An experimental and distributional investigation of two ‘non-culminating accomplishments’ in Mandarin

The result-state lexicalization behavior of Mandarin monomorphemic transitive verbs have been claimed to be homogenous, with the vast majority contributing to ‘non-culminating’ readings in accomplishment predicates. This paper presents experimental and distributional case studies of verbs expected to challenge this claim: xiu ‘fix’ and sha ‘kill’. An experiment was conducted to examine how contextual factors influence result-state interpretation, given reports of highly variable judgments for these verbs when considered a-contextually. The results suggests that while xiu NP ‘fix NP’ is a true non-culminating accomplishment, sha NP ‘kill NP’ may lexicalize a result-state culmination, contra claims in prior work. These experimental findings are supported by the distribution of the verbs in Mandarin VV compounds, which suggest that xiu ‘fix’ is a manner verb (thereby not lexicalizing result-state culmination), while sha ‘kill’ is a result verb (lexicalizing result-state culmination). This study not only highlights the benefit of considering how contextual factors influence interpretations of verbal meaning, but it could also suggest that claims of the pervasiveness of non-culminating accomplishments in Mandarin are exaggerated.

The German Version of the State Adult Attachment Measure (SAAM)

This study examined the structure, reliability, and validity of a German version of the State Adult Attachment Measure (SAAM) by Gillath and colleagues ( Gillath et al., 2009 ). A satisfactory fit was found for the hypothesized three-factor model (comparative fit index = .840; RMSEA = .071 with 95% CI = .063, .079). The German SAAM subscales showed high internal consistency. Convergent and discriminant validity supported the state interpretation of the subscale scores. Furthermore, German SAAM scores explained variance in outcomes of mental health and well-being over and beyond trait attachment with the Security subscale accounting for most of the variance. One-week test–retest reliability did not differ from a trait attachment measure (Experiences in Close Relationship Scale). The DE-SAAM could capture fluctuations in Security scores induced by a security prime ( p = .007, d = 0.49). No effect of the prime condition (security vs. neutral) was found on Anxiety and Avoidance. Further research is needed to examine the validity of the state interpretation of all DE-SAAM subscale scores.

On the semantics of the Japanese infinitive/gerund-clause constructions: Polysemy and temporal constraints

The Japanese infinitive-clause construction (InfCx) and gerund-clause construction (GerCx), which are the most basic subordination structures (considered as coordination structures by some) in the language, may convey a wide range of interclausal semantic relations, including ‘temporal sequence’, ‘cause’, and ‘manner’, largely due to pragmatic enrichment. This work addresses the question of what the core meaning(s) of the two constructions is (are), and demonstrates (i) that the InfCx and GerCx indicate either that the first-clause eventuality precedes or temporally subsumes the second-clause eventuality or that the two clauses stand in the rhetorical relation of contrast, and (ii) that the GerCx has a distinct sense that the InfCx lacks, which gives rise to the ‘resulting state’ interpretation.