From Phrase to Clause: The Active Participle in Ugaritic

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-581
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Semitic Languages ◽  
Semantic Properties

This paper suggests a morphological, syntactic, and semantic analysis of the active participle in Ugaritic. The formally ambiguous cases are interpreted by taking into account the syntactic and semantic properties of explicit cases. The syntactic usages of the participle are the attributive phrase, the substantivized attributive phrase, the agent-noun, and the circumstantial participial phrase. The semantic analysis points at explicit verbal properties of some participial phrases in Ugaritic: they can denote a stage-level predicative core acquiring episodic interpretations and attaching temporal arguments. I hypothesize that the prototypical context for the development of the predicative participle (sporadically attested in the language of Ugaritic prose and consistently in later Northwest Semitic languages) is a participial phrase that suggests stage-level episodic interpretation and assigns subject that is co-referential with the main-clause subject.

scholarly journals Peculiarities of complex sentences with object clauses in the texts of mathematical works in the english and french languages

2021 ◽  
pp. e021021
Author(s):  
Elena Borisovna Volkova ◽  
Irina Alexandrovna Remennikova ◽  
Elena Alexeevna Vecherinina
Keyword(s):  
Algebraic Topology ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Mathematical Text ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Continuous Sampling ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Simple Sentences ◽  
Semantic Properties

The aim of the article is to study the basic structural and semantic qualities of two-component complex sentences with object clauses functioning in mathematical works in English and French. The works of outstanding modern mathematicians in the field of differential geometry and algebraic topology served as a material for the research. Using the technique of continuous sampling the authors extracted the sentences to be studied. The basic principles of communicative grammar, structural and semantic analysis, as well as statistical methods to process the extracted material, were applied. For the difficult material to be apprehended properly the language of mathematical works must obey some definite syntactical laws. Complex sentences with clear subordination of clauses favor to a great extent the logical consecutive statement of the mathematical text. Having a more complicated structure than simple sentences they are more evident in semantic facilitating apprehension of the information being conveyed. Constructions with object clauses are highly productive among the complex sentences of the inseparable type. As a rule, it is the subordinate clause that contains somewhat new that promotes the advancement of the course of reasoning whereas the main clause is assigned only an auxiliary part. The article covers such important features of the studied sentences as the position and construction of the main and subordinate clauses, their means of connection, morphological and semantic properties of the subordinating word, etc. In the course of analysis of these structures in the two languages, some common features (for example, the absolute predominance of the preposition of the main clause), as well as considerable differences (for example, the absence of a conjunction in English) are revealed, which should be taken into account at working with the texts of mathematical works in these languages.

scholarly journals Desintegration versus Parordination bei 'obwohl'- und 'weil'- Konstruktionen

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
pp. 57-82
Author(s):  
Werner Frey ◽  
Federica Masiero
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Speech Acts ◽  
Discourse Markers ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Discourse Units ◽  
Semantic Properties

In the paper, German disintegrated verb-final 'obwohl' (‘although’) and 'weil' (‘because’) clauses are compared with constructions in which 'obwohl' and 'weil' precedes clauses with main clause word order. The former constructions constitute independent, yet subsidiary speech acts. Thus, the subordinating connectors and the positioning of the verb do not indicate syntactic but textual dependency. The latter constructions are of a very different kind. Here, 'obwohl' and 'weil' do not form a constituent with the following clause. Instead, they appear as syntactically independent discourse markers connecting two discourse units. As discourse markers, 'obwohl' and 'weil' obtain their special syntactic and semantic properties as elements of the derived, but independent module of Thetic Grammar.  

Towards a morphosyntactic analysis of -ish

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel Oltra-Massuet
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Free Standing ◽  
The Cross ◽  
Morphosyntactic Analysis ◽  
Semantic Properties ◽  
Degree Variable ◽  
Late Insertion

This article deals with the morphosyntactic and semantic properties of the adjectives derived with the English morpheme -ish. The main goal of the paper is to outline a morphosyntactic analysis of -ish that: (i) accounts for its cross-categorial nature, (ii) derives its surface polysemy, and (iii) is compatible with Bochnak & Csipak's (2014) recent semantic analysis of deadjectival -ish (for example, reddish) and free-standing propositional -ish (for example, I liked the movie …ish) as a metalinguistic degree operator. Focusing on the analysis of the various subtypes of bounded -ish forms, this paper develops a unified morphosyntactic approach to -ish with a single shared semantics, and suggests that the cross-categorial and polysemous nature of -ish derives from three main closely interrelated factors: (i) the source of the degree variable that -ish targets, whether syntactic, lexical, or metalinguistic; (ii) the syntactic realization site of -ish; and (iii) the late insertion of the underspecified morpheme -ish.

The ‘swift of foot’ construction and the phrase structure of the adjectival construct in Hebrew

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rivka Halevy
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Generative Grammar ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
Clear Distinction ◽  
Semitic Languages ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Functional Aspects ◽  
And Gender

This article sheds new light on the puzzling phrase structure of complex adjectival phrases which are common in Semitic, specifically in Hebrew, and which are equivalent to Indo-European phrases such as ‘swift of foot.’ The article draws a clear distinction between these constructions and adjectival compounds such as ‘swift-footed’, which are prevalent in major Indo-European languages but are absent from Semitic languages. The Hebrew construction under discussion is a genitival construct consisting of an adjective followed by a modifying noun in genitive status. The adjective is the head of the construction, but agrees in number and gender with a noun outside the construction. This construction has invited controversial analyses by different scholars, most recently in the framework of generative grammar. The present study construction is anchored in the framework of Construction Grammar. It nevertheless advances a morphosyntactic and semantic analysis of its inner composition. Functional aspects and the speaker’s perspectival choice in construing such attributive phrases are taken into account as well.

scholarly journals Disambiguierung deutschsprachiger Diskursmarker: Eine Pilot-Studie

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabienne H. Baider ◽  
Henriette Gezundhajt
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Human Dimension ◽  
Human Being ◽  
Typical Property ◽  
Proper Nouns ◽  
The People ◽  
Semantic Value ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Semantic Properties

Framed within Antoine Culioli's Enunciative Model of language, this article suggests a new analysis regarding the semantic properties of the suffix -esque and argues that this suffix refers to an alterity expressed within a typical property. Moreover this article reassesses earlier findings made about the suffix -esque, namely its low productivity in creation of neologisms and its apparent usage limited to literary and journalistic styles. The alleged constraint for all its bases to be referring to a human being is also reconsidered and our semantic analysis questions the value of "extreme" supposedly added by -esque to the nominal basis. Indeed, its usage in French shows that if this suffix is no longer typically associated to a nominal basis referring to the people of a country (see mauresque or arabesque), the human dimension associated to the nominal basis such as in la soldatesque, is not always found either (see TV-esque). Rather, this suffix seems to have lost its role as a simple identifier towards a referential domain as found in expressions such as une oeuvre molièresque which could be glossed over as "une oeuvre typique de Molière". This identification is most of the time linked to a laudatory or negative appreciation on the part of the enunciator, as found in examples such as gargantuesque. Besides, the contemporary dynamism of the -esque flexion enables the creation of neologisms. These neologisms are derived from proper nouns (mitterrandesque) or from acronyms (rmiesque) that do not exhibit standard properties. This begs the question of whether the value which seemed to be added to the composite [noun + esque] is determined by the suffix itself or whether it is partially connected to the atypical notional value of the root's semantic value.

scholarly journals Another way to look at counterfactuals

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 189-226
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Klein
Keyword(s):  
Actual World ◽  
Additional Assumption ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
David Lewis ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Alternative Analysis ◽  
Strict Implication ◽  
Supportive Role ◽  
The World ◽  
Finite Verb

Abstract Counterfactuals such as If the world did not exist, we would not notice it have been a challenge for philosophers and linguists since antiquity. There is no generally accepted semantic analysis. The prevalent view, developed in varying forms by Robert Stalnaker, David Lewis, and others, enriches the idea of strict implication by the idea of a “minimal revision” of the actual world. Objections mainly address problems of maximal similarity between worlds. In this paper, I will raise several problems of a different nature and draw attention to several phenomena that are relevant for counterfactuality but rarely discussed in that context. An alternative analysis that is very close to the linguistic facts is proposed. A core notion is the “situation talked about”: it makes little sense to discuss whether an assertion is true or false unless it is clear which situation is talked about. In counterfactuals, this situation is marked as not belonging to the actual world. Typically, this is done in the form of the finite verb in the main clause. The if-clause is optional and has only a supportive role: it provides information about the world to which the situation talked about belongs. Counterfactuals only speak about some nonactual world, of which we only know what results from the protasis. In order to judge them as true or false, an additional assumption is required: they are warranted according to the same criteria that warrant the corresponding indicative assertion. Overall similarity between worlds is irrelevant.

scholarly journals Applying Constraint Logic Programming to SQL Semantic Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 808-825
Author(s):  
FERNANDO SÁENZ-PÉREZ
Keyword(s):  
Logic Programming ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Deductive System ◽  
Constraint Logic Programming ◽  
Performance Data ◽  
Improving Accuracy ◽  
Semantic Properties

AbstractThis paper proposes the use of Constraint Logic Programming (CLP) to model SQL queries in a data-independent abstract layer by focusing on some semantic properties for signalling possible errors in such queries. First, we define a translation from SQL to Datalog, and from Datalog to CLP, so that solving this CLP program will give information about inconsistency, tautology, and possible simplifications. We use different constraint domains which are mapped to SQL types, and propose them to cooperate for improving accuracy. Our approach leverages a deductive system that includes SQL and Datalog, and we present an implementation in this system which is currently being tested in classroom, showing its advantages and differences with respect to other approaches, as well as some performance data.

Aspectual cognate objects in Hungarian

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Imola-Ágnes Farkas
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Semantic Properties

Abstract This paper examines aspectual cognate objects in Hungarian. Its main contribution lies in the syntactic and semantic analysis of three classes of accusative pseudo-objects, which are literally not cognate with the prototypical unergative verb they accompany but are demonstrated to be non-subcategorized and non-thematic elements that have the same role and the same syntactic and semantic properties as aspectual cognate objects in languages where these nominals are both semantically and morphologically related to the verb. In addition, the paper fills a typologically unexpected gap, considering that Hungarian, as a strong satellite-framed language, is predicted to have aspectual cognate object constructions.

scholarly journals Finite verb forms in Beja (Cushitic): Labels vs functions, a historical perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-46
Author(s):  
Martine Vanhove
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Historical Perspective ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Semitic Languages ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Verb Forms ◽  
German Speaking ◽  
Language Areas ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Finite Verb

Abstract The historical overview of the indicative finite verb forms of Beja (Cushitic) shows that several reasons may have induced the choice of labels by the linguists who worked on it since the second half of the 19th century. Linguists of Beja can be divided into two groups: descriptivists and comparatists. The former mostly adapted existing terminologies from various linguistic traditions, rarely explicitly, the latter mostly recycled them. Apart from this partition, several factors behind the choice of a label can be inferred, or are sometimes given by the authors. Beyond the lack of in-depth functional and semantic analysis of the verb forms until very recently, there is a clear-cut distinction between temporal and aspectual labels which correlates with the historical development of aspectual theories, and also with the linguistic traditions for Greek, Indo-European and Semitic. But labels are also linked to “national” traditions, in the sense of language areas (corresponding either to the native language of the authors, or to the language in which the grammars were written), namely German, English and French. Grammars written in German are the oldest ones, and their labels conform to the classical philological tradition of their time, even if at times in contradictory ways. In the most recent publication by German-speaking linguists, an aspectual stance is adopted by the authors, but they hesitate between temporal and aspectual labels, a mixture which is also found, to different extent in one French and one Swedish linguists. Descriptions of the three finite verb form by British scholars, and the Swedish typologist Östen Dahl, show competing motivations: the British terminology, the philological tradition, but also the first steps towards a more detailed analysis of the functions of the paradigms based on a theory of aspect. The French linguists on the other hand belong to the most recent layer of specialists of Beja and they were both trained in Semitic languages (for which aspectual analyses predominate) and for aspectual analysis. Nevertheless both of them took up existing labels for one of the forms (the iː-form) from British linguists, from Roper for Morin (“conditional”) and from Appleyard for Vanhove (“aorist”).

The imperative and pragmatics

1977 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Downes
Keyword(s):  
Main Clause ◽  
Second Person ◽  
Pragmatic Theory ◽  
Single Level ◽  
Pragmatic Interpretation ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Semantic Properties

This article is a tentative exploration of the following question. In an account of the imperative construction in English, what should be accounted for in the syntax or semantics and what in the pragmatics?1 In the literature, we find descriptions of an imperative construction with certain specific syntactic properties. For example, there is a subjectless form and also a form with a second person pronominal subject and corresponding to both there are second person pro- nominal forms in reflexive and tag counterparts. Abstract underlying structures, in this case a you subject, which subsequently may be deleted by IMPERATIVE or EQUI, are postulated to explain these properties (Postal, 1964; Katz & Postal, 1964: 75; McCawley, 1968). My question is: if we postulate a general pragmatic theory, that is, a theory of the use of utterances in context (separate from but related to theories about the syntactic or semantic properties of sentences), how many of the properties of the imperative can be explained in such terms instead of in the syntax or semantics? My conclusion is that the proposed abstract structures are syntactically and semantically unmotivated and unnecessary for pragmatic interpretation. Each property that the abstract elements explain is better explained either as a non-arbitrary property of main clause infinitives when they are used to utter commands (non-arbitrary in that the facts could not be otherwise), or inherent properties of main clause infinitives in all their uses. In the former case at least, they are facts about men in situations, not about syntax. Thus, syntax and semantics require only a single level of representation and there is no imperative transformation.

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