Phrase Structure and Movement in Japanese

Japanese exhibits some unique features with respect to phrase structure and movement. It is well-known that its phrase structure is strictly head-final. It also provides ample evidence that a sentence may have more complex structure than its surface form suggests. Causative sentences are the best-known example of this. They appear to be simple sentences with verbs accompanying the causative suffix, -sase. But the causative suffix is an independent verb and takes a small clause vP complement in the syntactic representation. Japanese sentences can have a rich structure in the right periphery. For example, embedded clauses may contain up to three overt complementizers, corresponding to Finite (no), Interrogative (ka), and Report/Force (to). Matrix clauses may end in a sequence of discourse particles, such as wa, yo, and ne. Each of the complementizers and discourse particles has a selectional requirement of its own. More research is required to settle on the functional heads in the nominal structure. Among the controversial issues are whether D is present and whether Case markers should be analyzed as independent heads. Various kinds of movement operations are observed in the language. NP-movement to the subject position takes place in passive and unaccusative sentences, and clausal comparatives and clefts are derived by operator-movement. Scrambling is a unique movement operation that should be distinguished from both NP-movement and operator-movement. It does not establish operator-variable relations but is not subject to the locality requirements imposed on NP-movement. It cannot be PF-movement as it creates new binding possibilities. It is still debated whether head movement, for example, the movement of verb to tense, takes place in the language.

Nominal Constructions of the Vertical Level in the Yakut Language

At present, the grammatical and semantic study of nominal constructions as a means of conveying metrological concepts is believed to reveal the general picture of the study of the functional grammar of the Yakut (Saha) language. Widespread constructions obtained by the method of continuous sampling from Yakut imaginative literature and folklore serve as the material of the research. The purpose of the article is to identify the structural and semantic features of the expression of nominal structures on the material of the Yakut language. As the subject matter of the research, we chose constructions of a nominal type, expressing the height / growth of an object, the depth of substances, and the length of hanging objects.It is postulated that in the Yakut language, typical constructions with the instrumental affix -nan and with the dative affix -ar, -gar in combination with the postpositions dieri, dyly and tiye ʻdo, up to’ as means of expressing the level differ from each other not only in their structure, but also semantically. To identify the grammatical and semantic features of nominal constructions with the meaning of the level, different techniques have been used: morphoglossing, taking into account the linguistic specificity of the language, based on the Leipzig rules for the representation of texts, metalanguage transmission of the meaning of the level, description of semantic groups and subgroups, semantic analysis of the nominal structure.The basic nominal and postpositional constructions with the meaning of the level are presented; the component composition of the studied units is described; considered and described is also the semantic structure of qualitative-adverbial units with quantitative meaning. Based on the material of the studied units, it has been established that the situation of measuring the vertical level has its own cognitive significance, which is mostly associated with anthropocentrism. The main names of body parts with the instrumental affix -nan, capable of acting as level indicators, except for harah ʻeyesʼ, haas ʻebrowsʼ, uos ʻlip(s)ʼ, tis ʻtooth(s)ʼ, and other parts of a person’s face are revealed. Constructions with the instrumental case preposition -nan are more static and are mainly used with the verbs of being; the constructions with the dative affix -gar and the postpositions dyly, dieri, tiye ʻdo, up toʼ show more dynamics, thanks to the verbs of movement and achievement.

On quantified DPs in Baule

Baule, a language of the Kwa family, has a rich set of quantifiers, which occur post-nominally within the DP. Moreover, Baule DPs can also combine more than one quantifier, and the order of occurrence of the quantifiers yields different interpretations of the quantified DPs. We focus on three quantifiers, ngba ‘all’, klwaa ‘every’ and jwe ‘some’. Given the distribution and the semantic contribution these quantifiers, we propose a structure of the Baule DP in which quantifiers merge as the head of different functional projections. We show that Baule DPs are strictly head-initial, and argue that the word orders observed within the DP is the result of systematic leftward movement of different portions of the nominal structure.

Differential object marking in Catalan

In this paper we provide a comprehensive picture of differential object marking in Catalan, focusing on both the empirical facts and their theoretical contribution. We support some important conclusions. First, Catalan differential object marking is quite a robust and widespread phenomenon, contrary to what prescriptive grammars assume. Second, we show that, from a formal perspective, Catalan differential object marking cannot be completely subsumed under hierarchical generalizations known as scales. The contribution of narrow syntax mechanisms and nominal structure is fundamental, supporting recent views by López (2012) or Ormazabal and Romero (2007, 2010, 2013a, b), a.o. Building on these works as well as on observations initially made by Cornilescu (2000) and Rodríguez-Mondoñedo (2007), a.o., we adopt an analysis under which canonical, animacy-based differential marking results from the presence of an additional (PERSON) feature, beyond Case. This structural make-up is not only at the core of differences marked objects exhibit from unmarked objects with a Case feature, but also derives the prominence of differential marking on (animates) under information-structure processes, in the high left (and right) periphery, in contexts of the type discussed by Escandell-Vidal (2007a, b, 2009).

The locus of parametric variation in Bantu gender and nominal derivation

In this paper, we capture the crosslinguistic variation in Bantu nominal structure in a unified analysis of gender on n (Kramer 2014, 2015). We demonstrate that this analysis accounts for the morphosyntactic properties of basic nouns as well as locative and diminutive derivations. Moreover, it allows us to capture intra- and inter-language morphosyntactic variation by reference to just three parameters – one strictly morphological and two structural. The presence of one or two n heads, and the size of the complement distinguish between different types of locatives (structural variation); the presence or absence of a spell-out rule of adjacent n heads differentiates “stacking” versus “non-stacking” prefixes in diminutive and augmentative derivations (morphological variation only).

The syntactic structure of the initial and final sentences

The article analyzes the key role of syntactic features in the composition of the text. It was determined that the first and last sentences of the text are syntactically diverse. Sentence words, simple, introductory, and complex sentences perform communicative, expressive, and stylistic functions in the text. The semantic and compressed structures, modality, expressiveness, and stylistic skills that are based on various structures of these sentences were studied to reveal the clarity and comprehensibility of the idea of sentences. It is emphasized that with the help of syntactic laws, by means of one-or two-part sentences that convey the idea of the text, the features of the character are briefly and concisely revealed. The features of the formation of various initial sentences are defined. The syntactic structure of initial and final sentences is different: simple, ambiguous, complete, incomplete, positive, negative. All types of single-part components are nominal, vocative, and non-articulate sentences. However, such sentences are not complex, they are mostly simple short sentences. Semantic and syntactic characteristics of initial and final sentences are described in their idiomatic, narrative, interrogative, and complex forms. It was determined by the semantic properties of rhetorical questions in the initial proposals. It should be noted that the nominal structure of the initial sentences of the text is used not only for ease of description but also for emotionality as if it is related to certain aspects of the plot or the general content of the story and affects the reader's feelings. It is believed that the authors in the initial sentences not only indicate the time or place of the event, but also describe human behavior in relation to the environment and nature, and thus allow the reader to predict the end of the story. It was ascertained that the initial and final sentences, depending on the historical period, can be used in both positive and negative meanings.

Restrictive apposition in Romance languages: Syntactic expansions of a compound pattern

This study aims at improving the scarce corpus data regarding the nominal structure N1 N2 in juxtaposition, as in Romanian stat membru, French état membre, Spanish estado miembro ‘member state’. We supply examples from several Romance languages showing that this structure, which initially was a compound pattern formed from terms calqued from other languages, underwent significant expansions that are ignored even in the recent literature. We attempt to point out the disadvantages of treating this structure strictly in morphology, as most of the literature has done until now, and we document the necessity to analyse this structure in syntax, as a restrictive apposition.

Convergence and divergence in the expression of partitivity in French, Dutch, and German

This paper focusses on the so-called partitive pronoun in French and Dutch, and the corresponding data in German, a language which is assumed not to have partitive pronouns in its standard, in contrast to certain dialectal varieties. Taking the diverse uses of the French partitive pronoun en as a starting point, we investigate the corresponding constructions in Dutch and German. The ultimate aim of the paper is to develop an analysis accounting for the similarities and differences between these languages in relation to the presence/absence of the partitive pronoun. To reach our objectives, we rely on data collected in a Grammaticality Judgment Test taken by native speakers of French, Dutch and German. We put together theory and experimental data in a crosslinguistic perspective investigating three languages that differ in their uses of partitive elements and formalize the results in a model in which the partitive pronoun can replace different portions of the nominal structure.

Adjective ordering in Arabic: Post-nominal structure and subjectivity-based preferences

Adults have a collective tendency to choose certain adjective orderings in nominals with multiple adjectives. For example, English-speaking adults prefer the order big blue box over blue big box; they are uncomfortable with the latter ordering, yet they are unable to articulate why. Scontras, Degen & Goodman (2017) showed that subjectivity is a robust predictor of adjective ordering preferences in English. That is, less subjective adjectives are preferred closer to the noun. In the example big blue box, big is more subjective than blue, so it is preferred farther from the noun. This paper investigates adjective ordering preferences in Arabic, a language with post-nominal adjectives (i.e., a language where adjectives occur after the noun they modify). We have found that native speakers of Arabic have adjective ordering preferences, and, like English, these preferences are predicted by subjectivity. In addition to establishing the preference baseline in monolingually-raised Arabic speakers, we also ask what happens to ordering preferences in heritage speakers: bilinguals who shifted their language dominance from Arabic to English early in childhood.

Korean KE compounds as novel evidence for phrase-to-word compounding in the Syntax

This paper reports on undocumented Korean data, dubbed as KE compounds and analyzes the structure thereof syntactically by alluding to detailed nominal structure and previous (re)analyses of compounding in the syntax, especially addressing the debate between Lexicalism and Anti-lexicalism. Korean KE compounds cannot be analyzed as typical CPs, despite surficial similarities, and they require an analysis with finer nominal structure and compounding in the syntax. Therefore, Korean KE compounding advocates the idea of finer nominal structure and syntactic operations substituting for lexical processes. The paper goes as follows. Firstly, I will outline the ongoing question in linguistic architecture around the lexicon, by addressing the major points and analysis on compounding that Lexicalism and Anti-lexicalism provide, respectively. Secondly, I will report Korean KE compounds data and show how they differ from typical Korean CP constructions. Lastly, I will analyze Korean KE compounding using finer nominal structure and the ideas of forming compounds using syntactic operations. That is, Korean KE compounding is an AspP-to-nP nominalization.