The formalization of sound changes as finite state transducers is implicit already in the Neogrammarians. For at least six decades scholars have recognized the potential of transducers for improving the speed and rigor of research in historical linguists, but almost no historical linguists actually use them. This article identifies the obstacles…[Read more]

In the course, I give a basic introduction into some of the recent developments in the field of computational historical linguistics. While this field is predominantly represented by phylogenetic approaches with whom scholars try to infer phylogenetic trees from different kinds of language data, the approach taken here is much broader,…[Read more]

In the course, I give a basic introduction into some of the recent developments in the field of computational historical linguistics. While this field is predominantly represented by phylogenetic approaches with whom scholars try to infer phylogenetic trees from different kinds of language data, the approach taken here is much broader,…[Read more]

The weblog Computer-Assisted Language Comparison in Practice, published on the Hypotheses platform for scientific blogging (https://calc.hypotheses.org/), offers tutorials and discussion notes on computer-assisted approaches to the history and diversity of languages. A substantial part of its content is contributed as part of the ERC Starting…[Read more]

Taking up the challenge of navigating the complex world of digital humanities, Making Sense of Digital Humanities offers readers an exploration of the many ways scholars have employed the diverse toolkit of digital humanities to create a better understanding of the synergies and disruptions created by technological change. Rooted in a concern for…[Read more]

Spanish abstract: El lenguaje no puede entenderse al margen de la evolución. No basta sólo con explicar el surgimiento evolutivo de una “capacidad de lenguaje”, sino que también hay que explicar la evolución del lenguaje en sí, el lenguaje en acto y no en potencia. En suma, no sólo se trata de averiguar si nuestros ancestros hablaban, pues hoy c…[Read more]

Thomas Wolfe (1900-1938) nasce ad Asheville, North Carolina. Mentre studia drammaturgia ad Harvard scrive per il teatro, ma il successo arriva con il romanzo autobiografico ‘Look Homeward, Angel’ (1929), seguito da ‘Of Time and the River’ (1935) e dai postumi ‘The Web and the Rock’ (1939) e ‘You Can’t Go Home Again’ (1940). ‘Passage to England: A…[Read more]

Lecture, given at the Fifth Pavia International Summer School for Indo-European Linguistics (Università di Pavia, 2022-09-05/09)

Lecture, given at the Fifth Pavia International Summer School for Indo-European Linguistics (Università di Pavia, 2022-09-05/09)

Since 2016, the academic narrative emerging from the Zora Neale Hurston Festival of the Arts and Humanities in Eatonville, Florida, has increasingly relied on a public scholarship model to bridge the gap between institutional practice and community knowledge. Inspired by Zora Neale Hurston’s legacy as an interdisciplinary scholar, these a…[Read more]

Text Analysis is a broad term that covers many approaches and technologies. Those initially stemming from the academic sphere have come to enter the commercial, and today there is a wide interplay between the two. A further dichotomy is that between natural language and computational approaches. Over time, approaches have come to draw upon each…[Read more]

The huge proliferation of textual (and other data) in digital and organisational sources has led to new techniques of text analysis. The potential thereby unleashed may be underpinned by further theoretical
developments to the theory of Discourse Stream Analysis (DSA) as presented here. These include the notion of change in the discourse stream…[Read more]

The Connections between ancient approaches to rhetoric, as found in Plato and Aristotle, the prime ancient theorists of rhetoric, and modern linguistic approaches to register and genre theory, as in Hallidayan linguistics, show continuity of thought across the centuries. They also suggest that there may be such things as universal rhetorical…[Read more]

The Connections between ancient approaches to rhetoric, as found in Plato and Aristotle, the prime ancient theorists of rhetoric, and modern linguistic approaches to register and genre theory, as in Hallidayan linguistics, show continuity of thought across the centuries. They also suggest that there may be such things as universal rhetorical…[Read more]

A review of evidence for foot structure from early Middle English.

The Note Azzurre (Blue Notes), arguably the most representative work of the Scapigliato Carlo Dossi, have always
been the focus of attention of scholars and enthusiasts. A few notes, however, have been studied little or not at
all: these fragments revolve around extremely modern matters and obsessions, such as the impact of technology
on…[Read more]

Subject of this article is the Gagauz language, spoken by about 200,000 speakers, mainly in
the Republic of Moldova and the Ukraine. Linguistically, it is very close to Turkish but shows
several special features that have developed under the influence of Slavic languages. The
linguistic features of the Gagauz language will be examined and are…[Read more]