Conventions
How to read examples and other data in linguistics.
Contents
- Informational Boxes: Supplementary asides in running text.
- Abbreviations: Abbreviations used in running text.
- Symbols: Symbols used in etymological diagrams.
- Glosses: Abbreviations used in linguistic examples.
Informational Boxes
Occasionally I include boxes with supplementary information in the running text of a post:
🌠
This type of box usually contains a fun fact or interesting aside. The 🌠 emoji is an homage to the old NBC public service announcements called The More You Know, whose logo was a shooting star.
☝️
This type of box usually contains a technical note or clarification. I think of it as the equivalent of a footnote. Most readers will probably want to skip these boxes.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations commonly used in running text.
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| c. | circa (Latin: ‘around’) |
| BCE | Before the Common Era (equivalent to BC) |
| BP | Before Present (calibrated at 1950) |
| CE | Common Era (equivalent to AD) |
Symbols
Symbols used in etymological diagrams.
| Symbol | Description | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| → | solid arrow | inherited from A → B |
| ⇢ | dotted arrow | borrowed from A ⇢ B |
Glosses
Abbreviations used in interlinear glossed examples.
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | first person |
| 2 | second person |
| 3 | third person |
| appl | applicative |
| cisloc | cislocative |
| cl | class classifier |
| comp | complementizer |
| dur | durative |
| exist | existential |
| f | feminine |
| ind | indicative |
| link | linking element |
| m | masculine |
| mid | middle voice |
| neg | negative |
| nzr | nominalizer |
| obj | object |
| past | past tense |
| pat | patient |
| pl | plural |
| prog | progressive |
| recip | reciprocal |
| rel | relative |
| rev | reversive |
| sg | singular |
| stat | stative |