Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
8207123 | Physics of Life Reviews | 2017 | 12 Pages |
Abstract
We provide responses to the commentaries in this volume to evaluate, clarify and extend some of the arguments in Dependency distance: A new perspective on syntactic patterns in natural languages. Evidences show that DDM (dependency distance minimization) is an important linguistic universal, biologically or cognitively motivated, in shaping the language system. As a general tendency, DDM works quite well in theoretical argumentations as well as practical applications. However, this does not mean that DDM is the only linguistic universal that works: it is highly possible that other factors, which might be biologically, physically, socially or culturally motivated, work as well to jointly mold languages.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
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Authors
Chunshan Xu, Junying Liang, Haitao Liu,