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1500 questions
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Can parsing be classified to some complexity class (e.g. NP-complete)?
In computer science (especially computational complexity theory), problems can be classified to some complexity theory. For example, we say the travelling salesman problem belongs to NP-complete.
Parsing of a human-language text (e.g. English text)…
Louis Rhys
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Distinguishing between epistemic and circumstantial readings (without recourse to temporality)?
How can you/should you empirically distinguish between epistemic and circumstantial readings of modals?
I (at least think I) understand how the two readings are supposed to be distinguished theoretically — i.e., that an epistemic reading is a modal…
user177
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Any reasons for unexplained centumization in Balto-Slavic?
Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic languages are called satem languages, because in them the Proto-Indo-European palatovelars *ḱ, *ǵ, and *ǵʰ developed into sibilants or affricats, usually into [s]/[z]- or [ʃ]/[ʒ]-type sounds. In the centum languages…
Yellow Sky
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How well do Semitic languages preserve consonants over time?
I'm not too familiar with the details of Semitic languages, but as far as I can tell it seems the tri-consonantal roots of words are relatively important. If the consonants change over time, did they change together so that the roots are preserved…
NoWayHaze
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Origin of -s verbs in Norwegian and Swedish
(Disclaimer: I am not a linguist.)
I am learning Norwegian now, and they have some verb form when you attach -s to the end. It is often called passive voice (used in Present tense and in infinitive only, I guess). For example:
å møte 'to meet': vi…
Yauhen Yakimenka
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3 answers
Why do Spanish and Greek have such a similar phonology?
Is it just a matter of coincidence or did the two language influence each other in some way?
Infinite
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Reconstructed PIE grammar? Could we be able to speak in Proto-European?
I'm interested in etymology, so I see often the root of a word shown as a reconstructed PIE root, but is it only a set of words, or could we speak this reconstructed language? (even if it's only a reconstruction)
Just a set of words, or is there…
Quidam
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Is -s for plurals in Spanish a false cognate with English -s?
When I was looking at the plural noun ending for English, it said that it came from the Proto-Indo-European suffix *-es. I looked at the Spanish etymology. It didn't give much information except that it came from the Latin -es for 3rd declension. I…
Barry Allen
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Why are consonants distinguished differently than vowels?
Consonants are distinguished normally by features like place of articulation, manner of articulation, voiced/voiceless, etc. while vowels are usually distingusihed by stuff like tongue's position and roundedness. Why can't a universal methodology be…
AnasUrba
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Textbook suggestions for syntax, semantics/pragmatics and phonetics/phonology
I am coming to linguistics from a completely non-linguistic background; I was a mathematician. Next year I will start taking some serious (Master's level) linguistics courses and I would like to have considerable background in the topics that will…
Orest Xherija
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How to Identify Copulas in the Wild
What criteria do linguists use to tell if something is a copula?
Let's say there's this group of undocumented languages and a linguist is studying nonverbal predication in those languages.
Language A:
Mary bla-yi gul
Mary COP-PRES teacher
'Mary is…
Morphosyntax
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Relationship between Turkish/Azeri and Japanese/Korean
How are Turkish and Azeri related to Japanese and Korean? Are there obvious similarities between them?
Mo Sanei
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How does L. "quartus" come from L. "quattuor", which has "quat" but "quart"?
quartus
From Latin quattuor ("four"), originally from Proto-Indo-European
As at July 2 2021, the Etymology at the same link for quartus Wiktionary has changed.
From Proto-Indo-European *kʷeturtos ~ *kʷetwr̥tos (whence Ancient Greek τέταρτος…
archenoo
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In multilingual dialogues, which factors determine the language the speaker chooses for a given word or phrase?
As is the case in many households, my wife and I are both fluent in two languages to the degree that we speak to each other without a conscious thought as to which language we are using. We often alternate multiple times between languages in a…
Fred
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Are any of the Old Chinese reconstructions for「能」plausible descendants of Proto-Sino-Tibetan /*dɣwjəm/?
(Apologies if this is off-topic.)
The Chinese character「能」was originally a picture of a kind of bear. The character was once used to represent a word meaning bear, but this word doesn't appear to have any modern descendants.
「能」was also used as a…
dROOOze
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