The syntax of variable behavior verbs: Experimental evidence from the accusative–oblique alternations in Japanese

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-314
Author(s):  
SHIN FUKUDA
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Motion Verbs ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Accusative Case ◽  
Selectional Restrictions ◽  
The Core ◽  
Transitive Verbs ◽  
Core Meaning ◽  
Acceptability Judgment

Japanese has two types of two-place motion verbs whose ‘objects’ can be marked as either accusative or oblique (accusative–oblique alternations). The accusative–goal verbs mark their objects with accusative case -o or the goal marker -ni, and the accusative–source verbs mark their objects with accusative -o or the source marker -kara. Previous studies describe systematic differences in the interpretation of the arguments of these verbs and the events they denote between the two structures. This study argues that these alternating verbs are variable behavior verbs that are linked to two distinct syntactic structures. The core evidence for this claim comes from the results of two acceptability judgment experiments with Japanese native speakers that examined: (i) selectional restrictions on the subjects of the alternating verbs and (ii) the ability of their subjects to license ‘floating’ numeral quantifiers. The results of the experiments demonstrate that the accusative–source verbs alternate between the transitive and unaccusative structures, whereas the accusative–goal verbs consistently behave like transitive verbs but assign two different structural cases to their objects. Thus, the study shows that there are multiple ways in which two-place motion verbs are mapped onto distinctive syntactic structures, whereby the core meaning of the verbs and their syntactic structures together determine their interpretation.

The expectation marker of course in a cross-linguistic perspective

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Simon-Vandenbergen ◽  
Karin Aijmer
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Pragmatic Markers ◽  
Semantic Fields ◽  
Explanatory Account ◽  
Semantics And Pragmatics ◽  
Multilingual Corpus ◽  
Core Meaning

The study of of course presented in this article has an applied, a descriptive and a theoretical aim. Since of course proves to be very frequent in English, learners will need to know what meanings the item has and in what pragmatic contexts it is used. It has indeed been shown that some learners tend to use of course in contexts where it is felt by native speakers to be inappropriate. In order to explain such inappropriate uses we need detailed descriptions of the semantics and pragmatics of of course. From a theoretical point of view such multifunctional items raise the question of whether semantic polysemy or pragmatic polysemy is the best explanatory account. It is argued in this paper that empirical cross-linguistic work can contribute to providing answers to all three research questions. First, the study of correspondences and differences between languages with regard to the meanings and uses of pragmatic markers is a necessary step in the explanation of learner problems. Second, the bidirectional approach to equivalents, which involves going back and forth from sources to translations, enables us to show to what extent the equivalents have partially overlapping pragmatic functions. An in-depth comparison of the semantic fields in which the translation equivalents operate is the ultimate goal. Third, the translation method helps to see to what extent a core meaning account is justified. In this paper three languages are brought into the picture, viz. English, Swedish and Dutch. The cross-linguistic data have been gathered from three translation corpora, i.e. the English-Swedish Parallel Corpus, the Oslo Multilingual Corpus and the Namur Triptic Corpus.

Lexical Arguments and Information Types in Malay Oral Narratives

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-97
Author(s):  
Siaw-Fong Chung
Keyword(s):  
Information Flow ◽  
The Other ◽  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Oral Narratives ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
The Core ◽  
New Information ◽  
Intonation Units ◽  
Locative Expressions ◽  
Transitive Verbs

The analysis in this paper was based on five Malay narratives of the “frog story”. In these narratives, the types of lexical arguments and their relations with information flow and topic continuity were analyzed. It was found that most narrators used one lexical argument in telling the frog story (e.g., sarang itu jatuh “the nest fell”). About 60% of the verbs in the narratives contained one lexical argument only. Some transitive verbs that usually require the presence of both lexical arguments were used with one lexical argument only when produced in speech (e.g., dia mencari ø di merata tempat “he searched (for) ø everywhere”). Objects were sometimes omitted, as their meanings could be predicted from previous context. Despite the omission of objects, transitive constructions still prevailed in the stories. The most frequently occurring lexical arguments were objects (O) (37%), followed by intransitive subjects (S) (29%) and transitive subjects (A) (27%). In addition, our results showed that new information in Malay was usually allocated to the core argument of the object and to locative expressions, indicating that most of the new information appeared at the end of a clause. On the other hand, topic continuity was held between the subjects in two continuous intonation units. This clear-cut division of discourse functions in the heads and tails of constructions was consistently found in the five pieces of narration. This observation not only showed how ideas could be continued in Malay oral narratives, but also contributes to the study of discourse structure in Malay.

How “Native” Are Heritage Speakers?

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvina Montrul
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Age Of Acquisition ◽  
The Other ◽  
Gender Agreement ◽  
Heritage Speakers ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Incomplete Acquisition

One of the chief characteristics of heritage speakers is that they range in proficiency from “overhearers” to “native” speakers. To date, the vast majority of linguistic and psycholinguistic studies have characterized the non-target-like linguistic abilities of heritage speakers as a product of incomplete acquisition and/or attrition due to reduced exposure and opportunities to use the language during childhood. This article focuses on the other side of the problem, emphasizing instead the high incidence of native-like abilities in adult heritage speakers. I illustrate this issue with recent experimental evidence from gender agreement in Spanish, a grammatical feature that is mastered at almost 100% accuracy in production by native speakers;yet it is one of the most difficult areas to master for non-native speakers, including near-natives.I discuss how age of acquisition and language-learning experience explain these effects.

scholarly journals Kiljan 'Stone stuck into the ground': A dalmato-romance relic in Montenegro?

2009 ◽  
pp. 89-99
Author(s):  
Aleksandar Loma
Keyword(s):  
19Th Century ◽  
Building Block ◽  
Arable Land ◽  
Violent Death ◽  
Romance Language ◽  
The Core ◽  
Latin Word ◽  
Mediterranean Countries ◽  
Etymological Dictionary ◽  
Core Meaning

The word kiljan / kiljan, -a (Variants: kiljen, kiljas) is found in the most parts of Montenegro; its area ranges over the border between Zeta - and East-Herzegovina dialects of Serbian. Of its five meanings, three are to be considered peripheral (building block (of limestone) in SW, target in a game in NW), or occasional (hill). The core meaning of the word seem to be 'a stone stuck into the ground', to mark something, either a boundary between the fields or a place of somebody's violent death (shifting to 'gravestone'). Of these two usages, the former may claim the priority, ancient boundary stones being often reinterpreted, in local legends, as memorial ones. Indeed marking the land parcels with stones was unfamiliar to the ancient Slavs (Common Slavic *medja land boundary is usually a hedge, a grove, a path or a furrow), but characteristic of Mediterranean countries with their scarcity of arable land; for the ancient Greeks, it is attested since the Homeric epoch, and was practiced by the Romans too, which suggests a possible Romance source of the word in question. Significantly enough, this practice is attested by the Old Serbian charters only for Zeta, a SW Montenegrian region where kiljan is the proper term for this kind of landmarks (in a charter from 1316, it is not explicitly mentioned, but described by kamy ukopan stone dug into the ground). The word kiljan has no convincing etymology so far Illyrian one proposed by Petar Skok in his etymological dictionary is made up out of thin air, and a possible interpretation based on (Balto)Slavic facts (Lith. ku?lis 'stone', Common Slavic **kyl- as a variant of *k?l- eyetooth tusk; crag') highly improbable as well. However, the Old Dalmatian, a Romance language extinct since the end of 19th century, provides a plausible source with its continuation of the Latin word columna 'column, pillar', which is kilauna; and the SCr forms kelomna / kelovna in Ragusa (Dubrovnik), kilovna in the Bay of Cattaro (Kotor) in today's Montenegro must go back to a similar Romance form. Although the details of vocalism are not clear, especially the development in the penultimate, the derivation kiljan columna seems highly probable in view of the fact that in medieval Latin sources from Dalmatia the same thing - a boundary stone - is designated by colonella, a derivative from Lat. columna.

scholarly journals Syntactic Complexity in EFL and Native Learners' Undergraduate Thesis Abstracts

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Murniati Murniati
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Syntactic Complexity ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Academic Year ◽  
Undergraduate Thesis

<p>This research aims to find syntactic complexity of the abstracts in the undergraduate thesis written down by university learners in Indonesia and the ones written down by native speakers of English. The characteristics of syntactic complexity produced by Indonesian learners and the learners who are the native speakers should also be analyzed. It is possible to extend the type of syntactic complexity found in academic texts. In the end, those extensions should be characterized the English language used by Indonesian learners. The data is gained through downloading the abstracts of the undergraduate thesis in the academic year of 2015-2016 from the UBM English Department alumni database. The data regarding the abstracts written down by the native speakers is downloaded from the reputable universities in The United States of America. After that, the data is analyzed by making used of the syntactic analyzer by Lu &amp; Ai (2015). The results shows that the Indonesian learners tend to write more complex sentences and use subordination in the abstracts. The native speakers, on the other hands, tend to write longer sentences with longer T-Unit and clauses. They also tend to write complex nominal in the abstracts. The number of coordination used is similar between the ones written down by Indonesian learners and native speakers of English. <strong></strong></p><strong>Keywords:</strong> syntactic complexity, syntactic structures, undergraduate thesis, Indonesian learners

scholarly journals PEMANFAATAN TEKNOLOGI INFORMASI DAN KOMUNIKASI DALAM PEMBELAJARAN BAHASA ARAB DI MADRASAH ALIYAH KABUPATEN SUKOHARJO

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Imam Makruf
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Outcomes Research ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Learning Resources ◽  
The Core ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Interactive Models

This study aimed to analyze various ICT-based media and learning resources used in learning Arabic, the selection or development process, the process of using it in learning, and the learning outcomes. Research data collected from observations, documentation, and interviews were validated with FGD and analyzed with interactive models. The results of this study show that; (1) the most widely used media in learning Arabic is powerpoint presentations with LCD and language laboratories, then video, audio and games, (2) the process of selecting developing media and learning resources is done by design and by utilization, (3) the process of utilizing media and learning resources is done more for the delivery of material at the core activities in addition to enrichment and assignment, and (4) media and learning resources for Arabic-based ICT that use material from native speakers have a positive impact on improving the motivation, self confidence, and Arabic competence of students.

The Dialect of Jowshaqan Part One: Phonology, Morphology and Syntax

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-116
Author(s):  
Habib Borjian
Keyword(s):  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
The Past ◽  
Transitive Verbs ◽  
Past Tenses

AbstractThis article presents the grammar of Jowshaqani, a Central Iranian dialect. Like other members of this group, Jowshaqani has its own peculiarities; for instance, it has a rich inventory of personal pronouns distinguished by gender in the 3rd person singular, as do verb endings: nen ate “he comes”, néna atea “she comes”, etc. The past tenses of transitive verbs are inflected ergatively, with the agential affixes, which float through the sentence yielding complex syntactic structures.

On Middle applicatives

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Current Paper ◽  
Exact Nature ◽  
Differential Object Marking ◽  
Accusative Case ◽  
The Core ◽  
Light Verb ◽  
Object Marking ◽  
Syntactic Derivation ◽  
Semantic Properties ◽  
Special Strategy

Abstract The Mandarin bǎ-construction has been one of the most well studied subjects in Chinese grammar. Although the previous studies have achieved some exciting results, the exact nature of bǎ and the syntactic derivation of the bǎ-construction remain largely controversial. The current paper constitutes an attempt to clarify the two issues under the minimalist framework. In particular, while keeping in line with the little v analysis of bǎ proposed by Sybesma 1999; Lin 2001 among others, I argue that there is a Middle applicative projection (an affected applicative) between V and v; the bǎ-NP is formed by a movement of VP-internal arguments to Spec.ApplPmid, which can optionally be occupied by gěi, and it gets an accusative Case from bǎ in v. With this analysis, we can better account for the core syntactic and semantic properties of bǎ-constructions. Furthermore, I will show that the proposed applicative approach has some interesting consequences for Taiwanese ka-constructions, a near counterpart of Mandarin bǎ-constructions. Finally, I will compare bǎ-constructions to languages with differential object marking in arguing that Mandarin uses a special strategy – light verb marking to mark the specific/affected objects.

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