The interaction between relevant-set based operators and a topic–predicate dimension

Hungarian relevant-set based operators, such as universally quantified noun-phrases and the also-quantifier, signal a logico-pragmatic relation between their explicit meaning and a broader implicit set of relevant participants which property can be mentioned as “double referentiality” of the operator. Furthermore, they indicate the new or correcting information in a topic–predicate dimension which belongs to the broader world of the discourse. Our research aims to identify the differences by investigating the suprasegmental features of each-quantifiers and also-quantifiers on the Hungarian left-periphery indicating the two functions in the topic–predicate dimension. Short sentences in which quantifiers functioning either as the main (new/correcting) information or as a topic (anchor of relevant information) were read by 41 non-linguist native Hungarian subjects. The pitch, intensity and duration properties were analyzed by Praat. On the basis of paired t‑tests of the data, it can be stated that a two-dimension model of information structure is required to capture the phenomenon.

Embodied cognitive semantics for quantification

The present paper proposes an operational semantic model of natural language quantifiers (e.g., many, some, three) and their use in quantified noun phrases. To this end we use embodied artificial agents that communicate in and interact with the physical world. We argue that existing paradigms such as Generalized Quantifiers (Barwise and Cooper 1981; Montague 1973) and Fuzzy Quantifiers (Zadeh 1983) do not provide a satisfactory models for our situated-interaction scenarios and propose a more adequate semantic model, based on fuzzy-quantification.

Fem nya doktorsavhandlingar och en rapport

Senaste nytt i institutionens skriftserier:Rapporter från Växjö universitet. Humaniora. Nr 14 2003. Oral History 1. Teoretiska perspektiv på individuella och kollektiva möten. Red.: Malin Thor och Lars Hansson.Acta Wexionensia. Nr 34 2004. Slakt i takt. Klassformering vid de bondekooperativa slakteriindustrierna i Skåne 1908-1946. (doktorsavhandling i historia). Lars Hansson.Acta Wexionensia. Nr 36 2004. Produktion och arbete i den tredje industriella revolutionen. Tarkett i Ronneby 1970-2000. (doktorsavhandling i historia). Staffan Stranne.Acta Wexionensia. Nr 38 2004. Syntactic variation in English quantified noun phrases with all, whole, both and half. (doktorsavhandling i engelska). Maria Estling Vannestål.Acta Wexionensia. Nr 39 2004. Vi och dom i rörelsen. Skötsamhet som strategi och identitet bland föreningsaktivisterna i Hovmantorps kommun 1884-1930. (doktorsavhandling i historia). Kenneth Strömberg.Acta Wexionensia. Nr 40 2004. Kön, lön och karriär. Sjuksköterskeyrkets omvandling under 1900-talet. (doktorsavhandling i historia). Sune G. Dufwa.

Agreement alternations with quantified nominals in Modern Hebrew

Cross-linguistically, quantified noun phrases (QNPs) trigger one of four agreement patterns: with the quantifier, with the noun, default agreement, or semantic agreement. This paper focuses on agreement alternations in Hebrew, and argues that they follow not from variations in hierarchical structure but from the availability of multiple means of assigning values to the QNP's features. Building upon the index-concord analysis of Wechsler & Zlatić (2003) and adapting it to the Minimalist framework, it is argued that certain agreement patterns are the result of the quantifier bearing a set of abstract features that do not match its morphologically-triggered ones. Variations in QNP agreement patterns are then argued to be subject to constraints at the interfaces of syntax with both semantics and morphology. Overall, it is claimed that even apparent cases of non-local agreement with non-nominative NPs do not really pose a counterexample to established models of agreement, and that this supports the view that the system of ϕ-features cannot be simply an unstructured bundle of morphological features.

Aspect in East and Mainland Southeast Asian Languages — A First Step

The present paper has two intentions. It wants to sketch a typological basis for describing aspect in individual languages and for cross-linguistic comparison and it wants to present some first ideas of how aspect works in languages of East and mainland Southeast Asia. Aspect will be defined in terms of a “selection theory of aspect”. Thus, aspect markers are understood as operators that select matching temporal phases provided by the temporal boundaries as they are determined (a) in the lexicon of verbs or (b) in additional, overt structures such as resultative verbs, markers of Aktionsart, quantified noun phrases and adverbials. Markers of perfective aspect highlight temporal boundaries, while imperfective markers present a state of affairs without reference to them. Languages of East and mainland Southeast Asia differ from prototypical aspect languages such as Russian, Bulgarian or Greek inasmuch as aspect marking is not obligatory and inasmuch as there is no binary opposition of perfective vs. imperfective. In spite of this, there are markers that interact with temporal boundaries and that show typologically remarkable properties not described for other languages. East and mainland Southeast Asian languages may thus contribute a number of new perspectives on the aspect properties.