Morphological relative frequency impedes the use of stylistic
variants
Evidence from a corpus of vernacular Japanese
The sociolinguistic enterprise has demonstrated that speakers manipulate
linguistic variants as they construct their speech style. Contrary to this
expectation, this study introduces specific cases in which stylistic variation
is highly constrained. We examine the verbal negative suffix in Kansai
vernacular Japanese. We first demonstrate that this variable indexes speech
style. We then show that in a few specific contexts, such as following the verb
stem shir- ‘know’, speakers overwhelmingly use a single
variant, in this case, shira-n ‘not know’. We point out that
the unusual forms such as shira-n all have a high relative
frequency compared to the other forms in their paradigms. Complex forms such as
the English word insane, which occur more frequently than their
parts (in+sane), are difficult to decompose. We claim that this
phenomenon also impedes stylistic variation as forms such as
shira-n are not readily decomposed into verb stem +
negative suffix.
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 1.1Stylistic variation
- 1.2The pliable nature of language
- 1.3Speech style and Japanese dialects
- 2.Methodology
- 2.1Data source
- 2.2Independent variables
- 2.3Quantifying speech style
- 2.3.1Stative verbs: Iru/oru ‘be, exist’
- 2.3.2The non-past copula
- 2.3.3Nasalization of -ru
- 2.3.4Sentence-final particles and adverbial intensifiers
- 2.3.5Adjective Ii~ee
- 2.4The SJ index
- 2.5The dependent variable: The verbal negative suffix
-
2.5.1Overview of the verbal negative suffix
- 2.5.2
suru ‘do’, shiru ‘know’, wakaru ‘understand’, and iru ‘need’
- 2.5.3Modal obligation
- 3.Results
- 3.1Verbal negative suffix variant usage: General patterning
- 3.2Verbal negative suffix variant usage: The specific contexts
- 4.
The common link: Relative frequency
- 5.Conclusion
- Acknowledgements
- Notes
-
References
References
Arnon, Inbal, & Snider, Neal
(
2010)
More than words: Frequency effects for multi-word phrases.
Journal of Memory and Language, 621, 67–82.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Abramowicz, Łukasz
(
2007)
Sociolinguistics meets exemplar theory: Frequency and recency effects in (ing).
University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics, 13(2), 27–37.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Alegre, Maria, & Gordon, Peter
(
1999)
Frequency effects and the representational status of regular inflections.
Journal of Memory and Language, 401, 41–61.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bayley, Robert, Greer, Kristen, & Holland, Cory
(
2013)
Lexical frequency and syntactic variation: A test of a linguistic hypothesis.
University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics, 19(2). Available from
[URL]
Beckner, Clay, Blythe, Richard, Bybee, Joan, Christiansen, Morten H., Croft, William, Ellis, Nick C., … Schoenemann, Tom
(
2009)
Language Is a complex adaptive system: Position paper.
Language Learning, 591(
Suppl. 1), 1–26.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bybee, Joan
(
2002)
Word frequency and context of use in the lexical diffusion of phonetically conditioned sound change.
Language Variation and Change, 141, 261–290.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Bybee, Joan
(
2008)
Usage-based grammar and second language acquisition. In
Peter Robinson &
Nick C. Ellis (Eds.),
Handbook of cognitive linguistics and second language acquisition (pp. 216–236). New York, NY: Routledge.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Childs, Becky, & Van Herk, Gerard
(
2014)
Work that – s!: Drag queens, gender, identity, and traditional Newfoundland English.
Journal of Sociolinguistics, 18(5), 634–657.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Conklin, Kathy, & Schmitt, Norbert
(
2012)
The processing of formulaic language.
Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 321, 45–61.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Corbett, Greville, Hippisley, Andrew, Brown, Dunstan, & Marriott, Paul
Dinkin, Aaron
(
2008)
The real effect of word frequency on phonetic variation.
University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics, 14(1), 97–106.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ellis, Nick C.
(
2002)
Frequency effects in language processing.
Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 24(2), 143–188.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Erker, Danny, & Guy, Gregory R.
(
2012)
The role of lexical frequency in syntactic variability: Variable subject personal pronoun expression in Spanish.
Language, 881, 526–557.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Fratini, Viviana, Acha, Joana, & Laka, Itziar
(
2014)
Frequency and morphological irregularity are independent variables: Evidence from a corpus study of Spanish verbs.
Corpus Linguistics and Linguistic Theory, 10(2), 289–314.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Gahl, Susanne
(
2008)
Time and thyme are not homophones: The effect of lemma frequency on word durations in spontaneous speech.
Language, 84(3), 474–496.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Haspelmath, Martin
(
2008)
Frequency vs. iconicity in explaining grammatical asymmetries.
Cognitive Linguistics, 19(1), 1–33.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Hay, Jennifer
(
2001)
Lexical frequency in morphology: Is everything relative? Linguistics 39(6), 1041–1070.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Heffernan, Kevin, & Sato, Yo
Hooper, Joan Bybee
(
1976)
Word frequency in lexical diffusion and the source of morphophonological change. In
William M. Christie (Ed.),
Current progress in historical linguistics (pp. 96–105). Amsterdam: North Holland.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Johnson, Daniel E.
(
2009)
Getting off the GoldVarb standard: Introducing Rbrul for mixed-effects variable rule analysis.
Language and Linguistics Compass, 3(1), 359–383.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kiesling, Scott F.
(
1998)
Men’s identities and sociolinguistic variation: The case of fraternity men.
Journal of Sociolinguistics, 21, 69–99.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Kuiper, Koenraad
(
1996)
Smooth talkers: The linguistic performance of auctioneers and sportscasters. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Neu, Helene (
1980)
Ranking of constraints on /t,d/ deletion in American English: A statistical analysis. In
William Labov (Ed.),
Locating language in time and space (pp. 37–54). New York: Academic Press.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Okamoto, Shigeko
(
2008)
The use of “regional” and “standard” Japanese in conversations: A case study from Osaka. In
Junko Mori &
Amy Snyder Ohta (Eds.),
Japanese applied linguistics: Discourse and social perspectives (pp. 132–159). London: Continuum.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Okamoto, Makiko, & Ujihara, Yasuko
(
2006)
Kansai (Ōsaka) ben nyūmon [
An introduction to Kansai (Osaka) dialect]. Tokyo: Hitsuji Shoten.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Palter, D. C., & Horiuchi Slotsve, Kaoru
(
1995)
Colloquial Kansai Japanese. Singapore: Tuttle Publishing.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Pierrehumbert, Janet B.
(
2006)
The next toolkit.
Journal of Phonetics, 34(4), 516–530.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Renn, Jennifer, & Terr, J. Michael
(
2009)
Operationalizing style: Quantifying the use of style shift in the speech of African American adolescents.
American Speech, 84(4), 367–390.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sanders, Lisa D., Weber-Fox, Christine M., & Neville, Helen J.
(
2008)
Varying degrees of plasticity in different subsystems within language. In
James R. Pomerantz (Ed.),
Topics in integrative neuroscience (pp. 125–153). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Sano, Shin-Ichiro
(
2015)
The role of examplars and lexical frequency in Rendaku.
Open Linguistics, 11, 329–344.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Schilling-Estes, Natalie
(
2002)
Investigating stylistic variation. In
J. K. Chambers,
Peter Trudgill, &
Natalie Schilling-Estes (Eds.).
The handbook of language variation and change (pp. 375–401). Malden, MA: Blackwell.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tagliamonte, Sali A.
(
2006)
Analysing sociolinguistic variation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Takagi, Chie
(
2004)
Jakunensō Kansai hōgen no hiteiji ni miru gengo henka no taipu [Types of language changes seen in the negative suffix of the Kansai dialect of young speakers].
Nihongo Kagaku, 161, 25–46.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Taft, Marcus
(
2004)
Morphological decomposition and the reverse base frequency effect.
The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A, 57(4), 745–765.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tamminga, Meredith
(
2014)
Sound change without frequency effects: Ramifications for phonological theory. In
Robert E. Santana-LaBarge (Ed.),
Proceedings of the 31st West Coast Conference on Formal Lingusitics (pp. 457–465). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tomasello, Michael
(
2009)
The usage-based theory of language acquisition. In
Edith L. Bavin (Ed.),
The Cambridge handbook of child language (pp. 69–88). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tremblay, Antoine, Derwing, Bruce, Libben, Gary & Westbury, Chris
(
2011)
Processing advantages of lexical bundles: Evidence from self-paced reading and sentence recall tasks.
Language Learning, 61(2), 569–613.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Tsuji, Kayoko
(
2003)
Kyōtoshi hōhen washa no sutairu kirikae [Style shifting in the speech of Kyoto dialect speakers].
Handai Shaikai Gengogaku Kenkyū Nōto, 31, 2–27.
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ullman, Michael T.
(
2004)
Contributions of memory circuits to language: The declarative/procedural model.
Cognition: International Journal of Cognitive Science, 92(1–2), 231–270.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Ullman, Michael T. (
2016)
The declarative/procedural model: A neurobiological model of language learning, knowledge, and use. In
Gregory Hickok &
Steven Small (Eds.),
The neurobiology of language (pp. 953–968). Amsterdam: Elsevier.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
van Lancker Sidtis, Diana
(
2012)
Two-track mind: Formulaic and novel language support a dual-process model. In
Miriam Faust (Ed.),
The handbook of the neuropsychology of language (pp. 342–367). Malden MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Walker, James
(
2012)
Form, function, and frequency in phonological variation.
Language Variation and Change, 24(3), 397–415.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Wray, Alison
(
2002)
Formulaic language and the lexicon. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
![DOI logo](https://benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
![Google Scholar](https://benjamins.com/logos/google-scholar.svg)
Cited by
Cited by 1 other publications
Heffernan, Kevin, Yusuke Imanishi & Masaru Honda
2018.
Showcasing the interaction of generative and emergent linguistic knowledge with case marker omission in spoken Japanese.
Glossa: a journal of general linguistics 3:1
![DOI logo](//benjamins.com/logos/doi-logo.svg)
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 29 june 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.