Licensing Negative Concord Items

This chapter discusses the syntactic configurations and processes that are involved in licensing the various types of NCIs (negative concord items) in Arabic. The author argues for a revised syntactic agreement approach. In this way, the chapter explains the behavior of Arabic NCIs with extra mechanisms (positing an abstract negative operator) to explain non-strict NCIs by conceptualizing a revised inventory of abstract negation features that the various types of Arabic NCIs carry, thus partially building on and departing from analyses for Germanic languages. The coordinators laa-wala ‘neither-nor’ are conspicuous analogues of the NCI wala, which can combine with NPs to create person-NCIs such as wala-ħada ‘no body,’ in their ability to co-occur with the negative adverb maʕumrhiš ‘never’ in the CP (complementizer phrase) layers without triggering a double negation reading. A covert negative operator licenses the coordinators laa-wala as a last resort in the absence of overt licensors.

Response Systems: The Syntax and Semantics of Fragment Answers and Response Particles

This article critically reviews the main research issues raised in the study of response systems in natural languages by addressing the syntax and semantics of fragment answers and yes/no response particles. Fragment answers include replies that do not have a sentential form, whereas response particles consist solely of an affirmative or a negative adverb. While the main research question in the syntax of fragments and response particles has been whether these contain more syntactic structure than what is actually pronounced, the key issues in the study of their semantics are question–answer congruence, the anaphoric potential of response particles, and the meaning of fragments in relation to positive and negative questions. In connection to these issues, this review suggests some interesting avenues for further research: ( a) providing an analysis of particles other than yes/no, ( b) choosing between echoic versus nonechoic forms as answers to polar questions, and ( c) deciding whether some non-lexically-based or nonverbal responses are systematically used in combination with polar particles to express (dis)agreement.

Clause-final negation

Negation in a number of Austronesian and Papuan languages with SVO order is expressed by a rather rigid clause-final position of the negative adverb. Some typological generalizations for negation are reviewed and the distribution of this trait in languages of different stocks is discussed, arguing that it most likely originates in Papuan languages. Some proposals for different types of negation, such as whether it is a verbal (or VP) operator, a constituent operator or a sentential operator are considered. The problem of determining the scope of negation is discussed, with the conclusion that hard and fast semantic meanings for NEG at different structural levels cannot be posited, suggesting that perhaps a solution can be found in the application of some universal pragmatic principles.

Some Aspects of the History of Modern Hindi Nahîn “No”, “Not”

In an examination of word-phrases A. Meillet stated long ago: “Des mots comme oui, non représentent le plus haut degré d'abstraction que puisse atteindre ainsi une réponse consistant en un seul mot.” As has been repeatedly pointed out, the classical Indo-European languages did not have any exact equivalent of this abstract method of expression. The majority of the modern languages on the other hand have arrived at these convenient “special expletive interjections”. Hindi nahîn, like the cognate Marathi nâhĩ, Gujerati nahi(m), etc. typifies this development of most modern Indo-European languages both syntactically and formally: it is used as an equivalent of “no” (though it may serve also as negative adverb), and it represents an enlargement of the old Indo-European negative particle, Sanskrit na. This formal and syntactic transformation of Sanskrit na into modern nahîn has been variously explained. The standard theories involve the addition to the negative particle of some part of a substantive verb, a development by no means isolated in the Indo-European languages. They may be summarized as follows:—I. Theories in which parts of the verb as- “to be” are added.(a) Kellogg stated: “The common negative nahîn, Braj nâhi has arisen from the combination of the negative na with the 3rd singular âhi of the substantive verb.(b) S. K. Chatterji thinks that *asati based on Sanskrit asti may have been added to na.(c) Dwijendranath Basu believes that only a derivation from na + âsit can account for the Bengali forms. Similar explanations were given also by Sen and others.