11. Reconsidering the Semantic Function Hierarchy; Raising; Ergativity

1997 ◽  
pp. 271-290
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Function

Corpora and intuition: a study of Mandarin Chinese adverbial clauses and subjecthood

Corpora ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
May L-Y Wong
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Semantic Function ◽  
Text Type ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Semantic Classes ◽  
New Information ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Linguistic Methods

This paper presents a corpus-based approach to investigating the distribution of adverbial clauses and their subjects (overt vs. non-overt) in spoken and written Mandarin Chinese. It argues that the choice of subject type is determined by three variables, namely, given-new information, semantic function of adverbial clause and text type. In written Chinese, the distribution of subject types varies across semantic classes of adverbial clauses, but not across text categories. The influence of semantic classes on the distribution of subject types, however, depends on text type. For the same semantic function, the decision as to whether to include a subject is governed by given and new information. In contrasting the distribution of subject types of adverbial clauses across speech and writing, it was found that both spoken and written Chinese use more overt subjects in clauses of reason. Methodologically, this study demonstrates how quantitative corpus-linguistic methods can be used to supplement introspective theoretical assumptions with authentic, observable evidence in order to gain better insights into the behaviour of adverbial clauses in speech and writing.

scholarly journals «Vi in posek shteyt geshribn»: On the Problem of Translating Quotations from the Sacred Texts in Sholem Aleichem's Tevye the Dairyman into Russian

2019 ◽  
pp. 171-197
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Kuznetsova
Keyword(s):  
Biblical Hebrew ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Semantic Function ◽  
Sacred Texts ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Original Intention

The article focuses on the problem of translation of Biblical Hebrew (and some Aramaic) quotes in Sholem Aleichem’s works into Russian.A review of different translations into English and Hebrew is also included to show a broader context. Sholem Aleichem is one of the most frequently translated Yiddish writers and certainly the most translated into Russian, and translators face many peculiar challenges while working on his texts. One of those challenges is the usage of phrases and quotes from various languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Russian, Ukrainian, German, etc.). Each language has its own semantic function, and its presence is vital for comprehensive understanding of the work. Thus, quotes from the sacred texts of Judaism in Tevye the Dairyman have several functions: first of all, they create a comic effect, second, they reveal the protagonist’s relationships with God, and finally, they allow the author to show Tevye’s perception of events in the book without direct naming.The article describes different ways in which linguistic polyphony could be preserved, by analyzing the translations starting from the 1910s, when Sholem Aleichem himself advised the translators regarding the issue, to the Soviet translations that are still in print today. Inseparable from translation matters is the question of interpretation of Tevye as a character: thus,for instance, in the USSR his constant quoting from the Bible was interpreted as anti-clericalism and rebellion against religion.The article explains how different translation strategies influence the characters and the work in general, often simplifying or distorting the original intention.

Semantics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Crimmins
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Study ◽  
Special Interest ◽  
Semantic Theory ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Independent Interest ◽  
Semantic Function ◽  
The World

Semantics is the systematic study of meaning. Current work in this field builds on the work of logicians and linguists as well as of philosophers. Philosophers are interested in foundational issues in semantics because these speak to the nature of meaning, as it embeds in our thinking and in our relations to each other and to the world. Of special interest are questions about how a semantic theory should respect the connections of meaning to truth and to understanding. In addition, numerous semantic problems concerning particular linguistic constructions bear philosophical interest, sometimes because the problems are important to resolving foundational semantical issues, sometimes because philosophical problems of independent interest are expressed using the constructions, and sometimes because clarity about the semantic function of the constructions enables clarity in the development of philosophical theories and analyses.

Propositional attitude statements

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth A. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Propositional Attitude ◽  
Leibniz’S Law ◽  
Semantic Function ◽  
False Conclusion ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Attitude Reports ◽  
Apparent Violation ◽  
The Law ◽  
Indiscernibility Of Identicals

Propositional attitude statements – statements about our beliefs, desires, hopes and fears – exhibit certain logical peculiarities. For example, in apparent violation of Leibniz’s law of the indiscernibility of identicals, we cannot freely substitute expressions which designate the same object within such statements. According to Leibniz’s law, every instance of the following scheme is valid: - a = b - F(a) - Therefore, F(b) The validity of Leibniz’s law seems beyond question. It says, in effect, that if an object has a certain property, then anything identical to that object also has that property. Valid instances abound. But consider the following apparently invalid instance: - Hesperus is Phosphorus - Hammurabi believed that Hesperus often rose in the evening - Therefore, Hammurabi believed that ‘Phosphorus’ often rose in the evening. If we take ‘Hammurabi believed that…often rose in the evening’ to serve as the predicate F and ‘Hesperus’ and ‘Phosphorus’ to be a and b respectively, this argument appears to be an instance of Leibniz’s law. Yet (3) apparently fails to follow from (1) and (2). Hammurabi believed that Hesperus and Phosphorus were two heavenly bodies not one. And he believed that Hesperus did, but that Phosphorus did not rise in the evening. We have derived a false conclusion from true premises and an apparently valid law. If that law is really valid, then our argument had better not be a genuine instance of the law. The tempting conclusion, widely accepted, is that we were wrong to construe propositional attitude statements as simple predications. We should not, that is, construe ‘Hammurabi believed that…often rose in the evening’ to be just a long predicate with the semantic function of attributing some property to the object commonly denoted by ‘Hesperus’ and ‘Phosphorus’. But then the question arises: if attitude reports are not simple predications, what are they? Philosophers have disagreed sharply in their answers. Moreover, their disagreements are intimately connected to a wide range of deep issues about the nature of meaning and reference.

Temporal Adverbial Clause Markings In Balinese

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 73
Author(s):  
Ketut Artawa ◽  
Made Sri Satyawati ◽  
Shiohara Asako ◽  
Ketut Widya Purnawati
Keyword(s):  
Short Stories ◽  
Simple Form ◽  
Complex Form ◽  
Subordinate Clause ◽  
Semantic Function ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Temporal Adverbial

Temporal adverbial functions can be realized by a subordinate clause. This subordinate clause is called temporal adverbial clause. The temporal adverbial clause is marked by a particular word(s) according to its semantic function. Balinese has several temporal adverbial clause markers, which can be in a simple or a complex form. The simple form is one word marker, while the complex form can be a phrase. Although there is a set of semantic function classifications, but somehow, not all of those semantic functions of the temporal adverbial in Balinese are filled by an adverbial clause. This paper focuses on the markers of those temporal adverbials, which are realized by an adverbial clause. The data in this paper, which are obtained from several short stories collections in Balinese, are descriptively analyzed. The result showed that Balinese has a number of marker variations, which do not only depend on the semantic function of temporal adverbial, but also depend on the speech level of the utterance. This means that a particular semantic function may be exclusively marked by several markers.

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