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<p>This doesn't really touch upon any guesstimates / numbers, but it
strongly reminds me of the bias there esp. historically was in the
description of differential object marking in Finnic languages
(e.g. Finnish: <i>hän jo-i maido-n</i> s/he drink-PST.3SG
milk-ACC 's/he drank the milk' ~ <i>hän jo-i maito-a</i> s/he
drink-PST.3SG milk-PART 's/he drank (some) milk') before that was
a salient analysis dimension. "This is clearly just a way to
express definiteness", say scholars whose frame of reference is
Germanic languages. "No, this is clearly just how verbal aspect is
expressed in these languages", say scholars whose frame of
reference is Slavic languages. I never encountered Hungarian
scholars presenting a third option, that it's clearly just how
Finnish verbalizes the difference between subjective and objective
conjugation, but it would not shock me if that has happened too!<br>
</p>
<p>Best,<br>
Jeremy<br>
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 28/09/2024 20:17, Juergen Bohnemeyer
via Lingtyp wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="mid:SJ0PR15MB4696A146401E096FD352F9D7DD742@SJ0PR15MB4696.namprd15.prod.outlook.com">
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<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif"">Dear
all – I’m wondering whether anybody has attempted to
estimate the size of the following putative effect on
descriptive and typological research:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif"">Suppose
there is a particular phenomenon in Language L, the known
properties of which are equally compatible with an analysis
in terms of construction types (comparative concepts) A and
B.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif"">Suppose
furthermore that L belongs to a language family and/or
linguistic area such that A has much more commonly been
invoked in descriptions of languages of that family/area
than B.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif"">Then
to the extent that a researcher attempting to adjudicate
between A and B wrt. L (whether in a description of L, in a
typological study, or in coding for an evolving typological
database) is aware of the prevalence of A-coding/analyses
for languages of the family/area in question, that might
make them more likely to code/analyze L as exhibiting A as
well.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif"">So
for example, a researcher who assumes languages of the
family/area of L to be typically tenseless may be influenced
by this assumption and as a result become (however slightly)
more likely to treat L as tenseless as well. In contrast, if
she assumes languages of the family/area of L to be
typically tensed, that might make her ever so slightly more
likely to analyze L also as tensed.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif"">It
seems to me that this is a cognitive bias related to, and
possibly a case of, essentialism. (And just as in the case
of (other forms of) essentialism, the actual cognitive
causes/mechanisms of the bias may vary.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif"">But
regardless, my question is, again, has anybody tried to
guestimate to what extent the results of current typological
studies may be warped by this kind of researcher bias? (Note
that the bias may be affecting both authors of descriptive
work and typologists using descriptive work as data, so
there is a possible double-whammy effect.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif"">Thanks!
– Juergen<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"CMU Serif""><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Juergen
Bohnemeyer (He/Him)<br>
Professor, Department of Linguistics<br>
University at Buffalo <br>
<br>
Office: 642 Baldy Hall, UB North Campus<br>
Mailing address: 609 Baldy Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260 <br>
Phone: (716) 645 0127 <br>
Fax: (716) 645 3825<br>
Email: </span><span
style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><a
href="mailto:jb77@buffalo.edu"
title="mailto:jb77@buffalo.edu" moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:#0078D4">jb77@buffalo.edu</span></a></span><span
style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><br>
Web: </span><span
style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><a
href="http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~jb77/"
title="http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~jb77/"
moz-do-not-send="true"><span
style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:#0563C1">http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~jb77/</span></a></span><span
style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> <br>
<br>
</span><span
style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Office
hours Tu/Th 3:30-4:30pm in 642 Baldy or via Zoom
(Meeting ID 585 520 2411; Passcode Hoorheh) </span><span
style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><br>
<br>
There’s A Crack In Everything - That’s How The Light
Gets In <br>
(Leonard Cohen) </span><span
style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">-- <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="DE"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
</div>
<br>
<fieldset class="moz-mime-attachment-header"></fieldset>
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</pre>
</blockquote>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Jeremy Bradley, Ph.D.
University of Vienna
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.mari-language.com">http://www.mari-language.com</a>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:jeremy.moss.bradley@univie.ac.at">jeremy.moss.bradley@univie.ac.at</a>
Office address:
Institut EVSL
Abteilung Finno-Ugristik
Universität Wien
Campus AAKH, Hof 7-2
Spitalgasse 2-4
1090 Wien
AUSTRIA
Mobile: +43-664-99-31-788
Skype: jeremy.moss.bradley</pre>
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