Early Evidence of the Pareto Principle In Grammatical Distribution: Causative Situations in Chinese Conversational Discourse

Abstract

This study is an initial report on Pareto distribution (the 80/20 rule) of grammatical constructions; namely, about 20% of the types of grammatical constructions for causative situations account for about 80% of the uses in conversation. I use a data-driven approach to investigate the grammatical constructions that Chinese L1 speakers choose in spontaneous talk show conversations to describe causative situations. I identify two specific Pareto distributional patterns. 1) The distribution of all 22 constructions for causative situations constitutes a Pareto ABC diagram with the A-class (ba-; unmarked passive; rang-; bei-; resultative; gei-) containing 27.3% of the types but accounting for 88.8% of all the 1,497 uses. 2) Most uses of a grammatical construction come from a small set of subtypes: The full baaccounts for 87.9% of all ba- uses; the reduced bei- accounts for 86.8%; 37.5% of rang- subtypes account for 84.2%. These patterns can be explained by the Lens concept. I conclude that a few constructions account for most grammatical choices of L1 Chinese speakers in conversation. Understanding these grammatical distributions in natural discourse can improve the efficiency and efficacy of language teaching and Natural Language Processing (NLP).