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Dear Ian,<br>
<br>
as Martin says, this can be a valuable project. Just a few
observations on methodology:<br>
<br>
The method you envisage seems valid to the extent that the 50
sentences that you choose are representative of what you want to
compare - grammatical systems of languages, I assume.<br>
<br>
A list of sentences taken to be representative of a language system
has been used in the Archivo de lenguas indígenas de México. A
preliminary survey of what can be expected from this approach is
provided in: <br>
<br>
Lastra, Yolanda 1993f, "El archivo de lenguas indígenas de México."
<i>Boletín de Filología</i> 34:463-476.<br>
<br>
The list of sentences itself appears in each of the contributions to
the series:<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://cell.colmex.mx/es/proyecto/archivo-de-lenguas-indigenas-de-mexico">https://cell.colmex.mx/es/proyecto/archivo-de-lenguas-indigenas-de-mexico</a><br>
<br>
As some correspondents have observed, this method can be reliable
only if you guarantee communicative equivalence of the sentences to
the extent possible. This would be true a fortiori if a great weight
were attributed to differences in constituent order. However, just
as others have suggested, it would seem wise not to exaggerate this
weight. Constituent order at the higher levels of syntax is among
the most variable features of a grammar.<br>
<br>
A basic contribution to the requirement of guaranteeing
communicative equivalence was made by Östen Dahl with his
contextualized translation questionnaires. A sample of them is
published in:<br>
<br>
Dahl, Östen (ed.) 2000, <i>Tense and aspect in the languages of
Europe.</i> Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter (Empirical
Approaches to Language Typology, EUROTYP, 20-6).<br>
<br>
Good luck,<br>
Christian<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<p style="font-size:90%">Prof. em. Dr. Christian Lehmann<br>
Rudolfstr. 4<br>
99092 Erfurt<br>
<span style="font-variant:small-caps">Deutschland</span></p>
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<td>E-Post:</td>
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