Syntactic, semantic and information structures of floating quantifiers

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryo Otoguro ◽  
Liselotte Snijders
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
The Other ◽  
Information Structures ◽  
Recent Proposal ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Floating Quantifiers ◽  
The One

Quantifiers canonically attach to nouns or noun phrases as modifiers to specify the amount or number of the entity expressed by the noun. However, it has been observed that quantifiers can be positioned outside of the noun phrase. These so-called floating quantifiers (FQs) exhibit intriguing syntactic and semantic characteristics. On the one hand, they appear to have a closerelationship with a noun; semantically they quantify a noun in the same way as non-floating quantifiers, and quite often they exhibit agreement with the noun. On the other hand, their phrase structure distribution is very similar to that of VP-adverbs. In this paper, we argue that the distribution of FQs is constrained not purely by syntax, but also by information structure. We show that FQs play a focus role whereas modified nouns are reference-oriented topic expressions. Building upon Dalrymple and Nikolaeva’s (2011) recent proposal, we formulate the interaction between syntactic, semantic and information structure features of FQs within LFG’s projection architecture.

Sign-Based Construction Grammar: A guided tour

2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 194-217
Author(s):  
FRANK VAN EYNDE
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Construction Grammar ◽  
The Other ◽  
Phrase Structure Grammar ◽  
Diachronic Syntax ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
Guided Tour ◽  
Further Development

Sign-Based Construction Grammar (sbcg) is, on the one hand, a formalized version of Berkeley Construction Grammar (bcg), and, on the other hand, a further development of constructionist Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (hpsg). The volume edited by Hans Boas and Ivan Sag is the first book length presentation of the framework. Its centerpiece is a 130-page synopsis of the theory by Ivan Sag. The other contributions to the volume provide background, justification, case studies, an extension to diachronic syntax and a presentation of the FrameNet Constructicon. This review gives a guided tour of the framework, explaining its central notions and assumptions, as well as the notation in which they are cast. It also compares the sbcg framework with other types of Construction Grammar and with hpsg. The case studies are summarized and briefly evaluated.

scholarly journals Proper name-marking via liaison in French

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (4) ◽  
pp. 627-652
Author(s):  
Natascha Pomino ◽  
Elisabeth Stark
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Proper Names ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
The Other ◽  
Linguistic Change ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Relevant Point ◽  
Proper Name ◽  
The One

Abstract The liaison consonant [z] in French noun phrases has traditionally been assumed to function as a plural marker. The realization of “plural [z]” in N(oun)-A(djective)-combinations is becoming, however, very rare in naturalistic data – except for contexts which allow a proper-name reading. On the one hand, one might think that we are dealing with a recent phenomenon, the beginning of a potential linguistic change in French in the sense of exaptation, reuse of former morphophonological material such as plural markers to signal proper-namehood in the sense of ‘frozen morphology’. If this turns out correct, we expect the productivity of the new synchronic function to increase: New NA-combinations which function as proper names should be realized systematically with liaison, and proper name-marking via liaison should also become possible with other liaison consonants. On the other hand, we may be dealing with a (completed) diachronic process, in that only those NA-combinations which allowed liaison at the relevant point in time may have a liaison consonant in their univerbalized form. That is, new NA-combinations, even though they are used as proper names, do not display a liaison consonant, because liaison is no longer possible. The purpose of this paper was to investigate, based on empirical studies, whether liaison productively marks NA-combinations which function as proper names and distinguishes them from NA-combinations that count as common nouns, or whether we are dealing with a completed diachronic process. In view of the poor productivity observed, we argue that we are dealing with cases of univerbation.

What are and what aren’t complex nominal expressions in flexible word order languages

2020 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-79
Author(s):  
Uta Reinöhl
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Lexical Semantics ◽  
The Other ◽  
Derivational Morphology ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Linguistic Evidence ◽  
The One ◽  
Question Form ◽  
Australian Languages

AbstractThis paper tackles the challenge of how to identify multi-word (or “complex”) nominal expressions in flexible word order languages including certain Australian languages and Vedic Sanskrit. In these languages, a weak or absent noun/adjective distinction in conjunction with flexible word order make it often hard to distinguish between complex nominal expressions, on the one hand, and cases where the nominals in question form independent expressions, on the other hand. Based on a discourse-based understanding of what it means to form a nominal expression, this paper surveys various cases where we are not dealing with multi-word nominal expressions. This involves, in particular, periphery-related phenomena such as use of nominals as free topics or afterthoughts, as well as various kinds of predicative uses. In the absence of clear morpho-syntactic evidence, all kinds of linguistic evidence are relied upon, including, in particular, information structure and prosody, but also derivational morphology and lexical semantics. In this way, it becomes frequently possible to distinguish between what are and what aren’t complex nominal expressions in these languages.

scholarly journals Towards an analysis of the adverbial use of German interrogative was(ˋwhat')

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Holler
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Information ◽  
Phrase Structure ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
The Other ◽  
Phrase Structure Grammar ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Construction Type ◽  
The One

The paper discusses the so-called adverbial use of the wh-pronoun was (ˋwhat'), which establishes a non-standard interrogative construction type in German. It argues that the adverbial use of was (ˋwhat') is based on the lexical properties of a categorically deficient pronoun was (ˋwhat'), which bears a causal meaning. In addition, adverbial was (ˋwhat') differs from canonical argument was (ˋwhat') as it is analyzed as a functor which is generated in clause-initial position. By means of empirical facts mainly provided by d'Avis (2001) it is shown that was (ˋwhat') behaves ambivalently regarding the wh-property: On the one hand, was (ˋwhat') can introduce an interrogative clause, but on the other hand it cannot license wh-phrases in situ. While formally analyzing the data against the background of existing accounts on wh-interrogatives couched in the framework of Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar, an analysis is developed that separates two pieces of information to keep track of the wh-information percolating in an interrogative clause. Whereas the WH-value models wh-fronting and pied-piping phenomena, the QUE value links syntactic and semantic information and thus keeps track of wh-phrases in-situ.

scholarly journals Decomposed phrasal constructions

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petter Haugereid
Keyword(s):  
Phrase Structure ◽  
The Other ◽  
Semantic Representations ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Lexical Semantic ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Lexical Items ◽  
The One ◽  
Lexical Rules

In this paper I suggest an interface level of semantic representations, that on the one hand corresponds to morpho-syntactic entities such as phrase structure rules, function words and inflections, and that on the other hand can be mapped to lexical semantic representations that one ultimately needs in order to give good predictions about argument frames of lexical items. This interface level consists of basic constructions that can be decomposed into five sub-constructions (arg1-role, arg2-role ... arg5-role). I argue in favour of phrasal constructions in order to account for altering argument frames and maybe also coercion without having to use lexical rules or multiple lexical entries.

scholarly journals Adjectives as terms

Terminology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaarina Pitkänen-Heikkilä
Keyword(s):  
Plant Morphology ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

This paper discusses terminology in the field of plant morphology, where nearly half of the terms are adjectives. What are adjectives as terms like? How are they differentiated from adjectives in the general language? How should adjectives be treated in terminological description and terminography? For example, the relationship between an adjective and the object it characterizes differs from the relationship between a noun and the object to which it refers. For a systematic definition, adjectives have often been changed to nouns in terminological dictionaries: property names derived from adjectives or modifiers of noun phrases. This article argues that such a method is not applicable in plant morphology because, on the one hand, that kind of nouns does not occur in the texts that describe plants and, on the other hand, because of the semantic changes it may cause. The article also proposes some new tools for the description and definition of adjectival terms.

Variation in the translation patterns of English complex noun phrases into Spanish in a specific domain

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Luisa Carrió Pastor ◽  
Miguel Ángel Candel Mora
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
The Other ◽  
Target Language ◽  
Specific Domain ◽  
Lexical Variation ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The One ◽  
English Noun

This paper focuses on a functionalist analysis of the patterns followed when translating specific texts from English into Spanish. The original texts are written in English and, afterwards, translated to other languages. In this process, lexical variation may appear. The main objectives of this study are to determine whether English noun phrases have different lexical equivalents when translated into Spanish and whether this depends on the position of the head in the complex noun phrase. Other objectives of this paper are, on the one hand, to detect the role of the head and modifiers in English complex noun phrases when translated into the target language, and, on the other hand, to determine whether the specificity of nouns could be the cause of variation. The answer to these research questions will be useful for translators, communication specialists and scientists who use English and Spanish to communicate.

scholarly journals Noun phrase and clausal connectives in Akan

2007 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-27
Author(s):  
Nana Aba Amfo
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
The Other ◽  
Dialectal Variation ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Semantics And Pragmatics ◽  
Intended Interpretation

This paper explores the semantics and pragmatics of noun phrase and clausal connectives in Akan (Niger-Congo, Kwa branch), highlighting dialectal variation. In Fante, noun phrases may be conjoined by nye which encodes comitativity, or na, which is underdetermined between comitative and coordinative meanings. Asante, on the other hand, uses the underdetermined noun phrase connective ne. The interlocutor in Asante thus relies on contextual information to determine the intended interpretation. Clausal conjunction in both dialects is performed by na, but a temporal marker can be aptly used in certain contexts as an alternative to the clausal connective. This situation, where the temporal marker functions as a clausal connective, is more general in Fante where the temporal marker is even used in certain contrastive contexts. This phenomenon demonstrates the close conceptual affinity between temporal markers and clausal coordinators.

scholarly journals PASSIVE IN WESTERN MANSI

2021 ◽  
pp. 94-131
Author(s):  
Анна Юрьевна Урманчиева ◽  
Владимир Александрович Плунгян
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
The Other ◽  
Strict Sense ◽  
Passive Voice ◽  
Primary Function ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
Main Protagonist

Данная работа открывает серию статей, в которых проводится сопоставительное изучение употребления пассивных форм в диалектах мансийского языка. В мансийском языке (обско-угорские угорские уральские) выделяется несколько диалектных групп: северная (по рекам Сосьва, Ляпин и по верхнему течению р. Лозьва), южная (по р. Тавда), восточная (по р. Конда) и западная (по рекам Пелым и Вагиль и по реке Лозьва в ее среднем и нижнем течении). Южные и западные диалекты исчезли уже в начале XX века, восточные просуществовали несколько дольше, приблизительно до середины прошлого столетия; в настоящее время сохраняются только мансийские идиомы северной диалектной группы. Сравнение функций одних и тех же грамматических форм в разных вариантах многодиалектного языка в перспективе позволит реконструировать картину диалектной дивергенции мансийского: во-первых, определить междиалектные связи, во вторых, установить возможные сепаратные внешние связи того или иного локального варианта, которые привели к изменению функционирования определенных грамматических форм. Исследование проводилось прежде всего на материале мансийского корпуса проектов “Ob-Ugric languages” и “Ob-Ugric database” (http://www.babel.gwi.uni-muenchen.de/). The paper describes the following aspects of the use of passive forms in Western Mansi narratives: — grammatical semantics of forms with passive morphology (passive in a strict sense, impersonal constructions, adversative, ...); — information structure of passive utterances; — pragmatic conditions for choosing between active and passive voice. On the one hand, in Western Mansi arose a specific correlation between different functions of passive with different communicative structures: — the passive in a strict sense, like the adversative, is used only with a topical object; — the adversative can be used with a topical as well as with a focal subject, whereas the passive — only with a topical one; — the adversative developed a special discursive function: the introduction of a new (focal) subject into the narrative; On the other hand, the passive in a strict sense, whose primary function is a ranking of topics according to their communicative salience, is used in Western Mansi narratives almost automatically. It is used to promote the only one patientive argument — only the main protagonist of a story. This means that speakers do not use passive voice to rank topics; rather they choose a passive form depending on an already predetermined rank.

Stories and the Self

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Krause ◽  
Markus Appel
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Lower Degree ◽  
Contrast Effects ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Self Perceptions ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One ◽  
Implicit And Explicit

Abstract. Two experiments examined the influence of stories on recipients’ self-perceptions. Extending prior theory and research, our focus was on assimilation effects (i.e., changes in self-perception in line with a protagonist’s traits) as well as on contrast effects (i.e., changes in self-perception in contrast to a protagonist’s traits). In Experiment 1 ( N = 113), implicit and explicit conscientiousness were assessed after participants read a story about either a diligent or a negligent student. Moderation analyses showed that highly transported participants and participants with lower counterarguing scores assimilate the depicted traits of a story protagonist, as indicated by explicit, self-reported conscientiousness ratings. Participants, who were more critical toward a story (i.e., higher counterarguing) and with a lower degree of transportation, showed contrast effects. In Experiment 2 ( N = 103), we manipulated transportation and counterarguing, but we could not identify an effect on participants’ self-ascribed level of conscientiousness. A mini meta-analysis across both experiments revealed significant positive overall associations between transportation and counterarguing on the one hand and story-consistent self-reported conscientiousness on the other hand.

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