scholarly journals Verb class, case, and order: A crosslinguistic experiment on non-nominative experiencers

Linguistics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Temme ◽  
Elisabeth Verhoeven
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Transitive Verbs ◽  
The Asymmetry

AbstractIn several languages, non-nominative experiencers tend to appear early on in utterances, which frequently triggers deviations from the preferred word order. These observations are based on linearization preferences, which in most cases involve gradient levels that cannot be determined precisely through singular intuitions. This article presents a crosslinguistic experimental study on languages with different word order properties (German, Greek, Hungarian, and Korean), offering precise estimates for the effects of experiencer objects on linearization. The findings reveal a strong effect of case in the sense that dative experiencers appear more frequently early in an utterance than accusative experiencers. Based on the specific properties of the investigated languages, we are revising previous hypotheses about the source of the dative/accusative asymmetry and conclude that the asymmetry relates to phrase-structural differences. Accusative experiencers are fronted more frequently than patients of canonical transitive verbs. We argue that this phenomenon relates to a preference for selecting experiencers as aboutness topics, which explains the fact that

scholarly journals Possessive Construction in Russian and Indonesian Noun Phrases: Contrastive Analysis and Translation

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Tri Yulianty Karyaningsih
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Contrastive Analysis ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Translation Process ◽  
Possessive Constructions ◽  
Translation Analysis ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Descriptive Method ◽  
National Corpus

This paper aims to discuss the comparison between possessive constructions in Russian and Indonesian noun phrases. Since both of the languages have different grammatical systems, their possessive constructions may also be different. The differences are discussed using a contrastive analysis approach. However, the similarities between them are also taken into consideration following one of the practical purposes of contrastive analysis, namely, to aid the translation process. The theory employed in this research is eclectic. The research method employed in this research is descriptive method with contrastive analysis model. In addition, for translation analysis, word-for-word and literal methods are used here. The data in this research are collected from the Russian National Corpus and some selected literary works in Russian and Indonesian. The result suggests that there are some structural differences and similarities between Russian and Indonesian in terms of word order, attributive categories, and grammatical categories of the elements constituting noun phrases. The results of this comparison can be referred to in the translation of possessive construction of both languages so that the closest equivalent is found following the rules of each language. 

Serving two masters

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 534-565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik De Smet ◽  
Freek Van de Velde
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Contrastive Analysis ◽  
Free Relatives ◽  
Form Function ◽  
First Case ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Syntactic Status ◽  
Eventual Outcome

This paper examines two cases of so-called syntactic amalgams. In syntactic amalgams a particular string that is shared by two constructions is exploited to combine them, in such a way that one of the constructions functions as a modifier of the other. Typical examples are after God knows how many years (< after many years + God knows how many years) and a big enough house (< a big house + big enough). In formal theories, these kinds of constructions have been insightfully described as ‘grafts’. However, the exact process through which these amalgams arise remains unexplored. When studied closely, these processes reveal form–function friction not fully accounted for by the graft metaphor. Syntactic amalgams typically serve a subjective function and have been recruited for this purpose. However, because they consist of a syntagm that is still internally parsable, they tend to resist full reanalysis. More precisely, their original syntax continues to constrain their use. As such, amalgams get caught between their original syntax, which remains transparent, and their new function, which suggests a new syntactic status. This appears clearly from contrastive studies of amalgams in Dutch and English that are functionally similar but whose use is constrained in different ways due to structural differences between the two languages. Our first case study deals with the Dutch and English amalgam wie weet / who knows. A contrastive analysis of the development of the respective items shows both the conservative effect of the origin of change and the attraction exerted by the target of change. The second case we discuss in detail involves so-called transparent free relatives. A contrastive analysis shows the role of the overall grammar of a language in licensing change, in this case with Dutch word order posing more difficulties to the new focusing function of transparent free relatives. In general, both case studies show the formation of syntactic amalgams to be sensitive to system pressures both in the course of their development and in the eventual outcome of change.

scholarly journals The Lexicon of Transitive Verbs of Motion and the Asymmetry Between Goal and Source PPs

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 81
Author(s):  
Simonetta Vietri
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Research ◽  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Verbs Of Motion ◽  
Transitive Verbs ◽  
The Asymmetry ◽  
Frequent Exposure

The aim of this research is to verify the hypotheses on the asymmetry between source and goal PPs from both a syntactic and a cognitive point of view.Nam’s (2004) syntactic analysis shows that Goal PPs behave like adjuncts while Source PPs are internal arguments. Lakusta and Landau’s (2005) cognitive experimental research reveals the tendency in speakers to express Goal paths over Source paths. Landau (2010) suggests that one of the causes of this asymmetry might be related to the lexicon: are there more attachment verbs than detachment verbs? If so, the more frequent exposure to goal paths would explain the goal bias.For this purpose I have classified approximately 500 Italian transitive verbs of motion, the analysis of which revealed that verbs showing a goal pattern account for the vast majority in the lexicon, but also that goal verbs and source verbs behave differently with respect to such properties as transitive-intransitive pronominal alternation and subject alternation. The former is much more frequent with goal verbs, while the latter is applicable only to goal verbs.Furthermore, the application of diagnostics like topicalization and pro-form confirms the syntactic asymmetry between source and goal PPs.

scholarly journals Der Erwerb von Verbzweitsätzen mit Subjekt im Mittelfeld bei italophonen DaF-Studierenden. Erwerbsphasen, Lernschwierigkeiten und didaktische Implikationen

2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Ballestracci
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teaching ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The University ◽  
Further Development

This paper focuses on the acquisition of German sentences by Italian native speakers in Foreign Language Teaching, with the verb located in second position, and the subject found in the middle field. The study is based upon a corpus of texts written by Italian students during their first six semesters at the University of Pisa. The first part of the study describes the main grammatical structural differences between Italian and German declarative sentences, referring to position of verb, subject and clause constituents. In the second part, I summarize the research results of the main German-Italian linguistic contrastive studies on the acquisition of word order in German, by focusing on declarative sentences with the subject in the middle field. The final part of this paper focuses on the linguistic and contextual factors influencing the acquisition process for further development in this field of study, in order to offer suggestions for foreign language teaching of German.

Noun/pronoun asymmetry in Polish: Against the nominal perspective and the DP-hypothesis

2020 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-82
Author(s):  
Rafał Jurczyk
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Order Property ◽  
The Asymmetry ◽  
Semantic Properties

AbstractThis paper argues that the Polish noun-pronoun asymmetry in which the intensifier sam ‘self’ precedes nouns and follows pronominals is not a simple case of configuration in the DP, whereby pronouns, unlike nominals, target D0 for referential reasons (cf. Rutkowski 2002, 2012). Such viewpoints, in the case of Polish, are unfortunate because they appear to underlyingly work on and draw from the syntax of nominal projections characteristic of English or Italian i.e., languages with articles. We show that the asymmetry pertains to various semantic interpretations of sam, the different semantic specification of nominals and pronominals, and the flexible word order property. What we need, therefore, is a broader clausal perspective coupled with necessary remarks on the abovementioned issues. Thus, rather than employing the DP-hypothesis, we assume two cornerstone phenomena i.e. flexible word order and rich agreement to be crucial here as they facilitate syntactic options like focalisation or topicalisation which manifest discourse information and in which sam functions as a focus or topic particle (cf. Constantinou 2014). These contexts are held typical of the asymmetry, thereby making it an interplay between semantic properties of nominal/pronominal expressions and organisation of discourse information that syntax makes available.

An Experimental Study on the Effect of Argument Structure on VP Focus

2006 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 89-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sun-Ah Jun ◽  
Hee-Sun Kim ◽  
Hyuck-Joon Lee ◽  
Jong-Bok Kim
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Grammatical Function ◽  
Verb Phrase ◽  
Argument Type ◽  
Focus Projection ◽  
Vp Focus

Abstract. It has been claimed that a focused word may project its focus to a syntactic constituent larger than the focused item, under what are known as Focus Projection principles (Selkirk 1995; Rochemont 1998). Engdahl and Vallduvi (1996) rejected this purely syntax-based approach and proposed considering the interactions between the grammatical function and the types of an argu-ment. Chung, Kim, and Sells (to appear) applied Engdahl and Valduvi's theory to Korean and claimed that in Korean only a theme argument, but not an oblique argument (1.O or Locative PP), can project its focus to the Verb Phrase. This paper examines how VP focus is realized in Korean and tests Chung et al.'s claim that the types and the order of arguments can affect the focus projec-tion (especially 'VP focus'). The results show that there is no sensitivity to argument type, word order, or the length of VP in projecting the domain of focus to VP in Korean. Regardless of these factors, VP focus was prosodically marked by boosting the prominence of all words inside the VP, with the VP-initial word being the most prominent. Our data suggest that focus projection rules can be eliminated as proposed in Buring (2003).

scholarly journals Die Partikeln schon und noch in der linearen Abfolge mit Temporaladverbien

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (7) ◽  
pp. 201-233
Author(s):  
Anna Kutscher
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Similar Function ◽  
Functional Elements ◽  
Main Interest ◽  
Linear Restriction ◽  
Word Order Variation ◽  
Order Variation ◽  
Temporal Adverbs

The particles schon and noch in German add an aspectual reading to events in different assertions. While schon tends to a perfective reading of an event, an imperfective reading appears with noch, hence both particles have a similar function on the event modification. Overtly, they are located unrestricted in the middle field of a German clause and can freely change their position towards temporal adverbs such as heute, jetzt, bald etc. It seems that syntax does not have an impact to order schon heute or heute schon. This variation is of main interest of the paper: Is there a linear restriction of adverbs and schon/noch, and does a change in the output cause a reinterpretation? The paper presents main assumptions on the word order of aspectual particles and temporal adverbs from the semantic and the syntactic perspective. An experimental study on prosodic factors will complete the overview and its preferences for the linearization of the sequences in question. The result is that common categorical grammar is not able to account for all possible outcomes with respect to contextual preferences. Therefore, a more flexible grammar concept is needed to build a usage-based concept on word order variation for these functional elements.

Analyse expérimentale de la régulation du nombre des cellules germinales après déficience gonadique chez le poulet

Development ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 619-635
Author(s):  
Eliane Didier ◽  
Nöel Fargeix ◽  
Yves Bergeaud
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Germ Cells ◽  
Surgical Excision ◽  
Chick Embryos ◽  
Cellules Germinales ◽  
Control Chick ◽  
The Asymmetry

Experimental study of the regulation of the number of germ cells following gonadial deficiency in the chick Colonization of the genital ridges by germ cells was quantitatively studied in control chick embryos killed at stages 25–29, and in embryos in which a surgical excision of the gonad presumptive area was made previously on the second day. In operated embryos which show a more or less perfect agenesis of one gonad, the number of germ cells counted in genital ridges is lower than the number of germ cells estimated in the same stages of control embryos. The deficit is greater for left gonadic agenesis. The decrease in the total number of germ cells is essentially due to a reduction in the cells colonizing the deficient gonad. There is no excess of germ cells observed in the control gonad. Accordingly, a right side operation strengthens the asymmetry of germ cells distribution, whereas a left side one reduces it. Thus, in birds the regulation of the number of germ cells and the quantitative control of colonisation of the gonads is at the gonad level.

scholarly journals Studying word order differences in a historical parallel corpus: An example from Old Spanish and Old Portuguese

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine Gunn Eide
Keyword(s):  
Structural Properties ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
14Th Century ◽  
Parallel Corpus ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
New Information ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Old Portuguese

In this article, I use a parallel corpus from the 13th and 14th century to tease out some of the structural differences that existed between Old Spanish and Old Portuguese. While these two related languages were relatively similar in many respects, and the parallel corpus reflects these similarities, differences in syntax and information structure are also apparent. By comparing the syntactic and information structural properties of the sentences that display different word orders, it is possible to pinpoint more exactly what these differences were. The parallel sentences show that information structural properties of the left periphery, where Spanish allows for new information where Portuguese does not, account for differences in both object and subject placement.

An event-semantic account of spatial modification in the acquisition of Mandarin

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 829-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangjun DENG ◽  
Virginia YIP
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Study ◽  
Word Order ◽  
The Other ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Prepositional Phrases ◽  
Verb Classes ◽  
Semantic Account ◽  
Distributional Properties ◽  
Production Techniques ◽  
Event Semantic

AbstractThis study investigates Mandarin-speaking children's knowledge of event semantics in interpreting spatial modifiers withzai‘at’ after a posture verb or before a placement verb. The event-semantic principles investigated include subevent modification (Parsons, 1990) and aspect shift (Fong, 1997). We conducted an experimental study using modified forced choice, video choice, and elicited production techniques with five groups of children (two- to six-year-olds) and an adult control group. Three-year-olds were sensitive to the ambiguity ofzai-PPs with placement verbs and posture verbs, suggesting guidance from principles of aspect shift and subevent modification. On the other hand, distributional properties of the input play a role in acquiring the interpretation and word order ofzai: e.g., four-year-olds significantly differed from adults in accepting non-target V-zaisentences, as some verb classes can take postverbal prepositional phrases withzaiwhile others cannot in adult usage.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document