The Pavia DEmA (Diachronic Emergence of Alignment) Database

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How to use DEmA

DEmA allows for fine-grained searches of the various components involved in the emergence of alignment patterns. Entries in the database are individual processes that have led to the development of a new alignment patterns in a specific language. Each entry is organized in a fixed number of fields (all fields are described in detail in the Home). 

You can broswe data in DEmA in two ways:

  • By language: the full list of languages included in DEmA is provided in the Languages section. By clicking on each entry, you can visualize all the fields with the relevant information on the emergence of a new alignment pattern in that specific language.
  • By field: our Search engine allows for queries on specific fields. You can simultaneously combine queries for multiple fields. Fields are divided into two categories based on the type of query parameter that they allow:

a. Selectable option query: you can only select one of the pre-existing options.

b. Free text query: you can freely enter your textual query in these fields.

An important free text query field is the Keywords field. Each Language is characterized by a number of keywords. These are intended as generic shortcuts for the various aspects of the historical process described in each entry and are meant to reflect the terminology most commonly used in the literature to refer to that specific process. Possible keywords include, for example, ‘ergative’, ‘split ergativity’, ‘nominalization’, ‘passive’, ‘resultative construction’, 'incorporation'.


 


Credits: apnetwork