6.567 Sum: Statistics on conjugations

[The Linguist List]

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-6-567. Sat 15 Apr 1995. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines: 65
 
Subject: 6.567 Sum: Statistics on conjugations
 
Moderators: Anthony Rodrigues Aristar: Texas A&M U. <aristar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
            Helen Dry: Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at emunix.emich.edu>
 
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               Ann Dizdar <dizdar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
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1)
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 11:39:40 +0200
From: arian at th.vu.nl
Subject: Sum: Statistics on Conjugations
 
-------------------------Messages--------------------------------------
1)
Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 11:39:40 +0200
From: arian at th.vu.nl
Subject: Sum: Statistics on Conjugations
 
Dear Linguists,
 
A month ago I posted a query concerning (references to)
statistics on the verbal conjugations (-a-, -e-, -i- congugations
etc) in Latin or other languages that know that kind of form classes.
 
So far I got two very helpful responses,
one from Manuel Sifre, Universitat Jaume I, Castello' de la Plana
(sifre at fil.uji.es) on Catalan,
and one from Anna Maria Thornton, Universita` degli Studi, l'Aquila
(annathor at kant.irmkant.rm.cnr.it) on Italian. Anna Maria Thornton
published on the subject: "Italiano in Quantita`", _Italiano in Oltre_
ix (1994) 276-285.
 
The two of them reach similar observations, viz
1. that the frequencies of the conjugations are very unequal
2. that in both languages verbs in -a- represent the overwhelming
   majority, covering some 86% of all verbal lexemes in Catalan,
   and some 68% in Italian.
 
The relevance for me is that in (Biblical) Hebrew the binyanim
(or: conjugations) show a similar behaviour, with a very unequal
frequency distribution, and one binyan, QAL, being overwhelmingly the
largest (though the figures are different).
 
Grateful as I am for the responses that I got, I would like to ask once
more: is there anyone with data for other languages?
 
Thanks in advance,
 
Arian Verheij
 
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Dr Arian J.C. Verheij                        | email  arian at th.vu.nl
VU, Dpt. Biblical Studies & Computer Science | phone +31 20 444 6625/7
De Boelelaan 1105, kr. 14A-38                | fax   +31 20 444 6635
NL 1081 HV  Amsterdam
 
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