NonGram

In the “NonGram” project, the research team, led by Prof. Dr. Uta Reinöhl, explores grammatical variation in four endangered languages: “Vedic Sanskrit”, “Warlpiri”, “Waima’a”, and “Kera’a”. These languages are special in that they all use non-hierarchical structures.

The project helps in documenting endangered languages and highlights language diversity. While non-hierarchicality has only been marginally researched, the project team finds that both hierarchical and non-hierarchical structures convey the same information.

Hierarchical and non-hierarchical structures

While German or English differentiate nouns, verbs and adjectives other languages like Vedic Sanskrit, Warlpiri, Waima’a, and Kera’a do not always differentiate nouns or verbs. The difference between these languages is hierarchicality. When words get an ending, like the [-r] in [lieber], because of another word they co-occur with, like [Mensch] in [lieber Mensch], the language is said to have a hierarchical structure. However, when words do not change because of other words they co-occur with, the language is described as having a “non-hierarchical” or “flat” structure. Combining [Mensch] + [Liebe] could either mean [menschliche Liebe] or [lieber Mensch]!

What is a hierarchical structure?

A hierarchical structure consists of a head (e.g. Mensch) and a modifier (e.g. lieber). The noun is superior in position relative to the adjective as the adjective has to agree with the noun, as shown by the [-r] ending.

nongram_hierarchy

What is a non-hierarchical structure?

A non-hierarchical structure consists of words of the same word class. There is no head or modifier and therefore no hierarchical agreement. The structure conveys a meaning similar to [menschliche Liebe] or [lieber Mensch].

nongram_flat

Project Information

You can find more information on the project here.