scholarly journals Adverbial clause combining in Latgalian

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 45-109
Author(s):  
Nicole Nau
Keyword(s):  
Prosodic Features ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Fluent Speech ◽  
European Languages ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Clause Combining ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
Broad Understanding

This paper investigates techniques of clause combining in spoken Latgalian, based on a corpus of 5 hours of recorded interviews with eleven speakers from different parts of Latgalia (Eastern Latvia). The study focuses on inter-clausal relations that are most typically expressed by adverbial clauses and in grammars of European languages are largely associated with adverbial subordinators such as English when, if, because, or although. In spoken Latgalian these relations are most often marked by a combination of lexical, grammatical and prosodic features. Patterns described in detail include asyndetic constructions with grammatical marking, clause chaining, clause combining with semantically vague or polysemous connectives, and correlative constructions. The study calls for a broad understanding of adverbial clause combining, without recourse to the problematic concept of subordination and without assuming the complex sentence as a syntactic or textual unit. Such an approach is needed to pay justice to the intricate structures of fluent speech.  

Syntax from and for discourse II: More on complex sentences as meso-constructions

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beate Hampe ◽  
Stefan Th. Gries
Keyword(s):  
Multinomial Regression ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Linguistic Research ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Syntactic Properties ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Temporal Adverbial

Abstract This paper presents a direct continuation of preceding corpus-linguistic research on complex sentence constructions with temporal adverbial clauses in a cognitive and usage-based framework (Diessel 2008; Hampe 2015). Working towards a more systematic construction-based account of complex sentences with before-, after-, until- and once-clauses in spontaneously spoken English, Hampe (2015) hypothesised that the morpho-syntactic realisations of configurations with initial adverbial clauses systematically diverge from those of configurations with final ones as a reflection of the specific functionality of each and that usage properties that are found across instantiations with a coherent functional load are retained in the schematisations creating constructions. This paper employs a multinomial regression in order to test to which extent each of eight closely related complex-sentence constructions with either initial or final before-, after-, until- and once-clauses can be predicted from the realisation of a few key morpho-syntactic properties of the respective adverbial and matrix clauses involved. The results support an analysis of complex-sentence constructions as meso-constructions that are not only specific about the subordinator and the positioning of the adverbial clause, but also retain “traces” of characteristic usage properties.

scholarly journals On adverbial clauses in spoken Lithuanian

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Erika Jasionytė-Mikučionienė
Keyword(s):  
Spoken Language ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Subordinate Clause ◽  
Private Communication ◽  
Semantic Relationship ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Pragmatic Inference ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Adverbial Clause

The aim of the paper is to investigate adverbial clauses of time, cause, condition and concession in spontaneous private communication. The study explores semantic relations between the main and subordinate clauses, grammatical features and predominant conjunctions.The data for the research was collected from the morphologically annotated Corpus of Spoken Lithuanian, namely, its sub-corpus of spontaneous private speech which is used at home, at friends’ place, or which is produced by close friends.The analysis of spontaneous private communication shows that the finite adverbial clauses of time, cause, condition and concession are related to a set of conjunctions, but other indicators such as the use of verbal categories (especially tense, aspect and mood), contextual lexical markers as well as pragmatic inference also help to determine the semantic relationship between the main and the subordinate clause.In a spoken language, temporal clauses are usually combined with the conjunctions kai, kaip ‘when’, kol ‘while’, less frequently – with kada ‘when’; causal clauses are combined with the conjunction nes ‘because; since’, less frequently – with kad and kadangi ‘because’; conditional clauses are typically combined with the conjunction jeigu ‘if’, less frequently – with jei ‘if’, concessive clauses – with the conjunction nors ‘though’. The conjunctions kai ‘when’, kol ‘while’, kadangi ‘because’, jeigu and jei ‘if’ correlate with the particle tai that is very frequent in a spoken language, while the conjunction nors ‘though’ – with the contrastive conjunction bet ‘but’.In the natural language flow, the structure of adverbial sentences is modified: other sentential and discourse units can intervene between the main and the subordinate clauses, and the adverbial conjunction moves from the initial to the medial position.Traditional Lithuanian grammars emphasise that the position of adverbial clauses is undefined: they can appear before or after the main clause. However, the analysis of spontaneous speech shows that the position of a subordinate clause is influenced by the semantic relationship between the clauses. If a subordinate clause refers to a previous action or event, then it dominates in a preposition. Besides, the position of an adverbial clause is also influenced by correlative conjunctions: the main clause with the correlative particle tai dominates in the postposition.The research also revealed that Lithuanian adverbial clauses could function at the discourse level: in dialogues, the structure of a complex sentence is broken down and subordinate adverbial clauses can acquire additional – discourse – functions. Adverbial conjunctions, in their turn, can indicate relations with a previous discourse. 

scholarly journals AN ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLEX SENTENCES USED IN SELECTED THAI POLITICAL NEWS IN ONLINE BANGKOK POST

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 16-28
Author(s):  
Janjira Kongsakorn ◽  
Prommintra Kongkaew
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clause ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Sentence Type ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Political News ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Nominal Clause

The present work aimed to analyze complex sentences and study the types of the complex sentences as used in the selected Thai political news stories from online Bangkok Post. Four Thai political news stories were selected for the study. They were the news stories published in April 2016. The news stories were analyzed based on the following types: Adverbial clauses, relative clauses and nominal clauses. The study found that the complex sentence type which was used with the highest frequency was a nominal clause. It accounted for 44 %. The type of the complex sentence; which was ranked second in use was an adverbial clause. It accounted for 29%. The type of the complex sentences which was least used was a relative clause. It represents 27 %.

Examining individual variation in learner production data: A few programmatic pointers for corpus-based analyses using the example of adverbial clause ordering

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Stefan Th. Gries ◽  
Stefanie Wulff
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Subordinate Clause ◽  
Production Data ◽  
Subordinate Clauses ◽  
Chinese Learners ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Temporal Adverbial

ABSTRACT This study examines the variable positioning of a finite adverbial subordinate clause and its main clause with the subordinate clause either preceding or following the main clause in native versus nonnative English. Specifically, we contrast causal, concessive, conditional, and temporal adverbial clauses produced by German and Chinese learners of English with those produced by native speakers. We examined 2,362 attestations from the Chinese and German subsections of the International Corpus of Learner English (Granger, Dagneaux, Meunier, & Paquot, 2009) and from the Louvain Corpus of Native English Essays (Granger, 1998). All instances were annotated for the ordering, the subordinate clause type, the lengths of the main and subordinate clauses, the first language of the speakers, the conjunction used, and the file it originated from (as a proxy for the speaker producing the sentence so as to be able to study individual and lexical variation). The results of a two-step regression modeling protocol suggest that learners behave most nativelike with causal clauses and struggle most with conditional and concessive clauses; in addition, learners make more non-nativelike choices when the main and subordinate clause are of about equal length.

Corpora and intuition: a study of Mandarin Chinese adverbial clauses and subjecthood

Corpora ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
May L-Y Wong
Keyword(s):  
Mandarin Chinese ◽  
Semantic Function ◽  
Text Type ◽  
Corpus Linguistic ◽  
Semantic Classes ◽  
New Information ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Linguistic Methods

This paper presents a corpus-based approach to investigating the distribution of adverbial clauses and their subjects (overt vs. non-overt) in spoken and written Mandarin Chinese. It argues that the choice of subject type is determined by three variables, namely, given-new information, semantic function of adverbial clause and text type. In written Chinese, the distribution of subject types varies across semantic classes of adverbial clauses, but not across text categories. The influence of semantic classes on the distribution of subject types, however, depends on text type. For the same semantic function, the decision as to whether to include a subject is governed by given and new information. In contrasting the distribution of subject types of adverbial clauses across speech and writing, it was found that both spoken and written Chinese use more overt subjects in clauses of reason. Methodologically, this study demonstrates how quantitative corpus-linguistic methods can be used to supplement introspective theoretical assumptions with authentic, observable evidence in order to gain better insights into the behaviour of adverbial clauses in speech and writing.

Syntax from and for Discourse: Adverbial Clauses as Item-Specific Constructions in Spontaneous Spoken English

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beate Hampe
Keyword(s):  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Temporal Adverbial

AbstractThis paper seeks to contribute to a usage- and construction-based approach to the complex sentence. Studying temporal adverbial clauses with

scholarly journals How to not lose the track: tail-head linkage as a mechanism for maintaining cohesion of spatial information in Dâw narratives

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolin Obert
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Information ◽  
Brazilian Amazon ◽  
Initial Position ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Central Function ◽  
Spatial Reference ◽  
Syntactic Position ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Formal Properties

Abstract References to landscape and places are central in traditional narratives by speakers of Dâw (Naduhup, Brazilian Amazon). This emphasis on spatial reference is primarily established through locative adverbial clauses that are often repeated throughout the discourse. Their function is to relate an event to a place, establish reference to locative information mentioned earlier in discourse, and provide cohesion when pre-posed to the main clause. In this syntactic position, they act as bridges connecting sentences and paragraphs by referring to antecedent context. Locative adverbial clauses in clause-initial position are interesting in Dâw because they can occur as exact replicas of a locative adverbial clause that was postposed to the main clause of the antecedent sentence. This strategy has been described in the literature as tail-head linkage. Its central function is to maintain coherence among participants and events along subsequent sentences in discourse and to ensure that the interlocutor is able to track the numerous locations mentioned in the narrative. This paper explores the functional and formal properties of tail-head linkage by focusing on locative adverbial clauses in Dâw, and contributes to the understanding of how processes of subordination can be responsible for tracking spatial information in the discourse of Dâw speakers.

scholarly journals Does the Use of Complex Sentences Differentiate Between Bilinguals With and Without DLD? Evidence From Conversation and Narrative Tasks

2022 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanne Paradis ◽  
Tamara Sorenson Duncan ◽  
Stephanie Thomlinson ◽  
Brian Rusk
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Adverbial Clauses

Over-identification of language disorder among bilingual children with typical development (TD) is a risk factor in assessment. One strategy for improving assessment accuracy with bilingual children is to determine which linguistic sub-domains differentiate bilingual children with TD from bilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD). To date, little research on sequential bilinguals with TD and DLD has focussed on complex (multi-clausal) sentences in naturalistic production, even though this is a noted domain of weakness for school-age monolinguals with DLD. Accordingly, we sought to determine if there were differences in the use of complex sentences in conversational and narrative tasks between school-age sequential bilinguals with TD and with DLD at the early stages of L2 acquisition. We administered a conversation and a narrative task to 63 English L2 children with TD and DLD, aged 5–7 years with 2 years of exposure to the L2. Children had diverse first language backgrounds. The L2-TD and L2-DLD groups were matched for age, length of L2 exposure and general L2 proficiency (receptive vocabulary size). Language samples from both tasks were coded and analyzed for the use of complex versus simple sentences, for the distribution of complex sentence types, for clausal density and mean length of utterance (MLU). Complex sentences included coordinated clauses, sentential complement clauses, adverbial clauses and relative clauses. Using regression modelling and PERMANOVA, we found that the L2-TD group produced more complex sentences than the L2-DLD group, with coordinated clauses, adverbial clauses and relative clauses differing the most between the groups. Furthermore, the two groups differed for mean clausal density, but not for MLU, indicating that clausal density and MLU did not estimate identical morphosyntactic abilities. Individual variation in complex sentence production for L2-TD was predicted by longer L2 exposure and task; by contrast, for L2-DLD, it was predicted by older age. This study indicates that complex sentence production is an area of weakness for bilingual children with DLD, as it is for monolinguals with DLD. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Some notes on central causal clauses in Venetian

2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-572
Author(s):  
Nicholas Catasso
Keyword(s):  
Main Clause ◽  
Matrix Clause ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Internal Syntax ◽  
Split Cp ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Semantic Differentiation ◽  
Discourse Particle ◽  
The City

Abstract The goal of this paper is to provide novel evidence in favor of an integration of Haegeman’s (2002) taxonomy of adverbial clause subordination by discussing some data from C-introduced causal constructs in Venetian, the Italo-Romance dialect spoken in the city of Venice. Haegeman’s model is based on a two-class categorization of adverbial structures into central clauses, in which matrix-clause phenomena (such as the licensing of some sentence-initial or sentence-final discourse particle-like items, XP-fronting) are excluded, and peripheral clauses, in which these phenomena are licit. The external-syntactic distinction predicted by this model, namely a semantic differentiation resulting from TP/VP-adjunction for central vs. CP-adjunction for peripheral adverbial clauses, has severe consequences for the internal syntax of the a/m constructions, the most striking being the absence of the upper projections of the Split CP of central constructs. The data presented in this paper, however, suggest that (at least) in Venetian, (some) main-clause phenomena may also be licensed in central adverbial clauses under specific circumstances. Additionally, it will be shown that the conclusions drawn from the observation of the Venetian data match the behavior of the same constructions in Standard Italian, as well as in other languages, under the very same conditions.

Deficits in sentence comprehension: Are they syntactic? Comments on Stein, Cairns, and Zurif

1985 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Goodluck
Keyword(s):  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Normal Development ◽  
Disabled Children ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Adverbial Clauses ◽  
Temporal Adverbial ◽  
Reading Disabled

In a recent paper in Applied Psycholinguistics, Stein, Cairns, and Zurif (1984) demonstrate that reading disabled children perform at a less advanced level relative to normals of the same age in comprehending a number of complex sentence types, including sentences with temporal adverbial clauses, such as (1): 1. The pig kissed the cow after jumping over the fence. (Please see erratum page at back of this issue for the corrected figures concerning this sentence from the Stein, Cairns, and Zurif article.)While adults require the (missing) subject of jump in (1) to be interpreted as coreferential with the main clause subject (the pig in the example), normal children are frequently 6 or older before they develop this restriction, permitting a direct object NP (the cow in the example) to be made subject of (to control) the temporal clause. Stein et al. demonstrate that reading disabled children are slower than normals to develop the adult rule, a finding that generalized over both their comprehension of written and spoken language. In what follows, I point out some difficulties with the analysis of the adult grammar and normal development that Stein et al. adopt, and speculate on alternative ways of dealing with the facts of grammar and development for sentences of type (1). To the extent that these speculations are correct, our view of the nature of deficits may also be changed.

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