Is Passive Priming Really Impervious to Verb Semantics? A High-Powered Replication of Messenger Et al. (2012)

The aim of the present study was to conduct a particularly stringent pre-registered in-vestigation of the claim that there exists a level of linguistic representation that “includes syntactic category information but not semantic information” (Branigan & Pickering, 2017: 8). As a test case, we focussed on the English passive; a construction for which previous findings have been somewhat contradictory. On the one hand, several studies using different methodologies have found an advantage for theme-experiencer passives (e.g., The girl was shocked by the tiger; and also agent-patient passives; e.g., The girl was hit by the tiger) over experiencer-theme passives (e.g., The girl was ignored by the tiger). On the other hand, Messenger et al. (2012) found no evidence that theme-experiencer and experiencer-theme passives vary in their propensity to prime production of agent-patient passives. We therefore conducted an online replication of Messen-ger et al (2012) with a pre-registered appropriately powered sample (N=240). Although a large and significant priming effect (i.e., an effect of prime sentence type) was ob-served, a Bayesian analysis yielded only weak/anecdotal evidence (BF=2.11) for the crucial interaction of verb type by prime type; a finding that was robust to different coding and exclusion decisions, operationalizations of verb semantics (dichoto-mous/continuous), analysis frameworks (Bayesian/frequentist) and – as per a mixed-effects-multiverse analyses – random effects structures. Nevertheless, these findings do no not provide evidence for the absence of semantic effects (as has been argued for the findings of Messenger et al, 2012). We conclude that these and related findings are best explained by a model that includes both lexical, exemplar-level representations and rep-resentations at multiple higher levels of abstraction.

Semantic and Syntactic Processing During Comprehension: ERP Evidence From Chinese QING Structure

Previous studies used BA and BEI structures as stimuli to infer that syntax-first models seemed not applicable in Chinese. However, there were inconsistent results of both within same structures and between different structures. Since sentence structures of stimuli were non-canonical as well as lacking wide representativeness in Chinese, we examined the processing mechanism of a more representative structure in Chinese, QING (QING + NP1 + V + NP2) structure in the current study. Four conditions, including correct sentences (CORRECT), semantic-violated sentences (SEMANTIC), syntactic-violated sentences (SYNTACTIC), and combined violated sentences (COMBINED), were composed by manipulating the V between NP1 and NP2. Results with respect to three types of violation were as follows. In the initial phrase (100–300 ms), there existed an interaction between SEMANTIC consistency and the SYNTACTIC category. In the intermediate phrase (300–500 ms), the interaction continued with similar negative waves evoked by three types of violated sentences. In the final phrase (500–700 ms), both SYNTACTIC or COMBINED evoked obvious negative waves. The current research of Qing structure provided new evidence for the processing mechanism of Chinese sentence patterns. Specifically, we found that the interactive model rather than the syntax-first model may apply to the processing of this specific structure of Chinese sentences and compared the results with those reported in previous studies that examined other types of sentence structures.

Syntax as a Language Ontology

In our opinion, * `logical basis` and *` syntactic basis` are incorrect from a cognitive point of view. The subjunctive is a syntactic category and the qualification `logical` is an oxymoron, or at least a dissonance. In logic, the category is the subject. And since the subjunctive is the syntactic category, even more disturbing is the tautological * `syntactic subjunctive`. The article substantiates the cognitive reading of the substratum. What is new is the derivation of linguistic ontology as a category of the cognitive method in syntax, of cognitive syntax.

DP, NP, or neither? Contours of an unresolved debate

Glossa’s Special Collection New perspectives on the NP/DP debate brings together syntactic analyses of various phenomena of complex nominals, shedding light on the central problem of their syntactic category label. In this paper, we survey arguments and analyses offered in the Special Collection, classifying their underlying assumptions and highlighting their relevance to syntactic theory more generally.

Die Präposition „auf” als Verkettungskomponente

The article presents the idea of examining the preposition auf ‘on’ from the generative perspective, in which the preposition is understood as an elementary unit of the mental lexicon (lexical array) without a syntactic category. The unit auf ‘on’ is treated as a phonological segment to which a corresponding syntactic category is assigned in the selected syntactic context. The syntactic processing system ensures the correct assignment through correct decoding from auf ‘on’ by concatenating various grammatical features with different functions and meanings. The article analyses the unit auf ‘on’ in terms of concatenation properties in the syntactic process of sentence generation in German.

The functions of the dative in the Jewish Arabic dialect of Baghdad

Like in Classical Arabic and other modern Arabic dialects, the preposition l- marks the dative also in the Jewish Arabic dialect of Baghdad (JB). Under the scope of the syntactic category of dative, one finds different semantic roles like recipients, benefactives, possessors, experiencers, and others. Moreover, some datives operate on the pragmatic rather than the semantic level of the clause. This paper defines and exemplifies seven different dative roles in JB based on their interpretive properties and accounts for their distinctive syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic features.

Coordinate structures without syntactic categories

The issue of the syntactic category of unlike-category coordination has been elusive for decades, with a plethora of proposals, all deficient in one way or another. This chapter proposes to broaden the perspective and consider disjunctive constraints which are not limited to syntactic categories, but which also take into consideration morphosyntactic and lexical properties. Przepiórkowski and Patejuk present an account in which syntactic categories are encoded in functional-structures and all constraints on syntactic positions uniformly refer to functional-structures only. On this solution, the issue of syntactic categories of coordinate structures is void: same category coordinations have—via the definition of distributive properties—the same category as that of all the conjuncts, while unlike-category coordinations do not need—and, on this proposal, do not have—syntactic categories on top of the different categories of their conjuncts.

SYNTACTIC TIME AND POETIC TEXT

Монография Т.Е. Шаповаловой посвящена осмыслению категории синтаксическое время. Время как синтаксическая категория и обязательный компонент предикативности исследуется на материале поэтического текста, в котором все грамматические элементы преображаются. В частности, синтаксемы и субстантивные обороты – носители временнóй семантики получают дополнительные субъективно-модальные оттенки, событийные коннотации, сопутствующие созначения (пространственные, условные и др.). Рассматриваются также такие принципиальные для понимания синтаксической проблемы времени теоретические вопросы, как абсолютное и относительное время, временнáя определенность и временнáя неопределенность, предикативные свойства синтаксемы, субстантивного оборота и др. Monograph by prof. T.E. Shapovalova is devoted to understanding of the category of syntactic time. Time as a syntactic category and an obligatory component of predicativity is considered on the material of a poetic text, in which all grammatical elements are transformed - in particular syntaxemes as the carriers of temporal semantics receive additional subjective-modal shades, event connotations, and accompanying connotations (spatial, conditional, etc.). We also considered such fundamental for understanding of the syntactic problem of time as absolute and relative time, temporal definiteness and temporal uncertainty, predicative properties of substantive turnover, etc.

Fungsi, Peran, dan Kategori Sintaksis Bahasa Indonesia dalam kalimat Berita dan Kalimat Seruan pada Naskah Pidato Bung Karno 17 Agustus 1945

The manuscript of Bung Karno's speech on August 17, 1945 is an example of the use of Indonesian in official documents and state speeches so that the sentences in them are good to analyze. There are many syntactic symptoms found in it that are interesting to study, including the structure of descriptive sentences and imperative sentences which can be analyzed based on the functions, roles, and syntactic categories of Indonesian. This research consists of two problems, namely (1) regarding the functions, roles, and syntactic categories of news sentences in Bung Karno's speech on August 17, 1945, (2) regarding the functions, roles, and syntactic categories of exclamatory sentences in Bung Karno's speeches on August 17, 1945. This study aims to describe the types of functions, roles, and syntactic categories of news sentences and exclamations of Bung Karno's speech on August 17, 1945. The research method used is descriptive qualitative research method. Data collection was carried out using the note-taking technique and data analysis using content analysis techniques. The results of this study found that syntactic functions include subject, predicate, object, description, and complement; the roles that are found are as actors, tools, and experiences occupying the function of the subject; and categories include pronouns, nouns, transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, adverbial phrases, verbal phrases, nominal phrases, prepositional phrases, adjective phrases, and numeral phrases. From this research, it can be seen that one sentence can contain more than one type of function, role, and syntactic category. This research is expected to show the functions, roles, and syntactic categories in declarative and imperative sentences in Bung Karno's speech on August 17, 1945, which is the speech of the proclamation of Indonesian independence.