Cynthia L. Allen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199216680
- eISBN:
- 9780191711893
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216680.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, English Language
This chapter outlines the theoretical orientation of the book and the rationale for a new study. The nature of the genitive case is examined and the use of typology in historical syntax is discussed. ...
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This chapter outlines the theoretical orientation of the book and the rationale for a new study. The nature of the genitive case is examined and the use of typology in historical syntax is discussed. The methodology of the book is outlined.Less
This chapter outlines the theoretical orientation of the book and the rationale for a new study. The nature of the genitive case is examined and the use of typology in historical syntax is discussed. The methodology of the book is outlined.
Cynthia L. Allen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199216680
- eISBN:
- 9780191711893
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216680.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, English Language
This book examines the history of adnominal genitive phrases from Old to Early Modern English, focusing on the evidence provided by a systematic corpus study and the role of linguistic typology in ...
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This book examines the history of adnominal genitive phrases from Old to Early Modern English, focusing on the evidence provided by a systematic corpus study and the role of linguistic typology in diachronic syntax. It is argued that arguments based on typology should not outweigh the evidence presented by the texts. Particular attention is paid to the nature of the possessive marker in Middle English, since previous studies, which have concluded that the marker was a clitic at an early stage, suffer from an inadequate empirical base. Two chapters are devoted to establishing that the ‘his genitive’ found in many early texts is not to be equated with the possessor doubling construction found in many Germanic languages. The relationship between possessives and determiners in earlier English is also examined.Less
This book examines the history of adnominal genitive phrases from Old to Early Modern English, focusing on the evidence provided by a systematic corpus study and the role of linguistic typology in diachronic syntax. It is argued that arguments based on typology should not outweigh the evidence presented by the texts. Particular attention is paid to the nature of the possessive marker in Middle English, since previous studies, which have concluded that the marker was a clitic at an early stage, suffer from an inadequate empirical base. Two chapters are devoted to establishing that the ‘his genitive’ found in many early texts is not to be equated with the possessor doubling construction found in many Germanic languages. The relationship between possessives and determiners in earlier English is also examined.
Frederick J. Newmeyer
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199274338
- eISBN:
- 9780191706479
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199274338.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Language Families
This chapter addresses the question of how direct the linkage is between functional pressures and the typological distribution of formal elements that represents a response to those pressures. It ...
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This chapter addresses the question of how direct the linkage is between functional pressures and the typological distribution of formal elements that represents a response to those pressures. It contrasts two positions on the question: one of which maintains that the link between grammatical constructs and functional motivations is very close, the other that maintains that the relationship between the two is extremely indirect. The latter position is shown to be the correct one.Less
This chapter addresses the question of how direct the linkage is between functional pressures and the typological distribution of formal elements that represents a response to those pressures. It contrasts two positions on the question: one of which maintains that the link between grammatical constructs and functional motivations is very close, the other that maintains that the relationship between the two is extremely indirect. The latter position is shown to be the correct one.
Terry Crowley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198241355
- eISBN:
- 9780191712050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198241355.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Language Families
Linguistic areas can develop where languages belong to linguogenetic groupings of completely different origins, rather than just different subgroups within a single language family. There is strong ...
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Linguistic areas can develop where languages belong to linguogenetic groupings of completely different origins, rather than just different subgroups within a single language family. There is strong evidence, for example, that Austronesian languages of the Oceanic subgroup which have come into contact with non-Austronesian languages in the New Guinea area have acquired some originally non-Austronesian structural features as a result of contact. This has affected even major grammatical patterns such as the basic constituent order, with Oceanic languages in this area often exhibiting the widespread non-Austronesian SOV constituent order in contrast to other Oceanic languages. This chapter discusses the similarities and differences between languages, linguistic typology, serial verbs and serial verb constructions, quantification of serialization, and grammaticalization of serial verbs.Less
Linguistic areas can develop where languages belong to linguogenetic groupings of completely different origins, rather than just different subgroups within a single language family. There is strong evidence, for example, that Austronesian languages of the Oceanic subgroup which have come into contact with non-Austronesian languages in the New Guinea area have acquired some originally non-Austronesian structural features as a result of contact. This has affected even major grammatical patterns such as the basic constituent order, with Oceanic languages in this area often exhibiting the widespread non-Austronesian SOV constituent order in contrast to other Oceanic languages. This chapter discusses the similarities and differences between languages, linguistic typology, serial verbs and serial verb constructions, quantification of serialization, and grammaticalization of serial verbs.
Cynthia L. Allen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199216680
- eISBN:
- 9780191711893
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216680.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, English Language
This chapter summarizes the findings of the book as a whole. Arguments based on typology cannot be given more importance than the evidence provided by reliable texts, nor can it be assumed that ...
More
This chapter summarizes the findings of the book as a whole. Arguments based on typology cannot be given more importance than the evidence provided by reliable texts, nor can it be assumed that similar-looking constructions in two languages arose in the same way. If changes to grammars are thought of in terms of parameter settings, the change in the settings is the final stage in syntactic change, not the beginning.Less
This chapter summarizes the findings of the book as a whole. Arguments based on typology cannot be given more importance than the evidence provided by reliable texts, nor can it be assumed that similar-looking constructions in two languages arose in the same way. If changes to grammars are thought of in terms of parameter settings, the change in the settings is the final stage in syntactic change, not the beginning.
Cynthia L. Allen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199216680
- eISBN:
- 9780191711893
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216680.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, English Language
This chapter looks at the ‘his genitive’ in earlier stages of English. It is concluded that except for a brief period in Early Modern English, there is no evidence for a possessor doubling ...
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This chapter looks at the ‘his genitive’ in earlier stages of English. It is concluded that except for a brief period in Early Modern English, there is no evidence for a possessor doubling construction parallel to those found in many Germanic languages. The possessor doubling construction found in Early Modern English appears to have arisen as a re-analysis of the phrase-final -s genitive.Less
This chapter looks at the ‘his genitive’ in earlier stages of English. It is concluded that except for a brief period in Early Modern English, there is no evidence for a possessor doubling construction parallel to those found in many Germanic languages. The possessor doubling construction found in Early Modern English appears to have arisen as a re-analysis of the phrase-final -s genitive.
Terry Crowley
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198241355
- eISBN:
- 9780191712050
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198241355.003.0007
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Semantics and Pragmatics, Language Families
This chapter examines a number of broader issues suggested by the kinds of patterns of verb serialization that have been observed in Oceanic languages. One major question that can be asked about ...
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This chapter examines a number of broader issues suggested by the kinds of patterns of verb serialization that have been observed in Oceanic languages. One major question that can be asked about serial verb constructions relates to whether or not such a pattern represents some kind of substantive linguistic universal. A survey of a selection of accounts of Oceanic languages, carried out with a view to establishing a relationship between poorness of adpositions and richness of serial verbs (with languages presented in order of increasing adpositional richness), shows that there is no consistent correlation between adpositional poverty and serial verb richness. The chapter discusses serial verbs and linguistic typology, as well as cognitive implications of serial verb constructions and serial verbs and linguistic theory.Less
This chapter examines a number of broader issues suggested by the kinds of patterns of verb serialization that have been observed in Oceanic languages. One major question that can be asked about serial verb constructions relates to whether or not such a pattern represents some kind of substantive linguistic universal. A survey of a selection of accounts of Oceanic languages, carried out with a view to establishing a relationship between poorness of adpositions and richness of serial verbs (with languages presented in order of increasing adpositional richness), shows that there is no consistent correlation between adpositional poverty and serial verb richness. The chapter discusses serial verbs and linguistic typology, as well as cognitive implications of serial verb constructions and serial verbs and linguistic theory.
Cynthia L. Allen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199216680
- eISBN:
- 9780191711893
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216680.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, English Language
This chapter surveys possessive markers in the modern Germanic languages and looks at the Common Germanic background relevant to the remainder of the book.
This chapter surveys possessive markers in the modern Germanic languages and looks at the Common Germanic background relevant to the remainder of the book.
Cynthia L. Allen
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199216680
- eISBN:
- 9780191711893
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199216680.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, English Language
This chapter looks at possessor doubling constructions, in which a form looking like a possessive pronoun is used, instead of an inflection, as a possessive marker, in various Germanic languages. ...
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This chapter looks at possessor doubling constructions, in which a form looking like a possessive pronoun is used, instead of an inflection, as a possessive marker, in various Germanic languages. This prepares the ground for a comparison of possessive construction found in earlier English with these doubling constructions.Less
This chapter looks at possessor doubling constructions, in which a form looking like a possessive pronoun is used, instead of an inflection, as a possessive marker, in various Germanic languages. This prepares the ground for a comparison of possessive construction found in earlier English with these doubling constructions.
Neil Myler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262034913
- eISBN:
- 9780262336130
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034913.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Theoretical Linguistics
A major question for linguistic theory concerns how the structure of sentences relates to their meaning. There is broad agreement in the field that there is some regularity in the way that lexical ...
More
A major question for linguistic theory concerns how the structure of sentences relates to their meaning. There is broad agreement in the field that there is some regularity in the way that lexical semantics and syntax are related, so that thematic roles are predictably associated with particular syntactic positions. This book examines the syntax and semantics of possession sentences, which are infamous for appearing to diverge dramatically from this broadly regular pattern. On the one hand, possession sentences have too many meanings: in a given language, the construction used to express archetypal possessive meanings (such as personal ownership) is also often used to express other apparently unrelated notions (body parts, kinship relations, and many others). On the other hand, possession sentences have too many surface structures: languages differ markedly in the argument structures used to convey the same possessive meanings, with some employing a transitive verb HAVE, and others using a variety of constructions based around an intransitive verb BE. Examining and synthesizing ideas from the literature and drawing on data from many languages (including some understudied Quechua dialects), this book presents a novel way to understand the apparent irregularity of possession sentences while preserving existing explanations for the general cross-linguistic regularities we observe in argument structure.Less
A major question for linguistic theory concerns how the structure of sentences relates to their meaning. There is broad agreement in the field that there is some regularity in the way that lexical semantics and syntax are related, so that thematic roles are predictably associated with particular syntactic positions. This book examines the syntax and semantics of possession sentences, which are infamous for appearing to diverge dramatically from this broadly regular pattern. On the one hand, possession sentences have too many meanings: in a given language, the construction used to express archetypal possessive meanings (such as personal ownership) is also often used to express other apparently unrelated notions (body parts, kinship relations, and many others). On the other hand, possession sentences have too many surface structures: languages differ markedly in the argument structures used to convey the same possessive meanings, with some employing a transitive verb HAVE, and others using a variety of constructions based around an intransitive verb BE. Examining and synthesizing ideas from the literature and drawing on data from many languages (including some understudied Quechua dialects), this book presents a novel way to understand the apparent irregularity of possession sentences while preserving existing explanations for the general cross-linguistic regularities we observe in argument structure.
Neil Myler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262034913
- eISBN:
- 9780262336130
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034913.003.0002
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Theoretical Linguistics
This chapter aims to summarize previous approaches to the too-many-meanings puzzle and the too-many-surface-structures puzzle, providing a uniquely detailed and up-to-date appreciation of recent ...
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This chapter aims to summarize previous approaches to the too-many-meanings puzzle and the too-many-surface-structures puzzle, providing a uniquely detailed and up-to-date appreciation of recent literature on possession. It begins by setting out the scale of the puzzles by examining functional-typological work. The second section introduces the standard generative approach to the too-many-surface structures puzzle, which I refer to as the Freeze/Kayne tradition. This approach, associated with Freeze (1992) and Kayne (1993) (but with antecedents going back much earlier), proposes that the vast surface diversity in possession constructions is to be derived via movement from one or two underlyingly identical structures. The third section looks at extensions of and reactions to the Freeze/Kayne tradition. In the fourth section, various approaches to the too-many-meanings puzzle are discussed, much of it from the formal semantics literature. The main conclusions of this overview are (i) that the Freeze/Kayne tradition is correct to treat HAVE and BE as two realizations of the same element; but (ii) some of the surface differences among possession constructions involve real underlying differences in argument structure; and (iii) the meaning of possession sentences does not come from HAVE and BE themselves, but from other elements in the structure.Less
This chapter aims to summarize previous approaches to the too-many-meanings puzzle and the too-many-surface-structures puzzle, providing a uniquely detailed and up-to-date appreciation of recent literature on possession. It begins by setting out the scale of the puzzles by examining functional-typological work. The second section introduces the standard generative approach to the too-many-surface structures puzzle, which I refer to as the Freeze/Kayne tradition. This approach, associated with Freeze (1992) and Kayne (1993) (but with antecedents going back much earlier), proposes that the vast surface diversity in possession constructions is to be derived via movement from one or two underlyingly identical structures. The third section looks at extensions of and reactions to the Freeze/Kayne tradition. In the fourth section, various approaches to the too-many-meanings puzzle are discussed, much of it from the formal semantics literature. The main conclusions of this overview are (i) that the Freeze/Kayne tradition is correct to treat HAVE and BE as two realizations of the same element; but (ii) some of the surface differences among possession constructions involve real underlying differences in argument structure; and (iii) the meaning of possession sentences does not come from HAVE and BE themselves, but from other elements in the structure.
David Kemmerer
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- March 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190682620
- eISBN:
- 9780190682651
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190682620.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience
This chapter provides a synopsis of the cross-linguistic approach to studying concepts, with the aim of giving readers enough background to understand and appreciate the more detailed typological ...
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This chapter provides a synopsis of the cross-linguistic approach to studying concepts, with the aim of giving readers enough background to understand and appreciate the more detailed typological data covered in Part II. The first section focuses on the fact that most people, including cognitive neuroscientists, are highly susceptible to mistakenly thinking that the concepts conveyed by the words in their language represent the world in an objective manner that is self-evident and inevitable. The next two sections then introduce some basic aspects of semantic typology by discussing a variety of cross-linguistic similarities and differences in the encoding of concepts, first with regard to lexical semantics, and then with regard to grammatical semantics.Less
This chapter provides a synopsis of the cross-linguistic approach to studying concepts, with the aim of giving readers enough background to understand and appreciate the more detailed typological data covered in Part II. The first section focuses on the fact that most people, including cognitive neuroscientists, are highly susceptible to mistakenly thinking that the concepts conveyed by the words in their language represent the world in an objective manner that is self-evident and inevitable. The next two sections then introduce some basic aspects of semantic typology by discussing a variety of cross-linguistic similarities and differences in the encoding of concepts, first with regard to lexical semantics, and then with regard to grammatical semantics.
Michael R. Marlo
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- August 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190256340
- eISBN:
- 9780190256364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190256340.003.0014
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter discusses the symbiotic relationship of linguistic description and comparative research. Linguistic typology relies on detailed studies of individual languages, and grammatical ...
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This chapter discusses the symbiotic relationship of linguistic description and comparative research. Linguistic typology relies on detailed studies of individual languages, and grammatical description of endangered and non-endangered languages benefits from prior and concurrent study of closely related languages and the identification of parameters of similarity and difference. This view is supported by discussion of phenomena in Bantu languages, including tone and reduplication with considerable micro-parametric variation, particularly involving object markers. Two case studies are presented: (i) exceptional tonal properties of the first person singular object prefix N- and the reflexive marker di-i- in Yao, and (ii) exceptional patterns of reduplication involving /i/-initial verbs in Buguumbe Kuria which suggest a connection with the reflexive. Knowledge of analogous patterns in other languages informs the description and analysis of each language, and each case expands knowledge of the typology of patterns of exceptional object marking in Bantu languages, aiding future description of other languages.Less
This chapter discusses the symbiotic relationship of linguistic description and comparative research. Linguistic typology relies on detailed studies of individual languages, and grammatical description of endangered and non-endangered languages benefits from prior and concurrent study of closely related languages and the identification of parameters of similarity and difference. This view is supported by discussion of phenomena in Bantu languages, including tone and reduplication with considerable micro-parametric variation, particularly involving object markers. Two case studies are presented: (i) exceptional tonal properties of the first person singular object prefix N- and the reflexive marker di-i- in Yao, and (ii) exceptional patterns of reduplication involving /i/-initial verbs in Buguumbe Kuria which suggest a connection with the reflexive. Knowledge of analogous patterns in other languages informs the description and analysis of each language, and each case expands knowledge of the typology of patterns of exceptional object marking in Bantu languages, aiding future description of other languages.
Michele Loporcaro
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780199656547
- eISBN:
- 9780191848100
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199656547.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
The book addresses grammatical gender in Romance, and its development from Latin. It works with the toolbox of current linguistic typology, and asks the fundamental question of how the Latin ...
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The book addresses grammatical gender in Romance, and its development from Latin. It works with the toolbox of current linguistic typology, and asks the fundamental question of how the Latin grammatical gender system gradually changed into those of the Romance languages. To answer this question, the book capitalizes on the pervasive dialect variation of which the better-known standard Romance languages only represent a fragment. Indeed, inspection of dialect variation across time and space forces one to dismiss the handbook account proclaiming that the neuter gender, contrasting with masculine and feminine in Latin, was eradicated from spoken Latin by late Empire times. Both Late Latin evidence and data from several modern dialects show that this never happened, and that the vulgate account proceeds from unwarranted back-projection of the data from modern languages like French and Italian. Rather, the neuter underwent transformations which are the main culprit for the differences in the gender system observed today between, say, Romanian, Sursilvan, Neapolitan, and Asturian, to cite just a few types of system which turn out to differ significantly. A precondition for establishing the database for diachronic investigation is a detailed description of many such systems, which reveals data whose interest transcends the diachronic issue under consideration: the book thus addresses systems where ‘husbands’ are feminine and others where ‘wives’ are masculine; discusses dialects where nouns overtly mark gender, but only in certain syntactic contexts; and proposes an analysis according to which one Romance language (Asturian) has split inherited grammatical gender into two concurrent systems.Less
The book addresses grammatical gender in Romance, and its development from Latin. It works with the toolbox of current linguistic typology, and asks the fundamental question of how the Latin grammatical gender system gradually changed into those of the Romance languages. To answer this question, the book capitalizes on the pervasive dialect variation of which the better-known standard Romance languages only represent a fragment. Indeed, inspection of dialect variation across time and space forces one to dismiss the handbook account proclaiming that the neuter gender, contrasting with masculine and feminine in Latin, was eradicated from spoken Latin by late Empire times. Both Late Latin evidence and data from several modern dialects show that this never happened, and that the vulgate account proceeds from unwarranted back-projection of the data from modern languages like French and Italian. Rather, the neuter underwent transformations which are the main culprit for the differences in the gender system observed today between, say, Romanian, Sursilvan, Neapolitan, and Asturian, to cite just a few types of system which turn out to differ significantly. A precondition for establishing the database for diachronic investigation is a detailed description of many such systems, which reveals data whose interest transcends the diachronic issue under consideration: the book thus addresses systems where ‘husbands’ are feminine and others where ‘wives’ are masculine; discusses dialects where nouns overtly mark gender, but only in certain syntactic contexts; and proposes an analysis according to which one Romance language (Asturian) has split inherited grammatical gender into two concurrent systems.
Neil Myler
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262034913
- eISBN:
- 9780262336130
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034913.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Theoretical Linguistics
Stassen (2009) points out a set of possession constructions in which the possessee appears as the predicate in a copular construction. In these constructions, the possessee appears to be marked by a ...
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Stassen (2009) points out a set of possession constructions in which the possessee appears as the predicate in a copular construction. In these constructions, the possessee appears to be marked by a derivational morpheme, often an adjectivalizer or nominalizer. An example is the English –ed in contexts like John is blue-eyed. Stassen dubs this phenomenon Predicativization. In this chapter, I show that Predicativization cannot be related to more familiar types of HAVE or BE construction by movement, further undermining the Freeze/Kayne tradition. This is shown via a detailed analysis of the –yoq suffix in Cochabamba Quechua, in which Delayed Gratification plays a key role. Drawing on and amending ideas from Nevins and Myler (2014, submitted), the chapter then lays out a detailed typology of Predicativization structures cross-linguistically. The main parameters of variation in this typology are (i) the category of the Predicativizing morpheme itself, (ii) the size of the nominal substructure it selects, (iii) whether it requires modifier, and (iv) whether or not the modifier can be phrasal.Less
Stassen (2009) points out a set of possession constructions in which the possessee appears as the predicate in a copular construction. In these constructions, the possessee appears to be marked by a derivational morpheme, often an adjectivalizer or nominalizer. An example is the English –ed in contexts like John is blue-eyed. Stassen dubs this phenomenon Predicativization. In this chapter, I show that Predicativization cannot be related to more familiar types of HAVE or BE construction by movement, further undermining the Freeze/Kayne tradition. This is shown via a detailed analysis of the –yoq suffix in Cochabamba Quechua, in which Delayed Gratification plays a key role. Drawing on and amending ideas from Nevins and Myler (2014, submitted), the chapter then lays out a detailed typology of Predicativization structures cross-linguistically. The main parameters of variation in this typology are (i) the category of the Predicativizing morpheme itself, (ii) the size of the nominal substructure it selects, (iii) whether it requires modifier, and (iv) whether or not the modifier can be phrasal.
Frederick J. Newmeyer and Laurel B. Preston (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199685301
- eISBN:
- 9780191765476
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199685301.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
This book collects Work presented at a workshop entitled ‘Formal Linguistics and the Measurement of Grammatical Complexity’, held in Seattle, WA, USA on March 23–24, 2012. Each chapter takes on the ...
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This book collects Work presented at a workshop entitled ‘Formal Linguistics and the Measurement of Grammatical Complexity’, held in Seattle, WA, USA on March 23–24, 2012. Each chapter takes on the question of whether languages can differ in grammatical complexity and, if so, how relative complexity differences might be measured. In this way, it differs from other recent collections on complexity which approach the issue for the most part from a sociolinguistic or functional/typological perspective and make few concrete proposals about the actual measurement of complexity differences. The individual chapters either take a ‘grammar-based’ approach to complexity or a ‘user-based’ one, or contrast the two. The former focus on elements of grammars per se and count the amount of structural elaboration, irregularity, and so on. The latter approach complexity in terms of the degree of difficulty for the user, whether the first-language acquirer, the second-language acquirer, or the adult user. The book deals for the most part with morphosyntactic complexity, though there are chapters devoted to phonological and semantic complexity as well. Particularly noteworthy are two chapters that approach complexity from a neurolinguistics perspective, raising the question of whether we can learn anything about grammatical complexity from neurolinguistics studies.Less
This book collects Work presented at a workshop entitled ‘Formal Linguistics and the Measurement of Grammatical Complexity’, held in Seattle, WA, USA on March 23–24, 2012. Each chapter takes on the question of whether languages can differ in grammatical complexity and, if so, how relative complexity differences might be measured. In this way, it differs from other recent collections on complexity which approach the issue for the most part from a sociolinguistic or functional/typological perspective and make few concrete proposals about the actual measurement of complexity differences. The individual chapters either take a ‘grammar-based’ approach to complexity or a ‘user-based’ one, or contrast the two. The former focus on elements of grammars per se and count the amount of structural elaboration, irregularity, and so on. The latter approach complexity in terms of the degree of difficulty for the user, whether the first-language acquirer, the second-language acquirer, or the adult user. The book deals for the most part with morphosyntactic complexity, though there are chapters devoted to phonological and semantic complexity as well. Particularly noteworthy are two chapters that approach complexity from a neurolinguistics perspective, raising the question of whether we can learn anything about grammatical complexity from neurolinguistics studies.
J. Velaza
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- April 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780198790822
- eISBN:
- 9780191833274
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198790822.003.0007
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE, Archaeology: Non-Classical
The first part of this chapter is devoted to the description of Iberian literacy, from the time of the earliest documents (dated to the fifth century BCE) until the abandonment of the Iberian writing ...
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The first part of this chapter is devoted to the description of Iberian literacy, from the time of the earliest documents (dated to the fifth century BCE) until the abandonment of the Iberian writing systems in the first century CE. The second part of the chapter offers a linguistic description of the still undeciphered Iberian language, which aims to show its best-known aspects (the onomastic system, some nominal suffixes) and also its most debated questions. Finally, comments on a selection of inscriptions are offered.Less
The first part of this chapter is devoted to the description of Iberian literacy, from the time of the earliest documents (dated to the fifth century BCE) until the abandonment of the Iberian writing systems in the first century CE. The second part of the chapter offers a linguistic description of the still undeciphered Iberian language, which aims to show its best-known aspects (the onomastic system, some nominal suffixes) and also its most debated questions. Finally, comments on a selection of inscriptions are offered.
Michele Loporcaro
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780199656547
- eISBN:
- 9780191848100
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199656547.003.0005
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
Having shown at the end of Chapter 4 that mass/count may be encoded in the gender system, this chapter analyses in depth one Romance variety where the interaction of the mass/count distinction with ...
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Having shown at the end of Chapter 4 that mass/count may be encoded in the gender system, this chapter analyses in depth one Romance variety where the interaction of the mass/count distinction with gender presents itself in a distinctly intricate way, viz. Central Asturian. This features a ‘neuter’ agreement that has been variously analysed as the exponent of a value of the morphosyntactic categories gender or number, or as manifesting the value of some other, purely semantic, category. Complementing the evidence with new data, the chapter concludes that the most economical analysis is one according to which the Asturian neuter is a gender value, but within a second gender system. In this, Asturian parallels a few far-off languages which, in recent studies in linguistic typology, have been argued to possess two concurrent systems for noun classification.Less
Having shown at the end of Chapter 4 that mass/count may be encoded in the gender system, this chapter analyses in depth one Romance variety where the interaction of the mass/count distinction with gender presents itself in a distinctly intricate way, viz. Central Asturian. This features a ‘neuter’ agreement that has been variously analysed as the exponent of a value of the morphosyntactic categories gender or number, or as manifesting the value of some other, purely semantic, category. Complementing the evidence with new data, the chapter concludes that the most economical analysis is one according to which the Asturian neuter is a gender value, but within a second gender system. In this, Asturian parallels a few far-off languages which, in recent studies in linguistic typology, have been argued to possess two concurrent systems for noun classification.
Kaius Sinnemäki
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199685301
- eISBN:
- 9780191765476
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199685301.003.0009
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology, Psycholinguistics / Neurolinguistics / Cognitive Linguistics
This chapter presents a cross-linguistic approach to measuring grammatical complexity and applies the method to one narrow test-case, namely, the marking of the basic participants of the sentence. ...
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This chapter presents a cross-linguistic approach to measuring grammatical complexity and applies the method to one narrow test-case, namely, the marking of the basic participants of the sentence. Complexity is characterized as the length of the shortest description of a grammar. The chapter goes on to discuss three ways of examining complexity of case marking and rigid order, each related to a different way of describing grammar. Data from a stratified sample of 50 languages provides evidence that a complexity trade-off exists between case marking and rigid word order, but the strength of the correlation depends on the way the grammar is described. The conclusion is that the trade-off is best explained by processing preferences that minimize forms without affecting their distinctness.Less
This chapter presents a cross-linguistic approach to measuring grammatical complexity and applies the method to one narrow test-case, namely, the marking of the basic participants of the sentence. Complexity is characterized as the length of the shortest description of a grammar. The chapter goes on to discuss three ways of examining complexity of case marking and rigid order, each related to a different way of describing grammar. Data from a stratified sample of 50 languages provides evidence that a complexity trade-off exists between case marking and rigid word order, but the strength of the correlation depends on the way the grammar is described. The conclusion is that the trade-off is best explained by processing preferences that minimize forms without affecting their distinctness.
Michele Loporcaro
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- February 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780199656547
- eISBN:
- 9780191848100
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199656547.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Syntax and Morphology
The inventory of lesser-known more-than-binary systems gathered for purposes of linguistic reconstruction is now discussed per se, as a valuable complement to our knowledge of linguistic diversity in ...
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The inventory of lesser-known more-than-binary systems gathered for purposes of linguistic reconstruction is now discussed per se, as a valuable complement to our knowledge of linguistic diversity in Europe. The chapter covers topics such as the creation—atypical for Romance—of strictly semantic gender and subgender values; contact-driven change in the gender system (of both Romance and contact languages); and the occurrence in some Romance dialects of unusual conditions on gender agreement (with unexpected sensitivity to inflectional morphology of gender/number agreement rules), of gender agreement on unusual targets (e.g. non-finite verb forms, adverbs, complementizers), and of (highly unusual) syntactically dependent overt gender-marking on nouns. The chapter ends with a gedankenexperiment, showing how the data reviewed thus far would complement the relevant maps of the World Atlas of Language Structures.Less
The inventory of lesser-known more-than-binary systems gathered for purposes of linguistic reconstruction is now discussed per se, as a valuable complement to our knowledge of linguistic diversity in Europe. The chapter covers topics such as the creation—atypical for Romance—of strictly semantic gender and subgender values; contact-driven change in the gender system (of both Romance and contact languages); and the occurrence in some Romance dialects of unusual conditions on gender agreement (with unexpected sensitivity to inflectional morphology of gender/number agreement rules), of gender agreement on unusual targets (e.g. non-finite verb forms, adverbs, complementizers), and of (highly unusual) syntactically dependent overt gender-marking on nouns. The chapter ends with a gedankenexperiment, showing how the data reviewed thus far would complement the relevant maps of the World Atlas of Language Structures.
