scholarly journals Cleft constructions and focus strategies in Modern Armenian

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-116
Author(s):  
Victoria Khurshudyan ◽  
Anaïd Donabédian
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
High Intensity ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Unequal Distribution ◽  
Cleft Constructions ◽  
Focus Strategy ◽  
Focus Strategies

Abstract Cleft constructions are one of the possible focus strategies available in Modern Armenian alongside prosody and specific syntactic constructions. Cleft constructions in Modern Armenian are biclausal constructions with a matrix clause and a relative-like clause, with an identificational clause as a matrix clause headed by a copula (in present or past), while in the relative-like clause introduced by the main subordinator, the relativized argument is coindexed with the argument of the copula. Though typologically cleft constructions are considered typical of languages with rigid word order, they are common in Modern Armenian, a language with flexible word order. It is argued that the intensity of focalization depends on the strategy used, with simple prosody marking associated with the lowest level of intensity, and preverbal position and clefts associated with intermediate and high-intensity focalization respectively. The corpus-based data show an unequal distribution of clefted pronouns as predicate clefts (impersonal with no agreement) and subject clefts (copular verb coindexed with personal pronouns as a subject) depending on the person and the polarity. The existence of cleft-like constructions in Classical Armenian and both Modern Armenian standards is argued to be evidence of diachronic continuity and a possible grammaticalization path from cleft constructions to the auxiliary movement focus strategy.

scholarly journals Pre-verbal focus in Kisikongo (H16a, Bantu)

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 ◽  
pp. 95-122
Author(s):  
Jasper De Kind
Keyword(s):  
Focus Position ◽  
Bantu Languages ◽  
Bantu Language ◽  
Cleft Constructions ◽  
Congo Brazzaville ◽  
Focus Strategy ◽  
Focus Strategies

The present paper aims at describing different pre-verbal focus strategies in Kisikongo (H16a), spoken in the vicinity of Mbanza Kongo, northern Angola. This western Bantu language is part of the Kikongo Language Cluster (KLC), stretching from southern Gabon to northern Angola, including Cabinda and parts of Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa. Kikongo exhibits a clause-internal pre-verbal argument focus position, which has rarely been reported in Bantu languages, except in Mbuun (B87) (Bostoen and Mundeke 2012) and Nsong (B85d) (Koni Muluwa and Bostoen, this volume), both spoken in the neighboring Kwilu region of the DRC. The more extensively studied eastern and southern Bantu languages generally have a post-verbal argument focus position (cf. Watters 1979, Morimoto 2000, Creissels 2004, Güldemann 2007, Buell 2009, van der Wal 2009, among others). In addition to this mono-clausal argument focus strategy, Kisikongo also relies on different bi-clausal constructions to focus arguments, i.e. cleft-constructions.  

Subordinate clauses

2019 ◽  
pp. 237-288
Author(s):  
Jan Terje Faarlund
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Infinitival Clauses ◽  
Finite Verb ◽  
Nominal Clauses

In subordinate clauses, the C position is occupied by a complementizer word, which may be null. The finite verb stays in V. SpecCP is either empty or occupied by a wh-word, or by some other element indicating its semantic function. Nominal clauses are finite or non-finite. Finite nominal clauses are declarative or interrogative. Declarative nominal clauses may under specific circumstances have main clause word order (‘embedded V2’). Infinitival clauses are marked by an infinitive marker, which is either in C (Swedish), or immediately above V (Danish). Norwegian has both options. Relative clauses comprise several different types; clauses with a relativized nominal argument are mostly introduced by a complementizer; adverbial relative clauses relativize a locative or temporal phrase, with or without a complementizer; comparative clauses relativize a degree or identity. Under hard-to-define circumstances depending on language and region, subordinate clauses allow extraction of phrases up into the matrix clause.

Foregrounding of subordinate clauses by word order: Psycholinguistic evidence of the function of V>Adv (V2) word order in Danish

Linguistics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-273
Author(s):  
Marie Herget Christensen ◽  
Tanya Karoli Christensen ◽  
Torben Juel Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
The Other ◽  
Subordinate Clause ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Clause Complex

AbstractIn modern Danish, main clauses have the word order X>Verb>Adverb (i. e., V2) whereas subordinate clauses are generally characterized by the “subordinate clause” word order Subject>Adverb>Verb. Spoken Danish has a high frequency of “main clause” word order in subordinate clauses, however, and in the article we argue that this “Main Clause Phenomena” (cf. Aelbrecht et  al. 2012) functions as a foregrounding device, signaling that the more important information of the clause complex is to be found in the subordinate clause instead of in its matrix clause.A prediction from the foregrounding hypothesis is that a subordinate clause with Verb>Adverb word order will attract more attention than a clause with Adverb>Verb word order. To test this, we conducted an experiment under the text change paradigm. 59 students each read 24 constructions twice, each containing a subordinate clause with either Verb>Adverb or Adverb>Verb word order. Half of the subordinate clauses were governed by a semifactive predicate (open to both word orders) and the other half by a semantically secondary sentence (in itself strongly favoring Verb>Adverb word order). Attention to the subordinate clause was tested by measuring how disinclined the participants were to notice change of a word in the subordinate clause when re-reading it.Results showed significantly more attention to Verb>Adverb clauses than to Adverb>Verb clauses (though only under semifactive predicates), and more attention to subordinate clauses under semantically secondary than semifactive predicates. We consider this as strongly supporting the hypothesis that Verb>Adv word order functions as a foregrounding signal in subordinate clauses.

Adverbial clauses and V3

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (s3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Csipak
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Speech Act ◽  
The Other ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Pragmatic Analysis ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Biscuit Conditionals

AbstractThis paper discusses word order effects in German adverbial clauses: often, the matrix clause can exhibit either V2 or V3 word order. I argue that adverbial clauses with V3 word order have an obligatory ‘biscuit’ interpretation and receive a speech act modifying interpretation, as has previously only been argued for ‘biscuit conditionals’. I show that this phenomenon holds more generally. On the other hand, a pragmatic analysis for V2 biscuit conditionals remains necessary.

Subject pronoun doubling in Agul

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 955-987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timur A. Maisak
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Personal Pronouns ◽  
Clitic Doubling ◽  
Subject Pronoun ◽  
Doubling Construction ◽  
Person Agreement

The paper describes the doubling of free personal pronouns in Agul, an East Caucasian language spoken in Daghestan, Russia. The doubling construction consists of a subject pronoun in the canonical preverbal position, paired with an identical instance of the same pronoun immediately following the verb. The first pronoun is usually adjacent to the “verb–pronoun” combination, though it can optionally be separated by another constituent. In the oral corpus consulted for the analysis, the construction is found most often with the primary verb of speech in clauses introducing a quote (e.g. ‘I said I, …’). I argue that the doubling pattern originated as the conflation of a preverbal subject with a very frequent “verb–subject” word order used with highly topical referents. The function of the doubling construction is therefore postulated to draw additional attention to the referent. A brief comparison of Agul doubling and related phenomena in other languages (e.g. person agreement and clitic doubling) is also offered.

Impact of Porter’s Generic Strategy on Firm Performance with reference to Nepalese Retail Banking Sector

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (i) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Differentiation Strategy ◽  
Cost Strategy ◽  
Generic Strategy ◽  
Low Cost Strategy ◽  
Focus Strategy ◽  
Generic Strategies ◽  
Focus Strategies

Porter’s generic strategies are the proven and pervasive strategic options in achieving competitiveness and better firm performance. This paper aims in examining the effect of Porter’s generic strategies (low-cost, differentiation, and focus) on firm performance in the context of Nepalese retail banks, a more competitive service industry. This study applies casual comparative research design and the data have been collected through administering questionnaire survey from 75 senior bank managers of 18 Nepalese commercial banks who being engaged in strategic affairs. The econometric model has been constructed to measure the expected effect of the strategies on firm performance. The descriptive analysis, Pearson’s correlation analysis, and multivariate regression analysis were conducted. The empirical results of correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis produced consistent results indicating positive associations between generic strategies and firm performance. The empirical results from regression analysis declared higher positive and significant impact of low-cost on firm performance. Similarly, positive effect of differentiation strategy and focus strategy on firm performance was reported. The findings suggested that pursuing low cost strategy provides more financial returns with comparison to differentiation and focus strategies. The finding also suggested for combination of low-cost and differentiation (and focus) strategies could provide better competitiveness and firm performance. Keywords: Generic Strategy, Low-cost strategy, Differentiation strategy, Focus strategy, Firm performance

Deriving VOS from VSO in Tongan

2021 ◽  
pp. 61-88
Author(s):  
Maria Polinsky ◽  
Eric Potsdam
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Clitic Doubling ◽  
Syntactic Theory ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Rightward Movement ◽  
Basic Order

Research on word order has established several possible ways in which VOS order can be derived from VSO order. This chapter considers the derivational relationship between VSO and VOS in the Polynesian language Tongan. VSO order is basic in Tongan, and we address the derivation of VOS from this basic order in the context of multiple possibilities. We argue that Tongan VOS is better analyzed as rightward displacement of the subject as opposed to leftward displacement of the object proposed by Otsuka (2005a,c). The clause-final subject shows many of the hallmarks of rightward movement, including information-structural restrictions, locality with respect to the matrix clause, lack of clitic doubling, and connectivity with respect to case and binding. Given that rightward movement has an uneasy place in syntactic theory, we take pains to establish that the analysis is successful and worth further scrutiny.

scholarly journals The Wandering Subjects of the Levant

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Ouwayda ◽  
Ur Shlonsky
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Lebanese Arabic ◽  
Simple Movement ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Rightward Movement

Lebanese Arabic (LA) presents a puzzling word order in non-finite subordination contexts where the subject of the matrix clause comes sandwiched between the embedded verb and its complement (Hallman 2011). We present new facts concerning this puzzle, and argue in favor of phrasal movement of TP, which transports both verbs and intervening material above the subject, along the lines of Kayne (2005:42). Importantly, while the surface position of the subject may appear to involve rightward movement, we propose the subject itself only undergoes one simple movement leftwards (as a topic), and that the puzzling order follows from the movement of phrases containing it.

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