Linguistics Commons^™

The Declensions Of Modern Eastern Armenian: A Paradigm Function Morphology Approach, Malachi W. Oyer

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

In traditional grammar, the inflection of a word’s different forms based on the possible morphosyntactic property combinations of the language can be ordered into a tables. Words of the same part of speech often can be grouped together when they inflect in similar fashions. These similar groups are represented by a single word that expresses the morphosyntactic property set possible for that part of speech. These groups are called declensions. These declensions are not always complete sometimes there is a particular morphosyntactic property set that does not have a corresponding form (word). This is known as defectiveness. One approach that …

How Inflection Class Systems Work: On The Informativity Of Implicative Structure, Jeffery R. Parker, Andrea D. Sims

Faculty Publications

The complexity of an inflection system can be defined as the average extent to which elements in the system inhibit motivated inferences about the realization of lexemes’ paradigm cells. Research shows that systems tend to exhibit relatively low complexity in this sense. However, relatively little work has explored how structural and distributional aspects of the inflectional system produce this outcome. In this paper we use the tools of information theory to do so. We explore a set of nine languages that have robust inflection class systems: Palantla Chinantec, French, Modern Greek, Icelandic, Kadiwéu, Nuer, Russian, Seri, and Võro. The data …

A Morphological Study Of The Antonymous Compounds In Chinese: How The Word Class Changes And Why, Yihan Zhou

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The majority of Chinese words are compounds. Among compounds, there is a special kind of compounds. It is made up of two antonymous morphemes. The antonymous compounds undergo functional shift. In 40% percent of the cases, the compounds have different word classes from the morphemes. The thesis investigated how the functional shift happens and why it happens.

Based on the critique of the definitions of antonymous compounds used in others’ studies, the thesis comes up with a broad definition. With the help of primary sources such as dictionaries, secondary sources, and the definition, the thesis collects 292 antonymous compounds.

The …

Order Of Acquisition: A Comparison Of L1 And L2 English And Spanish Morpheme Acquisition, Kyle A. Mcferren

Senior Honors Theses

This paper examines the order of acquisition for grammatical morphemes in Spanish and English first and second language learners. Brown’s first morpheme order study, conducted in 1973, laid the foundation for what would become one of the most common types of study conducted within the field of second language acquisition. The four orders of acquisition relevant here are examined and compared in order to support the roles of salience, morphophonological regularity, complexity, input frequency, and native language transfer in first and/or second language acquisition. The conclusion is that these five determinants work interdependently in determining the difficulty of acquiring a …

Vocabulary Through Affixes And Word Families - A Computer-Assisted Language Learning Program For Adult Ell Students, Magdalena Kieliszek

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Vocabulary plays an important role in language learning of ELL (English Language Learner) students. This work discusses the importance of metalinguistic awareness in teaching vocabulary to adult English Language Learners at an intermediate- or advanced-level of English language proficiency with an emphasis on learning vocabulary through word families and increased morphological awareness. The main contribution is a computer-based program that guides users through a series of interactive reading and vocabulary practice exercises which allow them to explore and learn how certain words are connected through word families and how some of the most common affixes in English can affect the …

Lexical Processing And Affix Ordering: Cross-Linguistic Predictions, Jeffrey R. Parker, Andrea D. Sims

Faculty Publications

Rich cross-linguistic variability in the strictness of affix ordering raises questions about how universal and language-specific factors interact to determine affix combinability patterns. While focus has been primarily on the interaction of semantic scope and language-specific formal factors, in this paper we take a first step towards a cross-linguistic, typological perspective on a different potential influencing factor: lexical processing. Based on a corpus study, we show that derivational suffix ordering is less constrained in Russian than in English. And significantly, statisticaldistributional evidence also suggests that Russian words are overall more likely to be decomposed during lexical access. This hints that …

L2 Learners' Sensitivity To Semantic And Morphophonological Information On Swahili Nouns, P. Spinner, Jamie A. Thomas

Linguistics Faculty Works

Previous research demonstrates that L2 learners are sensitive to morphophonological and semantic information regarding grammatical gender in European languages (e.g., Spinner & Juffs, 2008). In this study we examine the use of morphophonological and semantic information by two groups of English-speaking learners acquiring Swahili gender (noun class). The results of an oral agreement-marking task, a written gender assignment task, and interviews indicate that learners are sensitive to morphophonological information regarding gender in Swahili. The findings for semantic information are more complex; learners appear to be sensitive to animacy but not to other “minor” semantic information such as tree or active …

Windesi Wamesa Morphophonology, Emily A. Gasser

Linguistics Graduate Dissertations

Wamesa [wam] is an endangered Austronesian language spoken in the south-eastern Bird’s Head of New Guinea, in the Indonesian province of West Papua. is dissertation provides a description and formal analysis of the phonology and morphology of the Windesi dialect based on the author’s fieldwork with speakers of the language. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the language, its speakers, and the cultural, geographic, and linguistic context in which Wamesa is spoken. It also provides background on the fieldwork which forms the basis of this dissertation and the resulting corpus. Chapter 2 describes the phonology of Wamesa, including its phoneme …

Compounding And Incorporation In The Ket Language: Implications For A More Unified Theory Of Compounding, Benjamin C. Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

Compounding in the world’s languages is a complex word-­‐formation process that is not easily accounted for. Moreover, incorporation is equally complex and problematic. This examination of compounding and incorporation in the Ket language seeks to identify the underlying logic of these processes and to work towards a typology that captures generalizations among the numerous ways in which languages expand their lexicons through these processes. Canonical Typology provides a framework that does just this. A preliminary canonical typology of compounds is proposed here, one that subsumes a range of compounds as well as incorporation. For this reason, the Ket language, which …

Position Class Preclusion: A Computational Resolution Of Mutually Exclusive Affix Positions, Rebecca O. Hale

Theses and Dissertations--Linguistics

In Paradigm Function Morphology, it is usual to model affix position classes with an ordered sequence of inflectional rule blocks. Each rule block determines how (or whether) a particular affix position is filled. In this model, competition among inflectional rules is assumed to be limited to members of the same rule block; thus, the appearance of an affix in one position cannot be precluded by the appearance of an affix in another position. I present evidence that apparently disconfirms this restriction and suggests that a more general conception of rule competition is necessary. The data appear to imply that an …

Numeral Incorporation In American Sign Language, Vanessa L. Jones

Theses and Dissertations

Numeral incorporation is a moderately productive process in ASL which combines a numeral and a base to form a compounded fully formed sign. Numeral-incorporated signs involve some sort of simultaneity of the base and the numeral. I interviewed six individuals who use ASL as their primary language in order to gather examples of numeral-incorporated signs in ASL, thus getting a sampling of variation in the American deaf community.

Traditionally, numeral incorporation has been viewed as a process of combining a numeral sign with a noun, which I call a source sign. Instead, I found that the source signs are separate …

A Morphological Study Of Drug Brand Names, Celina M. Williamson

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Areal Patterns Of Possessive Morphology In The Languages Of Eurasia, Garrett K. Nay

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to confirm Eurasia as an independent linguistic area with respect to four features of possessive morphology: locus of marking, position of pronominal possessive affixes, obligatory possessive inflection, and possessive classification. Raw data on these features was taken from the WALS database and then run through an algorithm of genealogical stratification called g-sampling, in order to minimize the bias of the sample. The resulting g-units were then categorized by type and geographical area (New World vs. Old World, Eurasia vs. the rest of the world). These counts were tested for significance using Fisher's exact test. …

A Study Of First Language Background And Second Language Order Of Acquisition, Meghan Elizabeth Aitken

Theses and Dissertations

One major topic that often appears in textbooks on second language acquisition (SLA) is that of order of acquisition of morphemes. Much research has been done on the issue in the past, and a particular acquisition order has been accepted by many in the field of SLA for second language learners of English. This order of morphemes is deemed invariant and not affected by the native language of the learner. This thesis examines this claim, using an elicited imitation test to target nine English morphemes. The results show that a learner's native language does indeed have an effect on the …

The Case For Fewer Cases In Pre-Chukotko-Kamchatkan: Grammaticalization And Semantics In Internal Reconstruction, Dibella Wdzenczny

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

This work internally reconstructs the case system of Pre-Chukotko-Kamchatkan from the comparative reconstruction of Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan. Using the comparative and etymological dictionaries by Fortescue (2005), Mudrak (2000), and Zhukova & Kurebito (2004), I demonstrate that in many instances, groups of cases in Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan have developed from a single case. I outline the paths of grammaticalization that led to the expanded case system in Proto-Chukotko- Kamchatkan, and I use semantic typology to support the plausibility of these developments. Examples of similar phenomena in other language families are used for comparison as well. I conclude that six grammatical cases (and a more regular …

Valence Sensitivity In Pamirian Past-Tense Inflection: A Realizational Analysis, Gregory Stump, Andrew R. Hippisley

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Word Frequency And Processing: Why The Brain Stores Some Words Whole And Others In Parts, Jeffrey R. Parker

Faculty Publications

Discussion about the structure of the lexicon has primarily focused on morphologically complex words. Theories about the lexicon assume that certain items are stored, such as morphologically simple words, e.g. hero and govern, and derivational suffixes, e.g. -ism and - ment. Given these assumptions, the majority of arguments discuss the status of morphologically complex words, e.g. heroism and government. Theories posit different levels of parsing and storage. The extent to which theories accept parsing as a active process during lexical access ranges from classical approaches which assume all morphologically complex words are parsed, to theories which suggest all …

Lexical Analysis, Andrew R. Hippisley

Linguistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

La Syntaxe, La Morphologie Et La Phonologie De La Réduction Dans Les Titres, Ivan Chow, Volha Kharytonava, Mikalai Kliashchuk, Ileana Paul

French Studies Publications

Le présent article examine le cas de la réduction dans les titres de journaux avec les données de plusieurs langues. Nous constatons qu’il existe plusieurs types de réduction: la réduction syntaxique, morphophonologique, et la réduction phonétique. Nous faisons un survol des différents types et nous laissons pour la recherche future une analyse plus détaillée des structures.

The Contingent Meaning Of -Ex Brand Names In English, Laurel Smith Stvan

Linguistics & TESOL Faculty Publications & Presentations - Archive

The –ex string found in English product and company names (e.g., Kleenex, Timex and Virex), is investigated to discover whether this ending has consistent meaning across coined words and to observe any constraints on its attachment and interpretation. Seven hundred and ninety-three –exbrand name types were collected and examined, derived from American English texts in the Brown and Frown corpora as well as over 600 submissions to the US Patent and Trademark Office's Trademark Electronic Search System database (TESS); American native English speakers were also surveyed to assess interpretations of –ex meaning in brands. Analysis of these coined terms reveals …

A Two-Level Engine For Tagalog Morphology And A Structured Xml Output For Pc-Kimmo, Hans J. Nelson

Theses and Dissertations

This paper presents a two-level morphological description of Tagalog for use in PC-Kimmo and a mechanism created for updating the results output from PC-Kimmo in order to meet the standards for current database and natural language processing applications.

There are two main research tasks presented in this paper which constituted this project. First, a complete morphological engine for Tagalog is presented. Next, a tool is introduced that takes the morphological engine output and stores it in XML format.

Review Of Approaching Second: Second Position Clitics And Related Phenomena, By Aaron L. Halpern And Arnold M. Zwicky, Gregory Stump

Linguistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Indexed Stems And Russian Word Formation: A Network Morphology Account Of Russian Personal Nouns, Andrew R. Hippisley

Linguistics Faculty Publications

Recent lexeme-based models have proposed that a lexeme carries an inventory of stems on which morphological rules operate. The various stems in the inventory are associated with different morphological rules, of both inflection and derivation. Furthermore, one stem may be selected by more than one rule. For this reason stems in the inventory are labeled with indexes, rather than being directly associated with a particular morphological function. It is claimed that an indexed-stem approach captures generalizations in the morphological system that would otherwise be missed. We argue that such an approach provides for greater generalization in the Russian morphological system. …

Kultúrna Slovenčina Administratívno-Právnych Textov Zo 16. Storočia „Čo S Fonológiou A Morfológiou?“, Mark Richard Lauersdorf

Linguistics Faculty Publications

It is generally accepted that the present-day Slovak standard language was codified in its basic form in the mid 19th century by the Slovak scholar Ľudovít Štúr. A similar, but unsuccessful, attempt to create a standard Slovak language was made by Anton Bernolák in the late 18th century. There is not general agreement, however, on the degree or type of standardization, or better, normalization, exhibited by Slovak texts in the pre-codification period (15th-18th centuries). The present study outlines a new methodological framework for the investigation of the issue of standard language development in early pre-codification Slovak texts, providing selected phonological …

Discourse-Based Evidence For An Ergative Analysis Of Cebuano, Dennis Walters

UTA Working Papers in Linguistics - Archive

The case-marking systems of Philippine languages have been difficult to classify as either nominative-accusative (NOM-ACC) or ergative-absolutive (ERG-ABS). The question hinges on the status of the “object-focus” clause type. Is it a passive voice clause as traditional analyses (beginning with Bloomfield 1917) suggest? Or is it active voice — the basic transitive clause type — as an ergative analysis would conclude? While purely structural clues at clause-level cannot tell us unambiguously which analysis is appropriate for this group of languages, a discourse-functional approach offers an escape from this dilemma. Cebuano is spoken as a first language by about seventeen million …

Review Of Deconstructing Morphology: Word Formation In Syntactic Theory, By Rochelle Lieber, Gregory Stump

Linguistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

How Peculiar Is Evaluative Morphology?, Gregory Stump

Linguistics Faculty Publications

Many languages possess morphological rules which serve to express diminution or augmentation, endearment or contempt; examples are the Breton rule relating potr 'boy' to potrig 'little boy', the Shona rule relating chibikiso 'cooking tool' to zichibikiso 'huge cooking tool' and the Italian rule relating poeta 'poet' to poetastro 'bad poet'. Because of the possibility of interpreting diminution and augmentation in affective rather than purely objective terms (Wierzbicka, 1980: 530°.; Szymanek, 1988: io6ff.), morphological expressions of diminution or augmentation are not always discrete from those of endearment or contempt; that is, diminutives and augmentatives are frequently used as expressions of endearment …

Niko Besnier's Review Of William A. Foley's The Papuan Languages Of New Guinea, Niko Besnier

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.

Maithili Verb Agreement And The Control Agreement Principle, Gregory Stump, Ramawatar Yadav

Linguistics Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Niko Besnier's Review Of Janet W. D. Dougherty's West Futuna-Aniwa: An Introduction To A Polynesian Outlier Language, Niko Besnier

Pacific Studies

No abstract provided.