Liberating language research from dogmas of the 20th century

TL;DR

This paper critically examines the 2015 study on dependency length minimization across 37 languages, challenging traditional assumptions and advocating for a more nuanced understanding of language structure and processing.

Contribution

It provides a commentary that questions established dogmas in language research and offers new perspectives on dependency length minimization.

Findings

Questions the universality of dependency length minimization

Highlights methodological limitations of previous studies

Suggests alternative explanations for language structure patterns

Abstract

A commentary on the article "Large-scale evidence of dependency length minimization in 37 languages" by Futrell, Mahowald & Gibson (PNAS 2015 112 (33) 10336-10341).