Substratum Semantics in the Verbal Lexicon of Haitian Creole

1999 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Lefebvre
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Haitian Creole ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Semantic Properties

The aim of this paper is to document the presence of substratum semantics in the verbal inventory of Haitian creole on the basis of a comparison of a sample of verbs in Haitian, French (its lexifier language) and Fongbe (one of its substratum languages). The paper begins with a comparison of the meanings of a sample of Haitian, French and Fongbe verbs. Although the phonological representations of the Haitian verbs are derived from the phonetic representations of French verbs, the details of their semantics do not correspond exactly to those of French, but rather to those of Fongbe. Idiomatic expressions in Haitian are often expressed with similar verbal phrases in Fongbe, whereas they are rendered by a simple verb in French. Aspectual properties of verbs (stative/non-stative) constitute another facet of verbal semantics, and I compare the aspectual properties of Haitian, French and Fongbe verbs. Haitian verbs, like Fongbe verbs, are often not specified for aspectual properties, in contrast to French verbs. Thematic properties constitute yet another topic in the semantics of verbs, addressed here from the point of view of the verbs' agentiveness. On the basis of these various types of data, it is argued that the bulk of Haitian verbs' semantic properties have been carried over into the creole from the substratum lexicons. This situation argues in favor of the claim that the process of relexification plays a central role in the formation of a Creole's lexicon. Some cases of acquisition of French verbs are also reported. Such cases have triggered a reorganization in the properties of the verbal lexical entries originally relexified from the Haitian substratum languages.

The Tense, Mood, and Aspect System of Haitian Creole and the Problem of Transmission of Grammar in Creole Genesis

1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire Lefebvre
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Haitian Creole ◽  
Phonological Form ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Semantic Properties

It is often assumed that creolization involves a break in the transmission of grammar. On the basis of data drawn from the TMA system of Haitian creole, as compared with those of its source languages — French, the superstratum language, and Fongbe, one of the substratum languages — this paper argues that creolization does not involve a break in transmission of grammar. The properties of the Haitian creole TMA system are shown to reflect in a systematic way those of its contributing languages. While the syntactic and the semantic properties of the TMA markers of the creole parallel those of Fongbe, the markers' phonological form appears to be derived from phonetic strings found in the superstratum language. This systematic division of properties is predicted by the hypothesis that relexification has played a major role in the formation of the creole. The fact that the lexical entries of the creole have phonological representations which are derived from phonetic strings found in the superstratum language is the visible signal that creolization involves the creation of a new language. The fact that the lexical entries of the creole show semantic and syntactic properties that parallel those of the languages of the substratum argues that there has been no break in the transmission of grammar in the formation of the creole.

Psychologism in Semantics

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael McKinsey
Keyword(s):  
Philosophy Of Mind ◽  
Propositional Attitudes ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Propositional Content ◽  
Wilfrid Sellars ◽  
Adequate Theory ◽  
Unresolved Conflict ◽  
Semantic Concepts ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Semantic Properties

There is an unresolved conflict in points of view that continues to fester in contemporary semantics and philosophy of mind. According to one influential outlook, an adequate theory of semantic properties and relations would provide us with a better understanding of those psychological acts and states called the propositional attitudes. A theory of such semantic concepts as that of a sentence's meaning something, or that of a term's referring to something would, according to this point of view, be capable of yielding explications of such analogous psychological concepts as that of a thought's having a certain propositional content, or of a beliefs being about something. This program is sometimes called the ‘Analogy Theory’ of thought; since Wilfrid Sellars is the most forceful and creative proponent of this point of view, I will call it ‘Sellars's Program.’

scholarly journals A multi-tiered approach to Silt'i verb morphology

1985 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-222
Author(s):  
Ernst-August Gutt
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
General Point ◽  
Phonological Representations ◽  
Verb Morphology ◽  
Tiered Approach ◽  
Autosegmental Phonology ◽  
Principled Account ◽  
Theoretical Apparatus ◽  
Phonological System ◽  
The Way

The replacement of the familiar linear phonological representations of the SPE-type by the multi-tiered configurations proposed in autosegmental phonology has enriched the theoretical apparatus available to the linguist and has opened the way for a better understanding of the workings of phonology. One particular strength of this theory is that it predicts the existence of distinct subsystems within a phonological system and offers a principled account of their interactions. Applied to the aspectual inflection of Silt'i verbs, the multi-tiered approach proves its potential by accommodating two distinct subsystems of inflection, viz. CV-pattern inflection and ablaut inflection, in a unified, principled description. From a more , general point of view, this paper sketches one possible way of integrating syllable theory as a distinct subsystem into an autosegmental system of phonology.

scholarly journals Bulgarian vocative within HPSG framework

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petya N. Osenova ◽  
Kiril Iv. Simov
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Dialogue Systems ◽  
Adequate Treatment ◽  
Semantic Properties ◽  
Linguistic Phenomenon

Crosslinguistically vocatives are an underexplored linguistic phenomenon and in different languages they can be highly idiosyncratic and complex (Levinson, 1987, p.71). Therefore, the problem, which is discussed in this paper, is not a language-specific one, in spite of the fact that most of the languages have their own repositories for marking the role of the addressee in the communicative utterances. In our opinion this linguistic phenomenon needs its adequate treatment in HPSG because of three main reasons:  The vocative is supposed to be present on two levels: syntax and pragmatics. Therefore it needs more elaborate interpretation on the interface side, which, in HPSG, is more developed for morphology/syntax and syntax/semantics than syntax/pragmatics. Note that a challenge for the theory is the semantic weight of the vocatives with respect to the head sentence.  It will be useful for HPSG-oriented implementations, especially treebanks and dialogue systems.  On prosodic grounds the vocatives are often viewed as being 'side or extended parts' of the sentence and therefore - very close to the parenthetical constructions. From our point of view, both phenomena are pragmatic and hence, the treatment of vocative, presented here, could be generalized to cover other phenomena of pragmatic nature.  In our work the vocatives are viewed through the possibility of the integration/separation of their pragmatic, syntactic and semantic properties.

The emergence of the point-of-view of the subject

2020 ◽  
pp. 119-138
Author(s):  
Zygmunt Frajzyngier ◽  
Marielle Butters
Keyword(s):  
Goal Orientation ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Initial State ◽  
Semantic Function ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Semantic Properties

Chapter 6 defines semantic properties of the point of view of the subject, illustrating the issue on languages familiar to many readers. The category point of view of the subject instructs the listener to consider how the event concerns the subject. This semantic function does not depend on the number and type of arguments with which the verb occurs or on the type of the event described. The chapter demonstrates how the point of view of the subject emerged from the initial state that either coded goal orientation or allowed the proposition to be interpreted as having a goal. The category point of view of the subject can be encoded regardless of whether the subject has control over the event. In German, Italian, Spanish, French, the point of view of the subject is marked by forms referred to as ‘reflexive’, and in Russian, Polish by the so-called short reflexive markers.

scholarly journals “Tu es dans la lune”

Pragmatics ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginie Laval ◽  
Josie Bernicot
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Linguistic Convention ◽  
Idiomatic Expression ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Linguistic Conventions ◽  
Psychological Point ◽  
Contextual Characteristics ◽  
Pragmatic Aspects

From a psychological point of view, this study looks at children’s and adult’s comprehension of idiomatic expressions, and most particularly at the underlying cognitive processes needed for comprehension. Idiomatic expressions are expressions where there is a considerable difference between what is said (literal interpretation) and what is meant (idiomatic interpretation). In other words, the meaning of an idiomatic expression depends largely on a convention that relates a given linguistic form to a given meaning. Conducted in this framework, the present study was aimed at determining the role of contextual characteristics and the linguistic convention in the comprehension of idiomatic expressions by 6- and 9-year-old children, and by adults. The subject’s task was to complete stories. Twelve stories were presented in comic strip format by the experimenter, who told the story in the first three frames and then instructed the subject to choose one of the two possible endings. Two features of the stories were varied : The utterance production context (idiomatic vs. literal) and the idiom familiarity level (familiar vs. unfamiliar). Regardless of age, the context had a substantial impact on idiom comprehension: This reinforces the idea of the necessity of taking the context and the extra-linguistic conventions into account in order to explain language functioning, not only in children but also in adults. The role of the linguistic convention began at the age of 9 and was particularly strong in adults: They appear to reconstruct the communication situation solely on the basis of the linguistic convention. The role of familiarity also appeared in the 9-year-olds and continued on into adulthood. These results suggest that the period of adolescence is crucial for the development of certain pragmatic aspects of language.

Meaning, metaphor, and argument structure

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 629-662
Author(s):  
TIM NISBET
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Semantic Representation ◽  
Parallel Architecture ◽  
News Report ◽  
Semantic Constraints ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Verbal Idioms ◽  
Semantic Properties

This paper challenges what it calls the semantic determinist hypothesis (SDH) of argument licensing, according to which the syntactic realisation of a verb’s arguments is a function of its semantic properties. Specifically, it takes issue with ‘event schema’ versions of the SDH applied to the English ditransitive alternation (give/send {Jesse the gun/the gun to Jesse}), which claim a systematic, syntactically predictive distinction between ‘caused possession’ and ‘caused motion’. It is first shown that semantic and syntactic irregularities among the alternating verbs disconfirm such a mapping. More crucially, however, it is argued that ‘non-prototypical’ (metaphorical and idiomatic) usage (The news report gave Walt an idea, Walt’s actions gave the lie to his promises, The discovery sent Jesse into a fury) is fatal to the SDH, since the hypothesis entails the existence of semantic constraints on argument realisation which these expressions violate.Based on an analysis of the semantically-related verbs give, send, and put, it is claimed that prototypical, metaphorical and idiomatic expressions of a verb can all be licensed straightforwardly, but only if theory maintains separate syntactic and semantic representation of arguments in lexical entries, observing the ‘parallel architecture’ of Jackendoff (1997, 2002), and only if argument tokens are licensed by the syntactic representation alone. A type of structure called a Lexical Argument Construction is proposed, which can describe all the relevant properties of verbs and verbal idioms.

scholarly journals The polysemy of the colour term white in English, Russian, Tajik and Uzbek

ExELL ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-134
Author(s):  
Daler Zayniev
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Present Article ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Bilingual Dictionaries ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Colour Term ◽  
Colour Preferences ◽  
Colour Terms ◽  
White Colour

Abstract Colour is one of the central categories of both a conceptual and a linguistic world of image, correlated with an axiological and an esthetic assessment, a semiotic and value world of image of a given national culture, which allows us to talk about colour preferences, ethnic colour mentality, colour gaps and colour universals, that is, about the colour world of image. In addition, colours have senses specific to particular fields, from physics over printing to senses used in everyday life. In the present article, I carry out an analysis of the colour term white in English, and its counterparts in Russian, Tajik and Uzbek from the lexicological and lexicographical point of view, starting with a semasiological perspective, following Steinvall’s (2002: 56) methodology. The conceptual space of the colour term white in lexicographic work tends to be kept compact rather than articulated in great detail, just like in the case of other types of colours, i.e. in an attempt to minimize polysemy, its senses are typically lumped, rather than split. The main aims were to investigate the differences in the representation of adjectives denoting white colour across languages and to compare monolingual and bilingual dictionaries with respect how they structure their meanings, as well as collocations and idiomatic expressions (often based on metaphors and metonymies). A number of field-like clusters of concepts related to the colour terms for white were established. Based on these findings, I proceed to make some suggestions for the improvement of the approach to colour terms for white and other colours in general use and pedagogical dictionaries.

scholarly journals Intégralement dans le champ des adverbes de complétude (totalement, entièrement, complètement, …)

Revue Romane ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Lenepveu
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Semantic Point ◽  
Semantic Properties

In this paper, we study the french adverbs of completion totalement, complètement, entièrement and intégralement in the verbal domain, from a semantic point of view. Following Tenny (2000), we argue that completion adverbs with a quantitative value can only modify telic predicates (*regarder totalement le tableau / détruire totalement une ville). We also identify a qualitative use which doesn’t impose such a constraint (avoir totalement raison). Then, through the analysis of real exemples and of their typical context, we discuss the semantic properties of these different adverbs that are related in various ways to the expression of completion.

Some differences between varieties of Albanian with special reference to Kosovo

2006 ◽  
Vol 2006 (178) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pandeli Pani
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Public ◽  
Idiomatic Expressions ◽  
Basic Vocabulary ◽  
The Public Sphere

AbstractThe differences between the varieties of the Albanian language as spoken both within the Albanian state and outside have usually been investigated under dialectological aspects. From this point of view there are two main dialects of Albanian: Gheg and Tosk. The aim of this article is to investigate certain socio-historical differences between the Albanian spoken in Albania and Kosovo. The topics we are concerned with are differences in the vocabulary of the public sphere and politics, technology, and terminology. Notable differences can however be ascertained in the use of words (also such words that belong to the basic vocabulary of Albanian) and idiomatic expressions which are used in Kosovo with a meaning different from that which they have in Albania. There exists also a series of words which are totally unknown in the speech of the other community. Certain calques from Serbo-Croatian will also be discussed. The reader’s attention will also be drawn to some of the peculiarities of Kosovo Albanian syntax, which may have arisen from interferences through contact with Serbo-Croatian.

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