Komplexität – dennoch ein nützlicher Begriff
- Submitting institution
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London Metropolitan University
- Unit of assessment
- 25 - Area Studies
- Output identifier
- 10.25
- Type
- C - Chapter in book
- DOI
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- Book title
- Stauffenburg Linguistics: Linguistische Komplexität – ein Phantom?
- Publisher
- Stauffenburg Linguistics
- ISBN
- 978-3-95809-515-1
- Open access status
- -
- Month of publication
- -
- Year of publication
- 2017
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
- -
- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
- -
- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
-
-
- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- -
- Author contribution statement
- -
- Non-English
- Yes
- English abstract
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The chapter surveys notions of linguistic complexity from different perspectives. It introduces complexity measures and describes recent findings of considerable complexity variation between languages. It argues that complexity of semantic-pragmatic mapping is of a different kind from grammatical complexity and cannot provide a suitable basis for rescuing the equi-complexity hypothesis. It also argues that system complexity needs complementing by complexity of text realisation and applies a complexity measure by Kortmann/Szmrecsanyi to a German-English translation, confirming their view that syntheticity and analyticity are not necessarily alternatives. Carefully operationalised complexity proves a useful notion that contributes to a paradigm shift in linguistics.