Between commitment and certainty

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iksoo Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Main Clause ◽  
Epistemic Modal ◽  
Conceptual Structures ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Mental Spaces ◽  
Embedded Clause

Abstract In accord with Verhagen’s (1996) insights regarding epistemic uses of the predicator promise (e.g., Tomorrow promises to be a fine day), this paper identifies another type of these epistemic uses. It focuses on constructional cues in complex-clause utterances of the form I promise X: whether or not the subject of the embedded clause X is congruent with ‘I’ in the main clause and whether the tense of X is past or non-past. It investigates how it is used epistemically, especially in its colloquial uses; how the constructional cues (the kind of subject and the tense information) influence its construal; and how the different conceptual structures underlying the construals of the commissive and the epistemic modal senses of the construction can be modeled within Mental-spaces theory. It also discusses that the conceptual structures may be differently reified cross-linguistically briefing on the Korean constructs yaksokha- ‘(I) promise’ and cangtamha- ‘(I) assure’.

Interpretations of embedded pragmatic scalar modifiers

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osamu Sawada
Keyword(s):  
Main Clause ◽  
Distinctive Property ◽  
Scalar Modifiers ◽  
Embedded Clause

Chapter 8 investigates the interpretation of embedded pragmatic scalar modifiers and considers the semantic mechanism behind subject- and speaker-oriented interpretations of embedded pragmatic scalar modifiers and CIs. For a subject-oriented reading, it is argued that there is a shift from a CI to a secondary at-issue entailment at the clausal level when the embedded clause combines with an attitude predicate and has a subject-oriented reading. For a speaker-oriented reading of embedded pragmatic scalar modifiers, it is claimed that the lower-level pragmatic scalar modifiers have the distinctive property of projection: unlike higher-level pragmatic scalar modifiers/typical CIs, lower-level pragmatic scalar modifiers can project out of the complement of a belief predicate only if there is a speaker-oriented modal in the main clause. This chapter shows that the interpretation of embedded pragmatic scalar modifiers is not only a matter of context and involves semantic and pragmatic mechanisms.

scholarly journals Featural definition of syntactic positions: Evidence from hyper-raising

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzana Fong
Keyword(s):  
Phase Problem ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Embedded Clause ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Finite Clause

Hyper-raising consists in raising a DP from an embedded finite clause into the matrix clause. HR introduces a phase problem: the embedded clause is finite, which is supposed to be impervious to raising. This can be overcome by postulating A-features at the C of the the embedded clause. They trigger the movement of the subject to [Spec, CP]. Being at the edge of a phase, it is visible to a matrix probe. If successful, this analysis provides support for the claim that syntactic positions are not inherently A or A-bar; they can be defined featurally instead.

PARTICULES DE NEGATION DANS LES INSCRIPTIONS SUR BRONZE DE LA DYNASTIE DES ZHOU

1991 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-76
Author(s):  
Redouane Djamouri
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Epistemic Modal ◽  
Nominal Phrase ◽  
Early Archaic ◽  
Dependent Position ◽  
Archaic Chinese ◽  
Transitive Verbs ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Negative Marker ◽  
Negative Counterpart

This article is devoted to a semantico-syntactic analysis of the use of seven markers of negation in Early Archaic Chinese, especially in the Zhou bronze inscriptions. The negative BU 不 which is used with intransitive verbal predicates or with adjectives, establishes a descriptive relationship between the subject and the predicate in its clause; it only shows a simple descriptive intention and takes an integral part in the presupposition. The negative marker FU 弗 is fully adverbial and is used, essentially, with transitive verbs. The marker FEI 非, establishes an attributive, descriptive relationship between the two terms of the predication inside the clause just as does BU; but it introduces a polemic value in expressing the falsity of a presupposition. The marker WU2 毋, in contrast with WU1 勿, does not come under the category of a deontic modality. The obligation which it shows does not come from the speaker (or from any other source) but is internal to the subject-predicate relationship. The negation in this case is to be taken as a statement of fact and not as an injunction. However, according to the observations here, WU2 毋 refers to the epistemic modal category. That why it can express the double value of both "certainty" and “necessity” according to the context. The negative WANG 勿 (the negative counterpart of YOU 有 "existence" or "possession") is used to express the possession of dependence. In addition, because of its existential value, it allows for presenting certain terms in both a restrictive and an extensive sense. Finally WU3 無 is most often attached to a substantive and forms thus a marginal expansion (in a syntactically dependent position) serving to characterize a nominal phrase, a verbal phrase, or an entire clause.

How to Neutralize a Finite Clause Boundary: Phase Theory and the Grammar of Bound Pronouns

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 465-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Grano ◽  
Howard Lasnik
Keyword(s):  
Subject Position ◽  
Boundary Phase ◽  
Quantifier Scope ◽  
Phase Theory ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Embedded Clause ◽  
Comparative Deletion ◽  
Finite Clause

A bound pronoun in the subject position of a finite embedded clause renders the clause boundary relatively transparent to relations ordinarily confined to monoclausal, control, and raising configurations. For example, too/ enough-movement structures involving a finite clause boundary are degraded in sentences like * This book is too long [for John to claim [that Bill read ___ in a day]] but improved when the finite clause has a bound pronominal subject as in ? This book is too long [for John1 to claim [that he1 read ___ in a day]]. This bound pronoun effect holds across a wide range of phenomena including too/ enough-movement, tough-movement, gapping, comparative deletion, antecedent-contained deletion, quantifier scope interaction, multiple questions, pseudogapping, reciprocal binding, and multiple sluicing; we confirm the effect via a sentence acceptability experiment targeting some of these phenomena. Our account has two crucial ingredients: (a) bound pronouns optionally enter the derivation with unvalued ϕ-features and (b) phases are defined in part by convergence, so that under certain conditions, unvalued features void the phasal status of CP and extend the locality domain for syntactic operations.

Un effet du principe C chez l’enfant francophone

2000 ◽  
Vol 45 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 49-62
Author(s):  
Helen Goodluck ◽  
Lawrence Solan
Keyword(s):  
Main Clause ◽  
Binding Theory ◽  
Object Position ◽  
French Speaking ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
Subject Pronoun ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Work Done

AbstractWe report a study that tests children’s knowledge of an effect of Principle C of the binding theory: In the adult grammar of English and French, coreference between a main clause object pronoun and a non-pronominal subject of a sentence-final temporal clause is permitted, whereas coreference between a subject pronoun and the subject of a temporal clause is blocked. In an act-out task, both French-speaking adults and children aged 3–7 were found to be sensitive to the position of a main clause pronoun (subject vs object) in selecting a referent for the subject of a temporal clause, permitting coreference more frequently when the pronoun was in object position. This result replicates earlier work done on English. A sentence judgement task produced clear results only for adults. Results from the act-out suggest that children are relatively inept at integrating non-mentioned participants into their interpretation of sentences. We suggest that children’s knowledge of the principle C effect we tested constitutes a “poverty of the stimulus” argument for innateness.

scholarly journals Anaphora and subordination in Karitiana

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Storto ◽  
Karin Vivanco
Keyword(s):  
Lexical Item ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Embedded Clause ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract This paper describes the behavior of the anaphoric element ta- in Karitiana (Arikém branch, Tupian family) showing that it is a third person anaphor which must be bound (c-commanded and coindexed) by an antecedent in the same sentence. ta- may occur as a possessor clitic attached to a nominal, or as a subject or object clitic attached to a verb. We show with elicited and spontaneous data that the Karitiana anaphor is subject oriented when occurring in embedded environments, being able to refer to the subject of the matrix clause or to the subject of an embedded clause in cases of multiple embedding. We analyze this lexical item as a medium-distance anaphor, following the definition of Reuland and Koster (1991). Logophoric uses of the ta- anaphor are also exemplified and briefly discussed.

scholarly journals Subjunctive and subject pronoun realization: a study of "no creo que"

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Harrington ◽  
Ana Teresa Pérez-Leroux
Keyword(s):  
First Person ◽  
Subject Pronouns ◽  
Subjunctive Mood ◽  
Oral Speech ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Complement Clauses ◽  
Subject Pronoun ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Embedded Clause ◽  
Dependent Clause

Subjunctive mood in complement clauses is licensed under selection from certain predicates or under the scope of a modal or negation. In contexts where mood choice varies, such as the complement of a negated epistemic verb no creer, it introduces a contrast in interpretation. The subjunctive is thought to contribute to a shift in the modal anchoring of the embedded clause, and is consequently interpreted as indicative of a dissociation between the epistemic models of the speaker and the subject. We provide evidence that these uses also interact with pragmatic context. Given independent claims that 1) the overt realization of first person subject pronouns is contrastive and 2) it generally serves to anchor discourse to the speaker’s perspective and 3) overt use is particularly frequent with epistemic verbs, we examined the interaction between negation, first person subject pronoun realization, and mood of the dependent clause for the verb creer.  An analysis of oral speech from the Proyecto de Habla Culta revealed that for negative sentences (no creo que), yo is overtly realized more frequently for cases with exceptional indicative dependents than for those with canonical subjunctive dependents; there was no association with mood for affirmative uses of creer. These results support analyses where negation has specific scope over the contrastive subject, rather than over the epistemic clause. As a consequence, the matrix proposition remains an assertion and use of indicative complements is licensed.

Negation in narrative

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neal R. Norrick
Keyword(s):  
Main Clause ◽  
Double Negation ◽  
Negative Statements ◽  
Rhetorical Figure ◽  
Narrative Model ◽  
Embedded Clause

Abstract Negation in narrative has been described primarily as a resource for expressing evaluation, and secondarily in its role in establishing orientation, but this article investigates a range of ways negated statements can contribute directly to complicating action. Negation works through presupposition in the rhetorical figure of paralipsis with phrases like “to say nothing of.” Reporting “I don’t see how she got in” presupposes that she got in. Semantic double negation in phrases like “never fail to” contributes to the complicating action. Idiomatic negatives like “didn’t go out” and negatives matching expectations like “didn’t go to sleep” mirror positive actions in the narrative model. Constructions coupling main clause negation with a positive embedded clause produce statements entailing actions in the chain of events, as in “I couldn’t face going back.” Taken together, these constructions provide powerful resources for contributing positively to the dynamic narrative model with negative statements.

EXISTENTIAL CONCEPTS AS SUBJECTIVE CONTENT OF THE BEING OF THE INDIVIDUAL

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (29) ◽  
pp. 19-35
Author(s):  
Leonid Velitchenko
Keyword(s):  
Literary Work ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Color Preferences ◽  
Speech Activity ◽  
Conceptual Structures ◽  
Relevant Situation ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
The Continuum

Theoretical research on the problems of the individual in the discovery of its internal content, provide treatment researchers to the experience of a man, his/her existential essence as different manifestations of inner speech activity. The purpose of the article is to determine the subject basis of speech activity of an individual as a continuous mental support of his/her personality. There are aspects of the internal speech of the individual with the indication of his/her own lexical-semantic system that contains in its most General form a semantic unity specific, subject-specific symbolic, social environment. With reference to the author’s model of the structure of consciousness, it is argued that existential concepts exist in the form of subjective appeal to the content of the relevant situation. Their generalized nature indicates the presence in them of personally significant features that determine the features of subjective rationality. It provides influence on the existential concepts of past experiences, conceptual structures, translation of the communication parties in the private space of subjective reality, creating its own semantic field. The sign of incompleteness of being is seen in the existential concepts, which brings them closer to the concept of existence. Considering the continuum of significant events as the semantic canvas of its existence in a certain period of time, it is possible to obtain information about its subjective rationality of a person with its inherent existential content. It is argued that the existential concepts are the internal "chronicle" of a man, which reflects his/her subjective being, existing at the intersection of the desired and the actual. On the example of establishing a certain correspondence between the sound and color associations of a literary work and the stimulus material of the Lusher test, the possibility of using color preferences for evaluating the psychological characteristics of its author is argued. The general conclusion about the existential concepts as about the experience of the continuum of one’s own existence is formulated.

Aspetti della subordinazione completiva nel De consolatione philosophiae di Boezio*

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 133-144
Author(s):  
Valentina Ferrari
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Consistent Pattern ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Semantic Interpretation ◽  
Literary Texts ◽  
Functional Characteristics ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Constituent Order ◽  
The Middle Ages

Summary:This paper aims at describing some of the main structural and functional characteristics of completive clauses governed by verba dicendi et sentiendi in Boethius's De consolatione philosophiae. The characteristics of the use of the Accusativus cum Infinitivo (AcI) will be analysed in comparison with the uses of other Latin authors. The data will be described on the basis of two main aspects: constituent order, and the coreferentiality of the subject of the AcI with elements in the main clause. Compared to the predominance of AcI constructions, quod-clauses show a consistent pattern and are limited to well- defined contexts. Some aspects of the use of quin and ut will also be described. Special attention will be given to the problems of syntactic and semantic interpretation of the governing verbs, which can be difficult to define clearly. This study will also set the ground for further research on the influence of Boethius's Latin model on Italo-Romance literary texts in the Middle Ages, both on the syntactic and the stilistic level.

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