Definiteness effect and the role of the coda in existential constructions

Bare Nouns ◽

Bare nouns in languages without articles can be semantically ambiguous between definite and indefinite interpretations. It is here assumed that speakers of such languages can still signal to the hearer when they refer to unique and identifiable referents. This paper contributes to the long-standing cross-linguistic question of how bare nouns are interpreted and what means languages without articles have to disambiguate between definite and indefinite readings. This question is largely unexplored for Bantu languages. The answer is sought in the use of different word orders and morphosyntactic constructions, with a focus on the existential in this paper. In many languages of the world, there is a restriction on definites as pivots in existential constructions, serving as a motivation for exploring these constructions in Xhosa. Xhosa makes use of a non-verbal copula in prototypical existentials as well as predicate locatives, to express the existence or presence of a referent. The paper argues that the existential is used for inactive referents and the predicate locative for (semi-) active referents. The inactive referents of the existential are mainly indefinite referential or non-referential. The active referents of the predicate locative are referential indefinite or definite. There is no absolute definiteness effect in the existential. A further motivation for this study is the occurrence of this copula in a short and a long form, giving rise to four different structures. The paper reveals an unexpected analogy between the use of the short and long form and the use of the so called conjoint and disjoint forms in Xhosa tense-aspect paradigms.

Partitivity in Slavic-Romance language contact: The case of Molise Slavic in Italy

Linguistics ◽

10.1515/ling-2020-0092 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 58 (3) ◽

pp. 837-868

Author(s):

Walter Breu

Keyword(s):

Word Order ◽

Language Contact ◽

Short Description ◽

Dominant Model ◽

Italian Region ◽

Contact Linguistics ◽

Subsequent Section ◽

Similarities And Differences

AbstractMolise Slavic is a south Slavic micro-language, spoken in three municipalities in the Italian region of Molise. It has been in a situation of total language contact with Romance varieties for about 500 years, with strong foreign influence on all linguistic levels. This paper is intended as a contribution to two combined fields of linguistics: contact linguistics and the expression of partitivity in Slavic in different settings. The paper opens with a short description of the position of the (morphological) partitive case in Russian, followed by a comparison of the role of case in expressing partitive objects in Russian, Croatian and Molise Slavic. The subsequent section will deal with other means of rendering pure and ablativic partitivity in Italian as the dominant model language and in the Molise Slavic replica, in particular with respect to the similarities and differences in existential constructions. Special attention will be paid to the Italian partitive particle ne and its formal and functional equivalents in Molise Slavic, including the particle na/ne, partitive personal pronouns, quantifiers, the genitive and the role of intonation and word order. Finally we will test various hypotheses about the origin of the particle na/ne, whose formal variation in one of the Molise Slavic dialects causes serious problems for both loanword integration and semantic calquing.

Restrictions on definiteness in the grammars of German-Turkish heritage speakers

Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism ◽

10.1075/lab.13031.kup ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 1-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Tanja Kupisch ◽

Alyona Belikova ◽

Öner Özçelik ◽

Ilse Stangen ◽

Lydia White

Keyword(s):

Age Of Acquisition ◽

Heritage Speakers ◽

Acceptability Judgments ◽

Negative Existentials ◽

Definite Expressions ◽

Abstract This paper reports on a study investigating restrictions on definiteness (the Definiteness Effect) in existential constructions in the two languages of Turkish heritage speakers in Germany. Turkish and German differ in how the Definiteness Effect plays out. Definite expressions in German may not occur in affirmative or negative existentials, whereas in Turkish the restriction applies only to affirmative existentials. Participants were adults and fell into two groups: simultaneous bilinguals (2L1) who acquired German before age 3 and early sequential bilinguals (2L1) who acquired German after age 4; there were also monolingual controls. The tasks involved acceptability judgments. Subjects were presented with contexts, each followed by a sentence to be judged, including grammatical and ungrammatical existentials. Results show that the bilinguals, regardless of age of acquisition, make judgments appropriate for each language. They reject definite expressions in negative existentials in German and accept them in Turkish, suggesting distinct grammars.

An interface analysis of marked copular constructions: The case of there-sentences

The Linguistic Review ◽

10.1515/tlr-2019-2044 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 269-307

Author(s):

Francesca Ramaglia

Keyword(s):

Levels Of Analysis ◽

Interface Properties ◽

Interface Analysis ◽

Existential Sentences ◽

Similarities And Differences ◽

AbstractThis paper proposes an interface account of existential sentences, in which the examination of the semantic, morphosyntactic, discourse and prosodic properties of these and related constructions is aimed to explore the similarities and differences with other types of IS-marked copular structures. In particular, a structural parallelism is proposed between existentials and clefts, as well as between (inverted) locatives and (inverted) pseudoclefts. In the analysis of existential constructions, the investigation of the Definiteness Effect reveals the need for a distinction across there-sentences; in particular, the interface properties of the relevant structures suggest that different analyses should be provided for existential and presentational there-sentences, which present crucial formal asymmetries at various levels of analysis.

Genitive variation: the niche role of the oblique genitive

English Language and Linguistics ◽

10.1017/s1360674314000057 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 331-360 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

JOHN PAYNE ◽

EVA BERLAGE

Keyword(s):

Quantitative Data ◽

The Other ◽

Semantic Relations ◽

Definite Article ◽

Theoretical Conclusion ◽

Shared Set ◽

This article discusses the niche role that the oblique genitive of the type the friend of John’s occupies in the context of genitive variation. The article shows that the oblique genitive should be considered an independent construction which competes marginally in two syntactic contexts with the s-genitive (as in John's friend) and the of-genitive (as in the friend of John). The first context is one in which all three constructions function as the predicative complement of the clause (e.g. He is a friend of John's / John's friend / a friend of John). Note that in this context the definiteness effect of the s-genitive is downplayed, so that competition is possible with indefiniteness of the other two constructions. The second context is one where the oblique genitive and the of-genitive are introduced by the determiner the. Contrary to the claim that oblique genitive constructions introduced by the definite article must receive restrictive modification of the head (see e.g. Barker 1998; Lyons 1986), the quantitative data presented in this article reveal that oblique genitives introduced by the determiner the are not confined to pre- or postmodification of the head but can occur, albeit rarely, without any modification as in the example the executor of Sir Ralph’s.The article further compares the oblique genitive, s-genitive and of-genitive with respect to the following five features: noun-headed vs pronoun dependent; animacy of the dependent; length of the noun-headed dependent; determiner of the head; and the semantic relations that can hold between head (e.g. friend) and dependent (e.g. John). The most intriguing theoretical conclusion is that the semantic relations available to head and dependent in the oblique genitive are a subset of those found in the s-genitive, which, again constitute a subset of those that exist in the of-genitive. This means that variation between all three constructions is not only restricted to the two syntactic contexts outlined above but also to a shared set of semantic relations.

Role of dactinomycin in the improved survival of children with Wilms' tumor

JAMA ◽

10.1001/jama.195.12.1005 ◽

1966 ◽

Vol 195 (12) ◽

pp. 1005-1009 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

D. J. Fernbach

Keyword(s):

Wilms Tumor

Role of the allergist in diagnosis and management of patients with uveitis

JAMA ◽

10.1001/jama.195.3.167 ◽

1966 ◽

Vol 195 (3) ◽

pp. 167-172 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

T. E. Van Metre

Keyword(s):

Diagnosis And Management

The power of norms to sway fused group members

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x18001644 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Winnifred R. Louis ◽

Craig McGarty ◽

Emma F. Thomas ◽

Catherine E. Amiot ◽

Fathali M. Moghaddam

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary Anthropology ◽

Normative Systems ◽

Violent Extremism ◽

Identity Fusion ◽

Group Members

AbstractWhitehouse adapts insights from evolutionary anthropology to interpret extreme self-sacrifice through the concept of identity fusion. The model neglects the role of normative systems in shaping behaviors, especially in relation to violent extremism. In peaceful groups, increasing fusion will actually decrease extremism. Groups collectively appraise threats and opportunities, actively debate action options, and rarely choose violence toward self or others.

Elaborating the role of reflection and individual differences in the study of folk-economic beliefs

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x18000274 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 41 ◽

Author(s):

Kevin Arceneaux

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Individual Differences ◽

Cognitive Processes ◽

Evolutionary History ◽

Behavioral Responses ◽

History Of ◽

Economic Beliefs

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.

The role of affect in feelings of obligation

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x19002449 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

Author(s):

Stefen Beeler-Duden ◽

Meltem Yucel ◽

Amrisha Vaish

Keyword(s):

Positive Emotions ◽

The Creation ◽

Sense Of Obligation

Abstract Tomasello offers a compelling account of the emergence of humans’ sense of obligation. We suggest that more needs to be said about the role of affect in the creation of obligations. We also argue that positive emotions such as gratitude evolved to encourage individuals to fulfill cooperative obligations without the negative quality that Tomasello proposes is inherent in obligations.