genus Potamolepis do not produce gemmules. Potamolepis is endemic to the Afrotropical region with seven valid species. African freshwater sponges however, are mostly known from a single specimen (the holotype), due to the scarcity of material from these freshwater systems. In the present study, we describe two new species of non-gemmule bearing freshwater sponges from the Neotropical and Afrotropical Regions.  

scholarly journals Challenges and Benefits of Contact among Relatives: Morphological Copying

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Mithun
Keyword(s):  
Close Contact ◽  
Equivalence Relations ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Morphological Complexity ◽  
Languages In Contact ◽  
American Southeast ◽  
History Of ◽  
Functional Features ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Integrated Structures

Hierarchies of borrowability typically rank morphology as the most resistant to transfer of all aspects of language. Several explanations have been offered. One is that copying takes place primarily between typologically similar systems, and morphology is one of the ways languages can differ the most. Another is that more tightly integrated structures are more resistant to copying, and morphology is inherently tightly integrated. It has also been pointed out that copying depends on speakers establishing equivalence relations between elements of the languages in contact. Morphology may be less accessible to speaker consciousness than other aspects of language. Insight into contributing factors may come from contact situations involving related languages. Such languages are usually similar typologically. But they also present a major challenge: distinguishing contact effects from common inheritance and drift. Certain favorable circumstances can enhance their potential contributions. Most helpful are established genealogical relationships among the languages, a documented history of contact, morphological complexity, and sound changes diagnostic of copied forms. Examples here are drawn from Tuscarora, a Northern Iroquoian language. The Tuscarora separated from the other Northern Iroquoians early and spent perhaps two millennia in the American Southeast on their own. After they rejoined their relatives in the Northeast, there was close contact and intermarriage for two centuries. The languages share complex but similar morphologies. Extensive copying of forms can be discerned: not only whole words, but also bound stems, roots, and affixes. Functional features of bound forms were copied as well, including semantic extension.

scholarly journals Inheritance, calquing, or independent innovation? Reconstructing morphological complexity in Amazonian numerals

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patience Epps
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Borrowing ◽  
Relative Age ◽  
Morphological Complexity ◽  
Independent Innovation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Complex Forms ◽  
Northwest Amazon ◽  
Considerable Complexity

The reconstruction of morphologically complex forms offers familiar problems. As illustrated by textbook examples like Bloomfield’s seemingly reconstructable anachronism—Algonquian ‘fire-water’ for ‘whisky’—the existence of corresponding complex forms across related languages can alternatively be attributed to calquing or parallel independent innovation. This paper considers the problem of accounting for the history of complex forms in the context of the northwest Amazon, where lexical borrowing is actively resisted but calquing is rampant. Where complex forms are widely shared across related and unrelated languages, is there any hope of identifying their source, or establishing their relative age in particular groups of languages? I focus in particular on numeral terms, which reveal considerable complexity among northwest Amazonian languages. I evaluate the challenges encountered in gauging the time-depth and reconstructability of morphologically complex forms, and the criteria—comparative, typological, and geographical—that must be brought to bear in weighing more or less probable histories of complex forms.

scholarly journals Asymmetrical Complexity in Languages Due to L2 Effects: Unserdeutsch and Beyond

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Siegwalt Lindenfelser
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Language Contact ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Morphological Complexity ◽  
L2 Learning ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
History Of ◽  
Creole Languages

This study examines asymmetries between so-called inherent and contextual categories in relation to the morphological complexity of the nominal and verbal inflectional domain of languages. The observations are traced back to the influence of adult L2 learning in scenarios of intense language contact. A method for a simple comparison of the amount of inherent versus contextual categories is proposed and applied to the German-based creole language Unserdeutsch (Rabaul Creole German) in comparison to its lexifier language. The same procedure will be applied to two further language pairs. The grammatical systems of Unserdeutsch and other contact languages display a noticeable asymmetry regarding their structural complexity. Analysing different kinds of evidence, the explanatory key factor seems to be the role of (adult) L2 acquisition in the history of a language, whereby languages with periods of widespread L2 acquisition tend to lose contextual features. This impression is reinforced by general tendencies in pidgin and creole languages. Beyond that, there seems to be a tendency for inherent categories to be more strongly associated with the verb, while contextual categories seem to be more strongly associated with the noun. This leads to an asymmetry in categorical complexity between the noun phrase and the verb phrase in languages that experienced periods of intense L2 learning.

scholarly journals Evolutionary history of mental glands in turtles reveals a single origin in an aquatic ancestor and recurrent losses independent of macrohabitat

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alejandro Ibáñez ◽  
Uwe Fritz ◽  
Markus Auer ◽  
Albert Martínez-Silvestre ◽  
Peter Praschag ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Evolutionary Trends ◽  
Chemical Signaling ◽  
Signaling Systems ◽  
Morphological Complexity ◽  
Single Origin ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ancestral States ◽  
The Impact

AbstractDespite the relevance of chemical communication in vertebrates, comparative examinations of macroevolutionary trends in chemical signaling systems are scarce. Many turtle and tortoise species are reliant on chemical signals to communicate in aquatic and terrestrial macrohabitats, and many of these species possess specialized integumentary organs, termed mental glands (MGs), involved in the production of chemosignals. We inferred the evolutionary history of MGs and tested the impact of macrohabitat on their evolution. Inference of ancestral states along a time-calibrated phylogeny revealed a single origin in the ancestor of the subclade Testudinoidea. Thus, MGs represent homologous structures in all descending lineages. We also inferred multiple independent losses of MGs in both terrestrial and aquatic clades. Although MGs first appeared in an aquatic turtle (the testudinoid ancestor), macrohabitat seems to have had little effect on MG presence or absence in descendants. Instead, we find clade-specific evolutionary trends, with some clades showing increased gland size and morphological complexity, whereas others exhibiting reduction or MG loss. In sister clades inhabiting similar ecological niches, contrasting patterns (loss vs. maintenance) may occur. We conclude that the multiple losses of MGs in turtle clades have not been influenced by macrohabitat and that other factors have affected MG evolution.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document