Revisiting the Syntax of Monsters in Uyghur

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Travis Major
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Clause Structure ◽  
Alternative Analysis ◽  
Discourse Context ◽  
Embedded Clause

This paper is written in response to Shklovsky and Sudo (2014), who propose a syntactic analysis of Uyghur indexical shift, a process by which embedded indexicals, such as "you" and "I" are interpreted relative to the reported context, as opposed to the present discourse context. Based on novel data, I offer an alternative analysis, which argues that there are two distinct types of tensed embedded clause that differ in clause structure, size, and the functional heads present within the structure. I correlate these properties with case, agreement, and indexical shift.

Cumulation Across Attitudes and Plural Projection

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 557-609
Author(s):  
Viola Schmitt
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Analysis ◽  
Individual Concepts ◽  
Part Structure ◽  
De Dicto ◽  
Embedded Clause ◽  
Collective Belief

Abstract This paper investigates cumulative readings of sentences in which some, but not all of the plural expressions have a de dicto reading, i.e. sentences where the lower plural is interpreted in the scope of an attitude verb like believe. I argue that such cases represent a problem for existing accounts of cumulativity, because the required cumulative relation cannot be formed. I then motivate and propose an alternative analysis where all plural expressions are interpreted in situ: I expand the ‘plural projection’ framework put forth by Haslinger & Schmitt (2018, 2019), Schmitt (2019), where embedded pluralities ‘project’ to the denotations of higher nodes in the sense that the latter reflect the part-structure of the former and where cumulativity is derived via a compositional rule in a step-by-step fashion. I show that if the denotations of the plurals with the de dicto construal are analyzed as pluralities of individual concepts, which project in the afore-mentioned sense to pluralities of propositions, the data can be explained straightforwardly. This proposal differs from treatments in terms of collective belief that don’t appeal to pluralities of propositions ( Pasternak 2018a, b), in that it (i) arguably generalizes to a larger number of examples and (ii) links grammatical plurality in the embedded clause to the availability of cumulative readings.

Les questions multiples : le débat continue

2007 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-312
Author(s):  
Denis Liakin
Keyword(s):  
Functional Category ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
Alternative Analysis ◽  
The Matrix ◽  
Embedded Clause

AbstractIn this article we offer an alternative analysis of multiple questions in Russian that is not only related to topic and focus, but also to other discourse factors. The characteristics that put Russian is the same group as Chinese and Japanese also apply to other multiple wh fronting languages such as Bulgarian, Romanian, and Serbo-Croatian, which, according to previous classification, belong to two different groups. We argue that multiple wh fronting languages can be classified on the basis of the presence of a functional category D-WhP in the left periphery of the matrix or embedded clause. This category is related to the discourse and the speaker’s intentions—one of the wh phrases is more important to the speakers than the others.

scholarly journals Reports in Discourse

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Formal Semantics ◽  
Discourse Structure ◽  
Discourse Context ◽  
Rhetorical Structure ◽  
Embedded Clause ◽  
Preceding Discourse ◽  
Speech Reports ◽  
Discourse Interactions

Attitude or speech reports in English with a non-parenthetical syntax sometimes give rise to interpretations in which the embedded clause, e.g., "John was out of town" in the report "Jill said that John was out of town", seems to convey the main point of the utterance while the attribution predicate, e.g., "Jillsaid that", merely plays an evidential or source-providing role (Urmson, 1952). Simons (2007) posits that parenthetical readings arise from the interaction between the report and the preceding discourse context, rather than from the syntax or semantics of the reports involved. However, no account of these discourse interactions has been developed in formal semantics. Research on parenthetical reports within frameworks of rhetorical structure has yielded hypotheses about the discourse interactions of parenthetical reports, but these hypotheses are not semantically sound. The goal of this paper is to unify and extend work in semantics and discourse structure to develop a formal, discourse-based account of parenthetical reports that does not suffer the pitfalls faced by current proposals in rhetorical frameworks.

scholarly journals Syntax, Prosody, Discourse and Information Structure: The case for Unipartite clauses — A View from Spoken Israeli Hebrew / Sintaxe, prosódia, discurso e estrutura informacional: o caso das orações unipartidas. Uma visão do hebraico falado em Israel

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 1675
Author(s):  
Shlomo Izre'el
Keyword(s):  
Information Structure ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Integrative Approach ◽  
Clause Structure ◽  
Discourse Context ◽  
Structure Information ◽  
History Of Linguistics ◽  
Prosodic Boundaries ◽  
History Of ◽  
Necessary And Sufficient

Abstract: The canonical view of clause requires that it include predication. Utterances that do not fit into this view because they lack a subject are usually regarded as elliptical or as non-sentential utterances. Adopting an integrative approach to the analysis of spoken language that includes syntax, prosody, discourse structure, and information structure, it is suggested that the only necessary and sufficient component constituting a clause is a predicate domain, carrying the informational load of the clause within the discourse context, including a “new” element in the discourse, carrying modality, and focused. Utterances that have not been hitherto analyzed as consisting of full clauses or sentences will be reevaluated. The utterance, being a discourse unit defined by prosodic boundaries, can thus be viewed as the default domain of a clause or a sentence, when the latter are determined according to the suggested integrative approach.Keywords: syntax; clause structure; information structure; discourse; context; prosody; utterance; history of linguistics; spoken Israeli Hebrew.Resumo: A posição canônica sobre as orações requer que elas contenham uma predição. Enunciados que não se encaixem nessa visão porque não possuem um sujeito são usualmente considerados elípticos ou como enunciados não-oracionais. Adotando uma visão integrativa para a análise da língua falada, que inclui a sintaxe, a prosódia, a estrutura discursiva e a estrutura informacional, sugere-se que o único componente constituinte necessário e suficiente para uma oração é um domínio predicativo, o qual carregue a carga informacional da oração no contexto do discurso, incluindo-se um “novo” elemento no discurso, que carregue modalidade e foco. Enunciados que até então foram classificados como não sendo orações ou sentenças completas serão reavaliados. O enunciado, sendo uma unidade discursiva definida por fronteiras prosódicas, pode assim ser visto como o domínio de uma oração ou sentença por excelência, quando estas são determinadas através da abordagem integrativa sugerida.Palavras-chave: sintaxe; estrutura oracional; estrutura informacional; discurso; contexto; prosódia; enunciado; história da Linguística; hebraico israelense falado.

scholarly journals The Principle of Least Effort and Comprehension of Spoken Sentences by Younger and Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolai D. Ayasse ◽  
Alana J. Hodson ◽  
Arthur Wingfield
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Sentence Comprehension ◽  
Complex Object ◽  
Clause Structure ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Complex Syntax ◽  
Full Analysis ◽  
Embedded Clause ◽  
Processing Effort ◽  
Memory Resources

There is considerable evidence that listeners’ understanding of a spoken sentence need not always follow from a full analysis of the words and syntax of the utterance. Rather, listeners may instead conduct a superficial analysis, sampling some words and using presumed plausibility to arrive at an understanding of the sentence meaning. Because this latter strategy occurs more often for sentences with complex syntax that place a heavier processing burden on the listener than sentences with simpler syntax, shallow processing may represent a resource conserving strategy reflected in reduced processing effort. This factor may be even more important for older adults who as a group are known to have more limited working memory resources. In the present experiment, 40 older adults (Mage = 75.5 years) and 20 younger adults (Mage = 20.7) were tested for comprehension of plausible and implausible sentences with a simpler subject-relative embedded clause structure or a more complex object-relative embedded clause structure. Dilation of the pupil of the eye was recorded as an index of processing effort. Results confirmed greater comprehension accuracy for plausible than implausible sentences, and for sentences with simpler than more complex syntax, with both effects amplified for the older adults. Analysis of peak pupil dilations for implausible sentences revealed a complex three-way interaction between age, syntactic complexity, and plausibility. Results are discussed in terms of models of sentence comprehension, and pupillometry as an index of intentional task engagement.

scholarly journals Tunnekausatiivilauseen argumenttirakenne II

Virittäjä ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 123 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saara Huhmarniemi
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Syntactic Analysis ◽  
Generative Syntax ◽  
Lower Position ◽  
Express Emotion ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Complement Clause ◽  
Embedded Clause ◽  
Finite Clause

Suomen tunnekausatiivilause muodostuu tunnetta ilmaisevasta verbistä, johon liittyy tyypillisesti partitiivimuotoinen kokija, aiheuttaja tai kumpikin. Aiheuttaja voi olla paitsi nominatiivimuotoinen NP myös lausemainen, kuten ­A-infinitiivi, kun-lause, että-lause tai alisteinen kysymyslause. Tämän artikkelin tavoitteena on osoittaa generatiivisen syntaksin työkaluja käyttäen, että A-infinitiivi ja että-lause sijoittuvat tunnekausatiivi­lauseen argumenttirakenteessa komplementti­positioon, kun taas aiheut­tajana toimiva kun-lause voi sijoittua joko adjunkti- tai komplementti­positioon. Lisäksi artikkelissa esitetään Suomi24-korpusaineiston perusteella, että tunne­kausatiivien luokittelu tunne- ja tuntemusverbeihin korreloi lausemaisen aiheuttaja-argumentin yleisyyden kanssa. Artikkeli on toinen osa kahden artikkelin sarjasta. Ensimmäisessä osassa esitettiin, että aiheuttajana toimiva NP asettuu rakenteessa tyypillisesti ylemmäs kuin kokija. Koska lausemainen aiheuttaja asettuu välttämättä komplementtiin ja alemmas kuin kokija, tunnekausatiivilauseen argumenttirakenne näyttää siis vaihtelevan ainakin aiheuttaja-­argumentin tyypin mukaan.   The argument structure of the Finnish experiencer construction II: An embedded clause as a causer argument This paper investigates the Finnish experiencer construction, which involves a psychological predicate and two optional arguments: the nominative causer and the partitive experiencer. The causer argument can be clausal, such as the A infinitive, the kun clause, a finite clause headed by the complementizer että, or an embedded interrogative clause. Mua    jännittää                      kertoa   tämä         sulle. (colloquial) I.par   excite.caus.pres.3sg   tell.inf   this.nom   you.to ‘I’m excited to tell you about this.’ The aim of this paper is to show within the framework of generative syntax that the A infinitive and the finite complement clause occupy the complement position in the experiencer construction, while the kun clause may occupy either the adjunct or complement position. The syntactic analysis is complemented with a corpus analysis of a corpus taken from the Suomi24 online messaging site. The comprehensive Finnish grammar divides experiencer verbs into two classes: those that express emotion and those that express sensation. The corpus analysis shows that verb type correlates with the frequency of a clausal causer. This article is the second in a series of two. The first article investigated constructions in which the causer argument was an NP. It demonstrated that the causer NP -occupies a higher position in the argument structure than the experiencer NP. In this -article, the author argues that a clausal causer occupies a lower position than the experiencer. This means that the experiencer construction has alternating argument structures for different types of causers.

The Pronominal Copula in Arabic

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lina Choueiri
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Structure ◽  
Domain Boundary ◽  
Clause Structure ◽  
Standard View ◽  
Alternative Analysis ◽  
Verbal Predicate ◽  
Third Person ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Subject Agreement ◽  
Copular Sentences

The literature on the syntax of verbless predication in Arabic is rich, but little attention has been given to the ‘pronominal copula’, PRON. Its main characteristics are well-known: it only takes the form of third person independent pronouns; it is limited to equational sentences, in which the predicate is a definite noun phrase; and it must always occur between the subject and the predicate nominal. A standard view (e.g. Eid 1991, and more recently, Ouhalla 2013) has been to assume that PRON, like its verbal counterpart KN, realizes subject agreement in T. In this paper, I examine the syntax of PRON and review its characteristics in contrast with those of KN. I show that the complex distribution of PRON challenges the standard view and supports an alternative analysis. I propose that equational sentences are underlyingly more complex than predicational verbless sentences: they project an extra functional head F between T and the small clause structure, PredP, in which the non-verbal predicate and its subject are generated. PRON is in FP, while KN is in T. I argue that, because equational sentences involve two elements of the same category, i.e. DP, they are subject to the Distinctness Condition of Richards (2010). FP provides the Spell-Out domain boundary necessary to avoid a Distinctness violation. Finally, I suggest that FP is always headed by a pronominal element that functions as a linker (Philip 2012, Franco et al. 2015), a syntactic head which marks an existing grammatical relation, namely predication, between two DPs. More broadly, my account is in line with the view that the identity/predicational divide in copular sentences corresponds to a difference in syntactic structure.

Strength of Discourse Context as a Determinant of the Subordinate Bias Effect

1999 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 813-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Martin ◽  
Hoang Vu ◽  
George Kellas ◽  
Kimberly Metcalf
Keyword(s):  
Bias Effect ◽  
Discourse Context
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