scholarly journals Some Causative Alternations in K'iche', and a Unified Syntactic Derivation

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gluckman
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Derivation

scholarly journals Morphological taxonomy in the present-day generative framework: A case study of English and Czech nominalization

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Ludmila Veselovská
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Distributed Morphology ◽  
Morphological Taxonomy ◽  
Parallel Data ◽  
Syntactic Derivation

Abstract This paper addresses the classification of morphemes in a generative framework. Referring to existing theoretical models of generative morphosyntax (e.g. Distributed Morphology), it demonstrates that a traditional long-standing taxonomic distinction reflects formal, i.e. structural (and derivational) distinctions. Using the well-known examples of the English multi-functional nominalizer -ing and some parallel data in Czech, the study reinterprets morphological taxonomy in terms of three levels, namely the (i) lexical, (ii) syntactic and (iii) post-syntactic insertion of grammatical formatives. It shows that the level of insertion in a syntactic derivation results in predictable (and attested) diagnostics for the multi-morpheme exponents.

scholarly journals A comparison of the modal dać się structure with the dispositional middle in Polish

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 43-63
Author(s):  
Anna Bondaruk
Keyword(s):  
Active Agent ◽  
Subject Position ◽  
Type Ii ◽  
Argument Realization ◽  
Grammatical Structures ◽  
Syntactic Derivation ◽  
Special Meaning

The paper compares the modal dać się structure with the dispositional middle in Polish. It is argued that the two structures are similar as regards argument realization, i.e. in both constructions, the theme argument appears in the structural subject position. The two structures also have a dispositional meaning in common. However, they show a number of differences. They differ in the presence of a syntactically active agent, their aspectual properties, the availability of episodic interpretations, the obligatory presence of an adverbial modifier, and verb class restrictions. Although these differences seem to argue against a common syntactic derivation for the two structures analysed here, they do not preclude classifying the modal dać się structure as a subtype of the dispositional middle. If middles are seen as a notional category, understood as a special meaning that different grammatical structures can have, along the lines postulated by Condoravdi (1989), then the modal dać się structure can be subsumed under the label of middle. In fact, it is argued that the modal dać się structure represents Type II middles in Ackema and Schoorlemmer’s (2005) typology, and it shows properties typical of lassen-middles in German (Pitteroff 2014).

Sentence comprehension: The integration of habits and rules. David J. Townsend and Thomas G. Bever. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001. Pp. 455.

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-477
Author(s):  
Ngoni Chipere
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
The Other ◽  
Statistical Characteristics ◽  
Linguistic Features ◽  
Linguistic Rules ◽  
Statistical Regularities ◽  
Syntactic Derivation ◽  
Linguistic Usage ◽  
Human Sentence Processing

This book attempts to integrate symbolic processing, in the form of minimalism, with connectionism. Minimalism represents sentences as symbolic structures resulting from a formal process of syntactic derivation. Connectionism, on the other hand, represents sentences as patterns of association between linguistic features. These patterns are said to obey statistical regularities of linguistic usage instead of formal linguistic rules. The authors of the book argue that human sentence processing displays both structural and statistical characteristics and therefore requires the integration of the two views.

On Middle applicatives

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Current Paper ◽  
Exact Nature ◽  
Differential Object Marking ◽  
Accusative Case ◽  
The Core ◽  
Light Verb ◽  
Object Marking ◽  
Syntactic Derivation ◽  
Semantic Properties ◽  
Special Strategy

Abstract The Mandarin bǎ-construction has been one of the most well studied subjects in Chinese grammar. Although the previous studies have achieved some exciting results, the exact nature of bǎ and the syntactic derivation of the bǎ-construction remain largely controversial. The current paper constitutes an attempt to clarify the two issues under the minimalist framework. In particular, while keeping in line with the little v analysis of bǎ proposed by Sybesma 1999; Lin 2001 among others, I argue that there is a Middle applicative projection (an affected applicative) between V and v; the bǎ-NP is formed by a movement of VP-internal arguments to Spec.ApplPmid, which can optionally be occupied by gěi, and it gets an accusative Case from bǎ in v. With this analysis, we can better account for the core syntactic and semantic properties of bǎ-constructions. Furthermore, I will show that the proposed applicative approach has some interesting consequences for Taiwanese ka-constructions, a near counterpart of Mandarin bǎ-constructions. Finally, I will compare bǎ-constructions to languages with differential object marking in arguing that Mandarin uses a special strategy – light verb marking to mark the specific/affected objects.

Function words and polarity

2021 ◽  
pp. 66-85
Author(s):  
Matteo Greco
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Approach ◽  
The Other ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Closed Class ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Truth Value ◽  
The One ◽  
Syntactic Derivation

Function words are commonly considered to be a small and closed class of words in which each element is associated with a specific and fixed logical meaning. Unfortunately, this is not always true as witnessed by negation: on the one hand, negation does reverse the truth-value conditions of a proposition, and the other hand, it does not, realizing what is called Expletive Negation. This chapter aims to investigate whether a word that is established on the basis of its function can be ambiguous by discussing the role of the syntactic derivation in some instances of so-called Expletive Negation clauses, a case in which negation seems to lose its capacity to deny the proposition associated with its sentence. Both a theoretical and an experimental approach has been adopted.

Cyclical change and problems of projection

2019 ◽  
pp. 13-32
Author(s):  
Elly van Gelderen
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
The Third ◽  
Cyclical Change ◽  
Diachronic Change ◽  
Feature Sharing ◽  
Linguistic Cycle ◽  
Syntactic Derivation ◽  
Labelling Algorithm

In diachronic change, specifiers are reanalysed as heads and heads as higher heads. When the older specifiers and heads are renewed, a linguistic cycle emerges. Explanations provided for these cycles include structural and featural economy (e.g. van Gelderen 2004; 2011). Chomsky’s (2013, 2015) focus on labelling as unconnected to merge makes it possible to see the cycles in another way, namely as resolutions to labelling problems. The Labelling Algorithm (LA) operates after merge is complete, when a syntactic derivation is transferred to the interfaces. When a head and a phrase merge, the LA determines that the head is the label by Minimal Search. Where two phrases merge, the LA cannot find the head and one of the phrases has to either move or share features with the other. This chapter argues that, in addition to Chomsky’s resolutions to labelling paradoxes, reanalysing a phrase as a head also resolves the paradox. It also shows that the third factor principle minimal search is preferable over feature-sharing. The change from phrase to head is frequent, as eight cross-linguistically attested changes show. In addition, in the renewal stage of a cycle, adjuncts are frequently incorporated as arguments showing a preference of set-merge (feature-sharing) over pair-merge.

Clitic metathesis in the Friulian dialect of Forni di Sotto

Probus ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Calabrese ◽  
Diego Pescarini
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Morphological Operations ◽  
Functional Head ◽  
Morphological Component ◽  
Object Clitics ◽  
Subject Clitics ◽  
Pf Interface ◽  
Syntactic Derivation

Abstract In this article we entertain the hypothesis that cliticization involves a rule of m-merge, which brackets a functional head with another constituent under linear adjacency to build a structure legible at the PF interface. We therefore argue for a division of labour between syntax and morphology in the spirit of Halle and Marantz (1993), although we depart from their model in rejecting a single post-syntactic Morphological Component, and instead assume that syntactic derivation and morphological operations such as m-merge are cyclically interleaved. In the first part of the article, we focus on the behaviour of clitics in contexts of V-to-C movement. As object clitics and negation are pied-piped by the verb to C, crossing the position of subject clitics, we argue that subject clitics are m-merged after V-to-C movement. The second part of the article deals with some puzzling permutations affecting the order of clitic elements. In particular, we focus on the Friulian dialect of Forni di Sotto (Manzini & Savoia 2005, 2009) to show that such permutations are due to morphological rules of fission and metathesis operating after m-merge. We therefore claim that the Forni pattern provides further evidence for syntactically void operations taking place at the Syntax/PF interface.

The partitive construction in Mandarin Chinese

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Jin
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Small Clause ◽  
Parametric Variation ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Syntactic Derivation

This paper investigates the semantic and syntactic properties of [N(oun)+de+Q(uantifier)] in Mandarin Chinese. Based on a comparison with the quantitive construction [Q+N], the paper advocates that [N+de+Q] is the Chinese partitive construction. Adopting a clausal approach to the syntactic derivation of partitives, it is hypothesized that Chinese partitives are formed via applying Predicate Inversion to a small clause that features a BELONG-type possession relationship. The difference between Chinese partitives and English-type partitives in terms of the surface word order is a result of a parametric variation with respect to whether the remnant of Predication Inversion undergoes further raising or not.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document