The integration of languages and society

This chapter discusses traditional small-scale multilingualism in Southern New Guinea (SNG), in connection with the expression of possession in one of the languages spoken here: Idi. SNG is a high diversity region with many languages and families attested, and individuals tend to be highly multilingual. Throughout the area, patterns of language contact are grounded in established cultural practices of intermarriage. A system of symmetrical sister exchange produces many linguistically exogamous marriages. Children from such marriages usually acquire both their father’s (their primary or “emblematic” language of identification) and their mother’s language. Other languages are picked up from other family members and as people travel within the region or further afield for education, work or church activities. Practices of receptive multilingualism are widely reported. Idi has two types of possessive pronoun, termed “close” and “distant” possessive. Which type of possessive is used appears to be driven partly by semantics, based on alienability, and partly by pragmatics. The chapter looks specifically at how Idi speakers use possessives in the context of discussing the languages they speak. The linguistic landscape of the region is reflected in Idi, in the ways that possessive forms are used to refer to the different languages speakers acquire during their lifetime.

Проявление межъязыковой интерференции в речевых ошибках венгерских студентов: выражение посессивных отношений

Cross-linguistic interference in Hungarian students’ language mistakes: representation of possessiveness. The article deals with grammatical mistakes associated with representation of possessiveness in the Russian written language of students speaking Hungarian as their native language. There are differences in representations of the possessive relation in two languages such as absence of personal possessive suffixation of names, absence of an indicator of absolute possession, the limited use of the Hungarian possessive pronouns in comparison with the Russian ones. All these form a basis for interference and cause the following mistakes: the excessive use of a possessive pronoun, nondistinction of possession and belonging meanings, wrong choice of the possessive means when expressing procedurality and locality, the excessive use of an incoordinate possessor in the form of the genitive case. Revealing of typical mistakes is aimed at their timely prevention, as well as the development of exercises to correct them.

Binding Relations and Their Implications for Word Order in Arabic

This study aims at investigating the distribution of the possessive pronouns in Modern Standard Arabic. It shows that when the possessive pronouns are used as reflexives they have implications for the word order. The different positions occupied by the objects are determined by the presence of these pronouns and the binding relations within the c-commanding domain. Building on the basic assumptions of Binding Theory, possessive pronouns are best treated as normal pronominal elements which are subject to condition B. However, when they are used as anaphoric elements in certain contexts, they have to be c-commanded by their antecedents. Depending on the derivational level at which c-command relation is established between the reflexive possessive pronoun and its antecedent, movement of the possessive pronoun along with the phrase containing is optional in certain structures or, in other structures, the pronoun becomes frozen in the position in which it is base-generated.

The male bias of a generically-intended masculine pronoun: Evidence from eye-tracking and sentence evaluation

Two experiments tested whether the Dutch possessive pronoun zijn ‘his’ gives rise to a gender inference and thus causes a male bias when used generically in sentences such as Everyone was putting on his shoes. Experiment 1 (N = 120, 48 male) was a conceptual replication of a previous eye-tracking study that had not found evidence of a male bias. The results of the current eye-tracking experiment showed the generically-intended masculine pronoun to trigger a gender inference and cause a male bias, but for male participants and in stereotypically neutral stereotype contexts only. No evidence for a male bias was thus found in stereotypically female and male context nor for female participants altogether. Experiment 2 (N = 80, 40 male) used the same stimuli as Experiment 1, but employed the sentence evaluation paradigm. No evidence of a male bias was found in Experiment 2. Taken together, the results suggest that the generically-intended masculine pronoun zijn ‘his’ can cause a male bias for male participants even when the referents are previously introduced by inclusive and grammatically gender-unmarked iedereen ‘everyone’. This male bias surfaces with eye-tracking, which taps directly into early language processing, but not in offline sentence evaluations. Furthermore, the results suggest that the intended generic reading of the masculine possessive pronoun zijn ‘his’ is more readily available for women than for men.

Licensing of nominal ellipsis in Hungarian possessives

We argue, based on novel data, that the possessor head (Poss) can license ellipsis of its complement in Hungarian. That is, contra existing claims in the literature, possessor morphology can survive nominal ellipsis and be stranded on the remnant. Adopting Saab & Lipták (2016)’s of ellipsis licensing, we propose that there is variation in the size of the ellipsis site in Hungarian: nominal ellipsis can be licensed by either Num or Poss. We further propose that nominal ellipsis licensed by Poss can capture a previously unanalyzed variation in the Hungarian possessive pronoun paradigm. Specifically, the two variants of possessive pronouns correspond to two different structures: one is the anaphoric possessive (see Dékány 2015), while the other exists only as a consequence of nominal ellipsis, which, as we show, is a productive possibility.

Genre Parametrization of Receipt in the Middle 18th Century (With Reference to “Mikhailovsky Stanitsa Ataman” Archive)

The relevance of the study is determined by the need to create linguistic corpora of historical sources – the acts and other documents of limited accessibility, which are stored in regional archives. The material for the work was the fund of Mikhailovsky village ataman of the State Archive of the Volgograd Region (SAVR, fund 332). The variety of genres, the documents of the fund belong to, determines elaboration of criteria for their genre parameterization aimed at their automatic identification. Thus, parametrization of receipts dating back to 1752 and 1753 has been carried out in the article. In the system of Cossack Don Host area administrative communication, the receipts are noted to have been assertive documents, which conveyed official and personal information. The speech means of expressing genre parameters determined by the communicative situation and correlated with the document form are identified: name, addresser, addressee, function, structure, the type of transmitted information, spatio-temporal localization of the document. The variability of speech embodiment of the receipt form is shown. The genre speech markers, significant for meta-marking, include: the self-name of the document in combination with a demonstrative or possessive pronoun (сию расписку / this receipt); verb forms expressing an alleged action; addresser's signature, regarded as a document identification marker. The set of markers relevant for meta-marking might be extended, conditioned by the range of sources growth and contrasting the receipts with the documents of some other genres.

Het verlies van een persoonlijk voornaamwoord* : Waarom hun straks geen hun meer zeggen

The loss of a personal pronoun. Why they will not be saying hun anymoreThe personal pronoun hun ‘them’ meets a lot of criticism in Dutch society, not just from language purists, but from language users in general. This can be attributed to a strong mistrust of the pronoun, given that it is well-known for violating no less than two prescriptive rules, one of which prohibits its use as a subject, and the other its use as a direct object or complement of a preposition. This has resulted in a tendency to avoid the use of this personal pronoun across the board. Despite the fact that hun ‘them’ as a personal pronoun has the advantage of exclusively referring to animate or even human individuals, I argue that it is fighting a losing battle with the other personal pronouns that are used to express third person plural. I conclude that it will withdraw from the competition in order to commit itself entirely to its function as a possessive pronoun ‘their’, in which capacity it is unique.

Production and comprehension of pronouns in individuals with autism: A meta-analysis and systematic review

This study compared pronoun use in individuals with autism to their typically developing peers via meta-analysis and systematic review of 20 selected articles to examine differences in overall pronoun usage as well as in personal, ambiguous, possessive, reflexive, and clitic pronoun usage. Summary effects indicated significant differences between individuals with autism and their typically developing peers in the use of pronouns overall as well as in ambiguous, clitic, and reflexive pronoun usage, but not in personal and possessive pronoun usage. Results indicate wide variation in the way individuals with autism use pronouns, and individual outcomes appeared to be moderated by multiple factors, including cognitive ability, first language, and overall language development. Implications and recommendations for assessment and intervention practices are discussed. Lay abstract This research compared pronoun use in individuals with autism and typically developing peers. Meta-analysis and systematic review of 20 selected articles were used to determine whether significant differences existed in the use of pronouns overall as well as in personal, ambiguous, possessive, reflexive, and clitic pronoun usage. Summary effects indicated significant differences between individuals with autism and their typically developing peers in the use of pronouns overall as well as in ambiguous, clitic, and reflexive pronoun usage, but not in personal and possessive pronoun usage. Results indicate wide variation in the way individuals with autism use pronouns. Since individual outcomes appear to be moderated by multiple factors, including cognitive ability, first language, and overall language development, it is recommended these be considered in assessment and treatment.