Card Sorting

To investigate the semantic domains of the possessive classifiers in the languages a card sorting experiment was used, which enables us to get an insight into how participants categorise objects and what governs perceived similarity. Participants sorted images in a free card sort task, where they were asked to group the images in any way they chose, followed by a structured card sort task, where they were asked to group images based on the classifiers in their language. All participants were presented with the same stimuli, to enable comparison of sorting and the relative influence of classifiers across the different languages. Comparison between the groupings in the free sort task and the structured sort task provides an insight into the relative influence of linguistic and cultural factors on participants’ categorisation. Data were analysed using a mixed methods approach.

Method

Participants were presented with 60 cards detailing a standardised set of images. These images depicted entities and different interactional uses of an entity. For example, a live pig and a pig being roasted. Participants first completed a naming task. They were presented with each image in turn and asked to name the entity to ensure understanding. The images were then laid out in front of the participants, who were asked to free sort the cards into groups. After the task, participants were asked to give a summary of each pile, explaining why these cards were grouped together. The cards were then shuffled again and laid out in front of the participants who were then asked to sort the cards into groups relating to the classifiers of their mother-tongue language, in a structured card sort. This ensured that the different classifiers were used. Participants were asked to sort images into groups according to which word they would use to mean ‘mine’.

Results

The results of the card sorting experiment reveal that classifiers appear to provide structure for cognition in tasks where they are explicit and salient. The free sort task did not incite categorisation through classifiers, arguably as it required subjective judgment, rather than explicit instruction. This was evident from our quantitative and qualitative analyses. Furthermore, the languages employing more extreme categorisation systems displayed smaller variation in comparison to more moderate systems. Thus, systems that are more informative or more rigid appear to be more efficient. The study implies that the influence of language on cognition may vary across languages and that not all nominal classification systems employ this optimal trade-off between simplicity and informativeness. These novel data provide a new perspective on the origin and nature of nominal classification.

Statistical results for the card sorting task can be found in our paper published in Cadernos de Linguistica: Optimal Categorisation: The Nature of Nominal Classification Systems.

Data

Data can be accessed…

A speaker of Iaai doing the card sorting experiment