Syntax

Le proposizioni temporali

by Francesco Bianco

Co-authored with Rosarita Digregorio, to be published in Maurizio Dardano (ed.), 'Sintassi dell'italiano antico', Carocci, Rome, forthcoming

Le proposizioni modali

by Francesco Bianco

To be published in Maurizio Dardano (ed.), 'Sintassi dell'italiano antico', Carocci, Rome, fothcoming

Generative Oscillation - A Cognitive Model for the Emergence of Language

by Thorold (Thor) May

Research Material for a discontinued PhD

DRAFT COPY ONLY

NOT READY FOR PRINT PUBLICATION

The GO model proposes a co-generative view of the emergence of language. Most conventional linguistics models conceive... more The GO model proposes a co-generative view of the emergence of language. Most conventional linguistics models conceive of language as a representational system of symbols which refer to events, either mental or external to the organism. This representational function is said to motivate the linguistic system and (depending upon the linguistic model) largely control its form. The GO (Generative Oscillation) model proposed here recognizes the representational role of language. However it notes that as the mental linguistic system itself becomes efficiently organized, it creates an internal logic and drive of its own. To some extent this internally motivated linguistic system is conceived to override the external motivation to represent another reality. Since the internal linguistic system is dynamic and generative, it may give rise to linguistic output which seems strange in an inter-human communicative context (or even within the reflective mind of the creator). Thus while the external communicative context can become a constraint on unmotivated non-representational "internal language", it might not eliminate it. The Generative Oscillation model proposes that actual language production is an oscillating compromise between the representational function of language and the mental "language bot" itself (i.e. an internal self-organizing system) which is generating language strings just because that is what language language bots do. As far as I know, the Generative Oscillation Model, or anything like it, had not been suggested before in linguistics at the time of writing. Some conventional linguists may find it a bit "off the wall".

Renaissance Syntax and Subjectivity: Ideological Contents of Latin and the Vernacular in Scottish Prose Chronicles. John C. Leeds.

by Colette Gordon

Review published in Sixteenth Century Journal xlii no.4 Winter 2011

Electrophysiological Evidence for Use of the Animacy Hierarchy, but not Thematic Role Assignment, During Verb Argument Processing

by Martin Paczynski

Paczynski, M., Kuperberg, G. (2011), Language and Cognitive Processes, 26 (9), 1402-1456

Animacy is known to play an important role in language processing and production, but debate remains as to how it... more Animacy is known to play an important role in language processing and production, but debate remains as to how it exerts its effects: (1) through links to syntactic ordering, (2) through inherent differences between animate and inanimate entities in their salience/lexico-semantic accessibility, and (3) through links to specific thematic roles. We contrasted these three accounts in two event-related potential (ERP) experiments examining the processing of direct object arguments in simple English sentences. In Experiment 1, we found a larger N400 to animate than inanimate direct object arguments assigned the Patient role, ruling out the second account. In Experiment 2, we found no difference in the N400 evoked by animate direct object arguments assigned the Patient role (prototypically inanimate) and those assigned the Experiencer role (prototypically animate), ruling out the third account. We therefore suggest that animacy may impact processing through a direct link to syntactic linear ordering, at least on postverbal arguments in English. We also exam- ined processing on direct object arguments that violated the animacy-based selection-restriction constraints of their preceding verbs. These violations evoked a robust P600, which was not modulated by thematic role assignment or reversibility, suggesting that the so-called semantic P600 is driven by overall propositional impossibility, rather than thematic role reanalysis

Kurumada, C. and Jaeger, T.F. 2012. Communicatively efficient language production and case-marker omission in Japanese. The 34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci12). Sapporo, Japan. July, 2012.

by T. Florian Jaeger

Feel free to cite. For page numbers, pls see the CogSci Proceedings webpage.

Recent proposals hold that language production reflects speakers bias to achieve efficient information transmission.... more Recent proposals hold that language production reflects speakers bias to achieve efficient information transmission. Speakers tend to provide more linguistic signal for information that is difficult to recover while omitting or reducing contextually inferable elements. However, previous findings in support of this hypothesis have been claimed to be compatible with alternative explanations in terms of production difficulty, therefore not requiring reference to communicative efficiency. We present two recall-production experiments on Japanese speakers’ preference in optional object case-marking that test the predictions of communicative efficiency accounts, while ruling out alternative explanations in terms of production difficulty. We find that speakers of Japanese are more likely to mark objects with case, if the referential properties of the object (Experiment 1) or the combination of subject, object, and verb (Experiment 2) bias against the intended assignment of grammatical functions. Together the experiments provide evidence that speakers prefer to provide case-marking if the intended interpretation of the sentence is unexpected or implausible.

Kleinschmidt, D.F., Fine, A.B., and Jaeger, T.F. 2012. A belief-updating model of adaptation and cue combination in syntactic comprehension. The 34th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci12). Sapporo, Japan. July, 2012.

by T. Florian Jaeger

Feel free to cite. For page numbers, pls see the CogSci Proceedings webpage.

We develop and evaluate a preliminary belief-updating model which links intermediate-term (i.e., over several days)... more We develop and evaluate a preliminary belief-updating model which links intermediate-term (i.e., over several days) syntactic adaptation to the joint statistics of syntactic structures and lexical cues to those structures. This model shows how subjects differentially depend on different cues to syntactic structure following changes in the reliability of those cues, as shown by Fine and Jaeger (2011). By relating syntactic adaptation and cue combination to rational inference under uncertainty, this work links learning and adaptation in sentence processing with adaptation in speech perception and non-linguistic domains.

Keywords: sentence processing, adaptation, Bayesian modeling

Postposition of Adjectives in English from a pedagogical point of view - Maritza Ortega

by Maritza Ortega

Draft Only

In this essay I will put forward an analysis of the various frameworks offered by the most influential grammars of the... more In this essay I will put forward an analysis of the various frameworks offered by the most influential grammars of the XXI Century and I will also share my personal view on the treatment of this matter for pedagogical purposes. In doing so I will consider relevant work and literature and will draw upon various sources to support my ideas and offer a critical analysis of these theories.

A descriptive study on the different approaches adopted by traditional and modern grammars to classify subordinate clauses - Maritza Ortega

by Maritza Ortega

In this essay I will be focusing on the traditional restricted sense of subordination and I will argue that there is... more In this essay I will be focusing on the traditional restricted sense of subordination and I will argue that there is much inconsistency with respect to the classification of subordinate clauses postulated by traditional grammars throughout history. In doing so, I will offer a critical analysis of relevant work and literature and will draw upon various sources to support my criticisms of the confusing function and form mingling that is usually depicted in traditional grammar books.

On Typology of Polish and French Imperfective

by Magdalena Karolak

The aim of this paper is to present a typology of Polish imperfective past tense forms in the factual use for the... more The aim of this paper is to present a typology of Polish imperfective past tense forms in the factual use for the purpose of creating a set of guidelines for their translation into French language. Although descriptions of factual imperfective aspect are not new to linguistics, both Polish and international, equivalence of its forms in other languages poses problems to foreigners and native speakers alike. This is especially true in French, where Polish past imperfective forms could be expressed by a number of past tenses. In order to proceed with our task we are going to adopt a classification of Polish imperfective verbal forms based on the following criteria: general factual meaning or specific (concrete) factual meaning as a primary measure and imperfective or perfective intention of the imperfective form as a secondary measure. Such systematization of the phenomenon in Polish will allow us to formulate guidelines of equivalence with French past tenses.

Autour de la notion d'aspect: problèmes choisis de la traduction du passé imperfectif polonais en français

by Magdalena Karolak

http://www.sdl.org.pl/Content/23507/neophilologica_22.pdf#page=54

Description of the Theory of Aspect by Stanislaw Karolak on the Example of Polish and French.

by Magdalena Karolak

Published in Annales Universitatis Paedagogicae Cracoviensis, Studia Logopaedica IV. Jezyk- kultura- edukacja, 96, 191-200.

The subject of this paper are the assumptions of Stanislaw Karolak's semantic aspect theory. The concept is based on... more The subject of this paper are the assumptions of Stanislaw Karolak's semantic aspect theory. The concept is based on the combination of grammatical morpheme value and the value of verb lexeme, which makes it possible to be applied not only to contrastive analysis of two typologically different languages, for example Polish and French, but also to be used for universal description of aspect. The indices of aspect in French and Polish are significantly different. The system of aspectual pairs in Polish contrasts with grammatical tenses in French, but the semantic theory of aspect applied in the work allows to create a precise description of the tense-aspect systems in both languages.

Omonimia sintactica a participiilor romanesti / The syntactic homonymy of Romanian participles

by Alexandru Nicolae

co-authored with Adina Dragomirescu

published in Rodica Zafiu, Ana-Maria Mihail, Blanca Croitor (eds.). 2009. Studii de gramatică. Omagiu Doamnei Profesoare Valeria Guţu Romalo. Bucharest: Editura Universității din București. pp. 193 − 205.

In this paper, we essentially discuss the problem of the double readings (active / passive) of Romanian participles, a... more In this paper, we essentially discuss the problem of the double readings (active / passive) of Romanian participles, a phenomenon which is available in Romanian to a larger extent than in other (Romance) languages.

Verbs of Result in the Complements of Raising Constructions

by Thorold (Thor) May

Australian Journal of Linguistics 7 (1987), 25-42

Note: The author has now moved on from Joan Bresnan's Lexical Functional approach. This is relevant to interpreting the paper as it is presented here, although the actual issues with which the content deals are, I hope, still usefully clarified by the argumentation.

Abstract : The analysis considers the manner in which a class of matrix verbs, the so-called raising verbs, have been... more Abstract : The analysis considers the manner in which a class of matrix verbs, the so-called raising verbs, have been fitted into some generative linguistic models. Taking as a cue the difficulty posed for these models by sentences of the kind, *Linda believes Gary to murder David, the analysis proceeds beyond existing criteria for "raising" to the notion of Relative Tense.

It is found that Relative Tense has a direct bearing on the infinitival complements permitted by raising-to-object verbs and some raising-to-subject verbs. The relevant constraints are formulated for incorporation into Bresnan's Lexical Functional Grammar as the Independent XCOMP Singularity Condition. The IXCSC may be recorded for convenience in the functional structure of LFG as a complex feature. When IXCSC carries a positive marking the functional structure of a sentence, that sentence may only be interpreted if ASPECT (AUX) is also marked as positive.

Postsuppositon and Pastiche Talk

by Thorold (Thor) May

University of Melbourne Working Papers in Linguistics 14 (1994): 31-46

Abstract : Natural languages are examined as members of the class of complex dynamic systems in nature. The... more Abstract : Natural languages are examined as members of the class of complex dynamic systems in nature. The mathematical models of Complexity Theory have shown that complex dynamic systems as diverse as cyclones, the stock market and the human genome have the properties of a) being self-organising, b) existing in a precarious state of cyclical activity which alters slightly on each cycle, and c) containing an inherent indeterminacy. This last property, indeterminacy, is taken as a cue to develop an argument that language cannot be entirely representational, or altogether functional. It is proposed that in the generation of language there is a constant oscillation where thought sometimes gives rise to language, and alternatively, where unmotivated fragments of language force the development of post-rationalised ideas. Evidence is sought from the behaviour of formulaic phrases and apparent presuppositions

Purposive Constructions in English

by Thorold (Thor) May

The detailed analysis of Purposive Constructions in this long paper will help researchers to clarify these phenomena in English, even though the linguistic model employed, Chomsky's Government and Binding, has (in my view) been superseded.

Abstract: This thesis* explores some of the syntactic & semantic properties of Purposive Constructions in English.... more Abstract: This thesis* explores some of the syntactic & semantic properties of Purposive Constructions in English. The term "purposive" is recognized as a semantic concept which finds regular expression in a small range of syntactic configurations. Purpose Clauses (PCs) and Rationale Clauses (Rat.Cs) are examined in some detail. Briefer reference is made to several other configurations, notably Because Clauses, So-That Clauses and Infinitival Relatives. In general Purposive Constructions comprise rather fuzzy semantic categories. Nevertheless, the main syntactic features are fairly clear. Interpretation of the constructions requires a systematic account of the control of empty slots (ellipted NPs) by thematic elements in the matrix clause. General conditions of Government and Binding appear adequate to predict the distribution of gaps in most Purposive Clauses. However, the relationship between propositions predicated of a common argument in these constructions is found to sometimes require matching conditions too subtle for syntax alone to predict. A concept of Thematic Coextensiveness is introduced to account for such matching.

OT semantics and control

by Ben Lyngfelt

Optimal control: An OT perspective on the interpretation of PRO in Swedish

by Ben Lyngfelt

Kontroll i svenskan. Den optimala tolkningen av infinitivers tankesubjekt.

by Ben Lyngfelt

Towards a comprehensive Construction Grammar account of control: A case study of Swedish infinitives

by Ben Lyngfelt