Documenting the Ikpana interrogative system

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-100
Author(s):  
Jason Kandybowicz ◽  
Bertille Baron Obi ◽  
Philip T. Duncan ◽  
Hironori Katsuda
Keyword(s):  
Comprehensive Treatment ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Southeastern Part ◽  
Endangered Language ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Volta Region ◽  
Movement Asymmetry ◽  
Syntactic Properties

Abstract This article provides a comprehensive treatment of the interrogative system of Ikpana (ISO 639-3: lgq), an endangered language spoken in the southeastern part of Ghana’s Volta region. The article features a description and analysis of both the morphosyntax and intonation of questions in the language. Polar questions in Ikpana are associated with dedicated prosodic patterns and may be segmentally marked. As for wh- interrogatives, Ikpana allows for optional wh- movement. Interrogative expressions may appear clause-internally in their base-generated positions or in the left periphery followed by one of two optionally droppable particles with distinct syntactic properties. In this way, wh- movement structures are either focus-marked constructions or cleft structures depending on the accompanying particle. We identify an interesting wh- movement asymmetry – unlike all other wh- movement structures, ‘how’ questions may not be formed via the focus-marked or cleft strategy. We document a number of other attested wh- structures in the language, including long-distance wh- movement, partial wh- movement, long-distance wh- in-situ, and multiple wh- questions. We argue that by allowing our documentation efforts to be shaped and guided by theoretically driven research questions, we reach deeper levels of description than would have been possible if approached from a purely descriptive-documentary perspective.

scholarly journals Focus in Italian echo wh-questions: An analysis at syntax-prosody interface

Probus ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Badan ◽  
Claudia Crocco
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Approach ◽  
General Level ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
Focus Position ◽  
Wh Questions ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Focus Projection

Abstract In this article, we propose an analysis of the so-called echo wh-questions in situ in Italian at syntax–prosody interface. We conduct a prosodic analysis under an experimental approach, showing that a focalized wh-word in echo wh-questions shows its own peculiar properties, different from informative and corrective focus, so that we can analyze it as an instance of Mirative focus. We demonstrate that the wh-word in echo wh-questions occupies a focus position in the low periphery of the clause. We also argue that this position has syntactic properties that, interlaced together with the prosodic properties, lead us to define the projection as a dedicated focus projection for Mirative focus. Crucially, the focus position within the low periphery activated in an echo wh-question, has different syntactic, prosodic and interpretive properties with respect to the informational focus, and to the corrective focus. Therefore, at a general level, our analysis strengthens the idea that partly different intonations and interpretations are associated to positions within the low periphery as opposed to the positions in the left periphery.

scholarly journals Chromosomal painting of the sandpiper (Actitis macularius) detects several fissions for the Scolopacidae family (Charadriiformes)

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melquizedec Luiz Silva Pinheiro ◽  
Cleusa Yoshiko Nagamachi ◽  
Talita Fernanda Augusto Ribas ◽  
Cristovam Guerreiro Diniz ◽  
Patricia Caroline Mary O´Brien ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Painting ◽  
Diploid Number ◽  
Chromosomal Evolution ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Chromosomal Painting ◽  
Cytogenetic Studies ◽  
Burhinus Oedicnemus ◽  
Clear Idea ◽  
First Time

Abstract Background The Scolopacidae family (Suborder Scolopaci, Charadriiformes) is composed of sandpipers and snipes; these birds are long-distance migrants that show great diversity in their behavior and habitat use. Cytogenetic studies in the Scolopacidae family show the highest diploid numbers for order Charadriiformes. This work analyzes for the first time the karyotype of Actitis macularius by classic cytogenetics and chromosome painting. Results The species has a diploid number of 92, composed mostly of telocentric pairs. This high 2n is greater than the proposed 80 for the avian ancestral putative karyotype (a common feature among Scolopaci), suggesting that fission rearrangements have formed smaller macrochromosomes and microchromosomes. Fluorescence in situ hybridization using Burhinus oedicnemus whole chromosome probes confirmed the fissions in pairs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 of macrochromosomes. Conclusion Comparative analysis with other species of Charadriiformes studied by chromosome painting together with the molecular phylogenies for the order allowed us to raise hypotheses about the chromosomal evolution in suborder Scolopaci. From this, we can establish a clear idea of how chromosomal evolution occurred in this suborder.

Correlation of Grassy Lake and Cedar Lake ambers using infrared spectroscopy, stable isotopes, and palaeoentomology

2008 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1061-1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan C. McKellar ◽  
Alexander P. Wolfe ◽  
Ralf Tappert ◽  
Karlis Muehlenbachs
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Fourier Transform ◽  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Geochemical Fingerprinting ◽  
Long Distance Transport ◽  
Distance Transport

The Late Cretaceous Grassy Lake and Cedar Lake amber deposits of western Canada are among North America’s most famous amber-producing localities. Although it has been suggested for over a century that Cedar Lake amber from western Manitoba may be a secondary deposit having originated from strata in Alberta, this hypothesis has not been tested explicitly using geochemical fingerprinting coupled to comparative analyses of arthropod faunal content. Although there are many amber-containing horizons associated with Cretaceous coals throughout Alberta, most are thermally mature and brittle, thus lacking the resilience to survive long distance transport while preserving intact biotic inclusions. One of the few exceptions is the amber found in situ at Grassy Lake. We present a suite of new analyses from these and other Late Cretaceous ambers from western Canada, including stable isotopes (H and C), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, and an updated faunal compendium for the Grassy and Cedar lakes arthropod assemblages. When combined with amber’s physical properties and stratigraphic constraints, the results of these analyses confirm that Cedar Lake amber is derived directly from the Grassy Lake amber deposit or an immediate correlative equivalent. This enables the palaeoenvironmental context of Grassy Lake amber to be extended to the Cedar Lake deposit, making possible a more inclusive survey of Cretaceous arthropod faunas.

Syntax-Pragmatik-Schnittstelle am Beispiel der Fokussierung im Spanisch-Erwerb deutschsprachiger Lerner

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 315-350
Author(s):  
Julia Schirnhofer
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
Test Results ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Proficiency Level ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Information Focus ◽  
Focus Marking

Abstract As a phenomenon at the syntax-pragmatics interface, focus marking can cause particular difficulties in adult L2 acquisition and may never be fully acquired, whereas native-like competence can be achieved with formal syntactic properties. The present study examines this so-called Interface Hypothesis by analysing the strategies that monolingual German-speaking learners use to mark information focus in Spanish. Analyses of the test results show that around 97 % of the test subjects prefer to maintain the unmarked constituent order and mark focus in situ, irrespective of their proficiency level. In comparison with Spanish natives (Gabriel 2010, Heidinger 2014), the results show a divergence from the behaviour of native speakers, as the latter use various strategies. This indicates that the German-speaking learners do not make use of the variation of focus marking strategies the Spanish language provides, but rather adhere to in situ focalization, which is also the dominant focus-marking strategy in German. Furthermore, the results of the present study highlight that strategies for marking focus are scarcely taken into account in language teaching classes.

scholarly journals On the nature of cross-linguistic transfer: A case study of Andean Spanish

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANTJE G. MUNTENDAM
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Andean Spanish ◽  
Pragmatic Transfer ◽  
Elicitation Study ◽  
Linguistic Transfer ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Elicitation Studies ◽  
Long Distance Movement

This paper presents the results of a study on cross-linguistic transfer in Andean Spanish word order. In Andean Spanish the object appears in preverbal position more frequently than in non-Andean Spanish, which has been attributed to an influence from Quechua (a Subject–Object–Verb language). The high frequency of preverbal objects could be explained by focus fronting. The main syntactic properties of focus fronting in Spanish are weak crossover and long distance movement. Two elicitation studies designed to test for these properties in non-Andean Spanish, Andean Spanish and Quechua show no evidence of syntactic transfer from Quechua into Andean Spanish. Rather, the analysis of naturalistic data and an elicitation study on question–answer pairs show that there is pragmatic transfer from Quechua into Andean Spanish. The study has implications for theories of syntax and language contact, and especially for the debate on the nature of cross-linguistic transfer.

scholarly journals Distinct contracted conformations of the Tcra/Tcrd locus during Tcra and Tcrd recombination

2010 ◽  
Vol 207 (9) ◽  
pp. 1835-1841 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han-Yu Shih ◽  
Michael S. Krangel
Keyword(s):  
In Situ Hybridization ◽  
Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Double Negative ◽  
Thymocyte Development ◽  
Double Positive ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Large Pool ◽  
Antigen Receptor Loci

Studies have suggested that antigen receptor loci adopt contracted conformations to promote long-distance interactions between gene segments during V(D)J recombination. The Tcra/Tcrd locus is unique because it undergoes highly divergent Tcrd and Tcra recombination programs in CD4−CD8− double negative (DN) and CD4+CD8+ double positive (DP) thymocytes, respectively. Using three-dimensional fluorescence in situ hybridization, we asked whether these divergent recombination programs are supported by distinct conformational states of the Tcra/Tcrd locus. We found that the 3′ portion of the locus is contracted in DN and DP thymocytes but not in B cells. Remarkably, the 5′ portion of the locus is contracted in DN thymocytes but is decontracted in DP thymocytes. We propose that the fully contracted conformation in DN thymocytes allows Tcrd rearrangements involving Vδ gene segments distributed over 1 Mb, whereas the unique 3′-contracted, 5′-decontracted conformation in DP thymocytes biases initial Tcra rearrangements to the most 3′ of the available Vα gene segments. This would maintain a large pool of distal 5′ Vα gene segments for subsequent rounds of recombination. Thus, distinct contracted conformations of the Tcra/Tcrd locus may facilitate a transition from a Tcrd to a Tcra mode of recombination during thymocyte development.

Paleoenvironments revealed by rare-earth element systematics in vertebrate bioapatite from the Lower Devonian of Svalbard

2016 ◽  
Vol 53 (8) ◽  
pp. 788-794
Author(s):  
Živilė Žigaitė ◽  
Alexandre Fadel ◽  
Alberto Pérez-Huerta ◽  
Teresa Jeffries ◽  
Daniel Goujet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rare Earth ◽  
Rare Earth Element ◽  
Lower Devonian ◽  
Depositional Environment ◽  
Earth Element ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Dental Tissues ◽  
Abundance Patterns ◽  
The Eu

In situ rare-earth element (REE) compositions have been measured in early vertebrate microremains from the Lower Devonian basin of Andrée Land (Svalbard), with the aim of obtaining information about their early depositional environment and potential reworking. Vertebrate microremains with different histology were used for the analyses, sourced from two different localities of marginal marine to freshwater sediments from geographically distant parts of the Grey Hœk Formation (Skamdalen and Tavlefjellet members). We selected thelodont and undescribed ?chondrichthyan scales, which allowed us to define potential taxonomic, histological, and taphonomic variables of the REE uptake. Results showed REE concentrations to be relatively uniform within the scales of each taxon, but apparent discrepancies were visible between the studied localities and separate taxa. The compilation of REE abundance patterns as well as REE ratios have revealed that thelodont and ?chondrichthyan originating from the same locality must have had different burial and early diagenetic histories. The shapes of the REE profiles, together with the presence and absence of the Eu and Ce anomalies, equally suggested different depositional and diagenetic environments for these two sympatric taxa resulting from either stratigraphical or long-distance reworking. The REE concentrations appear to have visible differences between separate dental tissues, particularly between enameloid and dentine of thelodonts, emphasizing the importance of in situ measurements in microfossil biomineral geochemistry.

Colonization of depopulated crinoids by symbionts: who comes from the bottom and who from the water column?

2015 ◽  
Vol 95 (8) ◽  
pp. 1607-1612 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.S. Mekhova ◽  
P.Y. Dgebuadze ◽  
V.N. Mikheev ◽  
T.A. Britayev
Keyword(s):  
Water Column ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Sandy Substrate ◽  
Limited Dispersal ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Almost All ◽  
High Degree

Previous experiments with the comatulid Himerometra robustipinna (Carpenter, 1881) demonstrated intensive host-to-host migration processes for almost all symbiotic species both within host aggregations and among hosts separated by several metres. The aim of this study was to check the ability of symbionts to complete long-distance migrations, by means of two in situ experiments which depopulated the crinoid host. Two different sets of field experiments were set up: exposure of depopulated crinoids (set 1) on stony ‘islands’ isolated from native crinoid assemblages by sandy substrate, and (set 2) in cages suspended in the water column. Hosts from set 1 were exposed for 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks to assess whether substrate has an influence on the symbionts' long-distance migrations. In set 2 cages were exposed for 10–11 days, aiming to check whether symbionts were able to disperse through the water column with currents. These experiments allow the conclusion that post-settled symbionts can actively migrate among their hosts. Symbionts are able to reach their hosts by employing two different ‘transport corridors’, by drifting or swimming in water column, and by moving on the bottom. Comparison of experimental results allows the division of symbionts into two conventional groups according to the dispersal ability of their post-settled stages: (1) species able to complete long-distance migrations, (2) species unable to migrate or having limited dispersal ability. The finding of the free-living shrimp Periclimenes diversipes Kemp, 1922 in set 2 raises the question about the factors that affect such a high degree of specialization of crinoid assemblages.

Bitonal pitch accent and phonological alignment in Sardinian

Probus ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miran Kim ◽  
Lori Repetti
Keyword(s):  
Pitch Accent ◽  
Prosodic Structure ◽  
Stressed Syllable ◽  
Romance Language ◽  
Word Level ◽  
Landing Sites ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
As Stress

Abstract This study presents new data on pitch accent alignment in Sardinian, a Romance language spoken in Italy. We propose that what has been described as “stress shift” in encliticization processes is not a change in the word level stress, but variation in the association of the pitch accent. Our claim is that word level stress remains in situ, and the falling tune which our data exhibit can be interpreted as a bitonal pitch accent (HL*) associated with the entire verb + enclitic unit: the starred tone is associated with the rightmost metrically prominent syllable, and the leading tone is associated with the word-level stressed syllable. The research questions we address are twofold: (i) how are the landing sites of the two tonal targets phonetically identified; (ii) how are the phonetic facts reconciled with prosodic structure.

Comparison of seasonal evapotranspiration of temperate coniferous forests with Copernicus Sentinel-1 time series

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlin Markus Mueller ◽  
Clémence Dubois ◽  
Thomas Jagdhuber ◽  
Carsten Pathe ◽  
Christiane Schmullius
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Coniferous Forests ◽  
Weather Data ◽  
Complex Nature ◽  
Southeastern Part ◽  
Backscatter Signal ◽  
Multiple Observations ◽  
Depth Analysis

<p>A changing climate accompanied by an increasing number of extreme weather events puts pressure on ecosystems around the globe. Evapotranspiration is one of the key metrics for understanding vegetation dynamics and changes in an ecosystem. Due to its complex nature, evapotranspiration is difficult to determine on a larger scale.<br>Existing approaches to correlate evapotranspiration measurements and radar backscatter signals were completed in boreal forests using ground-based scatterometers for short time series (several months) with much higher temporal resolution (multiple observations per hour) for small test sites. Our goal is to build upon this research to establish a broader understanding on the influences of evapotranspiration on the signal of the widely used Copernicus Sentinel-1 C-Band SAR for managed temperate coniferous forests. Variations of the observed backscatter signals (VV, VH) over several growing seasons and years (2016-2020) are investigated.<br>Besides wind, temperature or precipitation as some of the influencing parameters on the C-band SAR signal, we focus our analyses on the influence of evapotranspiration on the Sentinel-1 C-band signal. Therefore, we recorded long time series of Sentinel-1 data to investigate and estimate the correlation between forest evapotranspiration dynamics and SAR signal variations. For this purpose, Sentinel-1 and weather data from July 2016 to December 2020 were obtained for forested areas in the southeastern part of the Free State of Thuringia, central Germany.<br>We use four different weather station datasets with daily measurements to calculate evapotranspiration values following the Penman-Monteith approach and apply regression analyses to gain a better understanding about the influence on the SAR signal. To obtain regions with speckle-suppressed backscatter for in situ comparison, forest areas in a radius of five kilometers around the four weather stations are considered. For the analysis, radar datasets are differentiated in co- and cross-polarized data as well as descending and ascending flight directions. It seems also important to distinguish between frozen and no-frozen conditions as we discover strong changes in the C-band SAR signal but only minor changes in evapotranspiration values for temperatures below freezing level. Excluding frozen conditions, in situ evapotranspiration measurements and the SAR backscatter variations over four years directly correlate with R2-values up to 0.48 without any parameterization or calibration on both sides (SAR & in situ). Currently we are investigating statistical methods for in-depth analysis of the correlation between the two datasets. As the SAR backscatter signal at C-band is not a direct and sole function of evapotranspiration, future work will combine the modelling of the different influence parameters of the environment on the SAR backscatter signal and aim at quantifying their respective influence on the signal to better understand the seasonal signal variations.</p>

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