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Originally Posted by Dawnstorm  Where linguists talk about phones, they have pure data. Where linguists talk about phonemes they don't. |
Phones nor phonemes are hypotheses, though, but they do factor into
a theory about language; that language is systematic, that there are patterns.
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Originally Posted by Dawnstorm I'm wondering to what extent it makes sense to talk about "theories" (in the sense: "theory of gravity, evolution etc.") in the social sciences. Hypotheses about language acquisition, for example, will add to the roster of pedagogic methodology, which in turn will change what language learners are exposed to. The question that leads most to confusion is the question about universals, here. |
Ooh. Now there's an interesting spin.
How so?
Yes, these are questions that either are hypotheses in themselves or lead to hypotheses: "Are there universal features?", "How much can you infer from statistics?", "What is the role of interpretation in the creation and testing of hypotheses?"
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Originally Posted by Dawnstorm Does this make any sense? |
Well, I'm still trying to figure out how data can be considered a hypothesis. Call me thick.
