Download or read book Bidirectional Optimality Theory written by Anton Benz and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bidirectional Optimality Theory (BiOT) emerged at the turn of the millennium as a fusion of Radical Pragmatics and Optimality Theoretic Semantics. It stirred a wealth of new research in the pragmatics-semantics interface and heavily influenced e.g. the development of evolutionary and game theoretic approaches. Optimality Theory holds that linguistic output can be understood as the optimized products of ranked constraints. At the centre of BiOT is the insight that this optimisation has to take place both in production and interpretation, and that the production-interpretation cycle has to lead back to the original input. BiOT is now generally interpreted as a description of diachronically stable and cognitively optimal formmeaning pairs. It found applications beyond the semantics-pragmatics interface in language acquisition, historical linguistics, phonology, syntax, and typology. This book provides a state of the art overview of these developments. It collects nine chapters by leading scientists in the field.
Download or read book Optimality theoretic Syntax Semantics and Pragmatics written by Géraldine Legendre and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates the morphosyntactic, semantic, and pragmatic properties of language, and the interactions between them, from the perspective of Optimality Theory. It integrates optimization processes into the formal and functional study of grammar, interpreting optimization as the result of conflicting, violable ranked constraints. Unlike previous work on the topic, this book also takes into account the question of directionality of grammar. A model of grammar in which optimization processes interact bidirectionally allows both language generation-the process of selecting the optimal form of a given meaning-and language interpretation-the process of optimal interpretation of a given form-to be taken into account. Chapters in this volume explore the consequences of both symmetric (unidirectional) and asymmetric (bidirectional) versions of Optimality Theory, investigating the syntax-semantics interface, first language acquisition, and sequential bilingual grammars. The volume presents cutting edge research in Optimality-Theoretic syntax and semantics, as well as demonstrating how optimization processes as modelled in this formalism serve as a viable approach for linguists and scholars in related fields.
Download or read book Optimality Theory and Pragmatics written by Reinhard Blutner and published by Springer. This book was released on 2003-12-19 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ten leading scholars provide exacting research results and a reliable and accessible introduction to the new field of optimality theoretic pragmatics. The book includes a general introduction that overviews the foundations of this new research paradigm. The book is intended to satisfy the needs of students and professional researchers interested in pragmatics and optimality theory, and will be of particular interest to those exploring the interfaces of formal pragmatics with grammar, semantics, philosophy of language, information theory and cognitive psychology.
Download or read book Optimality Theory written by Diana Archangeli and published by Wiley-Blackwell. This book was released on 1997-07-07 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides the first general introduction to optimality theory -- arguably the d linguistic theory of the 1990s. The book leads the reader to an understanding of optimality theory via the exploration and resolution of specific problems in phonology, morphology, and syntax, but presumes virtually no background knowledge in linguistics.
Download or read book Visual Prosody written by Martin Evertz and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2018-06-25 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: According to well-established views, language has several subsystems where each subsystem (e.g. syntax, morphology, phonology) operates on the basis of hierarchically organised units. When it comes to the graphematic structure of words, however, the received view appears to be that linear structure is all that matters. Contrary to this view, a sub-field of writing systems research emerges that can be called non-linear or supra-segmental graphematics. Drawing on parallels with supra-segmental phonology, supra-segmental graphematics claims the existence and relevance of cross-linguistically available building blocks, such as the syllable and the foot, in alphabetical writing systems, such as the writing systems of German and English. This book explores the graphematic hierarchy with a special focus on the unit foot. Structural, experimental and databased evidence is presented in favour of this approach. In addition, analyses within the optimality theory framework are offered. This work shows that the supra-segmental graphematic approaches are superior to linear ones with respect to explanatory strength and even preciseness of the description. It is thus interesting for academics concerned with writing systems and orthography teaching.
Download or read book Optimal Communication written by Reinhard Blutner and published by Center for the Study of Language and Information Publica Tion. This book was released on 2006 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Publisher Description
Download or read book Case Valency and Transitivity written by Leonid Kulikov and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2006-11-15 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The three concepts of case, valency and transitivity belong to the most discussed topics of modern linguistics. On the one hand, they are crucially connected with morphological aspects of the clause, including case marking, person agreement and voice. On the other hand, they are related to several semantic issues such as the meaning of case, semantico-syntactic verbal classes, and the semantic correlates of transitivity. The volume unifies papers written within different theoretical frameworks and representing variegated approaches (Optimality Theory, Government and Binding, various versions of the Functional approach, Cross-linguistic and Typological analyses), containing both numerous new findings in individual languages and valuable observations and generalizations related to case, valency and transitivity.
Download or read book Optimality Theory written by Rene Kager and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1999-06-28 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an introduction to Optimality Theory, whose central idea is that surface forms of language reflect resolutions of conflicts between competing constraints. A surface form is 'optimal' if it incurs the least serious violations of a set of constraints, taking into account their hierarchical ranking. Languages differ in the ranking of constraints; and any violations must be minimal. The book does not limit its empirical scope to phonological phenomena, but also contains chapters on the learnability of OT grammars; OT's implications for syntax; and other issues such as opacity. It also reviews in detail a selection of the considerable research output which OT has already produced. Exercises accompany chapters 1-7, and there are sections on further reading. Optimality Theory will be welcomed by any linguist with a basic knowledge of derivational Generative Phonology.
Download or read book Expression and Interpretation of Negation written by Henriëtte de Swart and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-05-03 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study in cross-linguistic semantics deploys the framework of bi-directional Optimality Theory to develop a typology of the relationship between syntax and semantics in negation markers and negation indefinites.
Download or read book Crosslinguistic Research in Syntax and Semantics written by Raffaella Zanuttini and published by Georgetown University Press. This book was released on 2006-05-19 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting cutting-edge research in syntax and semantics, this important volume furthers theoretical claims in generative linguistics and represents a significant addition to present scholarship in the field. Leading scholars present crosslinguistic studies dealing with clausal architecture, negation, and tense and aspect, and the issue of whether a statistical model can by itself capture the richness of human linguistic abilities. Taken together, these contributions elegantly show how theoretical tools can propel our understanding of language beyond pretheoretical descriptions, especially when combined with the insight and skills of linguists who can analyze difficult and complex data. Crosslinguistic Research in Syntax and Semantics covers a range of topics currently at the center of lively debate in the linguistic literature, such as the structure of the left periphery of the clause, the proper treatment of negative polarity items, and the role of statistical learning in building a model of linguistic competence. The ten original contributions offer an excellent balance of novel empirical description and theoretical analysis, applied to a wide range of languages, including Dutch, German, Irish English, Italian, Malagasy, Malay, and a number of medieval Romance languages. Scholars and students of semantics, syntax, and linguistic theory will find it to be a valuable resource for ongoing scholarship and advanced study.
Download or read book Perspectives on Dialogue in the New Millennium written by Peter Kühnlein and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 412 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The formal treatment of the semantics and pragmatics of dialogue became possible through a series of breakthroughs in foundational methodology. There is broad consensus on a couple of issues, like the fact that some variety of dynamic theory is necessary to capture certain characteristics of dialogue. Other matters still are disputed.This volume contains papers both of foundational and applied orientation. It is the result of one of a series of specialized Workshops on Formal Semantics and Pragmatics of Dialogue that took place in 2001. One can therefore truly say that it mirrors both the state of the art at the end of the past millennium and research strategies that are pursued at the beginning of the new millennium.The collected papers cover the range from philosophy of language to computer science, from the analysis of presupposition to investigations into corpora, and touches upon topics like the role of speech acts in dialogue or language specific phenomena. This broad coverage will make the volume valuable for students of dialogue from all fields of expertise.
Download or read book More than Words written by Ingrid Kaufmann and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2015-03-30 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This series publishes original contributions which describe and theoretically analyze structures of natural languages. The main focus is on principles and rules of grammatical and lexical knowledge both with respect to individual languages and from a comparative perspective. The volumes cover all levels of linguistic analysis, especially phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics, including aspects of language acquisition, language use, language change, and phonetical and neuronal realization.
Download or read book The Oxford Dictionary of Pragmatics written by Yan Huang and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-09-13 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive guide to the terms, concepts, and theories of pragmatics - the study of language in use - from the traditional to the most recent, showing how they originated and how they are used. A vital resource for students and researchers in linguistics, philosophy, psychology, anthropology, and computational linguistics.
Download or read book The Crosslinguistics of Zero Marking of Spatial Relations written by Thomas Stolz and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2014-07-28 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On the basis of a world-wide convenience sample of 116 languages, the distribution of zero-marking of spatial relations over the languages of the world is shown to largely escape any genetically, areally and/or typologically based constraints. The main goal of this book is to firmly establish the cross-linguistic occurrence of the zero-marking of spatial relations and to provide a framework for its study in terms of economy and predictability.
Download or read book Asymmetries between Language Production and Comprehension written by Petra Hendriks and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-07-31 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book asserts that language is a signaling system rather than a code, based in part on such research as the finding that 5-year-old English and Dutch children use pronouns correctly in their own utterances, but often fail to interpret these forms correctly when used by someone else. Emphasizing the unique and sometimes competing demands of listener and speaker, the author examines resulting asymmetries between production and comprehension. The text offers examples of the interpretation of word order and pronouns by listeners, and word order freezing and referential choice by speakers. It is explored why the usual symmetry breaks down in children but also sometimes in adults. Gathering contemporary insights from theoretical linguistic research, psycholinguistic studies and computational modeling, Asymmetries between Language Production and Comprehension presents a unified explanation of this phenomenon. “Through a lucid, comprehensive review of acquisition studies on reference-related phenomena, Petra Hendriks builds a striking case for the pervasiveness of asymmetries in comprehension/production. In her view, listeners systematically misunderstand what they hear, and speakers systematically fail to prevent such misunderstandings. She argues that linguistic theory should take stock of current psycholinguistic and developmental evidence on optionality and ambiguity, and recognize language as a signaling system. The arguments are compelling yet controversial: grammar does not specify a one-to-one correspondence between form and meaning; and the demands of the mapping task differ for listeners and speakers. Her proposal is formalized within optimality theory, but researchers working outside this framework will still find it of great interest. In the language-as-code vs. language-as-signal debate, Hendriks puts the ball firmly in the other court.” Ana Pérez-Leroux, University of Toronto, Canada
Download or read book Theoretical Aspects of Rationality and Knowledge written by Dov Samet and published by Presses univ. de Louvain. This book was released on 2007 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The biannual conferences bring together researchers from a wide variety of fields sharing a common interest in reasoning about rationality and knowledge. the impact of this tradition, going back to 1986, is apparent in many of today's research trends and in the growth of an intellectual community beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. this volume documents the eleventh conference, held in Brussels, Belgium, in June 2007. it includes contributed papers, 3 invited talks. Like earlier volumes in this series, it gives a window of the state of the art in studies of knowledge and information flow in areas such as probability, linguistic semantics, logics for communication, belief revision, game theory, and interactions between these. should be of value for researchers, teachers, and students alike.
Download or read book The Oxford Handbook of Pragmatics written by Yan Huang and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 753 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together distinguished scholars from all over the world to present an authoritative, thorough, and yet accessible state-of-the-art survey of current issues in pragmatics. Following an introduction by the editor, the volume is divided into five thematic parts. Chapters in Part I are concerned with schools of thought, foundations, and theories, while Part II deals with central topics in pragmatics, including implicature, presupposition, speech acts, deixis, reference, and context. In Part III, the focus is on cognitively-oriented pragmatics, covering topics such as computational, experimental, and neuropragmatics. Part IV takes a look at socially and culturally-oriented pragmatics such as politeness/impoliteness studies, cross- and intercultural, and interlanguage pragmatics. Finally, the chapters in Part V explore the interfaces of pragmatics with semantics, grammar, morphology, the lexicon, prosody, language change, and information structure. The Oxford Handbook of Pragmatics will be an indispensable reference for scholars and students of pragmatics of all theoretical stripes. It will also be a valuable resource for linguists in other fields, including philosophy of language, semantics, morphosyntax, prosody, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics, and for researchers and students in the fields of cognitive science, artificial intelligence, computer science, anthropology, and sociology.
