Calendrier

• François Pellegrino

dans le cadre DILIS

https://cnrs.zoom.us/j/99529216952?pwd=eWFtRkI1NXpUaVFhVUEwMkRkejZGQT09
Abstract
In the last decades, numerous quantitative studies have investigated the somewhat abstract and admittedly vague notion of linguistic complexity. In this presentation, I explore how this concept has taken shape in the context of corpus-based linguistic typology. In the first act, I review how numerous studies converged towards the existence of a balance in complexity between morphology and syntax in the world languages. In the second act, I discuss the ongoing endeavor to understand the putative influence of a population's demography (size and proportion of non-native speakers) on its language system and evolution. As an intermezzo, I argue how such complexity-mediated effects are significant but limited (and vice-versa...) because they still offer a large latitude in terms of linguistic diversity. In the final act, I nevertheless show that linguistic complexity directly influences the way we speak because of its intrication with the notion of information. If time permits, I will conclude with a few words on the epistemological shift observed from the dynamical and systemic approach to complexity towards the ecological notion of linguistic niche.