Analysis of Transitional Areas in Dialectology: Approach with Fuzzy Logic

ABSTRACT Comparing the dialectal classifications into disjointed zones with the representation of populations in a geolectal continuum has emphasized the importance of transition regions. Identifying these regions has been the subject of study in the scientific literature, although research has not been conducted in a reliable manner. Based on the Basque ‘Bourciez’ Corpus, we have highlighted the limitations of dialectal classifications using deterministic methods along with the possibilities provided by fuzzy logic. By contributing objectivity to the analysis, the C-means classification has allowed us to retain information from the deterministic classification, identify transition regions, emphasize the geolectal continuum and minimize the artificial isolation of certain populations in the classification. Classifying the French-Basque territory into two groups has separated the populations into two nearly-disjointed dialectal zones. Classifications into three and four groups have underscored the broad overlap between adjacent linguistic zones. This paper’s contribution has provided a new explanatory dimension and consequently improves the linguistic interpretation. In this sense, the results are in accordance with the previous contributions described in the literature and have justified the integration of different viewpoints.