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Grammatical Classes

Ronald W. Langacker

in Cognitive Grammar: A Basic Introduction

The standard doctrine that basic grammatical classes (parts of speech) are not semantically definable rests on erroneous assumptions about the nature of linguistic meaning. With a proper view of ... More

The standard doctrine that basic grammatical classes (parts of speech) are not semantically definable rests on erroneous assumptions about the nature of linguistic meaning. With a proper view of meaning, basic categories—notably noun and verb—have plausible conceptual characterizations at both the prototype level (for typical examples) and the schema level (valid for all instances). The prototypes are based on conceptual archetypes: objects for nouns, and actions for verbs. The schemas are independent of any particular conceptual content, residing instead in basic cognitive abilities immanent in the archetypes: for nouns, grouping and reification; in the case of verbs, the ability to apprend relationships and to track their evolution through time. An expression's grammatical category specifically depends on the nature of its profile (not its overall content). Thus a noun profiles a thing (defined abstractly as any product of grouping and reification), while a verb profiles a process (a relationship tracked through time). Expressions that profile non-processual relationships include adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, infinitives, and participles. Relational expressions can be categorized in different ways, depending on factors like the number and type of focused participants, whether the profiled relation is simplex or complex, and whether it is apprehended holistically or sequentially. These characterizations prove efficacious in describing how relational expressions function as noun modifiers and in clausal organization.Less

Silent Heads

Halldór Ármann Sigurðsson and Joan Maling

in Functional Heads: The Cartography of Syntactic Structures, Volume 7

This chapter deals with a basic problem of the cartographic approach, namely whether functional projections are always present inter- and intra-linguistically. The analysis reconciles the ... More

This chapter deals with a basic problem of the cartographic approach, namely whether functional projections are always present inter- and intra-linguistically. The analysis reconciles the cartographic approach with a more minimalist perspective. Following Cinque’s (1999) generalization, and analyzing data from Icelandic and English, it suggests that grammatical categories, (i.e., features and/or heads) are present and syntactically active even in those languages in which such features and/or heads are not grammatically signaled. Therefore, these grammatical categories, which build up the clause structure, enter in syntax as interpretable but unvalued features, and their value is subsequently assigned in the course of the derivation. In those languages in which categories like Tense, Person, etc., are signaled by overt morphemes, these morphemes should be considered as uninterpretable, and the corresponding categories should be considered categories that reflect combinations of “atomic” syntactic relations.Less

Transcategorial Shift

Lauren Fonteyn

in Categoriality in Language Change: The Case of the English Gerund

This chapter discusses the literature dealing with the formal and functional features of the major grammatical categories noun and verb, focusing on the so-called “mixed” or “hybrid” structures known ... More

This chapter discusses the literature dealing with the formal and functional features of the major grammatical categories noun and verb, focusing on the so-called “mixed” or “hybrid” structures known as deverbal nominalizations. It is argued that, to understand the peculiarities of these much-discussed constructions and, more generally, to investigate whether abstract linguistic concepts such as “noun” and “verb” are—as suggested in functionalist and cognitive linguistics—to a certain extent “iconic,” we should adopt an approach that devotes attention to structural as well as functional-semantic properties. The discussion will lead to the presentation of a theoretical model of functional-semantic nominality and verbality/clausality, which will serve as the core for further investigation of the functional-semantic organization of the English gerundive system.Less

Objections and Replies

R. M. Sainsbury and Michael Tye

in Seven Puzzles of Thought and How to Solve Them: And How to Solve Them: An Originalist Theory of Concepts

In this chapter a total of 18 objections are canvassed, and our replies given.

A Plea for Words

Carlo Cecchetto and Caterina Donati

in (Re)labeling

Chapter 1 sets the stage for the theory of labeling proposed in this book. In order to claim that words have a labeling power, one must assume that (i) they have a theoretical significance and (ii) ... More

Chapter 1 sets the stage for the theory of labeling proposed in this book. In order to claim that words have a labeling power, one must assume that (i) they have a theoretical significance and (ii) they are intrinsically endowed with a category to transmit. The feasibility of these two assumptions, and ultimately of a traditional lexicalist stand, is discussed at the light of a number of empirical and theoretical arguments. Psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic evidence suggests that category determination is pre-syntactic, namely either words enter syntax already equipped with a label or a root must come bundled with a categorizing head.Less

Language contact and the history of the Spanish lexicon: General and methodological questions

Steven N. Dworkin

in A History of the Spanish Lexicon: A Linguistic Perspective

This chapter stresses the need to study the introduction and incorporation of loanwords from a linguistic rather than a cultural perspective. This approach to loanwords in Spanish must deal with ... More

This chapter stresses the need to study the introduction and incorporation of loanwords from a linguistic rather than a cultural perspective. This approach to loanwords in Spanish must deal with several issues. They include the extralinguistic relationship between the donor and recipient languages, donor-language- versus recipient-language-initiated borrowing, genetic relationship and typological affinities between the donor language and Spanish, transmission through speech or written texts, the legitimacy of the concepts of “necessary” and “luxury” loans, the semantics of loanwords, and the impact of loanwords on the phonology and derivational morphology of Spanish. The study of loanwords must rest on a base of accurate etymologies. Cross-linguistic tendencies observable in the grammatical categories and semantic fields of borrowings may help evaluate etymological proposals concerning possible loanwords. The chapter concludes with some observations on the recently completed Loanword Typology Project.Less

Some final thoughts

Steven N. Dworkin

in A History of the Spanish Lexicon: A Linguistic Perspective

This chapter offers a summary of this book’s findings with regard to the issues raised in Chapter 1. The Latin/Spanish continuum has been receptive throughout its history to the incorporation of ... More

This chapter offers a summary of this book’s findings with regard to the issues raised in Chapter 1. The Latin/Spanish continuum has been receptive throughout its history to the incorporation of loanwords resulting from oral and written language contact. Any analysis of the impact of loanwords must rest on a base of solid etymologies. A study of cross-linguistic trends observable in loanwords may help evaluate hypotheses that identify a specific lexical item as a loanword. This chapter offers thoughts concerning the grammatical category of loanwords, the rivalry between loanwords and items already present in the language, their diffusion through the speech community, and their subsequent integration, vitality, and survival.Less