Distributional Structure

1 Does language have a distributional structure?

1. What question does Harris’s “Distributional Structure” set out to answer?
   Whether each language can be described in terms of a distributional structure, i.e. the occurrence of parts (ultimately sounds) relative to other parts, and whether that description is complete without bringing in history or meaning.
   • Harris, 1954, Distributional Structure (Word), §1, p. 146
2. Define distribution, environment and selection in Harris’s sense.
   The distribution of an element is the sum of all its environments. An environment of A is an existing array of its co-occurrents, each in a particular position, with which A occurs in an utterance. A’s co-occurrents in a particular position are its selection for that position.
   • Harris, 1954, Distributional Structure (Word), §1, p. 146
3. What does Harris mean by saying something is “structured” with respect to a feature?
   (Non-rigorously) that in terms of that feature we can form an organized system of statements describing the members of a set and their interrelations. Whether language is structured with respect to history, social intercourse, meaning or distribution is a matter for investigation.
   • Harris, 1954, Distributional Structure (Word), §1, p. 146