scholarly journals Marking Mirativity in Syntax: Minimalsit Mechanisms

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Murdhy Rada Alshamari ◽  
Manal Saleh Alghannam

This paper offers a generative minimalist investigation to the derivation and interpretation of mirativity information in Central Najdi Arabic (CNA), arguing that grammar of CNA morphologically marks mirativity in syntax by means of the discourse particle wara. Implementing minimalist mechanisms (Chomsky 2001), it is shown that wara instantiates a functional, discoursal projection MrvP in the left periphery of the sentence, articulating the feature [Mrv] at the PF-interface. LF-interface analyses demonstrate that [Mrv] on wara is interpretable/valued, while the counterpart on the subject DP that wara marks is uninterpretable/unvalued. Agree between wara and the subject DP creates a PF-chain wara>SubjectClitic>SubjectDP that results in the subject DP being marked with and interpreted mirativity at LF-interface. Further explorations show that movement of the subject DP across wara is only legitimised if the subject DP has a discourse, information structural feature beyond [Mrv]. Evidence for this claim comes from the fact that when wara marks the subject DP with mirativity, the subject DP remains in situ. Thus, on minimalist empirical groundings, movement is argued to be motivated by interpretive reasons beyond mirativity. Further analyses show that Agree between wara and subject is of mutual manner; wara u-[φ]-probes the subject goal, while the goal seeks valuation of u-[Mrv] on it (Alshamari 2017).

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-35
Author(s):  
Khalaf M.J. AlShammiry

To my knowledge, Left Branch Extraction (LBE) out of the Determiner Phrase (DP) is not previously attested in Modern Standard Arabic ( MSA) or any of the Arabic dialects. In Saudi Northern Region dialect of Arabic (SNRDA), the wh-degree question kam “how many/much” can appear at the left periphery of the clause leaving the noun and other postnominal modifiers in the base position, in both the subject and the object positions. In this paper, I will argue for a new perspective for the syntactic phenomenon LBE in which the extracted element is a full DP, not part of a DP as previous studies assume, that moves leaving the other DP in situ. That is to say, I will argue that there are two DPs in the argument position; one of those two DPs is the numeral and the other is all that comes after the numeral including the overt noun and its postnominal modifiers. It is only the wh-item kam “how many/how much”, which moves to the left periphery of the clause. My argument is supported, besides other things, by morpho-syntactic similarities between the numeral and the noun, for example both participating in topic and focus constructions and both use of pro-clitic h- and the use of the definite article al- “the” with other pre-nominal modifier like the quantifier kil “all” and baadh “some. This paper is unique in that it provides a new perspective on LBE in a dialect of Arabic which is rarely discussed.


Author(s):  
J. S. Maa ◽  
Thos. E. Hutchinson

The growth of Ag films deposited on various substrate materials such as MoS2, mica, graphite, and MgO has been investigated extensively using the in situ electron microscopy technique. The three stages of film growth, namely, the nucleation, growth of islands followed by liquid-like coalescence have been observed in both the vacuum vapor deposited and ion beam sputtered thin films. The mechanisms of nucleation and growth of silver films formed by ion beam sputtering on the (111) plane of silicon comprise the subject of this paper. A novel mode of epitaxial growth is observed to that seen previously.The experimental arrangement for the present study is the same as previous experiments, and the preparation procedure for obtaining thin silicon substrate is presented in a separate paper.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1505
Author(s):  
Ignacio Menéndez Pidal ◽  
Jose Antonio Mancebo Piqueras ◽  
Eugenio Sanz Pérez ◽  
Clemente Sáenz Sanz

Many of the large number of underground works constructed or under construction in recent years are in unfavorable terrains facing unusual situations and construction conditions. This is the case of the subject under study in this paper: a tunnel excavated in evaporitic rocks that experienced significant karstification problems very quickly over time. As a result of this situation, the causes that may underlie this rapid karstification are investigated and a novel methodology is presented in civil engineering where the use of saturation indices for the different mineral specimens present has been crucial. The drainage of the rock massif of El Regajal (Madrid-Toledo, Spain, in the Madrid-Valencia high-speed train line) was studied and permitted the in-situ study of the hydrogeochemical evolution of water flow in the Miocene evaporitic materials of the Tajo Basin as a full-scale testing laboratory, that are conforms as a whole, a single aquifer. The work provides a novel methodology based on the calculation of activities through the hydrogeochemical study of water samples in different piezometers, estimating the saturation index of different saline materials and the dissolution capacity of the brine, which is surprisingly very high despite the high electrical conductivity. The circulating brine appears unsaturated with respect to thenardite, mirabilite, epsomite, glauberite, and halite. The alteration of the underground flow and the consequent renewal of the water of the aquifer by the infiltration water of rain and irrigation is the cause of the hydrogeochemical imbalance and the modification of the characteristics of the massif. These modifications include very important loss of material by dissolution, altering the resistance of the terrain and the increase of the porosity. Simultaneously, different expansive and recrystallization processes that decrease the porosity of the massif were identified in the present work. The hydrogeochemical study allows the evolution of these phenomena to be followed over time, and this, in turn, may facilitate the implementation of preventive works in civil engineering.


2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-100
Author(s):  
Jason Kandybowicz ◽  
Bertille Baron Obi ◽  
Philip T. Duncan ◽  
Hironori Katsuda

Abstract This article provides a comprehensive treatment of the interrogative system of Ikpana (ISO 639-3: lgq), an endangered language spoken in the southeastern part of Ghana’s Volta region. The article features a description and analysis of both the morphosyntax and intonation of questions in the language. Polar questions in Ikpana are associated with dedicated prosodic patterns and may be segmentally marked. As for wh- interrogatives, Ikpana allows for optional wh- movement. Interrogative expressions may appear clause-internally in their base-generated positions or in the left periphery followed by one of two optionally droppable particles with distinct syntactic properties. In this way, wh- movement structures are either focus-marked constructions or cleft structures depending on the accompanying particle. We identify an interesting wh- movement asymmetry – unlike all other wh- movement structures, ‘how’ questions may not be formed via the focus-marked or cleft strategy. We document a number of other attested wh- structures in the language, including long-distance wh- movement, partial wh- movement, long-distance wh- in-situ, and multiple wh- questions. We argue that by allowing our documentation efforts to be shaped and guided by theoretically driven research questions, we reach deeper levels of description than would have been possible if approached from a purely descriptive-documentary perspective.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Cieślak-Kopyt ◽  
Dorota Pogodzińska

The subject of the monograph, published as the 10th volume of the Saved Archaeological Heritage series, are the results of rescue excavations on a cemetery from the period of Roman influence on the Vistula River near Magnuszew in southern Mazovia (Poland), carried out several years ago at the initiative of the Museum in Radom. This necropolis, like many similar ones throughout the country, was systematically destroyed as a result of agricultural activities, and in recent years also through illegal prospection with the use of metal detectors. Archaeologists, with the cooperation of numerous volunteers, managed to protect against further destruction about 60 graves (urned and urnless) from the period between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century CE. These are an evidence of the settlement of the region by people whose material traces are referred to in the archaeological nomenclature as the Przeworsk culture (associated mainly with the Germanic tribes). The cinerary graves were equipped with ceramics, metal parts of clothing, tools, less often weapons, glass beads, imported vessels or dice. Among the forms of graves, the so-called groove object stands out: a kind of rectangular grave feature tied with survival to the beginnings of our era of Celtic traditions, arriving here from northern Małopolska. In addition to the standard catalogue with the description of graves, pottery and small finds, and very detailed illustration plates, the monograph includes an analysis of material culture and forms of burial, photographs of selected finds and very extensive specialist reports. The latter include both osteological materials (anatomo-anthropological analysis, analysis of animal bones placed in the graves), as well as other ecofacts and individual categories of furnishings (glass, faience, iron and bronze objects). The whole is complemented by clear plans with the location of graves and artifacts in the necropolises, as well as with the results of non-invasive research going far beyond the excavated area and of key importance for further in situ protection of this extremely valuable monument.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 2077-2091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabina Assan ◽  
Alexia Baudic ◽  
Ali Guemri ◽  
Philippe Ciais ◽  
Valerie Gros ◽  
...  

Abstract. Due to increased demand for an understanding of CH4 emissions from industrial sites, the subject of cross sensitivities caused by absorption from multiple gases on δ13CH4 and C2H6 measured in the near-infrared spectral domain using CRDS has become increasingly important. Extensive laboratory tests are presented here, which characterize these cross sensitivities and propose corrections for the biases they induce. We found methane isotopic measurements to be subject to interference from elevated C2H6 concentrations resulting in heavier δ13CH4 by +23.5 ‰ per ppm C2H6 ∕ ppm CH4. Measured C2H6 is subject to absorption interference from a number of other trace gases, predominantly H2O (with an average linear sensitivity of 0.9 ppm C2H6 per  % H2O in ambient conditions). Yet, this sensitivity was found to be discontinuous with a strong hysteresis effect and we suggest removing H2O from gas samples prior to analysis. The C2H6 calibration factor was calculated using a GC and measured as 0.5 (confirmed up to 5 ppm C2H6). Field tests at a natural gas compressor station demonstrated that the presence of C2H6 in gas emissions at an average level of 0.3 ppm shifted the isotopic signature by 2.5 ‰, whilst after calibration we find that the average C2H6 : CH4 ratio shifts by +0.06. These results indicate that, when using such a CRDS instrument in conditions of elevated C2H6 for CH4 source determination, it is imperative to account for the biases discussed within this study.


Author(s):  
Frances Blanchette ◽  
Chris Collins

AbstractThis article presents a novel analysis ofNegative Auxiliary Inversion(NAI) constructions such asdidn't many people eat, in which a negated auxiliary appears in pre-subject position. NAI, found in varieties including Appalachian, African American, and West Texas English, has a word order identical to a yes/no question, but is pronounced and interpreted as a declarative. We propose that NAI subjects are negative DPs, and that the negation raises from the subject DP to adjoin to Fin (a functional head in the left periphery). Three properties of NAI motivate this analysis: (i) scope freezing effects, (ii) the various possible and impossible NAI subject types, and (iii) the incompatibility of NAI constructions with true Double-Negation interpretations. Implications for theories of Negative Concord, Negative Polarity Items, and the representation of negation are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Véronique Balland ◽  
Mickaël Mateos ◽  
Kenneth D. Harris ◽  
Benoit Limoges

<p>Rechargeable aqueous aluminium batteries are the subject of growing interest, but the charge storage mechanisms at manganese oxide-based cathodes remain poorly understood with as many mechanisms as studies. Here, we use an original <i>in situ</i> spectroelectrochemical methodology to unambiguously demonstrate that the reversible proton-coupled MnO<sub>2</sub>-to-Mn<sup>2+</sup> conversion is the main charge storage mechanism occurring at MnO<sub>2</sub> cathodes over a range of slightly acidic Al<sup>3+</sup>-based aqueous electrolytes. In Zn/MnO<sub>2</sub> assemblies, this mechanism is associated with high gravimetric capacity and discharge potentials, up to 560 mAh·g<sup>-1</sup> and 1.76 V respectively, attractive efficiencies (<i>CE</i> > 98.5 % and <i>EE</i> > 80%) and excellent cyclability (> 750 cycles at 10 A·g<sup>-1</sup>). Finally, we conducted a critical analysis of the data previously published on MnO<sub>x</sub> cathodes in Al<sup>3+</sup>-based aqueous electrolytes to conclude on a universal charge storage mechanism, <i>i.e.</i>, the reversible electrodissolution/electrodeposition of MnO<sub>2</sub>.<i></i></p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sedigheh Aghayari

Abstract In recent years piezoelectric nanogenerators, due to their more durability in high dust or humidity are more attractive than triboelectric ones. So, increasing their outputs is the subject of much researches. I focused on electrodes of the acoustic nanofibers nanogenerators for the first time. Here, I introduced a new electrode that is cheaper and does not result in lower outputs. Here for the first time graphene spin-coated ink was used for polyacrylonitrile-based acoustic nanogenerator. The results of the tests compared with the in-situ synthesis of nickel nanoparticles on the layer and using graphene spin-coated screen ink and conductive tapes. Finally, producing sound by this graphene ink was done too.


Development ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 121 (5) ◽  
pp. 1263-1272 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Maves ◽  
G. Schubiger

Drosophila imaginal discs, the precursors of the adult fly appendages, have been the subject of intensive developmental studies, particularly on cell determination. Cultured disc fragments are recognized not only for the ability to maintain their determined state through extra cell divisions but also for the ability to transdetermine, or switch to the determined state of a different disc. An understanding of transdetermination at a molecular level will provide further insight into the requirements for maintaining cell determination. We find that ectopic expression of the Drosophila gene wingless induces transdetermination of foreleg imaginal disc cells to wing cells. This transdetermination occurs in foreleg discs of developing larvae without disc fragmentation. The in situ-transdetermining cells localize to the dorsal region of the foreleg disc. This wingless-induced transdetermination event is remarkably similar to the leg-to-wing switch that occurs after leg disc culture. Thus we have identified a new approach to a molecular dissection of transdetermination.


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