Corpora, frequency and distribution
The project opened up fruitful lines of enquiry into morphological variability as seen in corpora, particularly focusing on overabundant and defective paradigm cells. We are examining how these aspects relate to the size and composition of the corpus, as well as to various methods of corpus inquiry.
One key area of our research involves analysing the concept of a standard paradigm and its implementation across individual lexical items (as can be seen in the online tool, GramatiKat). Our findings indicate that while general standard paradigms exist in morphologically complex languages, individual lexical items frequently exhibit unique behaviours, often deviating from these norms. This phenomenon highlights the adaptability of standard paradigms, suggesting they function more as flexible guidelines rather than rigid frameworks.
Moving beyond simply identifying patterns, our research paves the way for further investigation. Future studies will focus on the broader implications of our morphological findings. For instance, employing a multidimensional analysis could provide insights into how individual lexical items either conform to or diverge from the established morphological models, and how they form clusters based on such behaviour. A critical component of this research would be to test the hypothesis that clusters of morphologically similar items also share semantic links. This line of inquiry seeks to uncover whether lexical items that are formally similar also have related meanings, thus illuminating the intricate interplay between word form and meaning. Such an approach extends beyond basic morphological analysis, uncovering deeper linguistic patterns that contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of language structure and usage. Through this methodology, we aim to explore how morphological and semantic aspects of lexical items intertwine to shape the richness and diversity of linguistic expression.