La Syntaxe Et L'Interprétation Des Questions Coordonnées,
2019
The University of Western Ontario
La Syntaxe Et L'Interprétation Des Questions Coordonnées, Mikalai Kliashchuk
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
Cette thèse traite des questions coordonnées dans les langues slaves et en roumain. Nous considérons trois approches proposées dans la littérature (approche monopropositionnelle, approche à écluse, approche mixte à structures multidominantes) et concluons que l’analyse en termes des structures multidominantes de Citko et Gračanin-Yuksek (2013) est la meilleure à rendre compte des interrogatives coordonnées à travers les langues. Nous montrons que la seule structure nécessaire pour dériver les interrogatives coordonnées dans toutes les langues slaves et en roumain est la structure multidominante de partage en gros. Cette structure est disponible uniquement dans les langues au mouvement-QU multiple. Elle implique un …
Mandarin -Guo Under Control: An Experimental Study,
2019
West Virginia University
Mandarin -Guo Under Control: An Experimental Study, Wei Zhou
Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports
This thesis examines the experiential aspectual marker -guo under control in Mandarin. The status of -guo under control has been a subject of controversy, involving two important theoretical questions. The first question concerns whether -guo under control is syntactically associated with the matrix verb or the embedded verb. The second question deals with whether, in terms of interpretive effects, -guo under control triggers actuality entailments. This thesis addresses the latter question through an interpretive judgment test conducted among 260 native Mandarin speakers. In the test, three control verbs (changshi ‘try’, guli ‘encourage’, and zuzhi ‘oppose’) were selected, each of …
Non-Manual Articulators In Irish Sign Language Verbs: An Analysis With Data Mining Association Rules,
2018
Technological University Dublin
Non-Manual Articulators In Irish Sign Language Verbs: An Analysis With Data Mining Association Rules, Robert G. Smith, Markus Hofmann
Conference Papers
The Signs of Ireland (SOI) corpus (Leeson et al., 2006) deploys a complex multi-tiered temporal data structure. The process of manually analyzing such data is laborious, cannot eliminate bias and often, important patterns can go completely unnoticed. In addition to this, as a result of the complex nature of grammatical structures contained in the corpus, identifying complex linguistic associations or patterns across tiers is simply too intricate a task for a human to carry out in an acceptable timeframe. This work explores the application of data mining techniques on a set of multi-tiered temporal data from the SOI corpus. Building …
The Head-Quarters Of Mandarin Arguments,
2018
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The Head-Quarters Of Mandarin Arguments, Hsin-Lun Huang
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation looks at the syntactic distributions of various Mandarin arguments and develops an argument structure that takes into account the arguments’ semantic types. Theories of argument realization mostly build on a one-to-one correspondence between the syntactic positions of arguments and the thematic relations they bear to the verb in the underlying structure. And this correspondence is rooted in the assumption that the argument positions in the verb’s projection must be saturated before other semantic compositions can take place. This dissertation argues that the saturation requirement can be alleviated, depending on whether languages make a morphological distinction in their syntax. …
Typology Of Bizarre Ellipsis Varieties,
2018
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Typology Of Bizarre Ellipsis Varieties, David Erschler
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation deals with the typology and analysis of several types of ellipsis that have received little or no attention so far in the literature. The theoretical goal of the dissertation is to propose analyses of sluicing and gapping that will be able to account for cross-linguistic variation in this domain. While the overall approach of the dissertation is typological, a particular focus is made upon data from Russian, Georgian (the South Caucasian language family), as well as Digor and Iron Ossetic (Iranian; Indo-European).
Amount Superlatives And Measure Phrases,
2018
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Amount Superlatives And Measure Phrases, E. Cameron Wilson
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This dissertation provides a novel analysis of quantity superlatives by bringing together research on three interrelated topics: superlative ambiguity, semantic constraints on measure constructions, and the internal structure of the extended nominal phrase. I analyze the quantity words, most, least, and fewest as superlatives of quantificational adjectives (Q-adjectives), but argue that these are often embedded inside a covert measure construction, rather than directly modifying the overt noun. I also introduce novel data showing that the measure phrases that appear in overt pseudopartitive constructions have more complex internal structure than previously assumed. Specifically, they may contain adjectives, including superlative inflection …
The Variable Expression Of Transitive Subject And Possesor In Wayuunaiki (Guajiro),
2018
Universitiy of New Mexico
The Variable Expression Of Transitive Subject And Possesor In Wayuunaiki (Guajiro), Andres M. Sabogal
Linguistics ETDs
In Wayuunaiki, verbal affixes cross-reference clausal arguments in various ways. Most notably, there are two ways to express transitive subjects, and two ways to express possessors. Much like voice alternatives, the variable expression of subject and possessor impart different perspectives on a situation type, but unlike traditional voice categories, syntactic valence remains equal. This dissertation characterizes these constructions with a specific question in mind: what do these two cross-referencing alternations communicate and what influences their usage? To answer these questions, I consider the linguistic properties observed in the usage of these constructions in narratives (Jusayú 1986, 1994), and informal conversations. …
Responding To Questions And Assertions: Embedded Polar Response Particles, Ellipsis, And Contrast,
2018
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Responding To Questions And Assertions: Embedded Polar Response Particles, Ellipsis, And Contrast, Jeremy Pasquereau
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation studies the distribution of Polar Response Particles (i.e. yes/no particles) in embedded contexts with a focus on European French.
Attitudes De Se And Logophoricity,
2018
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Attitudes De Se And Logophoricity, Yangsook Park
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation investigates two related notions that represent attitudes and perspectives, de se attitudes and the notion of logophoricity, based on the case study of the long-distance reflexive caki in Korean, which specifically encodes attitudes towards oneself in attitude reports or co-refers with individuals whose point of view or perspective is represented in a sentence. The main claim of this thesis is that there are distinct semantic/syntactic mechanisms for the obligatory de se interpretation of the long-distance reflexive caki on the one hand, and the long-distance binding of caki on the other. Specifically, for the semantics of the de se …
Acquisition Of Catalan And Spanish Morphosyntax In The Catalan-Spanish Bilingual Context,
2018
The University of Western Ontario
Acquisition Of Catalan And Spanish Morphosyntax In The Catalan-Spanish Bilingual Context, Adriana Soto-Corominas
Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
This dissertation investigated the acquisition of Catalan and Spanish morphosyntax by early Catalan-Spanish bilinguals living in Catalunya, a province of Spain with widespread societal bilingualism. Specifically, it focused on the acquisition of six clitic pronouns in Catalan that have different representations in Spanish. Of the six, partitive en, oblique en, locative hi, and oblique hi do not have direct counterparts in Spanish, and correspond to ellipsis in the adult grammar. The accusative neuter clitic ho and masculine clitic l constitute a distinction based on specificity and gender not made in Spanish and both correspond to Spanish lo …
The Collaborative Function Of Verbal Aspect And Aktionsart: A Distributional Analysis Of English Verb-Types,
2018
Cedarville University
The Collaborative Function Of Verbal Aspect And Aktionsart: A Distributional Analysis Of English Verb-Types, Marc A. Agee
Linguistics Senior Research Projects
This paper reviews literature in aspect studies from modern linguistics and Biblical language studies and proposes syntheses of multiple definitions given for these often-confusing verbal categories as the discussion has progressed from the Nineteenth Century to the present day. To inform these definitions, key studies such as Bache (1982), Comrie (1981), Lyons (1977), and Porter (1989) are consulted. In addition to suggesting definitions for these, this paper also discusses the best way to understand aktionsart as it functions in several related languages, and as it relates to aspect in usage. An analysis of evidence for this description as it functions …
Datives, Data And Dialect Syntax In American English,
2018
Yale University
Datives, Data And Dialect Syntax In American English, Jim Wood, Raffaella Zanuttini
Linguistics Faculty Publications
In this paper, we present a detailed case study of a number of dative constructions that vary across speakers of American English. We show how geographical maps of acceptability judgments can be used to shed light on the syntactic structures underlying those judgments. Those structures can then be used to refine our understanding of syntax more generally, in this case relating to the features of argument-introducing heads. We provide novel support for the low applicative analysis of the Personal Dative construction, on the grounds that this analysis falls in line with a general, somewhat surprising conclusion about Southern American English: …
Constraints On Izāfa In Sorani Kurdish,
2018
University of Kentucky
Constraints On Izāfa In Sorani Kurdish, Ali Salehi
Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics
This study examines the distribution and the status of the izāfa particle in Sorani Kurdish (Central Kurdish). It uses a corpus-based analysis to investigate the forms and the pattern of distribution of the izāfa particle in Sorani, a dominant dialect of Kurdish among the Western Iranian languages. The study details an investigation of the appearance of izāfa in various NPs using a variety of data mostly from the corpus but supplemented by the grammaticality judgments of native speakers. I show that next to parallel properties seen in other Western Iranian languages, Sorani Kurdish izāfa shows a form alternation. I examine …
Constructing A Grammatically Enriched Children's Book,
2017
Bowling Green State University
Constructing A Grammatically Enriched Children's Book, Rebecca Ebert
Honors Projects
The intended purpose of this book is to serve as a grammatically rich resource of the grammatical structure: third person singular present tense. It is targets preschool age children with or at risk for a specific language impairment (SLI). More specifically, this book can be used as a clinical tool by speech-language pathologists in order to assist those with language delays in acquiring this difficult structure. Third person singular present tense is a morpheme that is acquired later in child language development due to its complexity, rarity and acoustic factors. Creating a clinical resource with an abundance of third person …
When Errors Aren't: How Comprehenders Selectively Violate Binding Theory,
2017
University of Massachusetts Amherst
When Errors Aren't: How Comprehenders Selectively Violate Binding Theory, Shayne Sloggett
Doctoral Dissertations
It has been claimed that comprehenders use the Binding Theory (Chomsky, 1986) to restrict the search for a reflexive’s antecedent in early stages of comprehension (Dillon, Mishler, Sloggett, & Phillips, 2013; Sturt, 2003; Nicol & Swinney, 1989) However, recent findings challenge this view, demonstrating that comprehenders occasionally access antecedents on the basis of their match with a reflexive’s morphosyntactic features (Chen, Jäger, & Vasishth, 2012; Patil, Lewis, & Vasishth, 2016, Parker, & Phillips, 2017). In this dissertation, I investigate the source of this ’grammatical fallibility’ in the real-time application of Principle A of the Binding Theory. Specifically, I ask whether …
Movement And The Semantic Type Of Traces,
2017
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Movement And The Semantic Type Of Traces, Ethan Poole
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation argues that there are only two possible semantic representations of movement: (i) a bound variable, i.e. trace, ranging over an individual semantic type, such as entities and degrees, or (ii) reconstruction back into the launching site of movement. Even though natural language has expressions over higher types, these expressions cannot be represented as traces, which only range over individual types. I call this constraint the Trace Interpretation Constraint. The novel empirical motivation for this constraint comes from a detailed investigation of movement targeting DPs that denote properties, a kind of higher-type expression. I observe that such movement obligatorily …
Amount Relatives Redux,
2017
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amount Relatives Redux, Jon Ander Mendia
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation provides a novel analysis of Amount Relatives (Carlson 1977, Heim 1987, Grosu & Landman 1998, Herdan 2008, Meier 2015, a.o). Amount Relatives are a form of non-intersective relative clause that is usually associated with amount interpretations . For example, the sentence it will take us the rest of our lives to drink the champagne they spilled that evening is most naturally interpreted as referring to an amount of champagne, and not any particular champagne. Previous accounts of Amount Relatives have converged in appealing to degree semantics in order to extract an amount from the relative clause, suggesting that …
The Form And Acquisition Of Free Relatives,
2017
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The Form And Acquisition Of Free Relatives, Michael Clauss
Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation examines the syntax of Free Relatives (FRs) in English at different stages of first language acquisition. The goal is to provide a theory of Free Relatives that explains phenomena in adult and child FRs, is feasibly learnable by a child, and reflects principles expressed in theories of Universal Grammar based on the Minimalist Program (Chomsky 1993, 1995, 2005). The central empirical concern is the difference between the distribution of Wh expressions in FRs vs. Wh questions in English, the difference in grammaticality between Charles wondered dish what Sebastian made and *Charles ate what dish Sebastian made (*Wh-NP). To …
A Discussion Of Delimitative In Mandarin Chinese,
2017
The Graduate Center, City University of New York
A Discussion Of Delimitative In Mandarin Chinese, Qi Zhang
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This thesis investigates how delimitative marking in Mandarin Chinese is better considered as an instance of verb-phrase modification instead of aspect marking. The study investigates data with verb reduplication cases caused by delimitative marking from both syntactic and semantic points of view. Through observations and analyses, it is found that delimitative marking does not have the same distribution as other aspect markers, but rather shows resemblance to temporal modifiers syntactically. Semantically, instead of providing a viewpoint as other aspect markers do, delimitative indicates the temporal length (shortness) of the event. In addition, it is found that delimitative marking has strict …
Processing Of The English Verb Particle Construction In Persons With Aphasia,
2017
Florida International University
Processing Of The English Verb Particle Construction In Persons With Aphasia, David Lopez
FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study examined comprehension of verb particle constructions in persons with aphasia (PWA) and young and older typical adults according to the semantic classes by Jackendoff (2002). The experimental task focused on the following three classes of verb particle constructions: idiomatic, directional, and aspectual verb particles. Movement of the object NP also was examined. The study involved a picture-matching task counterbalanced for each participant. The results revealed that PWAs showed slower than normal overall processing, slower processing of aspectual verb forms, and slower processing of syntactic form regardless of movement. Error analysis revealed a bias toward the meaning of the …
