A Comparative Study of Yngve'S Depth Hypothesis.

摘要

The report gives the results obtained in comparing English, German, Spanish and Japanese in the light of Yngve's Depth Hypothesis. Sixty-eight different language patterns distributed over 111 different sentences in these languages and a scientific text were analyzed for their maximum depth and their depth load. The findings were the following: (a) There is a limit to regressive expansion in each of the languages analyzed. (b) Japanese stands distinctively apart from the three Indo-European languages, having a considerably greater depth. (c) The specific syntactic devices responsible for greater depth in Japanese are given. (d) The concept of depth load proved to be a criterion for further differentiation of the syntax of the four languages. (e) Regressive structures often reflect a collectivistic mentality versus an individualistic one as expressed in progressive structures. (f) The syntactic devices producing structures of greater depth are a major problem for the learner, which must be mastered by special drills graded according to increasing depth. (Author)