Theme, Rheme, and Word Order

1978 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Adjémian
Keyword(s):  
Internal Structure ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Generative Grammar ◽  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Formal Grammar ◽  
Prague School ◽  
The 19Th Century

Summary Henri Weil’s thesis, published in Paris during the first half of the 19th century, is the first cogent theory of word order in European linguistics. Weil’s work is the first to argue that discourse structure has an effect on the internal structure of the sentence. His ideas are the direct ancestors of the concepts ‘psychological subject’ and ‘psychological predicate’ which so highly influenced stylistic work into the 20th century. Weil’s insights had very little direct influence on French linguistics but are the source of V. Mathesius’ ‘theme’ end ‘rheme’ and the subsequent Prague School theory of word order. This paper presents an overview of Weil’s thesis, followed by a critical evaluation, in the light of Weil’s work, of a sample of later studies on French word order. The fundamental concepts of Weil’s theory are traced into 20th-century linguistics, with particular attention to their evolution in Prague School theory. Finally, a brief survey of work in generative grammar on discourse and the sentence is presented. In conclusion it is claimed that the rediscovery in formal grammar of the role of discourse structure in shaping the internal structure of the sentence is a comtemporary confirmation of Weil’s thesis.

19th and 20th century theories of case

1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 123-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Cienki
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Cognitive Representation ◽  
Spatial Expressions ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
19Th And 20Th Century ◽  
The 19Th Century

Summary This article considers the similarities and differences between two types of semantically-based approaches to the study of grammatical case. One approach, which views the basic meanings of cases as spatial, stems from the localist hypothesis, which claims that spatial expressions serve as structural templates for other expressions. This view was most strongly espoused by certain German linguists in the 19th century, but has found support in the 20th century as well. The range of localist theories of case and the extent of the claims made by different localists are considered. These are compared and contrasted with contemporary approaches subsumed under the banner of ‘cognitive linguistics’. Research in this vein has focussed on the role of spatial notions in the semantics of case, but within a broader framework of human conceptualization. According to this view, space is only one of several domains which are basic to cognitive representation.

scholarly journals The Role of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the Countermovements Against Economic Liberalism

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jose Villalobos Ruiz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Detailed Examination ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
Economic Liberalism ◽  
Double Movement ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 19Th Century

<p><b>In recent years, revisionist studies of the history of economic, social and cultural rights have deemed that the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) is a failed instrument. My thesis explores the extent to which that assessment is accurate and concludes that, although the ICESCR’s drafters did imbue the treaty with a strong purpose of resistance against the detrimental impacts of economic liberalism, the instrument’s ties to its historical roots might be too strong for it to serve an effective purpose in present and future efforts to push back against excessive marketisation. </b></p> <p>In order to fully understand both the ICESCR’s shortcomings and its unfulfilled potential, it is helpful to analyse the treaty’s content and purpose from the perspective of Karl Polanyi’s theory of the double movement. This theory, presented by Polanyi in his 1944 monograph The Great Transformation, established that the 19th century was defined by a struggle between those who advocated for economic liberalism and those who protected society from that economic model through a “countermovement” that promoted mechanisms of “social protection”. A current wave of neo-Polanyian scholarship has reinterpreted the double movement as a pendulum that has continued to swing between economic liberalism and social protection, explaining the rise of neoliberal practices in the second half of the 20th century and contemporary efforts to limit the influence of the market over society.</p> <p>From a neo-Polanyian viewpoint, the ICESCR was a product of the second countermovement – a series of actions taken by governments all around the world during the mid-20th century to mitigate the harmful effects of the market on people’s wellbeing. After conducting a detailed examination of the ICESCR’s travaux préparatoires, I determine that the members of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights consciously shaped the treaty according to six principles that I identify as underlying the second countermovement. </p> <p>This thesis argues that such an intimate connection with those principles, which at first might seem benign, is the source of the ICESCR’s current limitations. Because the instrument is a product of the second countermovement, it is now out of place in an era where economic liberalism presents different challenges than it did in the mid-20th century. That dilemma is illustrated by the contrast between the tentative approach of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – bound by the constraints of the ICESCR – and the confrontational tone of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, which has taken advantage of its wider mandate to endorse practices of an emerging third countermovement that directly address the specific challenges of this era. Therefore, while the ICESCR has been used by those bodies to resist neoliberal ambitions, the treaty might become less relevant the further we move away – both chronologically and socio-politically – from the second countermovement.</p>

scholarly journals THE MEANS OF EXPRESSION OF THE CATEGORY OF ADMIRATIVENESS IN RUSSIAN, FRENCH AND ENGLISH

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena K. Kuzmina ◽  
Gulnara G. Nazarova ◽  
Lilia R. Nizameeva ◽  
Gérard Broussois
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
English Language ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Grammatical Category ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
French And English ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Linguistic Phenomenon

The comprehension of admirativeness as an independent category took place relatively recently – at the end of the 20th century. Until now, some scholars have not recognized an independent character of admirative. However, in recent years there has been an increasingly noticeable tendency to recognize the separate role of admirativeness and to indicate that the expression of surprise evoked by unexpected information cannot be combined with similar meanings. At the same time, the ways and degree of expression of admirativeness in different language systems vary significantly. The introduction of such grammatical category as admirativeness and the term “admirative” refers to the second half of the 19th century. In 1879, O. Dozon coined the term in his works on the Albanian language. The choice of this name (Fr. admiratif comes from the verb “to admire”) is determined by the fact that the linguist interpreted the concept as a certain sense of admiration or surprise, often having an ironic character. Further the development of this direction showed that admirative had the meaning of surprise rather than admiration. In this connection, in 1997, S. de Lancey first singled out this concept into a separate grammatical category. The scholar substantiates it by the fact that in a number of languages, such as Korean, Turkish, Tibetan, Dardic, Sanvar, etc., admirative has a separate grammatical expression. The identification of admirativeness as a separate linguistic phenomenon with a number of specific features has been still the subject of controversy among the researchers. Characteristics and distinctive features of admirativeness, allowing for the separation it from other similar categories will be considered later in the paper (Davletbaeva et al., 2013). In his writings, S. de Lancey uses the term “mirative”, thereby excluding its correlation with admiration introduced by O. Dozon from the meaning of the concept, and indicating that its primary function is to convey the subject’s astonishment. To date, the term “mirative” is widely used in English-language grammar. V.A. Plugnyan notes that the use of this term is more grounded from a typological point of view, however, the use of the concept “admirative” is often retained in domestic works (Smagina, 1996).

2. From colony to empire to republic

2020 ◽  
pp. 15-29
Author(s):  
Anthony W. Pereira
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Gold Rush ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Indigenous Groups ◽  
Essential Components ◽  
Unique Path ◽  
African Slaves ◽  
The 19Th Century

‘From colony to empire to republic’ details Brazil’s unique path to statehood and nationhood. Brazil is a relatively recent creation. For more than three centuries, it was a colony of Portugal, and for the first sixty-seven years of its independent history, it was a monarchy and an empire rather than a republic. It is only in the 20th century that Brazil had all three essential components of a modern nation-state. The chapter then considers the role of indigenous groups, the Portuguese, African slaves, and other immigrants—as well as the events of the gold rush in the 1690s and the Paraguay War in the 19th century—in Brazil’s history.

El tratamiento del orden de palabras en algunas gramáticas españoles de los siglos XIX y XX

2000 ◽  
Vol 27 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 415-436
Author(s):  
Eugenia Casielles
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Word Order Variation ◽  
Order Variation ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
Grammatical Tradition

SummaryThis paper examines the treatment of word order in some of the most influential grammars of Spanish from the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, with special attention given to the interpretation they offer of displaced elements, particularly subjects and objects. Although there was not much in the grammatical tradition about this topic that these authors could build upon, a careful reading of their works reveals an awareness of the difficulties involved in explaining word order variation. Furthermore, we find very valuable suggestions regarding the topical nature of some displacements, and the emphatic or focal interpretation of others.RésuméDans cet article, on examine de quelle manière les plus influentes grammaires espagnoles de la fin du XIXe et du début du XXe siècle traitaient de la question de l’ordre des mots, accordant une attention particulière à l’interprétation offerte des éléments disloqués, surtout les sujets et les compléments d’objet. Bien qu’il n’y avait pas grand-chose dans la tradition grammaticale d’alors qui pouvait servir de base aux auteurs, une lecture attentive de leurs oeuvres montre qu’on avait conscience des difficultés liées à l’explication de la variation dans l’ordre des mots. De plus, on trouve sur ces dislocations de précieuses suggestions quant à la nature ‘topicalisée’ des unes et la nature emphatique ou ‘focalisée’ des autres.ZusammenfassungDer Beitrag untersucht die Behandlung der Wortstellung in den einflußreichsten Grammtiken des Spanischen aus dem 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert, unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Erklärungen, die sie für sog. versetzbare Elemente anbieten, insbesondere, was Subjekt und Objekt angeht. Obgleich es kaum eine grammatische Tradition gab, auf der diese Autoren sich hätten stützen können, fördert eine sorgfältige Lektüre ihrer Werke doch ein Bewußtsein der Probleme zutage, die beim Erklären der Wortstellungsvariation auftreten. Darüberhinaus finden sich in ihnen auch eine Reihe wertvoller Vorschläge bezüglich der herausstellenden Natur solcher versetzbarer Elemente sowie der emphatischen und fokussierenden Auslegung anderer.

scholarly journals The New Role of Ulama in Nigeria: Focus on the Post 1999 Democratic Dispensation

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 391
Author(s):  
Mukhtar Umar Bunza
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Northern Nigeria ◽  
British Imperialism ◽  
The Government ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
The 19Th Century ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Muslim Scholars

Nigeria is a country with a centuries’ long tradition of Islamic revivalism and activism. It was the impact of the activities of the 17th century scholars of Nigeria that culminated in the success of the 19th century tajdeed movement that brought about the emergence of the muslim caliphate of Sokoto. British imperialism brought an end to the caliphate in the beginning of the 20th century, the circumstances of which have been consistently challenged mainly by the ulama and their followers ever since. Some contemporary scholars such as Shaikh Abubakar Mahmud Gummi, former Grand Qadi of Northern Nigeria, contributed significantly in the new dimension to the roles of muslim scholars in the government. Since 1999 muslim scholars have taken on new roles in the administration of states, serving as commissioners for newly established ministries for Religious Affairs, as special advisers, or directors of commissions like Hisbah, Hajj, Masjid, Moon Sighting, and other related government bodies, with full salaries and other benefits unlike ever before in the Nigerian system. This new role of ulama and its impacts in the governance of the contemporary Nigeria is what this paper intends to investigate and expound.[Nigeria merupakan sebuah negara dengan tradisi revivalisme dan aktivisme Islam selama berabad-abad. Hal itu terkait dengan upaya para ulama Nigeria abad ke-17 yang berpuncak pada keberhasilan gerakan tajdid pada abad 19 dengan munculnya kekhalifahan muslim dari Sokoto. Imperialisme Inggris mengakhiri kekhalifahan ini pada awal abad ke-20, yang terus dilawan oleh terutama para ulama secara konsisten. Beberapa ulama kontemporer seperti Syaikh Abubakar Mahmud Gummi, mantan Grand Qadi Nigeria Utara, memberikan kontribusi signifikan dalam membentuk dimensi baru peran ulama dalam pemerintahan Nigeria modern. Sejak tahun 1999 para ulama telah mengambil peran baru dalam pemerintahan, sebagai pegawai Kementerian Agama yang baru didirikan, sebagai penasihat ahli, atau direktur komisi seperti Hisbah, Haji, Masjid, Rukyah Hilal, dan badan-badan pemerintah terkait lainnya, dengan gaji penuh. Peran baru dari ulama dan pengaruhnya dalam pemerintahan Nigeria kontemporer inilah yang menjadi fokus tulisan ini.]

scholarly journals Poetycka wyspa pokoju: O powstaniu, działalności i światowych aspiracjach arabskiego Stowarzyszenia Apollo

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ida Balwierz
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Arabic Literature ◽  
International Forum ◽  
Arabic Poetry ◽  
Monthly Review ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
The 19Th Century

THE POETIC ISLAND OF PEACE. THE FORMATION, ACTIVITY AND WORD-WIDE ASPIRATIONS OF THE ARABIC APOLLO SOCIETY The object of the book is the presentation of the genesis and activity of the Apollo Society, acting in Egypt within the years 1932-1934 for the benefit of the rebirth of Arabic poetry. Particular attention in this book was paid to the peaceful mission that the society itself selected, and the ideas of brotherhood, cooperation, and international literary exchange – on which it was based. The leading representatives of this group understood the rebirth of Arabic poetry as such an increase of its artistic level that would enable its creators to join the Parnassus of the world poetry, become equal partners alongside the English, French or German poets. They dreamed their poetic works would become the great pride of the Arabs in the international forum. The book presents the various stages of the rebirth of Arabic poetry in Egypt during the second half of the 19th century to the first four decades of the 20th century. Factors that enabled the development of poetry were characterized, the role of the Apollo Society and the monthly review published by it was shown in the history of Arabic literature. The 20s of the 20th

scholarly journals In the Service of Abundance

2000 ◽  
Vol 122 (08) ◽  
pp. 58-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
John K. Shueller
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
19Th Century ◽  
Growth Process ◽  
Cutting Tools ◽  
Agricultural Mechanization ◽  
Small Grains ◽  
The Many ◽  
Human Powered ◽  
The 19Th Century

This article focuses on the role of agriculture mechanization in the growth process in different fields. Many innovations in agricultural mechanization occurred in the middle of the 19th century. Agricultural mechanization is often exemplified by the development of the tractor. A key figure in the development of tractors was a Michigan farm boy who first became interested in technology when he saw a large steam traction engine. The adoption of the gasoline tractor was aided significantly by successful demonstrations and tests. The many 20th-century advancements in machinery to till soil, plant, remove weeds, and apply fertilizers and pesticides are too numerous to discuss here. However, at least harvesting equipment should be discussed because its mechanization trailed only tractors in importance. Cyrus McCormick’s reaper replaced human-powered cutting tools in small grains with a horse-drawn machine in the 19th century.

scholarly journals WORD ORDER AND CONSTITUENCY OF SERIAL VERB CONSTRUCTIONS

2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-151
Author(s):  
Yongzhong Yang
Keyword(s):  
Internal Structure ◽  
Word Order ◽  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Generative Grammar ◽  
Serial Verb Constructions ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Null Argument ◽  
Serial Verb

Abstract The goal of this paper is to provide a unified account of word order and constituency of serial verb constructions (SVCs) in the framework of generative grammar. It is argued that both SVO-type and SOV-type SVCs follow the Temporal Iconicity, which is associated with the asymmetric nature of syntactic structure, i.e. V1 or VP1 c-commands V2 or VP2 asymmetrically. Based on this argument, an analysis for the derivation of SVCs - Inter-VP Asymmetrical C-command Analysis - is proposed to account for the derivation of SVCs in various languages. It is argued that in the SVC there exists a null predicate and a null argument, the occurrence or non-occurrence of which gives rise to different types of SVCs. Furthermore, left peripheral deletion (LPD) triggers the movement of VP1’s Spec to [Spec IP] and the occurrence of VP2’s Spec as pro, as a result of which VP1 asymmetrically c-commands VP2. Object gapping triggers the ATB movement of VP2 to generate various types of SVCs. The differences between coordinative constructions, pivotal constructions and SVCs lie in their internal structure but not in the verb position.

A History of Creole Studies

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvio Moreira de Sousa ◽  
Johannes Mücke ◽  
Philipp Krämer
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
History Of Research ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
European Colonialism ◽  
Creole Languages ◽  
The 19Th Century

As an institutionalized subfield of academic research, Creole studies (or Creolistics) emerged in the second half of the 20th century on the basis of pioneering works in the last decades of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. Yet its research traditions—just like the Creole languages themselves—are much older and are deeply intertwined with the history of European colonialism, slavery, and Christian missionary activities all around the globe. Throughout the history of research, creolists focused on the emergence of Creole languages and their grammatical structures—often in comparison to European colonial languages. In connection with the observations in grammar and history, creolists discussed theoretical matters such as the role of language acquisition in creolization, the status of Creoles among the other languages in the world, and the social conditions in which they are or were spoken. These discussions molded the way in which the acquired knowledge was transmitted to the following generations of creolists.

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