Some temporal expressions in early Southern Min play scripts

Drawing on the data in early Southern Min play scripts, this paper explores temporal expressions—in particular temporal adverbials—which bear on the issues of their grammatical categories and syntactic placement. Considerable space is devoted to clarifying two kinds of distinctions of temporal adverbials on the strength of attested examples. A distinction is made between deictic temporal adverbials and determiner phrase-derived temporal adverbials. Similarly, durative adverbials are shown to behave differently from punctual adverbials. Finally, I argue that the metonymic semantic shift of deictic temporal adverbials denoting tomorrow and yesterday/the day before yesterday is grounded in the constraint of proximity to the deictic center of today in connection with the backdrop of diachronic development.

The Kid’s Kid(’s) Bed: Generic or Possessive? A Mandarin Insight

The recursive computational mechanism generates an infinite range of expressions. However, little is known about how different concepts interact with each other within recursive structures. The current study investigated how Mandarin-speaking children dealt with possessives and generics in recursive structures. The picture-matching task showed that Mandarin-speaking children 4 to 6 had a bias for generics in ambiguous possessive constructions in Mandarin, where the genitive maker was covert (e.g., Yuehan de baobao chuang John’s kid bed, where baobao chuang kid bed has both a generic interpretation and a referential interpretation). It was found that that Mandarin-speaking children below 6 had a non-recursive interpretation of the possessive John’s kid(’s) bed, and instead understand kid’s bed to refer generically to a type of bed. This finding suggests that semantics does not parallel syntax in the acquisition of indirect recursion, in line with the prediction of the generic-as-default hypothesis which claims that generics are the default mode of representation of ambiguous statements when the statement can be either generic or non-generic. The delayed recursive possessive interpretation suggests that the full determiner phrase is acquired later than a noun phrase modification, which is universal in all languages. We also discuss the role of the overt functional category in the acquisition of indirect recursion.

Clause Structure and Word Order in Ákè

Ákè is by historical and linguistic facts a dialect of Edo which has not received significant linguistic attention. This neglect informs an inquiry into the in ternal structure and organization of its basic clause. This paper studies data of everyday usage of competent speakers of Ákè and argues that it displays a subject-verb-object order. The study provides a not too elaborate description of the nominal and verbal constructions in Ákè and reduces the description to analysis using the X-bar theory as conceived within the Minimalist Program. It therefore states that nominal phrases can be analysed as a projection of Determiner Phrase (DP) because independent existence is not a requirement for considering an element as the head of a projection. The variable position which the head D occupies in the superficial syntax of Ákè is analysed as the effect of movement for feature checking. In the spirit of the Minimalist Program, this study recognizes the head of the clause as Tense (T), which could be overt or null and predicts that it dominates Negative Phrase (NegP) as Neg is assumed to c-select the Verb Phrase (VP).

Non-inflectional plural in yucatec maya

This chapter examines the morphosyntactic properties of optional, non-inflectional plural marking in Yucatec Maya. Evidence is presented that suggests that the non-inflectional plural in Yucatec Maya adjoins to the Determiner Phrase rather than heading the Number Phrase as in better-known languages. Plural marking cannot occur inside of compounds, derivational morphology, or on a prenominal adjective. Additionally, it can adjoin to the second linear noun of a conjoined noun phrase and modify either or both of the conjuncts. The results of a sentence production experiment with speakers of Yucatec Maya are summarized and provide additional support for the Determiner Phrase–adjoined hypothesis. The Yucatec Maya facts are discussed in the wider context of cross-linguistic variation in the typology of plural marking and the implications for linguistic theory and models of language processing.

The Syntax of Multiple Determination in Arabic: An anti- residual relative clause/close-apposition account

This paper aims to give an account of the multiple determination (determiner spreading) phenomenon in Arabic. Determiner spreading is the syntactic representation and phonological realization of multiple determiners within the same determiner phrase. As a cross-linguistic phenomenon, determiner spreading has been investigated in other languages (e.g., Scandinavian and Greek); different accounts have been proposed. For Scandinavian languages, determiner spreading has been analyzed as a representation of different semantic interpretations. As far as Greek is concerned, some analyses have been proposed; however, two prominent ones have received considerable attention in the literature: (i) a residue of a reduced relative clause and (ii) an instantiation of close appositions. Contrary to those analyses, this paper claims that none of the two analyses is suitable for Arabic; thus, a language-specific analysis is required. To analyze determiner spreading in Arabic, the current paper posits the following research question: What is the linguistic purpose of the multiple determiners found in Arabic determiner phrases? Answering the research question, the paper claims that, in addition to its indispensable role in establishing agreement between nouns and adjectives within the Arabic determiner phrase, determiner spreading demarcates syntactic and semantic phrase boundaries. The paper takes Minimalist Program and Distributed Morphology as a theoretical framework to argue that attributive adjectives are projection of an agreement phrase headed by the definite article ʔal or by the indefinite phonological marker `nunation: -n’. This proposal requires no syntactic movements in the syntax proper. The ultimate linear order is achieved in the phonological components.

The Syntax of Multiple Determination in Arabic: An anti- residual relative clause/close-apposition account

This paper aims to give an account of the multiple determination (determiner spreading) phenomenon in Arabic. Determiner spreading is the syntactic representation and phonological realization of multiple determiners within the same determiner phrase. As a cross-linguistic phenomenon, determiner spreading has been investigated in other languages (e.g., Scandinavian and Greek); different accounts have been proposed. For Scandinavian languages, determiner spreading has been analyzed as a representation of different semantic interpretations. As far as Greek is concerned, some analyses have been proposed; however, two prominent ones have received considerable attention in the literature: (i) a residue of a reduced relative clause and (ii) an instantiation of close appositions. Contrary to those analyses, this paper claims that none of the two analyses is suitable for Arabic; thus, a language-specific analysis is required. To analyze determiner spreading in Arabic, the current paper posits the following research question: What is the linguistic purpose of the multiple determiners found in Arabic determiner phrases? Answering the research question, the paper claims that, in addition to its indispensable role in establishing agreement between nouns and adjectives within the Arabic determiner phrase, determiner spreading demarcates syntactic and semantic phrase boundaries. The paper takes Minimalist Program and Distributed Morphology as a theoretical framework to argue that attributive adjectives are projection of an agreement phrase headed by the definite article ʔal or by the indefinite phonological marker `nunation: -n’. This proposal requires no syntactic movements in the syntax proper. The ultimate linear order is achieved in the phonological components.

APPLICATION OF LABELING ALGORITHM TO AWGNI SENTENCES CLASSIFIED BY THEIR STRUCTURE

Awgni is spoken by more than one million people in a widespread area in northwest Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to apply Labeling Algorithm {XP, YP} to examine Syntactic Object representations found in Awgni sentences contained by their structure. A descriptive design and purposive sampling technique were used to look at research objective. Tools used during collecting data were interview and focused group discussion. The finding showed that simple sentence structures of Awgni have no more than one Verbal head. On the other hand, compound, complex and compound complex sentence may perhaps have two and more verbal heads in their hierarchical structures. Sentences in terms of their outward appearances, structure, syntactic entity expressions they enclose were dissimilar. Thus, every sentence structure has phrasal categories that include Determiner Phrase (DP), Prepositional phrase (PP), Noun Phrase (NP), Adverb Phrase (ADVP), Verb Phrase (VP) and Adjective Phrase (AP). As a final point, it is suggested that a further research on how Labeling Algorithm {XP, H} and {X, Y} applies to examine Syntactic Object representations found within simple, compound, complex and compound complex sentences of Awgni. Keywords: Awgni, Labeling Algorithm, syntactic object, sentence PENERAPAN LABEL ALGORITMA DALAM KLASIFIKASI STRUKTUR KALIMAT BAHASA AWGNIAbstrak Awgni dituturkan oleh sekitar satu juta orang di daerah yang tersebar luas di barat laut Ethiopia. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menerapkan Labeling Algorithm {XP, YP} untuk menguji representasi Objek Sintaksis yang terdapat pada kalimat Awgni yang dikandung oleh strukturnya. Desain deskriptif dan teknik purposive sampling digunakan untuk melihat tujuan penelitian. Alat yang digunakan selama pengumpulan data adalah wawancara dan diskusi kelompok terfokus. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa struktur kalimat sederhana Awgni tidak lebih dari satu kepala Verbal. Di sisi lain, kalimat majemuk, kompleks, dan majemuk mungkin memiliki dua atau lebih kepala verbal. Kalimat dalam hal penampilan luar, struktur, ekspresi entitas sintaksis yang mereka lampirkan tidak sama. Dengan demikian, setiap struktur kalimat memiliki kategori frasa yang meliputi Determiner Phrase (DP), Prepositional phrase (PP), Noun Phrase (NP), Adverb Phrase (ADVP), Verb Phrase (VP) dan Adjective Phrase (AP). Sebagai poin akhir, direkomendasikan untuk penelitian lebih lanjut tentang bagaimana Labeling Algorithm {XP, H} dan {X, Y} berlaku untuk memeriksa Objek Sintaksis yang ditemukan dalam kalimat sederhana, majemuk, kompleks dan kompleks majemuk dari Awgni. Kata kunci: Awgni, label algoritma, objek sintakis, kalimat

Kanuri DP Hypothesis: A Minimalist Approach

This paper examines the structure of Kanuri DP (structure) Hypothesis within the framework of Abney (1987) and Chomsky (1995) Minimalist Programme (MP). In conducting the research, the researcher uses his native speaker intuition and other three competent native speakers of Kanuri to validate the data of this study. The study identifies Kanuri determiners as post head modifier language. The study identifies also two types of demonstrative modifiers –near and far demonstratives. The near demonstratives agree with their head nouns while the far demonstratives take both singular and plural head nouns. The far demonstratives do not show any form of agreement morphology between the nouns and their demonstrative modifiers. The analysis of DP Hypothesis shows the NP complement moves to the specifier position in the surface syntax which give rise to complement-head (C-H) order. The study further analyzes possessives, demonstratives and quantifiers under the DP hypothesis. The outcome of the study reveals that possessive determiner ‘nde’ (our) is base generated at the possessive position, moves and fills the D position under the DP in Kanuri while the far demonstrative ‘tudu’ (that) is also base generated at the Dem. Position of the determiner phrase (DP) -hence the D position is strong head position moves and fills the D position and the noun ‘fato’ (house) moves to the specifier position of the determiner phrase (DP) in order to check agreement feature in Kanuri.