scholarly journals Not all object experiencers are the same: The role of se and the argument structure of Serbian psych verbs anticausatives

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-96
Author(s):  
Peđa Kovačević
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Standard Approach ◽  
Middle Ground ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
Psych Verbs ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Number Of Authors ◽  
Psych Verb

The goal of this paper is to account for the observation that some Serbian object experiencer anticausatives take instrumental NPs as expressions of the causer participant whereas others take od(‘from’)- PPs. Following a number of authors (Alexiadou et al. 2013, Doron 2014, Anagnostopoulou & Samioti 2014, a. o.), I assume that differences in the licensing of expressions introducing event participants point in the direction of structural differences in terms of presence/absence of certain layers of verbal structure. The observed difference is accounted for by assuming that instrumental NPs are syntactically licensed by VoiceP while od(‘from’)-PPs are rejected by VoiceP owing to a semantic clash. Consequently, full VoiceP structure is present with psych verb anticausatives that license instrumental NPs and absent with psych verb anticauatives that license od(‘from’)-PPs. The analysis presented in the paper has implications for the syntactic and semantic status of SE as well. It is suggested that Chierchia’s (2004) reflexive approach to anticausatives can be extended to psych verb anticausatives which license instrumental NPs whereas the standard approach (Schäfer & Vivanco 2016) should be retained for typical anticausatives with inanimate internal arguments and object experiencers that license od (‘from’)-PPs. Such a “middle-ground” solution follows from the syntactic structures I propose for these two different sets of psych verb anticausatives.

On the Event Structural Properties of the English Get-Passive

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-74
Author(s):  
Alison Biggs ◽  
David Embick
Keyword(s):  
Division Of Labor ◽  
Structural Properties ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Event Structure ◽  
Test Case ◽  
Event Structures ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Responsible Party

An important ongoing discussion in theories of argument structure concerns the explanatory division of labor between thematic properties and event structure. In this context, the English get-passive provides an interesting test case. Much previous work has analyzed get-passives as differing thematically from be-passives. Yet many get-passive properties remain poorly understood. We present an analysis of the get-passive centered on the proposal that it contains additional event structure (realized as get) relative to its be counterpart. We employ by-adjuncts to identify the event structures in passive types, and demonstrate that the behavior of this and other diagnostics support the conclusion that get- and be-passives differ systematically in ways that accord with our analysis. Further discussion considers the prominent proposal from previous studies that get-passives differ thematically from be-passives in (sometimes) assigning an Agent role to their surface subjects. We show that there is no evidence for such an analysis. Instead, intuitions about the interpretation of the get-passive surface subject arise from how an event’s Responsible Party is identified: contrasts between get and be on this dimension are a consequence of event structural differences between the two. The overall result is a unified analysis of the get-passive, one that has implications for the role of event structure in understanding the syntax and interpretation of arguments.

scholarly journals Iconicity in argument structure

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marloes Oomen
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
The Body ◽  
Psychological State ◽  
First Person ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Sign Languages ◽  
Psychological States ◽  
Place Of Articulation ◽  
Psych Verbs ◽  
Psych Verb

Abstract A long tradition of psych-verb research in spoken languages has demonstrated that they constitute a class of their own, both semantically and syntactically. This study presents a description and analysis of psych-verbs in Sign Language of the Netherlands (NGT) in order to investigate whether this verb type displays comparable peculiarities in sign languages. The study is primarily based on data from the Corpus NGT (Crasborn et al. 2008). Firstly, the data indicate that all psych-verbs in NGT select a subject Experiencer. Secondly, it is shown that there is an iconic property of psych-verbs in NGT that lays bare a conceptual link between psychological states and locative relations: body-anchoring. The location singled out by the place of articulation of a psych-verb is associated with the metaphoric location of an emotion, or a type of behavior associated with the expression of an emotion. It is furthermore argued that the body as a whole iconically represents the container of a psychological state. The body is analyzed as a possessive determiner that may receive a first person specification as a consequence of body-anchoring. The data support such an analysis, as they suggest that sentences without an overt Experiencer yield a default first person interpretation. Thus, it is claimed that iconicity affects sentence structure and as such should be incorporated into the formal grammar system. Given that body-anchoring is the source of the effects mentioned above, it may be hypothesized that psych-verbs in NGT do not constitute a class of its own, but rather belong to a larger class of iconically motivated body-anchored verbs that share the properties mentioned above.

scholarly journals L2 acquisition of Spanish dative clitics by English and Dutch learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 517-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ángeles Escobar-Álvarez
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
First Language ◽  
Target Language ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Double Object ◽  
L1 Transfer ◽  
Syntactic Structures ◽  
New Findings

This article examines the second language acquisition (SLA) of Spanish dative clitics in clitic doubling (CLD) structures that are closely related to the double object construction (DOC) in English and Dutch. It also addresses the question of how adult English and Dutch speakers learning L2 Spanish in a formal setting develop knowledge and use of the animacy constraint in the target language, which is different from the first language (L1) counterparts. The role of transfer in acquiring new syntactic structures has been taken into account, where dative clitics appear and animate objects are marked by the dative preposition ‘to.’ New findings are obtained on CLD and the Spanish animacy constraint from a grammaticality judgement task (GJT), completed by English and Dutch learners at B1 and B2 CEFR levels. The difficulties learners experienced were not always due to negative L1 transfer, but also related to the complexity of the argument structure where the clitic is inserted. This has clear implications for the teaching of pronominal elements which are closely related to different syntactic configurations in Spanish.

Niuean

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Massam
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Argument Structure ◽  
Word Formation ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Noun Incorporation ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Theta Role ◽  
Predicate Argument Structure

This book presents a detailed descriptive and theoretical examination of predicate-argument structure in Niuean, a Polynesian language within the Oceanic branch of the Austronesian family, spoken mainly on the Pacific island of Niue and in New Zealand. Niuean has VSO word order and an ergative case-marking system, both of which raise questions for a subject-predicate view of sentence structure. Working within a broadly Minimalist framework, this volume develops an analysis in which syntactic arguments are not merged locally to their thematic sources, but instead are merged high, above an inverted extended predicate which serves syntactically as the Niuean verb, later undergoing movement into the left periphery of the clause. The thematically lowest argument merges as an absolutive inner subject, with higher arguments merging as applicatives. The proposal relates Niuean word order and ergativity to its isolating morphology, by equating the absence of inflection with the absence of IP in Niuean, which impacts many aspects of its grammar. As well as developing a novel analysis of clause and argument structure, word order, ergative case, and theta role assignment, the volume argues for an expanded understanding of subjecthood. Throughout the volume, many other topics are also treated, such as noun incorporation, word formation, the parallel internal structure of predicates and arguments, null arguments, displacement typology, the role of determiners, and the structure of the left periphery.

What is Ecophenomenology?

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wood
Keyword(s):  
Natural Sciences ◽  
Middle Ground ◽  
Access To Nature

AbstractWhat is eco-phenomenology? This paper argues that eco-phenomenology, in which are folded both an ecological phenomenology and a phenomenological ecology, offers us a way of developing a middle ground between phenomenology and naturalism, between intentionality and causality. Our grasp of Nature is significantly altered by thinking through four strands of time's plexity - the invisibility of time, the celebration of finitude, the coordination of rhythms, and the interruption and breakdown of temporal horizons. It is also transformed by a meditation on the role of boundaries in constituting the varieties of thinghood. Eco-phenomenology takes up in a tentative and exploratory way the traditional phenomenological claim to be able to legislate for the sciences, or at least to think across the boundaries that seem to divide them. In this way, it opens up and develops an access to Nature and the natural, one which is independent both of the conceptuality of the natural sciences and of traditional metaphysics.

Talking Fingers: An Interview Study of Pianists' Views on Fingering

1997 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Clarke ◽  
Richard Parncutt ◽  
Matti Raekallio ◽  
John Sloboda
Keyword(s):  
Motor Skill ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Procedural Knowledge ◽  
Contemporary Music ◽  
Declarative Knowledge ◽  
Standard Approach ◽  
Primary Determinant ◽  
Role Of Teachers ◽  
Technical Considerations

Seven professional pianists were interviewed to gather their views on various aspects of piano fingering. The issues covered included technical considerations, the influence of interpretation and composers' markings on fingering, the effects of different Performance circumstances, and the role of teachers in determining fingering strategies. An analysis of the participants' responses revealed both a considerable amount of common ground in their attitudes to these matters, and some strikingly different attitudes. Five primary themes emerged: i) while Standard fingerings form the basis for these performers' strategies, a greater use of Standard fingerings in sight-read as opposed to rehearsed or memorised performance was predicted by the participants; ii) those performers with a deeper involvement in, and earlier exposure to, contemporary music considered themselves to have a less Standard approach to fingering; iii) physical considerations not only represent constraints on fingering, but also offer opportunities to employ positively pleasurable fingerings which may be highly idiosyncratic; iv) while interpretation is universally regarded as the primary determinant of finger choice, attitudes range from a refusal to contemplate a fingering until musical matters have been resolved to the belief that a Single best fingering can be found onto which interpretative choices are mapped; v) the participants appear to have good declarative knowledge of the more abstract and Strategic aspects of their approach to fingering, and essentially procedural knowledge of what they do in any particular circumstance, as found in previous research on motor skill.

scholarly journals The folate-binding module ofThermus thermophiluscobalamin-dependent methionine synthase displays a distinct variation of the classical TIM barrel: a TIM barrel with a `twist'

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-51
Author(s):  
Kazuhiro Yamada ◽  
Markos Koutmos
Keyword(s):  
Tertiary Amine ◽  
Thermus Thermophilus ◽  
Methionine Synthase ◽  
Structural Studies ◽  
Binding Domains ◽  
Methyl Transfer ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Tim Barrel ◽  
Eukaryotic Organisms

Methyl transfer between methyltetrahydrofolate and corrinoid molecules is a key reaction in biology that is catalyzed by a number of enzymes in many prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. One classic example of such an enzyme is cobalamin-dependent methionine synthase (MS). MS is a large modular protein that utilizes an SN2-type mechanism to catalyze the chemically challenging methyl transfer from the tertiary amine (N5) of methyltetrahydrofolate to homocysteine in order to form methionine. Despite over half a century of study, many questions remain about how folate-dependent methyltransferases, and MS in particular, function. Here, the structure of the folate-binding (Fol) domain of MS fromThermus thermophilusis reported in the presence and absence of methyltetrahydrofolate. It is found that the methyltetrahydrofolate-binding environment is similar to those of previously described methyltransferases, highlighting the conserved role of this domain in binding, and perhaps activating, the methyltetrahydrofolate substrate. These structural studies further reveal a new distinct and uncharacterized topology in the C-terminal region of MS Fol domains. Furthermore, it is found that in contrast to the canonical TIM-barrel β8α8fold found in all other folate-binding domains, MS Fol domains exhibit a unique β8α7fold. It is posited that these structural differences are important for MS function.

A FEM Frontal Impact Study of Square-Section Tubes with Different Structural Solutions for Vehicle Safety

2015 ◽  
Vol 798 ◽  
pp. 36-40
Author(s):  
Ciro Faria Maia ◽  
Guilherme Silame Maranhão Lima ◽  
Felipe Grossi L. Amorim ◽  
Evandro Queiroz Nunes Vera ◽  
Alexander Matioli Pasqual
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Initial Velocity ◽  
Impact Analysis ◽  
Vehicle Safety ◽  
Impact Study ◽  
Frontal Impact ◽  
Structural Differences ◽  
Rigid Plane ◽  
Structural Solutions

The present paper presents a study of square-section tubes conditioned to a FE dynamic frontal impact analysis, considering a 10.0 m/s initial velocity against an infinitely rigid plane. A 50.0 kg punctual mass is positioned on center of the cross-sections, on the farthest side from the rigid plane and the deceleration pulse is measured along the simulations. After validating the numerical model with analytical solutions, the results are compared for four geometries with little structural differences in order to access the role of each difference on the geometry under crash situations. The results show that adding many triggers to the geometry may not be the best performance solution for crash boxes, since the geometry with few triggers achieved better values of deceleration peak than the others. In addition, the presence of holes showed to be an instability cause to the system. The structural solutions presented could be of great value for future vehicle crash box developments.

Changes in the argument and event structure of psych verbs in the history of Spanish

2019 ◽  
pp. 249-270
Author(s):  
Montserrat Batllori ◽  
Elisabeth Gibert-Sotelo ◽  
Isabel Pujol
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Event Structure ◽  
Psych Verbs ◽  
History Of

This chapter offers a detailed study of changes affecting the argument structure of Spanish psych verbs that appear with a dative experiencer (EXP). After proposing a three-way classification of these verbs based on their etymological origin, the chapter traces two parallel, but interconnected, diachronic paths: the first one involves the development from transitive (or pronominal) to unaccusative constructions with a dative EXP, whereas the second one concerns the evolution from dynamic to stative events. The use and decrease of the passive in Classical Spanish is also shown to play a role in this change: to wit, passive and unaccusative structures with a dative EXP are structurally similar, as the prepositional agent phrase and the dative EXP originate in the same position.

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