Pronouns

Concepts of Structural Underspecification In Bantu and Romance

by Miriam Bouzouita

Marten, Lutz, Ruth Kempson & Miriam Bouzouita (2008) “Concepts of Structural Underspecification in Romance and Bantu”, In The Bantu-Romance Connection, de Cat , Cecile & Katherine Demuth (eds.), John Benjamins: Amsterdam, 3-39.

Funciones pragmáticas de la referencia de persona en el lenguaje coloquial y en el discurso político

by Barbara De Cock

published in 2009 in Oralia 12. 247-266

Why we can be you: the use of 1st person plural forms with hearer reference in English and Spanish.

by Barbara De Cock

Published in 2011 in Journal of Pragmatics 43: 2762-2775

This article focuses on the phenomenon of 1st person plural forms being used with hearer reference, e.g. a teacher... more This article focuses on the phenomenon of 1st person plural forms being used with hearer reference, e.g. a teacher saying to his/her students “We’re going to be quiet now” in Spanish (a pro-drop language) and English (a non-pro-drop language), paying attention to both contrasts and similarities between them. The physical persons involved in interaction (speaker and hearer) are distinguished from the discursive roles (addresser and addressee). Whilst coinciding by default, in some cases the interpretation of the 1st person plural forms shifts towards the addressee, thus triggering a hearer-dominant reading. On the one hand, this shift is argued to be not merely a matter of contextual interpretation, but to be triggered by linguistic elements, such as vocatives, interrogative speech acts and tense. On the other hand, the politeness judgment of this strategy is questioned in the light of various (im)politeness theories and a plea is made for taking into account the broader linguistic and non-linguistic context of the utterance. While the hearer-dominant reading occurs both in English and in Spanish, there appear to be differences as to the impact of the subject pronoun and the position of the strategy within the address system as a whole.

Evolución Histórica de las Formas de Tratamiento

by Marisol Rey Castillo

Conditions on pronominal marking in the Alor-Pantar languages

by Dunstan Brown

Fedden, Sebastian; Dunstan Brown; Greville Corbett; Gary Holton; Marian Klamer; Laura Robinson and Antoinette Schapper. Forthcoming. Conditions on pronominal marking in the Alor-Pantar languages. To appear in Linguistics.

We examine the varying role of conditions on grammatical relation marking (namely animacy and volitionality) by... more We examine the varying role of conditions on grammatical relation marking (namely animacy and volitionality) by looking at different languages of one family, using both existing descriptions and working with specially prepared video stimuli. This enables us to see the degree of variation permitted within closely related languages. We look at four Alor-Pantar languages (Teiwa, Adang, Kamang, and Abui), Papuan languages of eastern Indonesia. The conditions on argument marking are manifested in different ways. Those languages with syntactic alignment index objects with a prefix, those which have semantic alignment index objects and some subjects with a prefix. In 42 video clips we systematically varied animacy and volitionality values for participants in one and two-participant events. These clips were used in fieldwork to elicit descriptions of the events. The data show that animacy of the object is an important factor which favours indexation of the object on the verb in all four languages to varying degrees. Volitionality, on the other hand, is a factor in the semantically aligned languages only. While the presence of a prefix on the verb is semantically motivated in many instances, marking is not directly determined by verbal or participant semantics, and lexical factors must also play a role.

Der Lautwandel in der Deklination des jakutischen Interrogativpronomens tuox? 'was?'

by Marek Stachowski

'You can't'but 'I do': Rules, ethics and the significance of shifts in pronominal forms for self-positioning in talk

by Scott Yates

Published in Discourse Studies
Co-authored with Dave Hiles

Mulhaüsler and Harré contend that pronoun systems set out fields of expression ‘within which people can be . . .... more Mulhaüsler and Harré contend that pronoun systems set out fields of expression ‘within which people can be . . . presented as agents of one kind or another’. Despite interest in pronominal forms by various discourse researchers, analysis of pronouns-in-use from this perspective remains underdeveloped. This article undertakes such an analysis, drawing on Rees’s theories about the ‘distance from the self’ encoded in different pronouns. Our data, from interviews analysed as talk-in-interaction, show participants shifting between pronominal registers as a way of presenting their social world and positioning themselves as agents within it. ‘Fourth-person’ pronouns allow the distancing of reports of lack of agency from the deictic centre of self and express a ‘deontic modality’ through which one can position oneself in relation to moral imperatives. Along with shifts into and out of the first-person register, this is notably used to maintain an agentive selfpositioning in talk about situations of relative powerlessness.

Verbal aspect and personal pronouns: The history of aorist markers in north Vanuatu

by Alex François

François, Alexandre. 2009. Verbal aspect and personal pronouns: The history of aorist markers in north Vanuatu. In Andrew Pawley & Alexander Adelaar (eds). Austronesian historical linguistics and culture history: A festschrift for Bob Blust. Pacific Linguistics 601. Canberra: Australian National University. Pp.179-195.

[preprint]

Among the seventeen languages spoken in the Banks and Torres groups of north Vanuatu, eleven share a TAM category... more Among the seventeen languages spoken in the Banks and Torres groups of north Vanuatu, eleven share a TAM category whose functions include sequential, generic, subjunctive, prospective and imperfective. This aspect, labeled here “aorist”, also displays cross-linguistic formal similarities: everywhere, the aorist marker shows allomorphic variation depending on the person of the subject. After comparing the eleven languages concerned, I propose to reconstruct their protosystem as a set of four portmanteau proclitics {*gu–*u–*ni–*(k)a} combining aspect and person.

The Discursive Construction of a Responsible Corporate Self

by Alon Lischinsky

In: Egan Sjölander, Annika & Gunnarson Payne, Jenny (2011) Tracking Discourses: Politics, Identity and Social Change. Lund: Nordic Academic Press, p. 257-286

Monsters in Kaplan's Logic of Demonstratives

by Brian Rabern

Philosophical Studies (forthcoming)

Kaplan (1989a) insists that natural languages do not contain displacing devices which operate on character---such... more Kaplan (1989a) insists that natural languages do not contain displacing devices which operate on character---such displacing devices are called monsters. This thesis has recently faced various empirical challenges. In this note, the thesis is challenge on grounds of a more theoretical nature. It is argued that the standard compositional semantics of variable-binding employs monstrous operations. As a dramatic first example, Kaplan's language LD ("Logic of Demonstratives") is shown to contain monsters. For similar reasons, the orthodox lambda-calculus-based semantics for variable-binding is argued to be monstrous. This somewhat abstract technical point has the potential to provide some far-reaching implications for our understanding of semantic theory and content. The theoretical upshot of the discussion is at least twofold: (i) the Kaplanian thesis that "directly referential" terms are not shiftable/bindable is unmotivated, and (ii) since the case of variable-binding provides a paradigm of semantic shift that differs from the other types, it is plausible to think that indexicals---which are standardly treated by means of the assignment function---might undergo the same kind of shift.

Multiple Motivations for Preposing in Philippine Langauges

by Mhawi Rosero

When we speak of word order of a given language, we look at transitive clauses with two lexical noun arguments, A and... more When we speak of word order of a given language, we look at transitive clauses with two lexical noun arguments, A and O (Thompson, unk). Philippine languages  have been analyzed to have predicate-initial basic word order in which a clause is typically verb-initial, followed by nominal or pronominal arguments. However, while it is typical to see a predicate-initial construction in any Philippine-type language for that matter, there are instances where arguments are placed in a pre-predicate position. This movement is called preposing.

A preliminary study of Kana, a Cebuano dialect, has shown that it favors preposed construction under certain conditions which include but are not limited to: a) clitic position and movement; b) setting the scene in a discourse narrative; c) listing of information; d) exclusive contrast. Moreover, the data have shown preference for preposing of A-pronominals and predicate-medial word order tendencies. In this paper, we will examine this further, and demonstrate the implications of this preference in the word order of other Philippine languages namely; Chavacano, Ilokano, Tagalog, and Waray.

Costruzioni verbo-pronominali "intensive" in italiano

by Francesca Masini

Forthcoming (preprint). In Bertinetto, Pier Marco, Valentina Bambini & Irene Ricci e Collaboratori (a cura di), Linguaggio e cervello / Semantica, Proceedings of the “XLII Convegno della Società di Linguistica Italiana” (Pisa, Scuola Normale Superiore, 25-27 September 2008), Volume 2 (CD ROM), Roma, Bulzoni.

Pronouns and pointing: Where do sign languages fit?

by Kearsy Cormier

Cormier, Kearsy, Adam Schembri & Bencie Woll. under review. Pronouns and pointing: Where do sign languages fit?

Spain, Portugal and Europe in Spanish international relations discourse: a linguistic approach to group and identity construction

by Barbara De Cock

Published in 2005 in: Dumoulin, Michel – Ventura Díaz Díaz, Antonio (eds.). Portugal y España en la Europa del siglo XX. Cuadernos de Yuste 3. Yuste: Fundación Academia Europea de Yuste. 279-300.

How 'We' Can Reconcile with 'Them'

by Tom Clark

Co-authored with Melissa Walsh. Non-refereed paper published in New Matilda.

New research shows that non-Indigenous Australians agree on the need for reconciliation, even if they have different... more New research shows that non-Indigenous Australians agree on the need for reconciliation, even if they have different ideas about what form it should take, write Tom Clark and Melissa Walsh

Media Release: Time to sort out the ‘us’ and ‘them’ of reconciliation

by Tom Clark

Media release from Victoria University (Melbourne), announcing findings from pilot research into 'non-Aboriginal attitudes towards Aboriginal reconciliation in Australia.'

Non-Indigenous Australians overwhelmingly agree there is business to sort out with Indigenous people, according to a... more Non-Indigenous Australians overwhelmingly agree there is business to sort out with Indigenous people, according to a new study. But researchers say not enough has been done to resolve what that ‘business’ is.

Quelques particularités des pronoms en berbère du nord

by Vermondo Brugnatelli

in: J. Drouin, A. Roth (a cura di), A la croisée des études libyco-berbères. Mélanges offerts à Paulette Galand-Pernet et Lionel Galand, Paris 1993, 229-245

[Paper in French]
Three issues of Berber pronouns are dealt with:

1. "Symmetrical"... more [Paper in French]
Three issues of Berber pronouns are dealt with:

1. "Symmetrical" pronouns
Some forms of plural pronouns appear "mirrored" when they are prefixed or suffixed to the verb:
1st <——— (a)ɣen V aneɣ ——— >
3rd <——— nt V ten ——— >
This phenomenon is quite remarkable in Tunisia. Morever: southwards in Zouara, Mzab, Ouargla and Gourara; eastwards in the Aurès, Chenoua, Senhayi, and Bougie.

2. Place of pronouns
Some "perturbations" in the "regular" order of pronouns in verbal complexes are remarked in different dialects: Tunisian, Libyan, Mzabite, Aurès, Ouargla, Ngouça. Sometimes, this change of position leads to forms containing twice the same pronoun, both as a prefix and as a suffix (Aurès, Mzab, Ngouça).

3. Loss of T in pronouns of the third person
Contrary to expectations, the weakening and loss of T is far from sporadic. It takes place: to the greatest extent in Tuareg, Wargla, Mzab, Zuara, Tunisie and as far as Siwa; only in plura pronounsa in B. Salah and region of Demnat; partially (resulting h) in the mountains of Aurès and Chenoua as well as a tribe of Ghadamès.

Anaphoric reference to quantified antecedents: An event-related brain potential study

by Ruth Filik

Coherence markers: conjunctive personal pronouns in Middle Welsh.

by Elena Parina

Pronouns as Verbs, Verbs as Pronouns: Demonstratives and the Copula in Iranian.

by Agnes Korn

published 2011 in: Agnes Korn, Geoffrey Haig, Simin Karimi, Pollet Samvelian (eds.):
Topics in Iranian Linguistics [Beiträge zur Iranistik 34]. Wiesbaden: Reichert, pp. 53-70;
http://titus.uni-frankfurt.de/personal/agnes/paris09.htm

The conversion of pronominals to copula forms is rather common cross-linguistically, and has also received a certain... more The conversion of pronominals to copula forms is rather common cross-linguistically, and has also received a certain amount of attention in the literature, starting with LI & THOMPSON's article "A mechanism for the development of copula morphemes" (1977). The use of pronouns as copula forms has also been described for Eastern Iranian, but these data have not yet been compared to parallel patterns of other languages in the typological or general linguistic literature.
The first part of the article thus links Iranian data investigated several decades ago with the research carried out more recently in linguistics on a great variety of languages other than Iranian. A presentation of the Eastern Ir. data is followed by a comparison with parallel structures in other languages with view to the questions how such constructions emerge, and why languages recruit a new copula at all. The second part argues that some Western Ir. pronominal clitics might derive from copula forms or verbal endings. Here as well, the motivation of this process are discussed.