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Recent empirical studies have highlighted the large degree of analytic flexibility in data analysis that can lead to substantially different conclusions based on the same data set. Thus, researchers have expressed their concerns that these researcher degrees of freedom might facilitate bias and can lead to claims that do not stand the test of time. Even greater flexibility is to be expected in fields in which the primary data lend themselves to a variety of possible operationalizations. The multidimensional, temporally extended nature of speech constitutes an ideal testing ground for assessing the variability in analytic approaches, which derives not only from aspects of statistical modeling but also from decisions regarding the quantification of the measured behavior. In this study, we gave the same speech-production data set to 46 teams of researchers and asked them to answer the same research question, resulting in substantial variability in reported effect sizes and their interpretation. Using Bayesian meta-analytic tools, we further found little to no evidence that the observed variability can be explained by analysts’ prior beliefs, expertise, or the perceived quality of their analyses. In light of this idiosyncratic variability, we recommend that researchers more transparently share details of their analysis, strengthen the link between theoretical construct and quantitative system, and calibrate their (un)certainty in their conclusions.

Conservative Basque dialects distinguish apical and laminal alveolar sibilants in the fricative and affricate series. This paper analyses the changes this system was undergoing in the Central Basque variety of San Sebastián in the 18th century: (1) the “Western merger”: neutralisation of the laminal and apical fricative sibilants in favour of the latter and the neutralisation of the laminal and apical alveolar affricates in favour of the former, which started in Western Basque and spread to some Central varieties, and (2) the “Central merger”, a more recent development, limited to some central dialects, where both fricative and affricate alveolar sibilants are realised as laminals. A generalised linear mixed-effects model was fitted to the data extracted from an early-18th-century manuscript which shows evidence of both patterns of merger. We propose that sibilant mergers were still in progress in the variety and time period under study and that they are interrelated processes. The Western merger started as a phonetically-conditioned sound change due to coarticulation to a following consonant. As this neutralisation extended to other positions, a hypercorrective change was initiated in some Central varieties, which eventually resulted in a mirror-image process, namely a change from apical to laminal fricatives.

This corpus-based study examines the diachrony of differential place marking in Basque. In spatial cases, animate nouns in Basque exhibit heavier morphological forms than inanimate ones, but, under some circumstances, they can also be marked as inanimate. The data for the study comprises 66 sixteenth-to-twentieth-century texts (9,791 examples). A generalised linear mixed-effects model was fitted to analyse factors influencing the choice of marking. It is shown that animate nouns are sensitive to different aspects of the extended Animacy Hierarchy. The strongest effect is that of number (singular nouns prefer animate marking), followed by referentiality (pronouns are more prone to take animate forms than other nominals) and definiteness (definite nouns show animate marking more often than indefinite ones). The analysis also shows that animate marking became more widespread, and that there are dialectal differences. Moreover, more factors were relevant for the alternation in the earliest data (number, referentiality, definiteness, person and case) than in the most recent texts, where number is the most important.

252 p., Euskal Ikasketek egun duten bizindarra azaltzeko, baitezpadakoa da aintzat hartzea lau hamarkadatik gora igaro direla Euskal Herriko unibertsitateetan Euskal Filologiako eta Hizkuntzalaritzako ikasketa programak ezarri zirenez geroztik. Ikusgarri bezain sendoak dira, gaur-gaurkoz, euskararen gaineko askotariko ikerketa esparruek urteotan izandako bilakabidea eta lorturiko estandarrak: arrunt bihurtu da euskal ikertzaileen lanak ohiko iragazki akademikoak gainditu eta nazioarteko biltzar, argitalpen, ikastaro eta bestelakoetan aurkeztu eta argitaratzea. Emaitzok erdiesteko, ezinbesteko izan dira bai bide urratzaile eta gidari aritu direnen jarduna, bai Euskal Ikasketak deritzogun arlo zabalaren azpi arloetan sortu eta handitutako ikerketa taldeak, bai horietan gazterik aritu eta aritzen diren ikertzaileen lana, bai esparru akademikoan jardun ez arren, estandar zientifikoak ezagutu eta baliatzen dituztenena.

In this paper we examine a corpus of sixteenth- to nineteenth-century Basque private letters and administration documents from a historical sociolinguistic point of view. Because of the diglossic situation, such texts are rare but valuable in the historical corpus of Basque. In particular, we analyse relative clauses with the pronoun zein ‘which’. The construction was borrowed from Romance by highly literate bilinguals, but then spread, especially through formulaic language, to less literate writers too. We focus on the development of non-standard variants of this relative clause, which are common in our corpus, but not found in printed literary texts. We argue that the sociolinguistic context was crucial in the emergence, spread and syntactic change of the relative construction.

71 p. : il. -- Bibliogr.: p. 30

Artikulu honetan euskarazko erlatibo aposatuak aztertzen dira ikuspuntu diakronikotik. XVI-XIX. mendeetako testuen corpus batean oinarrituta, erakusten dut erlatibo aposatuek hainbat ezaugarri berezi dituztela: testuinguru nahiko finko batzuetan agertzeko joera dute eta ezaugarri sintaktikoetan aldentzen dira erlatibozko beste egitura batzuetatik. Bestalde, corpusean hauteman daitezkeen aldaketa diakroniko batzuen berri ere ematen dut.

In this paper, we apply the methods of historical sociolinguistics to seventeenth-century religious literature in Basque. We explore issues related to macrosociolinguistics, and, in particular, the problem of contextualisation of authors and their works. As an example of this approach, we analyse Doctrina Christiana by Esteve Materra (published in 1617 and 1623), the first Basque Catholic catechism in the province of Labourd, in the northern part of the Basque Country. It marked the beginning of an intense period of publishing in Basque which lasted until the late seventeenth century. We place the book in the context of major religious movements in France at that time. Materra’s catechism was a response of the Catholic Church to the Reformation in the Basque Country, and was produced with the support of the Church authorities, which needed Basque to reach monolingual speakers. Notwithstanding, Materra’s catechism also attests to the development of a model of written language to be used in the Labourdin literature.

71 p. : il. -- Bibliogr.: p. 30

Lan honetan -ko erlazio-atzizkia duten sintagmen kokapena (izenaren aurrekoa eta izenaren ostekoa) aztertzen da ikuspuntu diakronikotik. Atzizkiaren funtzioa izenen modifikatzaileak sortzea da, adberbioetatik, leku kasua, instrumentala edo postposizioa duten izenetatik eta izen-multzoetatik. Helburua da hitz-ordenaren bariazioa deskribatzea eta erabileran eragina zuten faktoreak identifikatzea. Proposatzen da izen osteko -ko modifikatzaileak sortu zirela erlazio-atzizkia zuten sintagma batzuk adjektibo bezala lexikalizatu zirelako, eta adjektiboari zegokion kokapenean hasi zirela jartzen, hau da, izenaren eskuinean.

446 p., Tesi honen helburua da euskararen sintaxi diakronikoari ekarpena egitea. Bi gai hauek dira analisien ardatz: (1) izenaren eta modifikatzaileen arteko hitz-ordena: perpaus erlatiboetan, -ko atzizkiarekin eta genitiboarekin, eta (2) mendeko perpausak, eta bereziki perpaus erlatiboak eta bait- aurrizkia duten perpausak. Analisi guztien oinarri XV-XX. mendeetako testuez osatutako corpus bat da.Tesiak hiru atal ditu: lehenengoan perpaus erlatiboak aztertzen ditut (izen aurrekoak, izen ostekoak, zein erlatiboak, aposatuak eta jokatugabeak), bigarrenean lantzen ditut -ko atzizkiaren erabilerak eta modifikatzailearen eta izenaren hitz-ordena eta, azkenik, hirugarrenean bait- aurrizkia ikertzen ditut, markaren erabilerak eta gramatikalizaio-prozesua aztertuz.

446 p., Tesi honen helburua da euskararen sintaxi diakronikoari ekarpena egitea. Bi gai hauek dira analisien ardatz: (1) izenaren eta modifikatzaileen arteko hitz-ordena: perpaus erlatiboetan, -ko atzizkiarekin eta genitiboarekin, eta (2) mendeko perpausak, eta bereziki perpaus erlatiboak eta bait- aurrizkia duten perpausak. Analisi guztien oinarri XV-XX. mendeetako testuez osatutako corpus bat da.Tesiak hiru atal ditu: lehenengoan perpaus erlatiboak aztertzen ditut (izen aurrekoak, izen ostekoak, zein erlatiboak, aposatuak eta jokatugabeak), bigarrenean lantzen ditut -ko atzizkiaren erabilerak eta modifikatzailearen eta izenaren hitz-ordena eta, azkenik, hirugarrenean bait- aurrizkia ikertzen ditut, markaren erabilerak eta gramatikalizaio-prozesua aztertuz.

This paper deals with Basque relativisation strategies: the prenominal and postnominal gapped relatives, appositive relatives, relatives with the prefix bait-, and pronominal zein ‘which’ relative clauses. The study is based on a corpus consisting of 16th to 19th centuries texts. The first goal is to analyse the competition between the constructions and describe the changes in frequency. The analysis of the corpus shows that the range of constructions appearing in texts starts to narrow since the second half of the 18th century, and that the prenominal construction eventually prevailed. The second goal is to compare the role and functions which each construction has or has had in the whole system. To that end, the following features are analysed: the range of arguments that can be relativised in each construction, the length of the subordinate clause, the impact of animacy on the choice of structure, and the function of the relative clause and the position of the subordinate clause in the main clause. The results show that, in general, construction which place the relative right to the head were employed mainly in special or marked contexts (e.g. to relativise arguments not possible in the prenominal construction or when the subordinate clause was especially long).; Lan honetan euskarazko erlatibizazio-estrategiak aztertzen dira, kontuan hartuz izen aurreko, izen osteko erlatiboak, erlatibo aposatuak, bait- erlatiboak eta zein erlatiboak. Oinarri bezala, XVI-XIX. mendeetako testuen corpus bat erabili da. Lanaren lehen helburua da erlatiboen arteko lehia aztertzea, egituren maiztasuna nola aldatu den ikusteko. Corpusaren azterketak erakusten du erlatiboen erabileran aukerak murrizten hasten direla XVIII. mendearen erditik aurrera, izen aurreko egitura gustiz nagusitzeraino. Bigarren helburua egituren erabilera konparatzea da, bakoitzaren tokia eta funtzioa sistema osoaren barruan zein den edo zein izan den argitzeko. Horretarako alderdi hauek aztertu dira: egitura ba

This paper deals with several aspects of the diachrony of Basque resultative constructions. In present day Basque, resultatives can be used with perfect-like meaning. The goal of this paper has been thus to study the development of the non-resultative uses of resultative constructions. To this end, the diathesis types of resultative and the meanings the construction may convey are studied in a corpus of 17th to 20th century texts. It has been found that in the time span covered by the study, new diathesis types are introduced and two new meanings develop: perfect and experiential.

La reduplicación (la repetición de uno o de parte de un lexema) se trata como repetición y es ignorada o marcada como errónea en los correctores ortográficos existentes. Para la mayoría de las lenguas, ésta es una estrategia válida, sin embargo, el euskera es diferente en este sentido como muestran variados ejemplos de repeticiones lícitas de secuencias parciales o completas. Parece que este tema ha sido ignorado en las aplicaciones computacionales existentes. En este artículo, ofrecemos una descripción del fenómeno y presentamos un prototipo para incorporarlo en un corrector ortográfico que será capaz de manejar la reduplicación mejor que los sistemas existentes., In spell-checkers, reduplication (repetition of a word, or a part of it) is often subsumed under repetition and is either ignored or treated as erroneous. For most languages it is a valid strategy, however Basque is different in this respect as it exhibits several instances of valid partial or complete repetition of phrases. This issue appears to have been mostly ignored in existing computational applications. In this paper we provide a linguistic description of the phenomenon and present a prototype to be integrated in a complete spelling and grammar checker that would be capable of handling reduplication better than existing systems.