Situational diversity and linguistic complexity

Abstract

In this paper, I introduce a situational approach to the study of linguistic complexity. As opposed to most research on linguistic complexity, which has focused on the grammatical complexity of languages, I consider this topic from a situational perspective. I make two proposals. First, I claim that languages can vary in their situational diversity. Languages that have been adapted for a wider range of communicative contexts are more situationally complex than languages that have been adapted for a narrower range of communicative contexts. To support this claim, I consider examples of situational diversity from across a range of different languages and varieties of languages, drawing on empirical research from linguistics and anthropology. Second, I claim that situational diversity can help explain variation in grammatical complexity. I propose that increasing situational diversity in a language over time should lead to decreasing grammatical complexity. Furthermore, I argue that this trade-off between situational and grammatical complexity could explain how overall linguistic complexity could be maintained across languages and over time.