Download or read book Functional Heads Volume 7 written by Laura Brugé and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-06-20 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last two decades, functional heads have been one of the privileged objects of research in generative linguistics. However, within this line of inquiry, two alternative approaches have developed: while the cartographic project considers crosslinguistic evidence as crucial for a complete mapping of functional heads in universal grammar, minimalist accounts tend to consider structural economy as literally involving a reduction in the number of available heads. In this volume, some of the most influential linguists who have participated in this long-lasting debate offer their recent work in short, self-contained case studies. The contributions cover all the main layers of recently studied syntactic structure, including such major areas of empirical research as grammaticalization and language change, standard and non-standard varieties, interface issues, and morphosyntax. Functional Heads attempts to map aspects of syntactic structure according to the cartographic approach, and in doing so demonstrates that the differences between cartography and minimalism are perhaps more superficial than substantial.
Download or read book Functional Heads written by Laura Brugé and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2012-06-20 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The cartographic project considers evidence for a functional head in one language as evidence for it in universal grammar. In this volume, some of the most influential linguists who have participated in this long-lasting debate offer their recent work in short, self contained case studies.
Download or read book Structuring Sense Volume 2 The Normal Course of Events written by Hagit Borer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2005-01-21 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Structuring Sense explores the difference between words however defined and structures however constructed. It sets out to demonstrate over three volumes, of which this is the second, that the explanation of linguistic competence should be shifted from lexical entry to syntactic structure, from memory of words to manipulation of rules. Its reformulation of how grammar and lexicon interact has profound implications for linguistic, philosophical, and psychological theories about human mind and language. Hagit Borer departs from both language specific constructional approaches and lexicalist approaches to argue that universal hierarchical structures determine interpretation, and that language variation emerges from the morphological and phonological properties of inflectional material. The Normal Course of Events applies this radical approach to event structure. Integrating research results in syntax, semantics, and morphology, the author shows that argument structure is based on the syntactic realization of semantic event units. The topics she addresses include the structure of internal arguments and of telic and atelic interpretations, accusative and partitive case, perfective and imperfective marking, the unaccusative-unergative distinction, existential interpretation and post-verbal subjects, and resultative constructions. The languages discussed include English, Catalan, Finnish, Hebrew, Czech, Polish, Russian, and Spanish.
Download or read book Structuring Sense Volume 1 In Name Only written by Hagit Borer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2005-01-20 with total page 340 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Structuring Sense' explores the difference between words however defined and structures however constructed. It sets out to demonstrate that the explanation of linguistic competence should be shifted from lexical entry to syntactic structure, from memory of words to manipulation of rules.
Download or read book Variation in Datives written by Beatriz Fernandez and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2013 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Variation in Datives collects new research on the nature of syntactic micro-variation in datives. The papers in this volume examine different aspects of internal variation in dative marking, such as agreement and case alternations, distribution of adpositional structures and dative case-marking, the different structural positions of dative arguments and their semantic contribution, and patterns of syncretism in the clitic and/or agreement system. Interest in these topics has grown significantly in the past 20 years. Variation in Datives makes a significant contribution to our understanding of language variation, as it adds the micro-comparative perspective to the general discussion and includes 10 new articles on a wide range of European languages, including Greek, Basque, Icelandic, and Serbo-Croatian. Variation in Datives will appeal to scholars and advanced students of syntax, linguistic variation, and especially syntactic micro-variation.
Download or read book The Normal Course of Events written by Hagit Borer and published by Oxford Linguistics. This book was released on 2005 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Structuring Sense' explores the difference between words however defined and structures however constructed. It sets out to demonstrate that the explanation of linguistic competence should be shifted from lexical entry to syntactic structure, from memory of words to manipulation of rules--Résumé de l'éditeur.
Download or read book Parameters of Predicate Fronting written by Vera Lee-Schoenfeld and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In Parameters of Predicate Fronting, Vera Lee-Schoenfeld and Dennis Ott bring together leaders in comparative syntax to explore the empirical manifestations and theoretical modeling of predicate fronting across languages. There exists a rich literature on predicate fronting, but few attempts have been made at synthesizing the resulting empirical observations and theoretical implementations. While individual phenomena have been described, we are far from a complete understanding of the uniformity and variation underlying the wider cross-linguistic picture. This volume takes important steps toward this goal by showcasing state-of-the-art research on predicate fronting and the parameters governing its realization. Covering topics like prosody, VP-fronting, and predicate doubling across a wide range of languages, this collection enriches our understanding of the predicate fronting phenomenon."--Back cover.
Download or read book Adverbial Resumption in Verb Second Languages written by Karen De Clercq and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-12-27 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In verb second (V2) languages, the finite verb typically appears in the second position of the main clause. Languages displaying this configuration typically also allow patterns in which a nominal element at the left edge of the clause is resumed by a nominal constituent which is an argument inside the sentence, effectively leading to a Verb Third (V3) pattern. Such patterns have been studied for a long time; on the other hand, a similar pattern in which an initial adverbial constituent is resumed by a clause-internal element has been much less studied. The latter pattern is referred to as 'adverbial resumption' and it also has the character of being a V3 phenomenon. Therefore, the pattern is labelled 'adverbial V3 resumption' or 'adverbial V3'. Interestingly, adverbial resumption is absent from languages that do not have a V2 pattern, while those languages do display argumental resumption"--
Download or read book Variation in P written by Jacopo Garzonio and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Variation in P is an essential follow-up to the seminal proposals of the generative tradition regarding prepositional syntax. Recent research shows that prepositional phrases have a complex internal structure, and that the grammatical encoding of locative meaning has its own place in universal grammar. The papers collected in the first part of this volume not only test these proposals against new comparative data, but also shed light on the relation between spatial expressions and other semantic relations like possession. The second part of the volume explores the role of prepositions in non-spatial environments as well as in more general phenomena like verbal affixation, ellipsis, and complementation. By drawing on evidence from less studied languages, and by considering prepositional syntax in interaction with clausal syntax as well as within prepositional phrases, Variation in P refines and develops theories introduced by previous generative studies.
Download or read book Aspects of Split Ergativity written by Jessica Coon and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-08-07 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Aspects of Split Ergativity argues that aspect-based split ergativity does not mark a split in how Case is assigned, but rather, a split in sentence structure. The contexts in which we find the appearance of a nonergative pattern in an otherwise ergative language-namely, the nonperfective aspects-involve an intransitive aspectual matrix verb and a subordinated lexical verb.
Download or read book A Comparative Grammar of Borgomanerese written by Christina Tortora and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book treats the morphosyntax of Borgomanerese, a Northern Italian dialect. The rich description of the many unusual features of this dialect, some of which have not been previously reported in the literature, gives rise to a number novel theoretical analyses, advancing our understanding of syntax and syntactic theory.
Download or read book Smuggling in Syntax written by Adriana Belletti and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-11-06 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the fundamental properties of human language is movement, where a constituent moves from one position in a sentence to another position. Syntactic theory has long been concerned with properties of movement, including locality restrictions. Smuggling in Syntax investigates how different movement operations interact with one another, focusing on the special case of smuggling. First introduced by volume editor Chris Collins in 2005, the term 'smuggling' refers to a specific type of movement interaction. The contributions in this volume each describe different areas where smuggling derivations play a role, including passives, causatives, adverb placement, the dative alternation, the placement of measure phrases, wh-in-situ, and word order in ergative languages. The volume also addresses issues like the freezing constraint on movement and the acquisition of smuggling derivations by children. In this work, Adriana Belletti and Chris Collins bring together leading syntacticians to present a range of contributions on different aspects of smuggling. Tackling fundamental theoretical questions with empirical consequences, this volume explores one of the least understood types of movement and points the way toward new research.
Download or read book Anti contiguity written by Jason Kandybowicz and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-10-15 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A recent wave of research has explored the link between wh- syntax and prosody, breaking with the traditional generative conception of a unidirectional syntax-phonology relationship. In this book, Jason Kandybowicz develops Anti-contiguity Theory as a compelling alternative to Richards' Contiguity Theory to explain the interaction between the distribution of interrogative expressions and the prosodic system of a language. Through original and highly detailed fieldwork on several under-studied West African languages (Krachi, Bono, Wasa, Asante Twi, and Nupe), Kandybowicz presents empirically and theoretically rich analyses bearing directly on a number of important theories of the syntax-prosody interface. His observations and analyses stem from original fieldwork on all five languages and represent some of the first prosodic descriptions of the languages. The book also considers data from thirteen additional typologically diverse languages to demonstrate the theory's reach and extendibility. Against the backdrop of data from eighteen languages, Anti-contiguity offers a new lens on the empirical and theoretical study of wh- prosody.
Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Syntax written by Andrew Carnie and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-04-29 with total page 735 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of syntax over the last half century has seen a remarkable expansion of the boundaries of human knowledge about the structure of natural language. The Routledge Handbook of Syntax presents a comprehensive survey of the major theoretical and empirical advances in the dynamically evolving field of syntax from a variety of perspectives, both within the dominant generative paradigm and between syntacticians working within generative grammar and those working in functionalist and related approaches. The handbook covers key issues within the field that include: • core areas of syntactic empirical investigation, • contemporary approaches to syntactic theory, • interfaces of syntax with other components of the human language system, • experimental and computational approaches to syntax. Bringing together renowned linguistic scientists and cutting-edge scholars from across the discipline and providing a balanced yet comprehensive overview of the field, the Routledge Handbook of Syntax is essential reading for researchers and postgraduate students working in syntactic theory.
Download or read book A Unified Theory of Polarity Sensitivity written by Ahmad Alqassas and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book examines polarity sensitivity - a ubiquitous phenomenon involving expressions such as anybody, nobody, ever, never, somebody and their counterparts in other languages with particular focus on Arabic. These expressions belong to different classes such as negative and positive polarity, negative concord, and negative indefinites, which led to examining their syntax and semantics separately. In this book, Ahmad Alqassas pursues unified approach that relies on examining the interaction between the various types of polarity sensitivity. Treating this interaction is fundamental for scrutinizing their licensing conditions. Alqassas draws on data from Standard Arabic and the major regional dialects represented by Jordanian, Egyptian, Moroccan, and Qatari. The book provides a new perspective on the syntax-semantic interface and develops a unified syntactic analysis for polarity sensitivity. Through the (micro)comparative approach, Alqassas explains the distributional contrasts with a minimal set of universal syntactic operations such as Merge, Move and Agree; and fine-grained inventory of negative formal features for polarity items and their licensors. The features are simple invisibles that paint a complex landscape of polarity. The results suggest that syntactic computation of Arabic polarity (externally merged in left periphery) is subservient to the conceptual-intentional interface. Alqassas argues for last resort insertion of covert negation operators in the CP layer to interpret non-strict NCIs, which is an extra mechanism that serves the semantic interface, but adds to the complexity of syntactic computation. Likewise, head NPIs in the left periphery require licensing by operators higher than the tense phrase, adding more constraints on the syntactic licensing"--
Download or read book Nominal Arguments and Language Variation written by Li Julie Jiang and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2020-09-28 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nominal Arguments in Language Variation investigates nominal arguments in classifier languages, refuting the long-held claim that classifier languages do not have overt article determiners. Li Julie Jiang brings the typologically unique Nuosu Yi, a classifier language that has an overt definite determiner (D), to the forefront of the theoretical investigation. By comparing nominal arguments in Nuosu Yi to those in Mandarin, a well-studied classifier language that has no overt evidence of an article determiner, Jiang provides new accounts of variation among classifier languages and extends the parameters to argument formation in general. In addition to paying particular attention to these two classifier languages, the discussion of nominal arguments also covers a wider range of classifier languages and number marking languages from Romance, Germanic, and Slavic to Hindi. Using a broad cross-linguistic perspective and detailed empirical analysis, Nominal Arguments in Language Variation is an important contribution to research on classifier languages and the fields of theoretical syntax, semantics, language variation, and linguistic typology.
Download or read book The Cartography of Chinese Syntax written by Wei-Tien Dylan Tsai and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2015 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This edited volume provides new insights into the architecture of Chinese grammar from a comparative perspective, using principles of cartography. The chapters in this book map out the "topography" of a variety of constructions in Chinese, specifically information structure, wh-question formation, and peripheral functional elements. The syntactic structure of Chinese makes it an ideal language for this line of research, offering a window into the origin of heavily "scrambled" constructions often observed in other languages.
