A minimalist approach to the emergence of ergativity in Austronesian languages

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Edith Aldridge
Keyword(s):  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Morphological Comparison ◽  
Austronesian Languages ◽  
Functional Head ◽  
Light Verb ◽  
Syntactic Change ◽  
Minimalist Approach

AbstractThis paper proposes a novel reconstruction of Proto-Austronesian as a language with accusative alignment, in contrast to previous analyses, which have reconstructed PAn with some type of ergative system. The methodology employed in this paper also departs from previous work in basing the proposal on syntactic change rather than on phonological or morphological comparison. In the account of argument licensing in the Minimalist Program, nominative subjects are licensed by a higher functional head T than accusative objects, which value their case with the light verb

Syntactic Features and the Limits of Syntactic Change

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Language Change ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Hierarchical Structures ◽  
Theoretical Issue ◽  
Austronesian Languages ◽  
Diachronic Syntax ◽  
Syntactic Variation ◽  
Syntactic Features ◽  
Syntactic Change ◽  
T Domain

This volume brings together the latest diachronic research on syntactic features and their role in restricting syntactic change. The chapters address a central theoretical issue in diachronic syntax: whether syntactic variation can always be attributed to differences in the features of items in the lexicon, as the Borer-Chomsky conjecture proposes. In answering this question, all the chapters develop analyses of syntactic change couched within a formalist framework in which rich hierarchical structures and abstract features of various kinds play an important role. The first three parts of the volume explore the different domains of the clause, namely the C-domain, the T-domain and the ν‎P/VP-domain respectively, while chapters in the final part are concerned with establishing methodology in diachronic syntax and modelling linguistic correspondences. The contributors draw on extensive data from a large number of languages and dialects, including several that have received little attention in the literature on diachronic syntax, such as Romeyka, a Greek variety spoken in Turkey, and Middle Low German, previously spoken in northern Germany. Other languages are explored from a fresh theoretical perspective, including Hungarian, Icelandic, and Austronesian languages. The volume sheds light not only on specific syntactic changes from a cross-linguistic perspective but also on broader issues in language change and linguistic theory.

scholarly journals Comparative Ergative and Accusative Structures in Three Philippine Languages

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Rodney Jubilado
Keyword(s):  
The Philippines ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Lexical Information ◽  
Austronesian Languages ◽  
Verb Phrase ◽  
Structural Relations ◽  
Structural Configurations ◽  
Syntactic Relations ◽  
Local Assignment

Cebuano, Filipino, and Isamal are classified as Austronesian languages that are spoken in the Philippines. This paper deals with the comparative ergative and accusative structures of the aforementioned languages with focus on the syntactic relations and processes. The varieties of these languages are the ones used in Samal Island, Davao, Philippines. Aimed at the structural configurations, the verb phrase (VP) and the tense phrase (TP) are analytically scrutinized as the cartographic projections of the lexical information encoded in the argument structures and the thematic structures of the verbs. With the employment of the Minimalist Program in the analysis, the computation includes the movement, checking of features, and assignment of theta roles within the structures of the three languages. Findings include the (1) similarity of structural relations and processes in the VP and the TP of the three languages, (2) movement of the verb from the VP to the TP, and (3) merger of the verb complements occur in the VP that ensures the local assignment of theta roles and the checking of cases.

scholarly journals Ergative case assignment in Hindi-Urdu: Evidence from light verb compounds

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Yash Sinha
Keyword(s):  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Case Assignment ◽  
Verb Agreement ◽  
Light Verb ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Verb Compounds

Various accounts have been proposed for ergative/absolutive case-assignment in Hindi-Urdu (HU) within the Minimalist Program. (Ura 2006, Anand & Nevins 2006 etc.) Using facts about subject case-assignment in a particular type of light verb compound in HU as evidence, I propose a syntactic account for subject case-assignment in the language in general. This account relies on two claims: (i) absolutive case can be assigned by some I, V and v heads to the subject, or (in the case of v) to the object, and (ii) ergative case results from a special KP configuration, only grammatical when absolutive case cannot be assigned to the subject. I show that this proposal can also explain facts about verb agreement in the language.

Syntactic change: A minimalist approach to grammaticalization (review)

Language ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 428-434
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Longobardi ◽  
Gabriele Rigon
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Change ◽  
Minimalist Approach

The adjective in Dutch-French codeswitching: Word order and agreement

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Vanden Wyngaerd
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Point Scale ◽  
Grammaticality Judgment ◽  
Grammaticality Judgments ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Minimalist Approach ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Points Of View

Aims and Objectives: This paper investigates the word order and adjectival agreement patterns in French-Dutch codeswitched Determiner Phrases (DPs). It examines the predictions made by two theoretical points of view: the approach by MacSwan (2009) within the Minimalist Program (MP) and the Matrix Language Framework (MLF) (Myers-Scotton & Jake, 2009). Methodology: The predictions of these frameworks are compared to data gathered in a grammaticality judgment task. In total, 120 codeswitched sentences were presented aurally to participants, who were asked to rate the sentences on a three-point scale. Originality: While some previous work on word order within codeswitched DP’s exists, this paper is the first study investigating the adjectival agreement patterns in codeswitching. Data and Analysis: Statistical analysis of the data showed that the MacSwan approach is a better predictor for the grammaticality judgments, as sentences predicted to be grammatical by the MP were rated higher than sentences predicted to be ungrammatical by the same model. This difference was statistically significant. There was no significant difference in rating for the predictions of the MLF. Conclusions: The results of the judgment task in combination with the results of previous research on codeswitching highlight the importance of a combination of data from both naturalistic and experimental settings. Implications: The predictions of the Minimalist approach have the upper hand over the predictions of the MLF. However, it remains is important to integrate results from other experimental methodologies, such as naturalistic data and results from psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic studies.

Semantics in generative grammar

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-185
Author(s):  
Enrico Cipriani
Keyword(s):  
Universal Grammar ◽  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Generative Grammar ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Linguistic Theory ◽  
Critical Survey ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Binding Theory ◽  
Minimalist Approach

Abstract I provide a critical survey of the role that semantics took in the several models of generative grammar, since the 1950s until the Minimalist Program. I distinguish four different periods. In the first section, I focus on the role of formal semantics in generative grammar until the 1970s. In Section 2 I present the period of linguistic wars, when the role of semantics in linguistic theory became a crucial topic of debate. In Section 3 I focus on the formulation of conditions on transformations and Binding Theory in the 1970s and 1980s, while in the last Section I discuss the role of semantics in the minimalist approach. In this section, I also propose a semantically-based model of generative grammar, which fully endorses minimalism and Chomsky’s later position concerning the primary role of the semantic interface in the Universal Grammar modelization (Strong Minimalist Thesis). In the Discussion, I point out some theoretical problems deriving from Chomsky’s internalist interpretation of model-theoretic semantics.

scholarly journals Di-transitive Constructions in Persian Based on the Minimalist Program

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Azam Shahsavari
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
The Other ◽  
Major Goal ◽  
Double Object ◽  
Indirect Object ◽  
Minimalist Approach ◽  
Transitive Verbs ◽  
Transitive System

<p>This article studies the structure of double-object constructions, a challenging structure in Persian, based on Bowers’ (1993, 2001) minimalist approach. The major goal here is to evaluate the effectiveness of Bowers’ approach in analyzing such constructions. First, we reviewed the Persian grammarians’ analyses of transitivity and the continuity of the transitive system which claims that there are verbs with one object at one side of this continuum and verbs with two objects at the other side. Based on this analysis, transitivity differs from verb to verb. In other words, di-transitive verbs are more transitive than other verbs because they have to get two objects so that the omission of one of these objects makes the construction ungrammatical. In this study we used Bowers’ approach (1993, 2001), i.e., double predication phrase design, to analyze the above mentioned structures in Persian. Later the sequence of the direct-indirect object was identified to be the unmarked grammatical sequence in Persian based on native speakers’ language intuition.</p>

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