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 Lack of Syllable Duration as a Post-Lexical Acoustic Cue in Spanish in Contact with Maya

Languages ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Nuria Martínez García ◽  
Melanie Uth
Keyword(s):  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mixed Effects ◽  
Mixed Effects Models ◽  
Yucatec Maya ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects Models ◽  
Linear Mixed Effects ◽  
Contrastive Focus ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Syllable Duration ◽  
Focus Marking

This paper focuses on the duration of stressed syllables in broad versus contrastive focus in Yucatecan Spanish and examines its connection with Spanish–Maya bilingualism. We examine the claim that phonemic vowel length in one language prevents the use of syllable duration as a post-lexical acoustic cue in another. We study the duration of stressed syllables of nouns in subject and object position in subject-verb-object (SVO) sentences (broad and contrastive focus) of a semi-spontaneous production task. One thousand one hundred and twenty-six target syllables of 34 mono- and bilingual speakers were measured and submitted to linear mixed-effects models. Although the target syllables were slightly longer in contrastive focus, duration was not significant, nor was the effect of bilingualism. The results point to duration not constituting a cue to focus marking in Yucatecan Spanish. Finally, it is discussed how this result relates to the strong influence of Yucatec Maya on Yucatecan Spanish prosody observed by both scholars and native speakers of Yucatecan Spanish and other Mexican varieties of Spanish.

Further Observations on the Fate of Pedicle Osteocutaneous Grafts

1979 ◽  
Vol 87 (6) ◽  
pp. 763-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rinaldo F. Canalis
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Frontal Sinus ◽  
Bone Grafts ◽  
Bone Transplant ◽  
Free Grafts ◽  
Contralateral Muscle

Recent work has shown that pedicle osteocutaneous grafts retain their viability and participate actively in the restructuring of transferred bone. The present study investigates two aspects of this process: (1) whether or not healthy recipient bone is needed for the survival of these grafts and (2) the degree of periosteal involvement in osteogenesis. Six adult dogs were used. Pedicle osteocutaneous grafts were constructed using the anterior table of the frontal sinus. Rotation of these flaps allowed implantation of the bone transplant into the ipsilateral parietal muscle. Free bone grafts were used as controls and were implanted in the contralateral muscle. Specimens were removed at variable intervals between 8 and 40 weeks after operation. All free grafts were reabsorbed. Pedicle-assisted bone grafts retained their volume and exhibited marked periosteal osteogenesis that eventually produced enough new bone to replace the graft. These experiments provide strong evidence that bone restructuring in osteocutaneous grafts may be independent of recipient bone and that it depends almost exclusively on periosteal activity.

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.

scholarly journals At-issueness in direct quotation: the case of Mayan quotatives

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 371
Author(s):  
Scott AnderBois
Keyword(s):  
Special Kind ◽  
Previous Literature ◽  
Yucatec Maya ◽  
Mayan Languages ◽  
Direct Quotation

In addition to lexical verbs of saying, many languages have more grammaticized means for reporting the speech of others. This paper presents the first detailed formal account of one such device: quotative morphemes in Mayan languages, with a focus on Yucatec Maya ki(j). When mentioned in previous literature, quotatives have either been regarded as a special kind of verb of saying or reportative evidential. I argue that quotatives have important differences (and some similarities) with both verbs of saying and reportatives. To capture these properties, I propose a ‘scoreboard’ account where quotative ki(j) signals that the co-occurring quotative material demonstrates a move in an in-narrative scoreboard.

Verbless Predicative Clauses in the Romance Languages: Syntax, Semantics, Variation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melvin González-Rivera
Keyword(s):  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Noun Phrases ◽  
Generative Grammar ◽  
Main Clause ◽  
Romance Languages ◽  
Yucatec Maya ◽  
Clause Structure ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Haitian Creole ◽  
Small Clauses

Nonverbal or verbless utterances posit a great deal of challenge to any linguistic theory. Despite its frequency and productivity among many languages, such as Arabic, Chinese, Finnish, Guaraní, Haitian Creole; Hdi, Hebrew, Hungarian, Irish, Korean, Mauritian Creole, Mina, Northern Kurdish, Romandalusí, Russian, Samoan, Turkish, Yucatec Maya, a.o., verbless clauses have received so far relatively little attention from most theoretical frameworks. The study of such clauses in general raises many interesting questions, since they appear to involve main clause structure without overt verbs. Some of the questions that arise when dealing with verbless constructions are the following: (a) are these clauses a projection of T(ense), or some other functional category, (b) do verbless clauses have an overt or null verbal head, (c) are verbless clauses small clauses, and (d) can verbless clauses be interpreted as propositions or statements that are either true or false. In mainstream generative grammar the predominant assumption has been that verbless clauses contain a functional projection that may be specified for tense (Tense Phrase) but need not occur necessarily with a verbal projection or a copula. This is strong evidence against the view that tense needs to co-occur with a verbal head—that is, tense may be universally projected but does not need to co-occur with a verbal head. This proposal departs from previous analyses where the category tense may be specified for categorial verbal or nominal features. Thus, in general, verbless clauses may be considered Tense Phrases (TPs) that dominate a nonverbal predicate. An example of verbless constructions in Romance languages are Predicative Noun Phrases (henceforth, PNPs). PNPs are nonverbal or verbless constructions that exhibit clausal properties.

The economics of water scarcity and variability

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Damania
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Water Availability ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Development Trajectory ◽  
Policy Solutions

Abstract Does the availability or variability of water matter for the economy? Does it meaningfully impact the growth and development trajectory of a country? It may seem surprising that answers to these most basic of questions remain elusive. The aim of this paper is to summarize recent work on the economic impacts of water scarcity and variability. The paper finds that there is strong evidence that variations in rainfall and water availability have significant impacts on particular sectors, such as agriculture, human capital, and even conflict. But paradoxically evidence of impacts on economic growth and other measures of aggregate economic activity remains ambiguous. The paper explains reasons for this anomaly and explores the pathways through which water impacts the economy. The paper provides a synthesis of key developments in the literature, identifies methodological gaps, and suggests policy solutions.

scholarly journals Large prospective losses lead to sub-optimal sensorimotor decisions in humans

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler J. Adkins ◽  
Richard L. Lewis ◽  
Taraz G. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Bounded Rationality ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Decision Problem ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Cognitive Biases ◽  
Expected Gain ◽  
Potential Losses ◽  
Biases And Heuristics

AbstractThe rationality of human behavior has been a major problem in philosophy for centuries. The pioneering work of Kahneman and Tversky provides strong evidence that people are not rational. Recent work in psychophysics argues that incentivized sensorimotor decisions (such as deciding where to reach to get a reward) maximizes expected gain, suggesting that it may be impervious to cognitive biases and heuristics. We rigorously tested this hypothesis using multiple experiments and multiple computational models. We obtained strong evidence that people deviated from the objectively rational strategy when potential losses were large. They instead appeared to follow a strategy in which they simplify the decision problem and satisfice rather than optimize. This work is consistent with the framework known as bounded rationality, according to which people behave rationally given their computational limitations.

Confidence-accuracy dissociation via criterion attraction

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dobromir Rahnev
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
External Noise ◽  
The Other ◽  
Decision Criteria ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Objective Performance ◽  
Multiple Tasks ◽  
Criterion Location

Humans often have to use different decision criteria in different tasks such as when detecting a mosquito against a white versus a patterned wall. However, it is debated whether people can maintain independent criteria for different tasks. Early work uncovered suboptimal biases when multiple tasks are performed simultaneously, and concluded that in such situations people inadvertently use the same decision criteria across different perceptual tasks. On the other hand, these studies could not measure the criterion location directly and more recent work has questioned whether the same criteria are indeed used across different tasks. To resolve this debate, here we develop a new external noise paradigm that can objectively quantify criterion location across two tasks that optimally require very different criteria. We find strong evidence of “criterion attraction” where the criteria across the two tasks move towards each other but do not become identical. This criterion attraction leads to a large and consistent confidence-accuracy dissociation in the absence of reaction time differences between the tasks. These results unify the seemingly disparate findings in the literature and establish a robust way of inducing dissociations between subjective and objective performance.

Postlexical rules and the status of privative features

Phonology ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Lombardi
Keyword(s):  
Recent Work ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Feature Geometry ◽  
The Status ◽  
Phonological Rules

Recent work in distinctive features and feature geometry has presented strong evidence that certain features are privative: they have no negative values, so a sound is either marked [F] or else it is not. Evidence comes from possible types of sounds (for example, multiply articulated segments, in Sagey 1986) and from the fact that the negative values of these features are not referred to in phonological rules. Currently there is a nearly universal consensus that Place features are privative, and converging evidence from several authors (Mester & Itô 1989; Cho 1990; Lombardi 1991, 1995a) that [voice] is privative also.

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