scholarly journals Singular they and the syntactic representation of gender in English

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwyn M. Bjorkman
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Representation

Syntactic representation of null arguments

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Ruda
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Variation ◽  
Null Arguments ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Independent Features ◽  
Argument Omission ◽  
Type Shifting

Focusing on definite-argument drop, this chapter puts forward the hypothesis that null arguments are minimally represented as [nPn] and maximally as a fully-fledged pronoun ([DP D [PersP Pers [NumP Num [nPn]]]] or [PersP Pers [NumP Num [nPn]]]). The (un)availability of such arguments in a language is a consequence of independent features of its grammar: the lexical specification of its nominalizing n heads (esp. their association with phonetic material) and the avaialbility of post-syntactic type-shifting operations (esp. ι‎). The working of this approach is illustrated mostly with data from English, Polish, and Kashubian. The two latter languages are argued here to differ from English with respect to the inflectional properties of their nouns, as well as with respect to the mechanisms of NP interpretation. The chapter discusses the predictions thehypothesis makes about the identity of null arguments with respect to cross-linguistic variation in the patterns of argument omission.

scholarly journals Recursion and the Definition of Universal Prosodic Categories

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Lisa Lai-Shen Cheng ◽  
Laura J. Downing
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
High Ranking ◽  
Syntactic Theory ◽  
Current Controversy ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Prosodic Categories ◽  
Phonological Phrase

It is widely agreed that prosodic constituents should mirror syntactic constituents (unless high-ranking prosodic constraints interfere). Because recursion is a feature of syntactic representations, one expects recursion in prosodic representations as well. However, it is of current controversy what kinds of syntactic representation motivate prosodic recursion. In this paper, the use of Phonological Phrase recursion is reviewed in several case studies, chosen because prosodic recursion mostly does not reflect syntactic recursion as defined in current syntactic theory. We provide reanalyses that do not appeal to prosodic recursion (unless syntactically motivated), showing that Phonological Phrase recursion is not necessary to capture the relevant generalizations. The more restrictive use of prosodic recursion we argue for has the following conceptual advantages. It allows for more consistent cross-linguistic generalizations about the syntax–prosody mapping so that prosodic representations more closely reflect syntactic ones. It allows the fundamental syntactic distinctions between clause (and other phases) and phrase to be reflected in the prosodic representation, and it allows cross-linguistic generalizations to be made about the prosodic domain of intonational processes, such as downstep and continuation rise.

scholarly journals COMPLETELY REDUCIBLE SETS

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (04) ◽  
pp. 915-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
DOMINIQUE PERRIN
Keyword(s):  
Closure Properties ◽  
Linear Representations ◽  
Complete Reducibility ◽  
The Family ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Completely Reducible ◽  
Rational Sets ◽  
Cyclic Sets

We study the family of rational sets of words, called completely reducible and which are such that the syntactic representation of their characteristic series is completely reducible. This family contains, by a result of Reutenauer, the submonoids generated by bifix codes and, by a result of Berstel and Reutenauer, the cyclic sets. We study the closure properties of this family. We prove a result on linear representations of monoids which gives a generalization of the result concerning the complete reducibility of the submonoid generated by a bifix code to sets called birecurrent. We also give a new proof of the result concerning cyclic sets.

Review of May & Koster (1981): Levels of Syntactic Representation

1982 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 428-434
Author(s):  
Marie-Christine Poilpré ◽  
Michel Reynard
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Representation

Syntactic Dependencies as Memorized Sequences in the Brain

2005 ◽  
Vol 50 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 241-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yosef Grodzinsky
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Functional Neuroanatomy ◽  
Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Broca’S Region ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Syntactic Approach ◽  
Syntactic Relations ◽  
Syntactic Dependencies ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThe prospects of a cognitive neuroscience of syntax are considered with respect to functional neuroanatomy of two seemingly independent systems: Working Memory and syntactic representation and processing. It is proposed that these two systems are more closely related than previously supposed. In particular, it is claimed that a sentence with anaphoric dependencies involves several Working Memories, each entrusted with a different linguistic function. Components of Working Memory reside in the Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus, which is associated with Broca’s region. When lesioned, this area manifests comprehension disruptions in the ability to analyze intra-sentential dependencies, suggesting that Working Memory spans over syntactic computations. The unification of considerations regarding Working Memory with a purely syntactic approach to Broca’s regions leads to the conclusion that mechanisms that compute transformations—and no other syntactic relations—reside in this area.

scholarly journals Syntax or nothing: Some theoretical and empirical remarks on implicit arguments

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres Saab
Keyword(s):  
Argument Structure ◽  
Subject Position ◽  
Satisfactory Solution ◽  
Syntactic Theory ◽  
Repair Strategy ◽  
Implicit Arguments ◽  
Syntactic Representation

<p>I show that core implicit subjects in Spanish (i.e., the ones that occur with analytical passives, impersonal <em>se</em>, and causatives) can be derived from a theory under which absence of <em>Merge</em> in external subject position is a possible syntactic output. Core implicit arguments then have no syntactic representation (<em>pace</em> Landau 2010). Absence of <em>Merge</em> can make to arise two different scenarios: (i) a conflict at the interfaces, which requires the implementation of some repair strategy, (ii) no conflict at the interfaces; i.e., a legitimate object at the interfaces. The first scenario is illustrated with reference to the so-called impersonal <em>se</em> in Spanish, and the second one with reference to analytical passives. The proposed system is able to capture a set of very intricate facts that does not have a satisfactory solution hitherto. Crucially, this particular view on implicit arguments, together with a purely syntactic theory of argument structure, derives the full distribution of impersonals and reflexives in <em>hacer</em> ‘to make’ causative contexts. Finally, it is shown that the arbitrary readings that the two scenarios above described display have a different source: whereas impersonal <em>se</em> requires (costly) default computation at the interface, arbitrary interpretations in analytical passives are calculated at the <em>v</em>P level.   </p>

Non-restrictive relatives are not orphans

2007 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
DOUG ARNOLD
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Restrictive Relative Clauses ◽  
Restrictive Relatives

According to a ‘radical orphanage’ approach, non-restrictive relative clauses are not part of the syntactic representation of the sentence that contains them. It is an appealing view, and seems to capture some important properties of non-restrictive relative clauses. Focusing mainly on empirical shortcomings, this paper aims to show that the appeal of such approaches is illusory. It also outlines an empirically superior ‘syntactically integrated’ account.

The Syntactic Representation of Scope

2014 ◽  
pp. 13-16
Author(s):  
Chris Collins ◽  
Paul M. Postal
Keyword(s):  
Syntactic Representation
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