scholarly journals Focus marking in Kikuyu

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 41-118
Author(s):  
Florian Schwarz
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Generative Grammar ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Bantu Language ◽  
Entire Sentence ◽  
Truth Value ◽  
Focus Marking ◽  
Different Parts

Im Kikuyu, einer in Kenia gesprochenen Bantusprache, wird Fokus systematisch durch Wortstellung markiert. In dieser Arbeit werden die verschiedenen Varianten der Markierung von Fokus in Frage-Antwortsequenzen dargestellt. Nach einem Überblick über in der Literatur vorhandene Diskussionen des Phänomens wird auf der Grundlage von mit einem Muttersprachler erhobenen Daten eine syntaktische Analyse von Fokuskonstruktionen mit der Partikel ne vorgeschlagen. Ferner werden neue Daten zur Fokussierung verschiedener Satzteile, z.B. der VP, des ganzen Satzes und des Wahrheitswerts, präsentiert. Ziel der Arbeit ist somit, die deskriptive Datenbasis zu Fokuskonstruktionen im Kikuyu zu erweitern und einen theoretischen Beitrag zu ihrer Analyse im Rahmen der generativen Grammatik zu liefern. Die Arbeit wurde im Sommer 2003 als Magisterarbeit an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institut für deutsche Sprache und Linguistik, angenommen. In Kikuyu, a Bantu language spoken in Kenya, focus is marked systematically by means of word order. In this study, the different possibilities for marking focus in question answer sequences are presented. After an overview of the discussions of the phenomenon in the literature, a syntactic account for focus constructions with the particle ne is proposed. This account is based on original data that was gathered with a native speaker. In addition, new data on focusing different parts of the sentence, e.g. the VP, the entire sentence, or the truth-value, are presented. The aim of this study thus is to broaden the descriptive basis for focus constructions in Kikuyu and to provide a theoretical contribution to their analysis in the framework of generative grammar.

Mismatching nominals and the small clause hypothesis

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-46
Author(s):  
PAUL ROGER BASSONG
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Comprehensive Analysis ◽  
Small Clause ◽  
Theoretical Contribution ◽  
Bantu Language ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Split Topicalization ◽  
Feature Checking

I propose a comprehensive analysis of what has been commonly referred in the literature to as split, discontinuous noun phrases or split topicalization. Based on data from Basaá, a Narrow Bantu language spoken in Cameroon, I partly capitalize on previous authors such as Mathieu (2004), Mathieu & Sitaridou (2005) and Ott (2015a), who propose that this morphosyntactic phenomenon involves two syntactically unrelated constituents which are only linked semantically in a predication relation in a small clause (Moro 1997, 2000; Den Dikken 1998). According to these analyses, split noun phrases are obtained as a result of predicate inversion across the subject of the small clause. Contrary to/but not against these views, I suggest that what raises in the same context in Basaá is rather the subject of the small clause as a consequence of feature-checking under closest c-command (Chomsky 2000, 2001), and for the purpose of labelling and asymmetrizing an originally symmetric syntactic structure on the surface (Ott 2015a and related work). The fact that the target of movement is the subject and not the predicate of the small clause follows from agreement and ellipsis factors. Given that the subject of predication is a full DP while the predicate is a reduced DP with a null head modifier, the surface word order is attributed to the fact that noun/noun phrase ellipsis is possible if the elided noun is given in the discourse and is recoverable from the morphology of the stranded modifier. This paper offers a theoretical contribution from an understudied language to our understanding of this puzzling nominal construction.

The resolution of conflicts among competing systems: A bidirectional perspective

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Gass
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Sentence Processing ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Relative Strength ◽  
The Other ◽  
Prototype Model ◽  
Organizational System

ABSTRACTThe present study investigates the interaction of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics from the perspective of functional constraints on sentence processing. The functionalist model of Bates and Mac-Whinney (1981a, 1987) is taken as a basis for investigating subjects' reactions to sentences in which word order, topic, and animacy are varied. Subjects were native speakers of Italian, a language which is sensitive to semantics for interpretation and English, a language which is sensitive to syntax for interpretation (Bates, McNew, MacWhinney, Devescovi, & Smith, 1982). The two native speaker groups were further subdivided in terms of second versus foreign language learners. This study focusses on the question of how learners move from one organizational system to another. It is argued that the ways in which L2 learners are able to determine the strength of dominant factors provides insights not only into the processes involved in L2 acquisition but also into the relative strength of components crosslinguistically and the strength of boundaries between linguistic and extra-linguistic information. The results suggest that in moving from a semantic-dominant language to a syntactic-dominant one, learners first become aware of the importance of the concept of word order in a second language before being able to determine the specifics of word order in that language. On the other hand, moving in the other direction (from syntactic to semantic dominance) seems to come about with greater ease. To account for these results, a prototype model of acquisition is introduced. Finally, differences between second language and foreign language-learning environments are discussed.

Lexical and discourse factors in the second language acquisition of Spanish word order

2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 273-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tammy Jandrey Hertel
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Advanced Learners ◽  
Spanish Word ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Beginning Learners

This study investigates the acquisition of Spanish word order by native speakers of English. Specifically, it considers the development of sensitivity to the distinct interpretations of subject-verb (SV) vs. verb-subject (VS) order, as determined by lexical verb class (unaccusative and unergative verbs) and discourse structure.Participants included a native speaker control group and learners at four proficiency levels. Results from a contextualized production task indicate that beginning learners transferred the SV order of English for all structures. Intermediate learners showed a gradual increase in the production of lexically and discourse-determined inversion, although their data was also characterized by indeterminacy and variability. The advanced learners demonstrated a sensitivity to the word order effects of unaccusativity and discourse factors, but also tended to overgeneralize inversion to unergative verbs in a neutral discourse context.

scholarly journals COMPARING HEDGES USED BY ENGLISH AND INDONESIAN SCHOLARS IN PUBLISHED RESEARCH ARTICLES: A CORPUS-BASED STUDY

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Nyoman Suka Sanjaya ◽  
Anak Agung Raka Sitawati ◽  
Ni Ketut Suciani
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Research Articles ◽  
Special Instruction ◽  
Truth Value ◽  
Rhetorical Features ◽  
Published Research

The study examines whether English and Indonesian research articles written by their respective native speaker scholars are significantly different from each other in terms of the number of hedges used. Hedges are rhetorical features (e.g. may, perhaps, suggest) used to withhold complete commitment to the truth-value of propositions. The ultimate goal of the study is to examine whether Indonesian scholars need special instruction in hedging propositions. The assumption underlying the present study is that when they write in English, Indonesian scholars will deploy rhetorical features inherent in the Indonesian academic writing. Statistical analysis on 52 Applied Linguistics research articles (26 from each language) reveals that English research articles contain significantly more hedges than their Indonesian counterparts (Mann-Whitney U = 68.00, n1 = n2 = 26, p < 0.05, r = - 0.69), suggesting that Indonesian scholars are indeed in need of instruction that specifically focuses on hedging propositions in English.

scholarly journals A compositional morphosemantic analysis of exclusivity in Ch'ol

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 70
Author(s):  
Carol-Rose Little ◽  
Mia Wiegand
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Yucatec Maya ◽  
Scalar Particles ◽  
Mayan Languages ◽  
Morphologically Rich Languages ◽  
Focus Marking ◽  
Empirical Generalizations

We argue that novel empirical generalizations on exclusive operators in Ch’ol (Mayan) provide strong evidence for a morphological decompositionality of exclusivity into a core semantic entry and focus sensitivity. There is a robust literature on exclusivity and the distributions of scalar particles in various languages (Beaver & Clark 2003, 2008; Orenstein & Greenberg 2010; Coppock & Beaver 2011a,b). Coppock & Beaver (2011a) argue that mere operates in a different domain (properties) than only (propositions). Recent work on focus constructions in Mayan languages include Yasavul (2013) for K’iche’ and AnderBois (2012) for Yucatec Maya. However, little work has been done on the variation among exclusives in morphologically rich languages like Ch’ol. Original data from fieldwork indicate that exclusivity can occur independently of focus marking, and when divorced from focus, the exclusive morpheme has a wider distribution and range of meanings.

scholarly journals Do We Need Neural Models to Explain Human Judgments of Acceptability?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang Jing ◽  
M. Alex Kelly ◽  
David Reitter
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Language Models ◽  
Neural Models ◽  
Word Similarity ◽  
Simple Language ◽  
N Gram ◽  
Acceptability Judgments ◽  
Processing Language

Native speakers can judge whether a sentence is an acceptable instance of their language. Acceptability provides a means of evaluating whether computational language models are processing language in a human-like manner. We test the ability of language models, simple language features, and word embeddings to predict native speakers’ judgments of acceptability on English essays written by non-native speakers. We find that much sentence acceptability variance can be captured by a combination of misspellings, word order, and word similarity (r = 0.494). While predictive neural models fit acceptability judgments well (r = 0.527), we find that a 4-gram model is just as good (r = 0.528). Thanks to incorporating misspellings, our 4-gram model surpasses both the previous unsupervised state-of-the art (r = 0.472), and the average native speaker (r = 0.46), demonstrating that acceptability is well captured by n-gram statistics and simple language features.

Reversed ang-inversion and narrow focus marking in Tagalog

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 469-497
Author(s):  
Patrick Nuhn
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Narrow Focus ◽  
Focus Marking

Abstract In Tagalog, an argument that is in narrow focus can be fronted to the clause initial position, deviating from the default verb-initial word order. This so-called ang-inversion has been claimed to be obligatory (Nagaya, 2007) or at least the go-to strategy (Kaufman, 2005) of encoding narrow focus. There is, however, an alternative that has so far received little attention in the literature: reversed ang-inversion. Structurally, this construction can be understood as the result of combining two inversion constructions: ang-inversion and ay-inversion. As a consequence, the focal constituent appears at the end of the sentence rather than at the beginning. This article presents spoken data elicited during field work as well as written data on reversed ang-inversion. Comparing the use of regular and reversed ang-inversion indicates that discourse-structural considerations play an important role in construction choice between the two.

Four- to five-year-olds’ use of word order and prosody in focus marking in Dutch

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aoju Chen ◽  
Barbara Höhle
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Limited Role ◽  
Specific Focus ◽  
Narrow Focus ◽  
Ambient Language ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Focus Marking

AbstractThis study investigated Dutch-speaking four- to five-year-olds’ use of word order and prosody in distinguishing focus types (broad focus, narrow focus, and contrastive narrow focus) via an interactive answer-reconstruction game. We have found an overall preference for the unmarked word order SVO and no evidence for the use of OVS to distinguish focus types. But the children used pitch and duration in the subject-nouns to distinguish focus types in SVO sentences. These findings show that Dutch-speaking four- to five-year-olds differ from their German- and Finnish-speaking peers, who show evidence of varying choice of word order to mark specific focus types, and use prosody to distinguish focus types in subject and object nouns in both SVO and OVS sentences. These comparisons suggest that typological differences in the relative importance between word order and prosody can lead to differences in children’s use of word order and prosody in unmarked and marked word orders. A more equal role of word order and prosody in the ambient language can stimulate more extensive use of prosody in the marked word order, whereas a more limited role of word order can restrict the use of prosody in the unmarked word order.

scholarly journals A Comparison of the Referential Properties of Third Person Pronouns in Finnish and Estonian

Nordlyd ◽  
10.7557/12.31 ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elsi Kaiser ◽  
Katrin Hiietam
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Referring Expressions ◽  
Reference Resolution ◽  
Preliminary Results ◽  
The Third ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The Third Person

Abstract: This paper investigates the referential properties of third person anaphors in two closely related languages, Finnish and Estonian. Previous crosslinguistic research has shown that the most salient referents are referred to with the most reduced referring expressions. Moreover, factors such as (i) grammatical role, (ii) word order and (iii) the main/subordinate clause distinction have been claimed to be correlated with referent salience. In this paper, we focus on how these factors influence the referential properties of the different members of the third person anaphoric paradigms in Finnish and Estonian. We use corpus evidence and native speaker survey data to investigate the referential properties of the Estonian forms and to compare them to the patterns observed for the Finnish pronoun <em>hän</em> ‘s/he’ and demonstrative <em>tämä</em> ‘this’ (see Kaiser, this volume; Kaiser 2000). Our preliminary results suggest that (i) the Estonian short pronoun <em>ta</em> ‘s/he’ patterns like the Finnish pronoun <em>hän</em> ‘s/he’, in that they both prefer to refer to subjects, and (ii) the Estonian demonstratives <em>see/too</em> ‘this/that’ resemble the Finnish demonstrative <em>tämä</em> ‘this,’ generally referring to non-subjects, postverbal NPs or subjects in subordinate clauses. Moreover, we find that the Estonian long pronominal form <em>tema</em> ‘s/he’ differs from the Finnish demonstrative <em>tämä</em>, despite their historical connection: As suggested by Pajusalu (1997), in Estonian, <em>tema</em> is used to refer to entities that contrast with something, whereas in Finnish <em>tämä</em> is used for entities low in salience (Kaiser, this volume). The implications of our findings for ‘accessibility hierarchy’-based approaches to reference resolution are also discussed.

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