Paradigm Structure and Predictability in Latin Inflection: An Entropy-based Approach

Latin paradigms are analyzed in this book using entropy-based techniques, showing the relevance of traditional notions and suggesting enhancements to the standard information-theoretic methodology to account for external factors. It is useful for morphologists and scholars working in Latin and Romance linguistics.

Format: Hardback
Length: 183 pages
Publication date: 01 April 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

Latin paradigms, renowned for their proverbial significance, have frequently served as a testing ground for diverse theoretical approaches to morphological complexity. In this comprehensive book, the paradigms are analyzed from a word-based perspective, employing a recently developed information-theoretic methodology. This approach makes entropy-based techniques of analysis accessible to a broader audience, thereby demonstrating the relevance of traditional notions such as principal parts. By providing a more principled and data-driven formulation, the book underscores the significance of these concepts. Furthermore, it proposes enhancements to the standard information-theoretic methodology, enabling the consideration of external factors, such as gender and derivational information, in improving the predictability between inflected word forms. This book holds immense value for morphologists, as it presents ideas and techniques derived from the ongoing debate in morphological theory and applies them to the intricate phenomena of Latin. It is also invaluable for scholars engaged in both Latin and Romance linguistics, as the former gains access to a freely available lexical resource and a novel description of Latin paradigms, which the latter can utilize to draw comparisons with recent analyses of the inflectional morphology of various Romance languages.

Weight: 471g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031248436
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023