Gertraud Fenk-Oczlon | Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt (original) (raw)

Papers by Gertraud Fenk-Oczlon

Papiere zur Linguistik, 1997

This paper presents the main ideas of what call "Natural Typology". Natural Typology is an attemp... more This paper presents the main ideas of what call "Natural Typology". Natural Typology is an attempt at an empirically based typology which meets the demands of the term "natural": This "holistic" approach takes into account that each language goes through natural selfregulatory processes optimizing the interaction between its (phonological, morphological, syntactical) subsystems and the interaction with its "natural" environment, e.g. the articulatory and the cognitive system. Naturalness Theory, however, has been trying up to now to determine "natural" or "optimal" properties on separate levels and thus often encountered "suboptimal" properties of languages which are difficult to explain Statistically significant results of a previous cross-linguistic study are presented. This set of mutually dependent correlations offers some new perspectives on the interaction between prosody, phonology, morphology, and syntax.

Frontiers in Communicaton, 2023

A corrigendum on Iconic associations between vowel acoustics and musical patterns, and the musica... more A corrigendum on
Iconic associations between vowel acoustics and musical patterns, and the
musical protolanguage hypothesis

Frontiers in Communication, 2021

Starting from a view on language as a complex, hierarchically organized system composed of many p... more Starting from a view on language as a complex, hierarchically organized system composed of many parts that have many interactions, this paper investigates statistical relationships between the linguistic variables "phoneme inventory size," "syllable size," "length of words," "length of clauses," and the nonlinguistic variable "population size." By analyzing parallel textual material of 61 languages (18 language families) we found strong positive correlations between phoneme inventory size, mean number of phonemes per syllable, and mean number of monosyllables. We observed significant negative correlations between phoneme inventory size and the mean length of words and the mean length of clauses, measured as number of syllables. We then correlated the linguistic complexity data with estimated speaker population sizes and could reveal that languages with more speakers tend to have more phonemes per syllable, shorter words in number of syllables, a higher number of monosyllabic words, and a higher number of words per clause. Moreover, we reproduce the results of former studies that found a positive correlation between population size and phoneme inventory size for our language sample. The findings are discussed in light of previous research and within the framework of Systemic Typology. We propose that syllable complexity is a key factor in the correlations identified in this study, and that Zipf's law of Abbreviation explains the associations between "word length," "syllable complexity," "phoneme inventory size," and the extralinguistic variable "population size."

In book: Frequency and the Emergence of Linguistic Structure, Publisher: John Benjamins, Editors:... more In book: Frequency and the Emergence of Linguistic Structure, Publisher: John Benjamins, Editors: J. Bybee, P. Hopper, pp.431-448

This paper argues for the relevance of quantitative and cognitive linguistics for typology. Cross... more This paper argues for the relevance of quantitative and cognitive linguistics for typology. Crosslinguistic correlations between the size ofsyllables, words, and sentences, äs suggested earlier (Fenk & FenkOczlon 1993), have been r [ confirmed in a wider sample of!8 Indo-European and 16 non-Indo-European \ languages from all continents except Australia. Further correlations with word ; order turned out to be statistically significant: in predominantly agglutinative (S)OV languages the number ofsyllables per clause and per word is higher and the number ofphonemes per syllable lower than in (S)VO languages. Essentially , the patterns found seem to reflect a universal tendency to keep clauses relatively small and invariant, which in turn can be explained by time-related constraints ofour cognitive System.

Fenk, A. & Fenk, G. (1980) Konstanz im Kurzzeitgedächtnis – Konstanz im sprachlichen Informationsfluß?

In this paper we try to answer the following questions: Why do frequently used words tend to poly... more In this paper we try to answer the following questions: Why do frequently used words tend to polysemy and homophony? And what comes first-frequency or the higher number of meanings per word? We shall stress the key role of frequency in the emergence of polysemy and assume an interactive step-up initiated by frequency: High frequency not only favors reduction processes of words or the bleaching of meanings that can result in polysemy; it also plays a crucial role in the creation of metaphors or metonymies, i.e., the main sources of polysemy. Only familiar or frequent source words/concepts tend to be used in metaphorical or metonymical expressions. Through the conventionalization of the metaphors and metonymies, the source words get additional meanings. They now can be used in a higher number of contexts what in turn favors a more frequent use. A similar explanation might hold for the development of homophony: Shorter words are known for their tendency to homophony [Jespersen, 1933] and high token frequency. Our explanation: High frequency favors backgrounding processes, such as vowel reduction, lenition and deletion of consonants or even of syllables. This

Papiere zur Linguistik, 1989

Spielarten der Natürlichkeit - Spielarten der Ökonomie, 1990

Namen, Sprachen und Kulturen Imena, Jeziki in Kultur, 2002

Festschrift für Otmar Werner, 1997

Papiere zur Linguistik, 1997

Frontiers in Communicaton, 2023

Frontiers in Communication, 2021

Fenk, A. & Fenk, G. (1980) Konstanz im Kurzzeitgedächtnis – Konstanz im sprachlichen Informationsfluß?

Papiere zur Linguistik, 1989

Spielarten der Natürlichkeit - Spielarten der Ökonomie, 1990

Namen, Sprachen und Kulturen Imena, Jeziki in Kultur, 2002

Festschrift für Otmar Werner, 1997

Iconic associations between vowel acoustics and musical patterns, 2019

Recent research demonstrates strong relationships between vowels and music (e.g. Kolinsky et al. ... more Recent research demonstrates strong relationships between vowels and music (e.g. Kolinsky et al. 2009; Fenk-Oczlon 2017). Vowels play a decisive role in generating the sound or sonority of syllables, the main vehicles for transporting prosodic information in speech, and singing. Vowels show all the core components of music, i.e., timbre, intrinsic pitch, intensity and duration. Previous studies found non-arbitrary associations between vowel pitch and musical pitch in non-lexical/meaningless syllables (Fenk-Oczlon & Fenk 2009): In songs containing strings of meaningless syllables the vowels are connected to melodic direction in close correspondence to their intrinsic pitch or the frequency of the second formant F2.
This paper focuses on vowel intrinsic duration and its representation in music. It is generally assumed that open (low) vowels like [a ɔ o] have a higher intrinsic duration than close (high) vowels like [i y] and that there is a positive correlation between the first formant F1 and duration (e.g. Peterson & Lehiste 1960). Hypothesis: In songs containing meaningless syllables, syllables with open vowels like [a ɔ o] should be favored for long notes. Method: This assumption was tested based on all Alpine yodelers (n=20) in Pommer’s collection from 1906. All half notes, which represent the longest relative note values in our sample, and all dotted notes were counted and assigned to the respective syllables. Result: 75% of all half notes (n=193) as well as 75% of all dotted notes (n=356) were linked with syllables like [ha hɔ ra rɔ jɔ dɔ] containing open (low) vowels. Discussion: It will be argued that the iconic associations between vowel acoustics (intrinsic pitch, duration) and music which become apparent in the case of singing meaningless syllables where “the pressures of sense are relaxed to those of sound” (Butler 2015), might strengthen the idea of a musical protolanguage (e.g. Fitch 2006).

Introduction: The question whether languages differ in their intrinsic tempo is attracting great ... more Introduction: The question whether languages differ in their intrinsic tempo is attracting great interest. Is it only an impression that “speakers of some languages seem to rattle away at high speed like machine-guns, while other languages sound rather slow and plodding”? (Roach 1998: 150) Or is there really something in the language structure itself that makes some languages sound faster? And if so: How to measure this “basic” or “intrinsic” tempo of languages, abstracting from the enormous inter-individual and situation dependent variation in speech rate, and from its variation depending on age, gender, education, etc. In Fenk-Oczlon and Fenk (2010) we suggested and applied the simple metric “syllables per intonation unit” in order to analyze and compare languages with respect to their intrinsic tempo, a metric that does without any measuring of duration.

Procedure: Native speakers of 51 languages from all continents (19 European, 32 Non-Indo- European) were asked to translate a matched set of 22 simple declarative sentences encoding one proposition in one intonation unit into their mother tongue. Furthermore, they were asked to count the number of syllables in normal speech. The number of phonemes was determined by the authors, assisted by the native speakers and by grammars of the respective languages.
Results: The 51 languages in our sample show a considerable variation in the mean number of syllables per intonation unit, ranging from 4.64 in Thai up to 10.96 in Telugu. The mean number of syllables per clause is 7.02, and the mean number of phonemes per syllable is 2.24. German shows the highest mean syllable complexity (2.79 phonemes per syllable), followed by Dutch (2.78) and Thai (2.75). The languages with the lowest syllable complexity are Hawaiian (1.76), Japanese (1.88) and Roviana (1.92). A cross-linguistic negative correlation between the number of phonemes per syllable and the number of syllables per clause turned out to be highly significant: – .73 (p < . 01)
Discussion: We view these differences as intrinsic tempo differences between languages: The smaller the syllables of a language, the higher the number of syllables per intonation unit and the higher the intrinsic tempo of that language – similar to music where in “phrases containing many notes, the notes are usually very fast” (Temperley 2001).
The number of syllables per intonation unit or the language intrinsic tempo seems to be, moreover, an important variable underlying the classification of languages as “stress-, syllable-, and mora- timed”. The findings will be related to complexity trade-offs (e.g. Fenk- Oczlon & Fenk 2014) and, more generally, to systemic typology.

I here start with an outline of the constant flow of linguistic information hypothesis (Fenk & Fe... more I here start with an outline of the constant flow of linguistic information hypothesis (Fenk & Fenk 1980), and propose it as a framework for understanding the preponderance of the subject initial word orders SOV and SVO across languages. I will then discuss a probabilistic-based explanation for the subject preference in ambiguity resolution across languages.
• The constant flow of linguistic information hypothesis:
In an effective and economical communication system, the information transmitted should be distributed as uniformly as possible across time, and the average level of information transmitted per time should be adapted to our capacity limits (Fenk & Fenk 1980:402f; see also Jäger 2010).
We propose two main mechanisms that contribute to a rather constant flow of linguistic information: (i) The regularity “the more frequent, the shorter”. According to information theory high relative frequency (≈ high probability) is related to low informational content. An element carrying a small amount of information can be processed within a shorter time. (ii) The regularity “the more predictable first”. This regularity seems to compensate for the successive reduction of information over time. In general, as a sentence continues, the number of possible continuations and thus subjective information decreases. To place elements carrying a high amount of information at the beginning of a sequence, i.e. a position which is per se characterized by high information (Shannon 1951), would produce peaks of cognitive overload (Fenk-Oczlon 1983, 1989, 2001).
• Explaining the preponderance of SOV and SVO word orders across languages
In Fenk-Oczlon (1983) I argued that a strategy favoring highly predictable units at the beginning of sentences could help ensure a constant flow of information and potentially account for the cross-linguistic preponderance of the subject first word orders SOV and SVO. The rationale: Subjects are highly discourse prominent and most frequently topic (old information) and therefore more predictable than verbs or objects which are prototypically comments and new information. The power of the processing strategy “the more predictable first” shows also in the ordering of binominals (Fenk-Oczlon 1989).
• Subject preference in ambiguity resolution
Recent ERP studies (e.g. Bickel et al. 2015, Wang et al. 2009) provide convincing evidence for a S/A preference in ambiguity resolution of initial arguments. This processing strategy seems to be universal and can even be observed in languages like Hindi or Mandarin in which the grammatical category subject is not as clear-cut. The principle of simplicity has been put forward as a potential explanation for the observed S/A preference (Bornkessel & Schlesewsky 2006): initial ambiguous arguments are first analyzed as the sole argument (subject) of an intransitive verb.
Here, I will suggest a probabilistic approach to ambiguity resolution, favoring the most probable units. I will argue that subjects have the highest probability as initial arguments even in languages such as Mandarin – frequently considered to be topic prominent – or Hindi, which has split ergativity. Further interrelationships between predictability of NPs and morphological case marking (nominative, ergative, absolutive) will be discussed.

Sound symbolism, the non-arbitrary association between sound and meaning remains a hotly debated... more Sound symbolism, the non-arbitrary association between sound and meaning remains a hotly debated topic. Recently Blasi et al. (2016) have found robust correspondences between sound and meaning across a large number of languages, indicating that sound symbolism is more
widespread and pervasive than often assumed. A well-known example of sound symbolism is the association between high front vowels like [i y e] and small size, and between low backvowels like [a ɔ o] and large size. Whether acoustic properties of vowels (e.g. intrinsic pitch) or kinaesthetic mechanisms (e.g. oral cavity) are responsible for the sound-size correspondence is an enduring debate which goes back to Sapir 1929 (cf. Lockwood & Dingemanse 2015).
In this paper, I will focus on vowel intrinsic pitch and its pivotal role in specific kinds of sound symbolism. Concerning vowel intrinsic pitch it is known since Meyer (1896) that, all else being equal, high vowels have a higher intrinsic fundamental frequency (IF0) than low vowels. Although pitch frequency or fundamental frequency (F0) of vowels is primarily determined by the vibration of the vocal folds, there are also correlations between the height of the formants F1 and F2 and vowel intrinsic pitch.
In Fenk-Oczlon & Fenk (2009a) we hypothesized that in songs containing strings of nonsense syllables the vowels might be connected to melodic direction in close correspondence to their intrinsic pitch. We tested this assumption based on all monophonic Alpine yodelers (n=15) in
Pommer’s collection from 1893. The test revealed a surprisingly uniform pattern: The melody descended in 118 out of 121 [i]→[o] successions and ascended in 132 out of 133 [o]→[i] successions. A similar assumption was tested in Austrian traditional songs, which include successions of nonsense syllables. In 24 out of 26 songs in the Davidowicz collection (1980) we found the expected coincidence between the vowel [i] and the highest pitch in melody (Fenk-Oczlon & Fenk 2009b). Vowel intrinsic pitch also plays a key role in transforming spoken information into whistled languages (Meyer 2008), as well as in many mnemonic systems for transmitting or representing musical melodies (Hughes 2000).
The strong non-arbitrary associations between vowel pitch and musical pitch in meaningless syllables reinforce the assumption that acoustic properties of vowels - rather than kinesthetic or articulatory mechanisms - are responsible for sound symbolism in meaningful words, in which vowels are cross-modally associated with size, distance mapping, etc. The findings will be discussed in the context of recent research on sound symbolism.

Blasi, D.E., Wichmann, S., Hammarström, H., Stadler, P.F. & Christiansen, M.H. (2016) Sound–meaning association biases evidenced across thousands of languages. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 113, 10818–10823
Dawidowicz, A. (1980) Österreichisches Liederbuch. Komm, sing mit! Innsbruck/Neu Rum: Musikverlag Helbling
Fenk-Oczlon, G. & Fenk, A. (2009a) Some parallels between language and music from a cognitive and evolutionary perspective. Musicae Scientiae, 13, 201-226
Fenk-Oczlon, G. & Fenk, A. (2009b) Musical pitch in nonsense syllables: Correlations with the vowel system and evolutionary perspectives. In J. Louhivou et al. (eds.), Proceedings of 7th Triennial Conference of the
Europaean Society for the Cognitive Sciences of Music, 110-113
Hughes, D. W. (2000) No nonsense: the logic and power of acoustic-iconic mnemonic systems. British Journal of Ethnomusicology 9/ii. 95-122
Lockwood, G. & Dingemanse, M. (2015) Iconicity in the lab: a review of behavioral, developmental, and neuroimaging research into sound-symbolism. Frontiers in Psychology, 6: 1246
Meyer, E. A. (1896) Zur Tonbewegung des Vokals im gesprochenen und gesungenen Einzelwort. Phonetische Studien 10, 1-21
Meyer, J. (2008) Typology and acoustic strategies of whistled languages: Phonetic comparison and perceptual cues of whistled vowels. Journal of the International Phonetic Association 38 (1), 69-94
Pommer, J. (1893) 252 Jodler and Juchezer. Wien: Rebay & Robitschek