% pubman genre = article
@article{item_3335771,
title = {{Testing the predictive strength of the comparative method: An ongoing experiment on unattested words in Western Kho{-}Bwa languages}},
author = {Bodt, Timotheus A. and List, Johann-Mattis},
language = {eng},
issn = {2399-6714},
doi = {10.2218/pihph.4.2019.3037},
publisher = {University of Edinburgh},
address = {Edinburgh},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-06-20},
abstract = {{Although it is well-known to most historical linguists that the comparative{\textless}br{\textgreater}method could in principle be used to predict hitherto unobserved words in{\textless}br{\textgreater}genetically related languages, the task of word prediction is rarely discussed{\textless}br{\textgreater}in the linguistic literature. Here, we introduce {\textquoteleft}reflex retrodiction{\textquoteright} as a{\textless}br{\textgreater}new task for historical linguistics and report an ongoing experiment in{\textless}br{\textgreater}which we use a computer-assisted workflow to retrodict reflexes for so far{\textless}br{\textgreater}unobserved words in eight varieties of Western Kho-Bwa (a subgroup of{\textless}br{\textgreater}Sino-Tibetan). Since, at the time of writing this report, the experiment is still{\textless}br{\textgreater}ongoing, we do not report concrete results, but instead provide an estimate{\textless}br{\textgreater}of our expectations by testing the performance of the computational part{\textless}br{\textgreater}of our workflow on existing language data. Our results suggest that reflex{\textless}br{\textgreater}retrodiction has the potential of becoming a useful tool for historically{\textless}br{\textgreater}oriented fieldwork.}},
journal = {{Papers in Historical Phonology}},
volume = {4},
pages = {22--44},
}