Syntax Commons^™

Grammatical Typology And Frequency Analysis: Number Availability And Number Use, Dunstan Brown, Greville G. Corbett, Sebastian Fedden, Andrew R. Hippisley, Paul Marriott

Linguistics Faculty Publications

The Smith-Stark hierarchy, a version of the Animacy Hierarchy, offers a typology of the cross-linguistic availability of number. The hierarchy predicts that the availability of number is not arbitrary. For any language, if the expression of plural is available to a noun, it is available to any noun of a semantic category further to the left of the hierarchy. In this article we move one step further by showing that the structure of the hierarchy can be observed in a statistical model of number use in Russian. We also investigate three co-variates: plural preference, pluralia tantum and irregularity effects; these …

Contemporary English In The Usa, Melissa Axelrod, Joanne Scheibman

English Faculty Publications

Indigenous and immigrant speakers from a variety of linguistic and sociocultural backgrounds have in different ways contributed to the development of present day American English, as have the geographical and social dimensions of the country. This paper provides a survey of contemporary usage of American English by describing and illustrating linguistic features documented for social and regional groups in the United States. The focus on variation in pronunciation, grammar, and meaning in American English highlights the diversity of dialects and styles in the U.S. as well as the centrality of sociocultural identities to language use. We group examples of variation …

Morphological Alternations At The Intonational Phrase Edge, Robert Henderson

English Faculty Research Publications

This article develops an analysis of a pair of morphological alternations in K'ichee' (Mayan) that are conditioned at the right edge of intonational phrase boundaries. I propose a syntax-prosody mapping algorithm that derives intonational phrase boundaries from the surface syntax, and then argue that each alternation can be understood in terms of output optimization. The important fact is that a prominence peak is always rightmost in the intonational phrase, and so the morphological alternations occur in order to ensure an optimal host for this prominence peak. Finally, I consider the wider implications of the analysis for the architecture of the …

An Application Of Discourse Analysis Methodology In The Exegesis Of John 17, Thomas W. Hudgins

Liberty Theological Review

This study applies discourse analysis methodology to the study of the seventeenth chapter of John. Instead of adopting the typical three-fold division of Jesus' prayer based upon the three referents (Jesus, the immediate disciples, and future disciples), greater attention is given to Jesus' requests and final commitment, the mainline verbs. By giving more structural significance to the mainline verbs, the structural division and natural outline of Jesus' prayer become more evident.

Clausal Negation As Raising In San Dionisio Ocotepec Zapotec, George Aaron Broadwell

Anthropology Faculty Scholarship

This paper argues that clausal negation in San Dionisio Ocotepec Zapotec is best analysed as a kind of raising phenomenon. This analysis correctly predicts a number of facts about the interaction of word order and aspect in the language.

Incorporating Effective Grammar Instruction Into The Classroom, Erin Mary Harrity

Honors Program Theses

The debate about the effectiveness of traditional grammar instruction has been ongoing for many decades now. Traditional grammar instruction involves memorization of grammatical rules and practice exercise drills. As early as 1936, the Curriculum Commission of the National Council of Teachers of English stated that “‘all teaching of grammar separate from the manipulation of sentences [should] be discontinued…since every scientific attempt to prove that knowledge of grammar is useful has failed’” (Weaver, Teaching 9). So why is grammar still being taught in the same way-through traditional direct instruction-in many schools? It is because some parents, administrators, politicians, researchers, and teachers …

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

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Argument Encoding And Pragmatic Marking Of The Transitive Subject In Shiwilu (Kawapanan), Pilar Valenzuela

World Languages and Cultures Faculty Articles and Research

Shiwilu (a.k.a. Jebero) is a nearly extinct Kawapanan language from Peruvian Amazonia. The goal of this article is twofold. First, it investigates the obligatory cross-referencing of arguments in the complex Shiwilu verb. This system is predominantly nominative accusative, with the caveat that main clause object markers coincide with those conveying subject in one type of clause involving nominal predicates, as well as subject and object of dependent clauses. Second, this article provides a first analysis of the enclitic =ler, which may attach to transitive subjects and thus exhibits an ergative-like distribution. Unlike the situation in languages with syntacticized ergative systems, …

Effects Of Lexical Class And Word Frequency On The L1 And L2 English-Based Lexical Connections, Alla Zareva

English Faculty Publications

Three groups of participants—L1 speakers of English, L2 advanced, and intermediate users of English—responded in writing to a word association test containing words balanced for lexical class (nouns, verbs, adjectives) and frequency of occurrence (high, mid, low). The questions addressed in the study concerned the way two word-related factors (i.e., lexical category and word frequency) interplayed with two learner-related characteristics (i.e., proficiency and word familiarity) and influenced 1) the participants’ knowledge of vocabulary, 2) their preference to build specific types of lexical connections among the words they know, and 3) their ability to maintain networks of associations as an indicator …

Proceedings Of The Sixth International Natural Language Generation Conference (Inlg 2010)., John D. Kelleher, Brian Mac Namee, Ielka Van Der Sluis

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

Analisis Gaya Syart Dalam Surah Al-Isra'., Syed Nazir Syed Ibrahim

Student Works (2010-2019)

This is a research into Arabic syntax. It is a library research in its entirety for the purpose of getting a closer glimpse of the functions and applications of the syart particles. The forms of syart phrases and their responses in this language style are also investigated. The analysis of surah al-Isra’ provides a very clear evident of how this language style is very open and is widely utilized be it in the al-Quran or in conversations. The views and opinions of past and present grammarians that are forwarded in the discussion into the basic theory are meant to provide …

Struktur Al-Idafat Dalam Al-Qur'an Al-Karim : Kajian Dalam Surah Al-An'am., Nofri Yeni Azwar Ahmad

Student Works (2010-2019)

This dissertation entitled “Struktur al-Idafat Dalam al-Qur’an al-Karim : Kajian Dalam Surah al-An‘am”. This dissertation is a study of structural analysis of annexation in al-Qur'an al-Karim, especially in surah al-An‘am. It is also a descriptive study to describe the forms of annexation structure in Arabic, al-Qur'an al-Karim and surah al-An‘am. The purpose of this study is to see the views of Arab Linguists about annexation structure, to see the difference between annexation structure in Arabic, al- Qur'an al- Karim, and surah al-An‘am, to know the forms of annexation structure in al-Qur'an al- Karim, especially in Surah al-An‘am and to know …

Distribusi Fungsional Verba Pada Konteks Plot Dalam Wacana Narasi Dongeng Bahasa Indonesia, Petrus Poerwadi

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

Every type of verb has a specific distribution in the context of plot in the written Indonesian tale narrative discourse (WNDBI). That specific distribution im- plies specific verb functions and meanings in the context of plot in WNDBI. There are three types of verbs dominant in the use of verbs in the WNDBI, namely materi- al-process verbs, relational-process verbs, and mental-process verbs. Types of claus- es, internal pattern of clauses embedded by certain types of verbs, and characteristics of participants have effects on the functions and meanings of the clauses in WNDBI. The written Indonesian tale narrative discourse possesses a …

Specification And Inversion: Evidence From Malagasy, Ileana Paul

French Studies Publications

This paper analyzes specificational sentences in Malagasy and shows that such sentences involve obligatory inversion, marked by the topic particle dia. I argue that the topicalized element is a small clause predicate that inverts with its subject. Two competing analyses of this inversion are compared and contrasted. I conclude with a brief comparison of Malagasy and Tagalog.

Paradigmatic Realignment And Morphological Change: Diachronic Deponency In Network Morphology, Andrew R. Hippisley

Linguistics Faculty Publications

A natural way of formally modeling language change is to adopt a procedural, dynamic approach that gets at the notion of emergence and decay. We argue that in the realm of morphological change, and notably the reorganization of a lexeme’s paradigm, a model that at a given synchronic stage holds together both the actual facts about the paradigm as well as the range of potential or virtual facts that are licensed by the morphological machinery more elegantly captures the nature of the changing paradigm. We consider the special case of morphological mismatch where syntactic function is misaligned with morphological expression, …

Maf'ulat Dalam Bahasa Arab : Satu Analisis Dalam Surah Yasin., Che Ku Mah Hussain Che Ku Abdullah

Student Works (2010-2019)

The absolute aim and objective of this research is to study and to explain the all five types of ‘mafulat’ in Arabic Language. They are ‘maf‘ul bih, ‘maf‘ul mutlaq’, ‘maf‘ul ma‘ah’, ‘maf‘ul fih’ and ‘maf‘ul lah’. The variety of its standard and uses has shown the flexibility and maturity of Arabic Language which is able to accommodate the need of broad meanings. This research elaborates and analyses the types of ‘maf‘ulat’ in details so that it will be easily understood by the readers. This research also analyses the use of ‘maf‘ulat’ in Yasin verse. The study of ‘maf‘ulat’ in this …

Penguasaan Partikal "Al" Bahasa Arab Dalam Kalangan Pelajar Melayu., Ahmad Rushdi Haroon

Student Works (2010-2019)

This research is aimed to see the accuracy of “al” particle among the Malay students. In this research, the writer gave the definition of what the particle is, and explained in detail the types and its functions. There are many types of particles in the Arabic language but this research only focuses on the “al” particle and its main semantic aspect such as the determinant particle, the connection particle and the additional particle. This research further explains the function of each particle and provides examples of its usage in sentences. This research uses a descriptive-observation method throughout the case study. …

Analisis Sintaksis Gaya Bahasa Penafian Dalam Surah Al-An`Am., Saipul Bahri Abd Ghani

Student Works (2010-2019)

This study is a study of a style in Arabic language which is used for the purpose of stating denials and refusals. The author feels obliged to delve deeper into the study of this particular linguistic style for the purpose of introducing and providing comprehension accuracy when constructing negative sentences in both writing and speaking. The chosen title; “Syntaxis Analysis In Negation Language Style Of The Al- An‘a:m Sura” is aimed at introducing the various styles of expressing denials and refusals and to provide textual evidences of correct usages of the language style through the syntaxis analysis of the Al-An‘a:m …

Analisis Kesilapan Sintaksis Dan Morfologi Dalam Khutbah Jumaat., Ahmad Sa'aduddin Wahab

Student Works (2010-2019)

This study attempts to evaluate two main aspects of the Arabic Language – its syntax and its morphology – as they are commonly practiced by preachers or religious workers. It has been found that errors have been continuously made by religious workers. Observations made by the researcher have proven that errors can be found in religious talks, lectures, supplications of prayers, sermons, books, brochures etc. The study conducted began with the distribution of questionnaires to the religious workers in the District of Central Perak. Its purpose was to generally gauge the mastery level of the Arabic Language, focusing specifically on …

Music And Language: Exploring An Artificial Music Grammar, Erica R. Knowles

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Research regarding the brain mechanisms that underlie music and language processing supports two main interpretations: domain-specificity and domain-generality. Evidence from neuropsychology literature, specifically from amusia research, supports domain-specific mechanisms (Peretz & Coltheart, 2003) but recent neuroimaging and behavioral evidence supports overlapping mechanisms, especially for syntax processing (Patel, 2008). The present study used an artificial music grammar in order to test participants' ability to learn a new music grammar as well as to observe a possible interaction between music and language syntax processing. Although participants were able to learn the artificial music grammar, a language task was not affected by errors …

The Electrophysiological Manifestation Of Dutch Verb Second Violations, Dirk B. Den Ouden, Roelien Bastiaanse

Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Articles and Research

We investigated the processing of violations of the verb position in Dutch, in a group of healthy subjects, by measuring event-related potentials (ERPs) through electroencephalography (EEG). In Dutch, the base position of the verb is clause final, but in matrix clauses, the finite verb is in second position, a construction known as Verb Second. In embedded clauses, the finite verb remains in its clause-final base position. The results show that ungrammatical placement of finite verbs in second position in embedded clauses yields a P600 response, which suggests that the parser treats this type of violation as a clear syntactic …

External Possession Meets Bare Nouns In Malagasy, Ileana Paul

French Studies Publications

This paper examines apparent noun incorporation in Malagasy that is the result of external possession (possessor raising). It is shown that such incorporation is not derived via head movement or via compounding. Instead, it is argued that this is an instance of pseudo noun incorporation (Massam, 2001): the possessum is merged as an NP sister to the predicate. As for the structure of external possession, a non-movement analysis is proposed: the apparent possessor is generated as the specifier of a null possessive head and binds an empty argument position within the possessum. The resulting structure and meaning are shown to …

On The Presence Versus Absence Of Determiners In Malagasy, Ileana Paul

French Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

On The Topic Of Pseudoclefts, Ileana Paul

French Studies Publications

This paper presents arguments in favor of a pseudocleft analysis of a certain class of sentences in Malagasy, despite the lack of an overt wh-element. It is shown that voice morphology on the verb creates an operator-variable relationship much like the one created by wh-movement in free relatives in English and other languages. The bulk of the paper argues in favor of an inversion analysis of specificational pseudoclefts in Malagasy: a predicate DP is fronted to a topic position from within a small clause constituent. Moreover, it is shown that the same inversion occurs in equative and specificational sentences in …

Manual For The Motivational Interviewing Skill Code (Misc), Paul Amrhein, William R. Miller, Theresa Moyers, Denise Ernst

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Over years of using MISC 1 we have learned much about which categories were redundant or unreliable, and also about which processes are most important to the effectiveness of MI. The MISC has also helped us to clarify the points at which skill acquisition in MI is more challenging.

Based on this experience, we have developed Version 2.0, which is intended to improve on the original MISC in reliability, efficiency, and relevance to training and clinical practice. A disadvantage of revising an instrument, of course, is that one must start over in demonstrating its reliability and validity. Although many strong …

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.

Topics In Action Sources Of Definiteness Of Topic Noun Phrases In Thai Interactive Discourse, Prakaiwan Vajrabhaya

English Theses & Dissertations

The notion of topic has been widely discussed in past literature; however, the use of naturally occurring data in these studies, especially in Thai, has been lacking. This study approaches topic from a functionalist standpoint. It uses definiteness, a feature of topics generally agreed upon by scholars, to investigate topic noun phrases (NPs) in the topic with a clausal comment construction in naturally occurring data in Thai. The main objectives are to identify the sources of definiteness of topic NPs and demonstrate their functions. The data for this study was obtained from the Chulalongkorn University Linguistics Department corpus which …

Missing Topics In Malagasy Headlines, Ileana Paul

French Studies Publications

No abstract provided.

Learning In Minimalism-Based Language Modeling, Deryle W. Lonsdale

Faculty Publications

The natural language version of the Soar cognitive modeling system (Newell, 1990) has enabled a number of language modeling applications from on-line parsing behavior (Lewis, 1993) to simultaneous interpretation (Lonsdale, 1997, 1998) to robotic control (Benjamin, Lonsdale, & Lyons, 2004). The system supports an integrated approach to incremental comprehension and generation. Learning mechanisms account for processes in language performance from deliberate, explicit reasoning to automatic, recognitional expertise.

Syntactic processing in prior versions of the system followed the Principles and Parameters approach to syntax.

A Short Note On The Placement Of Adverbs, Jonathan R. Siegel

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.