Cognitive accessibility predicts word order of couples’ names in English and Japanese

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-249
Author(s):  
Karina Tachihara ◽  
Adele E. Goldberg
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
General Property ◽  
Proper Names ◽  
The Other ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Personal Histories ◽  
Cognitive Accessibility

AbstractWe investigate the order in which speakers produce the proper names of couples they know personally in English and Japanese, two languages with markedly different constituent word orders. Results demonstrate that speakers of both languages tend to produce the name of the person they feel closer to before the name of the other member of the couple (N = 180). In this way, speakers’ unique personal histories give rise to a remarkably systematic linguistic generalization in both English and Japanese. Insofar as closeness serves as an index of cognitive accessibility, the current work demonstrates that systematicity emerges from a domain-general property of memory.

Art. IX.—On the Proper Names of the Mohammadans

1879 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-237
Author(s):  
T. E. Colebrooke
Keyword(s):  
Family Relations ◽  
Proper Names ◽  
Public Life ◽  
The Other ◽  
Simple Rule ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Family ◽  
Personal Qualities ◽  
Religious Sect

It is well known that proper names in the East, and especially among the Mohammadans, follow no such simple rule as that which has long prevailed in modern Europe, where the Christian name or names conferred in infancy and the family name or surnames are usually borne through life, and where it is a matter of suspicion to have an alias. In the East, on the other hand, we hear of persons gathering up in the course of their career a variety of names, and being popularly known by one or other of them at different periods, and to an extent that gives rise to perplexity. This was notably the case among the Arabs in the height of their preeminence. A person might receive a name in his infancy (usually conferred on his birth or at his circumcision), and to this might be added a patronymic, or a name expressive of his paternal or family relations. He might then receive a title expressive of his zeal for the faith, and soubriquets descriptive of his personal qualities or appearance, or the country or town in which he was born or had settled, or the religious sect to which he belonged ; and if he played a part in public life, to all these might be added, as in Europe, a title or titles of dignity; and if he had acquired a reputation as an author, he might assume some name of fancy. These various names or titles might never be united in the same individual, but the combinations are numerous and shifting. Certain rules are observed in their formation or application, but it was a matter of accident by which of these designations a person might be known to his contemporaries, or his name transmitted to modern times.

Peut-on sauver un sens de dénomination pour les noms propres ?

2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georges Kleiber
Keyword(s):  
Proper Names ◽  
The Other ◽  
Long Term Memory ◽  
Semantic Description ◽  
Procedural Approach ◽  
Classic Problem ◽  
The Status ◽  
Proper Name ◽  
Procedural Instruction

This study revisits the classic problem posed by the meaning of proper names, and proposes a procedural approach to this problem, by analysing the meaning of proper names as an instruction to find in long-term memory the referent that carries the proper name in question. This is a revision of my earlier theory of ‘naming predicates’ (Kleiber 1981), which captures the meaning of proper names like Louis in terms of paraphrases of the form “the x who is called Louis”. The concept of ‘naming predicate’ was meant to provide an alternative to the inadequacies of the two classic approaches to the meaning of proper names, viz. theories that analyse proper names as semantically empty (e.g. Mills, Kripke 1972) and theories that analyse proper names in terms of uniquely identifying descriptions (Frege, Russell 1956). An analysis in terms of naming predicates (‘the X called Louis’) gives proper names an abstract type of meaning, thus avoiding the disembodied sign that results from analysing them as semantically empty, and at the same time does not go to the other extreme of incoporating aspects of the referent in the proper name’s meaning, thus avoiding the well-known problems with referential identity (e.g. Tullius = Cicero) and the related puzzles of transparence and opacity. In spite of these descriptive advantages, further research has shown that there are a number of problems with the notion of ‘naming predicate’. One of these problems concerns the status of proper names in ‘naming constructions’ like I am called Louis. Applying a naming predicate analysis to such constructions either leads to infinite regression (Wilmet 1995), or — if Louis in the naming predicate ‘the x called Louis’ is regarded as a phonetic form rather than a proper name — to a denial of proper name status in the very construction that expresses the naming link between proper name and referent (Jonasson 1982). Another problem concerns the cognitive naturalness of an analysis in terms of ‘naming predicates’. While this analysis is quite natural in contexts like There is no Louis in this office, it works less well in contexts like This painting is a real Picasso and, most importantly, in prototypical uses like Louis is a painter and a sculpturer, where a naming predicate analysis solely identifies the referent as the carrier of the proper name. These problems have led me to propose a revision to the theory of naming predicates. The descriptive advantages of using the naming relation between proper name and referent as the basis of the semantic description are obvious, which means that this aspect of the theory needs to be maintained. What causes most of the problems, however, is associating this naming relation with a predicate. As an alternative, I propose to reanalyse it in a procedural sense, not as a predicate describing the referent but as a procedural instruction to look for the referent that carries the proper name. This puts proper names in the domain of indexical signs like deictic elements. Common nouns, on the other hand, are not indexical in this sense but stand for concepts, which means that indexicality only comes into the picture when deictic elements are added.

Changing the Topic

Mnemosyne ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rutger J. Allan
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
The Other ◽  
Coherent System ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Flexible System ◽  
Pragmatic Function ◽  
The One ◽  
Topic Constructions

AbstractIn Ancient Greek, topics can be expressed as intra-clausal constituents but they can also precede or follow the main clause as extra-clausal constituents. Together, these various topic expressions constitute a coherent system of complementary pragmatic functions. For a comprehensive account of topic organization, therefore, a limited focus on the clause proper is insufficient. In this paper, I will argue that it is possible to distinguish five different structural positions in which topic constituents may appear in Ancient Greek. These are: (i)Theme, (ii)clause-initial, (iii)postverbal in Setting, (iv)postverbal in main clauseand (v)Tail.Each of these positions in the sentence is associated with a specific pragmatic function: Resumed Topic, Contrastive/New Topic, Given Topic or clarification of Given Topic. In linguistic theory, topic and focus are often seen as independent aspects of information structure instead of complementary functions. It is, therefore, attractive to posit two separate sets of constructional templates: on the one hand, a topic set comprising the aforementioned topic constructions and, on the other hand, a focus set containing two (narrow and broad) focus-constructions. This results in a flexible system in which the word order of each sentence is determined by a combination of a focus construction plus one or more topic constructions.

‘Incrementing’ in conversation. A comparison of practices in English, German and Japanese

Pragmatics ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 513-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Couper-Kuhlen ◽  
Tsuyoshi Ono
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Preliminary Survey ◽  
Linguistic Study ◽  
Made In ◽  
Prior Action

This cross-linguistic study focuses on ways in which conversationalists speak beyond a point of possible turn completion in conversation, specifically on turn extensions which are grammatically dependent, backward-looking and extend the prior action. It argues that further distinctions can be made in terms of whether the extension is prosodically integrated with the prior unit, its host, (Non-add-on) or not, and in terms of whether it repairs some part of the host (Replacement) or not. Added-on, non-repairing extensions are further distinguished in terms of whether they are grammatically fitted to the end of the host (Glue-ons) or not (Insertables). A preliminary survey of TCU continuation in English, German and Japanese conversation reveals a number of significant differences with respect to frequency and range of extension type. English is at one extreme in preferring Glue-ons over Non-Add-ons and Insertables, whereas Japanese is at the other extreme in preferring Non-add-ons and Insertables over Glue-ons. German occupies an intermediary position but is on the whole more like Japanese. The preference for Glue-ons vs. Insertables appears to reflect a language’s tendency towards syntactic left- vs. right headedness. In conclusion the study argues for a classification of ‘increment’ types which goes beyond the English-based Glue-on, attributes a central role to prosodic delivery and adopts a usage-based understanding of word order.

Discontinuous noun phrases in Ngkolmpu

2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 700-721
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
General Information ◽  
The Other ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
The Right

Abstract It has been claimed that Ngkolmpu (Yam, Papuan) displays discontinuous noun phrases (Donohue 2011). However, careful textual analysis of a corpus of naturalistic language reveals that, in practice, this is highly restricted. The data shows two relatively rare constructions which give rise to limited discontinuous structures. The first is an afterthought construction involving a full co-referential nominal constituent adjacent to the clause. This co-referential constituent is both syntactically and phonetically distinct from the main utterance. The other involves a topic marking demonstrative encliticised to verbs at the right edge of the clause interacting with general information-structural conditions on word order. This is the only true discontinuity found in the corpus and is restricted to demonstratives only. This paper clarifies a claim in the literature about the empirical facts of a specific language, Ngkolmpu, and adds a nuanced discussion of nominal discontinuity in a language of New Guinea.

Language Mixing in a French-Dutch Bilingual Child

1996 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 89-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aafke Hulk ◽  
Elisabeth van der Linden
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Essential Role ◽  
The Other ◽  
Parameter Setting ◽  
Central Question ◽  
Combined System ◽  
Bilingual Child ◽  
Early Child ◽  
Functional Projection ◽  
Small Clauses

Child bilingualism has been a domain of growing interest in the last few years. A central question in research concerns the differentiation of the two languages in the developmen-tal process: do children develop two separate language systems from the very beginning or do they start with a combined system? In this discussion, aspects of word order play an essential role. Radford (1986) has compared early child utterances with so called "small clauses". In small clauses, word order would be relatively free due to the fact that children have not yet acquired the concept of case marking which puts constraints on word order. In this assumption, word order would not be expected to be differen-tiated in the first stages of the two languages of the bilingual child. Others however (Meisel, 1989, Frijn & de Haan 1994) have suggested that word order from the two-word stage on is almost invariably correct and in line with parameter settings in the adult language. At first sight, the utterances of the French-Dutch bilingual child that we study do not support one or the other of these two views unambiguously. Despite the fact that French is a head initial, SVO language and that the majority of the utterances of the child are in accordance with this parameter setting, utterances with SOV order and other Dutch-like word orders do appear in her French with a certain frequency. In our discussion we will show that, while the early (S)OV patterns can probably be explained by the absence of a fully fledged functional projection IP in the child's grammar, this cannot account for these patterns in later phases. The persistent presence of OV patterns in the French utterances - that are (although very rarely) encountered in French monolingual children as well - seems to be caused, then, by the continuing Dutch input that may very well be the factor that "pushes up" the production of [XP V] patterns in the child's French.

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.

Tigre Syntax and Semitic Ethiopian

1980 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Eaz
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Semitic Language ◽  
Order Of Elements

It has long been argued that the peculiar syntactic traits which typify the modern Semitic Ethiopian languages can be accounted for by the Cushitic substratum, notably the word order of the sentence and the system of qualification (the qualifier-qualified order of elements). It has been suggested that among these languages Tigre is ‘more Semitic’ since (a) it is much less rigid as regards word order, and (b) ‘it may optionally have either the Semitic pattern or the Cushitic one’. A parallel diachronic statement would be that as regards its syntax Tigre was more successful in resisting Cushitic influence or, for some reason, less exposed to it. Here, to avoid the problem of measuring the syntactic features of Tigre in general Semitic terms, Gə'əaz is usually taken as the mode for a Semitic language. In this respect it follows that descriptively Tigre is more Gə'əz-like than the other modern Semitic Ethiopian languages. In spite of the plausibility of such an explanation, it seems to be a matter of scholarly tradition rather than the result of thorough investigation, i.e. the belief that Tigre is the odd man out among its modern relations by virtue of its syntax is an impression rather than a proven observation.

Aspects of word order and its communicative function in English and German

1969 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry W. Kirkwood
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Communicative Function ◽  
Communicative Intention ◽  
Grammatical Subject ◽  
Grammatical Rule ◽  
The One ◽  
Order Of Elements

A study of word order must take account of the different sets of criteria governing the position of elements and the extent to which the one or the other has a bearing on the order of elements in the languages investigated. It must consider whether word order is predetermined by grammatical rule and what measure of freedom is left to the speaker or writer to manipulate word order to conform to the communicative intention. The present study will mainly be concerned with the sentence opening elements and the position of the grammatical subject.

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