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Constraints on Language Variation and Change in Complex Multilingual Contact Settings
Edited by Bertus van Rooy and Haidee Kotze
[Contact Language Library 60] 2024
► pp. 191–222

Chapter 7
The complex case of constrained communication

A corpus-driven, multilingual and multi‑register search for the common ground between non‑native and translated language

| University of Turku
| University of Bologna
| University of Bologna

In this study we explore the common ground between second-language writing and translated language as instances of constrained language use. Our research design involves three languages (English, Finnish, Italian), two constraining languages and two different registers in each of the three languages. These are compared in terms of frequency of syntactic structures (part-of-speech [POS] bigrams), adopting a corpus-driven method combining keyness analysis and multidimensional analysis. No general constrainedness effects that apply irrespective of languages and registers were observed, but our results point to the centrality of the opposition between verbal and nominal orientation for distinguishing constrained from unconstrained varieties. We conclude with suggestions on how our method and findings could lead to a deeper understanding of constrained language use, and be extended to different modes of language production and to language contact research in general.

Keywords: constrained language, second language, translated language, random forests, multidimensional analysis, dependency bigrams, Universal Dependencies
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Collocations as signals of constrained language use from a multilingual perspective: Challenges and how to address them
    • 2.1Variation and cross-linguistic comparability
    • 2.2Locating constrainedness effects: What features should be used?
    • 2.3Collocations in focus
  • 3.Data and method
    • 3.1Data used
    • 3.2Method
      • 3.2.1A cross-linguistically comparable feature set
      • 3.2.2Methodological workflow
      • 3.2.3Keyness analysis and factor solutions
  • 4.Results
    • 4.1English Dimension 1: Nominal vs. verbal orientation
    • 4.2Finnish Dimension 1: Verbal vs. nominal orientation
    • 4.3Italian Dimension 1: Verbal vs. nominal orientation
  • 5.Discussion: What constrainedness effects are common across languages?
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 20 June 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/coll.60.07iva
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