A syntactically-driven approach to indefiniteness, specificity and anti-specificity in Romance

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-36
Author(s):  
M. TERESA ESPINAL ◽  
SONIA CYRINO
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Romance Languages ◽  
Epistemic State ◽  
Bare Mass ◽  
Bare Plurals ◽  
Generalized Quantifier ◽  
Property Type ◽  
Abstract Operator ◽  
And Shifts ◽  
Original Approach

In this paper we present an original approach to analyze the compositionality of indefinite expressions in Romance by investigating the relevance of their syntactic distribution in relation to their meaning. This approach has the advantage of allowing us to explore the question of how syntactic structure can determine the meaning of different forms of indefiniteness. To that end, we postulate a common derivation for bare plurals, bare mass and de phrases, whereby an abstract operator de is adjoined to definite determiners and shifts entities into property-type expressions. Quantificational specificity is proposed to be derived from a syntactic structure in which weak quantifiers select for indefinite de-phrases, no matter whether de is overt at Spell-Out or not; these quantifiers turn properties into generalized quantifiers. The anti-specificity meaning of some indefinites is derived by adjoining in the syntactic structure an abstract operator alg that encodes the speaker’s epistemic state of ignorance to a quantifier encoded for specificity, and it turns a generalized quantifier into a modified generalized quantifier. The paper also brings some general predictions on how indefiniteness is expressed in Romance, as it provides extensive support from five Romance languages: Brazilian Portuguese, Catalan, French, Italian and Spanish.

scholarly journals Bare nominals and incorporating verbs in Spanish and Catalan

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. TERESA ESPINAL ◽  
LOUISE McNALLY
Keyword(s):  
Prima Facie ◽  
Composition Rule ◽  
Bare Mass ◽  
Object Position ◽  
First Order ◽  
Bare Plurals ◽  
Property Type ◽  
Existential Sentences ◽  
Mass Terms ◽  
Bare Nominals

This paper presents an analysis of bare nominals unmarked for number (BNs) occurring in object position in Spanish and Catalan, on which the BN is a syntactic complement to the verb, but not a semantic argument. After describing the properties that distinguish BNs from other indefinite expressions (bare plurals, indefinite singulars preceded by un ‘a’, and bare mass terms), we argue that these BNs occur in a monadic syntactic configuration in the sense of Hale & Keyser (1998), that they denote first-order properties, and that they are combined with the verb via a modified version of Dayal's (2003) semantics for pseudo-incorporation. Specifically, the proposal consists of a lexical rule that generates the class of verbs that productively accept BN objects, plus a composition rule that treats the BN as modifier of the verb. We point out the advantages of this analysis over three other well-known semantic analyses for combining verbs with property-type nominals. Finally, we show how the analysis can be naturally extended to existential sentences, which combine with BNs although, prima facie, they do not appear to meet the lexical conditions for doing so.

scholarly journals Past Participle Agreement in Majorcan Catalan: the Relevance of Inner Aspect

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Sebastià Salvà i Puig
Keyword(s):  
Event Structure ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Past Participle ◽  
Bare Mass ◽  
Mass Nouns ◽  
Dynamic Events ◽  
Bare Plurals ◽  
Inner Aspect

This paper aims to explain, from a theoretical point of view, the behaviour of past participle agreement with the object in situ (PPAOIS) in Majorcan Catalan. It is possible in perfect telic dynamic events, but not in Kimian and Davidsonian states —except for certain telic dynamic constructions built with Kiparsky (1998) and Jaque’s  (2014) high pure stative verbs—, nor in some atelic dynamic constructions (like those ones with NP objects bounded by a D or Q), although it is perfectly grammatical with bare plurals and with bare mass nouns. In order for PPAOIS to be possible, it is proposed that a specific functional head (Asp, that is to say: Proc[uq][uϕ]), related to so-called inner aspect, must be present in the event structure. Asp establishes a double Agree relation with the object, in order to get its quantisation and [uϕ] features valued. It is also explored the possibility that the [q] feature of Asp be interpretable. If Asp is not present in the structure, the impossibility of PPAOIS follows. Moreover, PPAOIS will be only materialised if a pro object co-referent with the full NP object moves through a LowTop position —similar to the AgrO projection proposed by Kayne (1989).

scholarly journals Two types of most

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 394 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmen Dobrovie-Sorin
Keyword(s):  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Bare Mass ◽  
Semantic Type ◽  
Bare Plurals

The empirical puzzle to be solved is the contrast between partitive and non-partitive most (which respectively take of-DP and NP restrictors, respectively) wrt their compatibility with a collective predicate (or a collectively interpreted mixed predicate) in the nuclear scope. The proposal will rely on the ‘null hypothesis’ regarding the correspondence between syntactic categories and semantic type: DPs and NPs respectively denote entities and sets of entities. Our puzzle will be solved by explaining why set-restrictor quantifiers cannot denote relations between sets of plural entities whereas entity-restrictor quantifiers can denote relations between plural entities. It will also be argued that plural bare NPs in the restrictor of most can be kind-denoting (in addition to being set-denoting) in English. Throughout the paper the main generalizations will be strengthened or refined by taking into account the Romanian counterparts of the relevant dat. Keywords: collective quantification, mass quantification, bare mass NPs, bare plurals, kind-reference

Clitic combinations

2021 ◽  
pp. 267-294
Author(s):  
Diego Pescarini
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Romance Languages ◽  
Linguistic Variation ◽  
Clause Structure ◽  
Third Person ◽  
Single Complex ◽  
Over Time

One of the major sources of microvariation is the ordering of combinations formed by two or more clitics. Diachronically, cross-linguistic variation increased over time because certain Romance languages have undergone a change, reversing the order of some clitic combinations (in particular, those containing a third person accusative element or the clitic en/ne). The chapter entertains the hypothesis that variation is due to a change in the syntactic structure whereby clitics are nested within clause structure (Kayne 1994). Clitics were originally nested in a separate position, while later on they began to form a single complex head. This change, which took place at a different pace and not in all the Romance languages, caused the emergence of various subclasses of clitic combinations, which differ in syntactic and morphological respects.

scholarly journals Towards an explanation of copula effects

2000 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Gerhard Jäger
Keyword(s):  
Possible Worlds ◽  
Functional Elements ◽  
Generalized Quantifier ◽  
Property Type ◽  
Presupposition Accommodation

This paper deals with a series of semantic contrasts between the copula "be" and the preposition "as", two functional elements that both head elementary predication structures. It will be argued that the meaning of "as" is a type lowering device shifting the meaning of its complement NP from generalized quantifier type to property type (where properties are conceived as relations between individuals and situations), while the copula "be" induces a type coercion from (partial) situations to (total) possible worlds. Paired with van der Sandt's 1992 theory of presupposition accommodation, these assumptions will account for the observed contrasts between "as" and "be".

Subtle Syntactic Cues Affect Intuitions about Knowledge

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Horne ◽  
Andrei Cimpian
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Epistemic State ◽  
Limits Of Knowledge ◽  
Psychological Evidence ◽  
Philosophical Texts ◽  
Syntactic Cues

To investigate the nature and limits of knowledge, epistemologists often consult intuitions about whether people can be said to have knowledge or, alternatively, to know particular propositions. This chapter identifies a problem with this method. Although the intuitions elicited via statements about “knowledge” and “knowing” are treated as interchangeable sources of evidence, these intuitions actually differ. Building on prior psychological evidence, the chapter hypothesizes that the epistemic state denoted by the noun “knowledge” is viewed as stronger (e.g. more certain, more reliable) than the epistemic state denoted by the verb “know.” This hypothesis was supported by the results of six studies that used a variety of methodologies and data sources (e.g. philosophical texts, naive participants’ intuitions). This research has significant implications for epistemology: The syntactic structure of the linguistic examples offered as evidence for epistemological claims may influence the extent to which these examples provide intuitive support for the relevant claim.

scholarly journals Roots of V-to-C Movement in Romance

2022 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 210-229
Author(s):  
André Antonelli
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Direct Object ◽  
Romance Languages ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
Verb Second ◽  
Verb Raising ◽  
Germanic Languages ◽  
Finite Verb

The paper investigates the syntactic structure of wh-clauses in late Latin. The results show that, in sentences with a wh-phrase as direct object, the interrogative operator reaches FocP in the left periphery, with the finite verb raising to the Foc head. This spec-head relation accounts for why subjects and dislocated XPs (like topics or focus elements) can not be intervening constituents between the object wh-phrase and the verb. For wh-clauses in which the interrogative operator is an adjunct, the hypothesis is that the wh-phrase occupies [Spec,IntP]. Here, the verb does not move to the CP-field, thus explaining the possibility of intervening subjects and interpolated XPs between the adjunct wh-element and the verb. These results show that the verb second (V2) property of V-to-C movement, as seen in several old Romance languages, can be derived from late Latin, and not exclusively from a supposed influence of Germanic languages, as is assumed in the literature.

Aliquis from Latin to Romance

2018 ◽  
pp. 88-136
Author(s):  
Chiara Gianollo
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Decisive Factor ◽  
Romance Languages ◽  
Process Of Change ◽  
Semantic Component ◽  
History Of ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
Historical Developments

This chapter investigates some crucial steps in the evolution of the continuations of Latin aliquis ‘some (or other)’ in the Standard Romance languages. These historical developments represent parallel instantiations of the Quantifier Cycle, a process of change involving indefinites which is well-attested crosslinguistically. The guiding hypothesis is that emphatic strengthening is a decisive factor in the Quantifier Cycle, much like what is observed with the development of negation in Jespersen’s Cycle. What the Quantifier Cycle and Jespersen’s Cycle have in common is the fact that focus interacts with the implicatures triggered by the lexical items in certain grammatical contexts (most notably and clearly, negation) and this results in systematic meaning effects that become conventionalized (grammaticalized) in the course of time. In this case study from the history of Romance, the emphatic semantic component leads to a peculiar grammaticalization pattern also involving the syntactic structure of the DP hosting the indefinite.

Attractive mode force microscopy of chiral liquid crystal surfaces

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 268-269
Author(s):  
B.D. Terris ◽  
R. J. Twieg ◽  
C. Nguyen ◽  
G. Sigaud ◽  
H. T. Nguyen
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Crystal ◽  
Crystal Surfaces ◽  
Free Surfaces ◽  
Control Range ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Liquid Crystal Films ◽  
Chiral Liquid Crystal ◽  
Crystal Films ◽  
Electrostatic Charging ◽  
And Shifts

We have used a force microscope in the attractive, or noncontact, mode to image a variety of surfaces. In this mode, the microscope tip is oscillated near its resonant frequency and shifts in this frequency due to changes in the surface-tip force gradient are detected. We have used this technique in a variety of applications to polymers, including electrostatic charging, phase separation of ionomer surfaces, and crazing of glassy films.Most recently, we have applied the force microscope to imaging the free surfaces of chiral liquid crystal films. The compounds used (Table 1) have been chosen for their polymorphic variety of fluid mesophases, all of which exist within the temperature control range of our force microscope.

Layered and ion implantation specimens as possible reference materials for the electron-probe microanalysis

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 1652-1653
Author(s):  
G. Remond ◽  
R.H. Packwood ◽  
C. Gilles ◽  
S. Chryssoulis
Keyword(s):  
Ion Implantation ◽  
Reference Materials ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Thin Film Deposition ◽  
Film Deposition ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Spatially Resolved ◽  
Analytical Expressions ◽  
Original Approach ◽  
Depth Concentration

Merits and limitations of layered and ion implanted specimens as possible reference materials to calibrate spatially resolved analytical techniques are discussed and illustrated for the case of gold analysis in minerals by means of x-ray spectrometry with the EPMA. To overcome the random heterogeneities of minerals, thin film deposition and ion implantation may offer an original approach to the manufacture of controlled concentration/ distribution reference materials for quantification of trace elements with the same matrix as the unknown.In order to evaluate the accuracy of data obtained by EPMA we have compared measured and calculated x-ray intensities for homogeneous and heterogeneous specimens. Au Lα and Au Mα x-ray intensities were recorded at various electron beam energies, and hence at various sampling depths, for gold coated and gold implanted specimens. X-ray intensity calculations are based on the use of analytical expressions for both the depth ionization Φ (ρz) and the depth concentration C (ρz) distributions respectively.

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