New Perspectives on the Study of Ser and Estar

New Perspectives on the Study of Ser and Estar PDF Author: Isabel Pérez-Jiménez
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027268134
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
This is the first book entirely and exclusively devoted to the grammar of the two copular verbs ser and estar, certainly one of the most intriguing features of Spanish grammar. Although the topic has long attracted the interest of scholars, it had never given rise to a collection of papers that covers both theoretical issues in syntax and semantics and topics in the acquisition domain. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the central research questions concerning the ser / estar alternation: the syntactic or semantic nature of the distinction, its link with aspect and with the Individual-Level / Stage-Level distinction, and its connection with interface phenomena. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Hispanic linguistics, but can be equally attractive for researchers working on Romance linguistics, theoretical linguistics (syntax, semantics, pragmatics), acquisition theory, and historical linguistics.

The Semantics of Case

The Semantics of Case PDF Author: Olga Kagan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110841642X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 307

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Book Description
Based on data from a wide range of languages, the book discusses the ways in which case interacts with meaning.

Case and Aspect in Slavic

Case and Aspect in Slavic PDF Author: Kylie R. Richardson
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191537675
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
The role of structural case in syntax is arguably one of the most controversial topics in syntactic theory with important implications for semantic theory. This book focuses on some of the most puzzling case marking patterns in the Slavic languages and ties these patterns to different types of aspectual phenomena, showing that there is after all a pattern in the seeming chaos of case in the Slavic languages. Kylie Richardson addresses links between the case marking on objects and the event structure of a verb phrase in Belarusian, Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak, Polish, and Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and also shows that the links between case and aspect in the Slavic languages belong to a much larger pattern found in language in general. She also focuses on links between case and grammatical aspect in depictive, predicative participle, and copular constructions in the East Slavic languages. The book will appeal to scholars and advanced students of aspect, and to all Slavicists.

New Perspectives on the Study of Ser and Estar

New Perspectives on the Study of Ser and Estar PDF Author: Isabel Pérez-Jiménez
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027268134
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
This is the first book entirely and exclusively devoted to the grammar of the two copular verbs ser and estar, certainly one of the most intriguing features of Spanish grammar. Although the topic has long attracted the interest of scholars, it had never given rise to a collection of papers that covers both theoretical issues in syntax and semantics and topics in the acquisition domain. This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the central research questions concerning the ser / estar alternation: the syntactic or semantic nature of the distinction, its link with aspect and with the Individual-Level / Stage-Level distinction, and its connection with interface phenomena. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Hispanic linguistics, but can be equally attractive for researchers working on Romance linguistics, theoretical linguistics (syntax, semantics, pragmatics), acquisition theory, and historical linguistics.

On Subjects and Predicates in Russian

On Subjects and Predicates in Russian PDF Author: Alona Soschen
Publisher: Universal-Publishers
ISBN: 1581123426
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 277

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Book Description
This research integrates cognitively based lexical semantics and formal syntactic analyses with relation to philosophy and logic of language. It deals with a broad range of issues and contributes relevant observations and analysis by offering a new approach to lexical and syntactic representations. Different theoretical frameworks are employed within the compass of generative syntax/ semantics. Data from Russian and other languages (Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Romance languages, English, Hebrew) are analyzed to bring out the nature of the categories each language possesses. To answer the question of how semantically empty elements are interpreted by conceptual system, special attention is paid to null categories in Russian (pro of impersonal sentences, pro of existential sentences). Two subject positions on the verb's argument grid are examined, and the conclusion is drawn concerning the existing parallelism of lexical (micro-) and syntactic (macro-) models. The 'indirect', or 'null', subject position is considered more general and encompassing in both cases. The latter (macro-)model associates semantic generic/ non-generic distinction of sentences with two functional heads Tense and Agreement in English, Russian, Hebrew, and Spanish. The notion of genericity now includes a personal level, e.g. when a certain property holds in all situations possible for an individual. The study employs predication theory to relate semantic components to formal syntactic descriptions; as an example, certain adjectival predicates that do not participate in generic formation are represented as unsaturated functions of states. The research closely relates the issue of syntactic predication to a cognitive approach to lexical units as sets of categorial features, in order to enhance our understanding of categorization and the way words are combined in lexical units. Following Chomsky (2000, 2001), predication is viewed as an operation of Merge on two syntactic elements, which supports the idea of a direct connection between certain syntactic representations (e.g. small clauses) and the initial stages of language acquisition. Predication relations are re-examined as the set of ordered functions where not only their number but direction is of importance, as they apply both on the sentence level and within modified NPs. The structures of transitive vs. intransitive verbs and their arguments are investigated as a way of exploring the minimal links of predication. According to the results of this research, these models, analyzed as 'layered' in the sense that they can be projected into syntax by parts, exhibit cross-linguistic consistency. The conclusion is that lexical arguments must be assessed from the point of view of their place in the hierarchy of events/ states. A detailed analysis of the properties of the 'result' layer leads one to the issue of reflexivity. The analysis of reflexive structures in Slavic and Romance languages is followed to establish a link between the syntactic properties of reflexive verbs and the cognitive notion of our access to ourselves (following Chierchia 1989). The ultimate goal of this research is to stimulate further work towards the development of interdisciplinary approaches to the study of language, and to contribute to our knowledge of natural language universals.

Nonverbal Predication

Nonverbal Predication PDF Author: Isabelle Roy
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191664960
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
This book considers the syntax and semantics of non-verbal predicates (i.e., nominal, adjectival and prepositional predicates) in copular sentences. Isabelle Roy explores how a single structure for predication can account for the different interpretations of non-verbal predicates. The book departs from earlier studies by arguing in favor of a ternary distinction between defining / characterizing / situation-descriptive predicates rather than the more common stage-level/individual distinction. The distinction is based on two semantic criteria, namely maximality (i.e., whether the predicate describes an eventuality that has spatio-temporal properties or not) and density (i.e. whether the spatio-temporal properties are perceived as atomic or not). The author argues in favor of a strong correlation between the semantics properties of predicates and their internal syntactic structure. Her analysis accounts for seemingly unrelated cross-linguistic data: the indefinite article in French, the distribution of the two copulas 'ser'/'estar' in Spanish, and case marking on Russian predicates.

Syntactic and Semantic Variation in Copular Sentences

Syntactic and Semantic Variation in Copular Sentences PDF Author: Daniel J. Wilson
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027260966
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
This book presents a novel account of syntactic and semantic variation in copular and existential sentences in Classical Hebrew. Like many languages, the system of Classical Hebrew copular sentences is quite complex, containing zero, pronominal, and verbal forms as well as eventive and inchoative semantics. Approaching this subject from the framework of Distributed Morphology provides an elegant and comprehensive explanation for both the syntactic and semantic variation in these sentences. This book also presents a theoretical model for analyzing copular sentences in other languages included related phenomena– such as pseudo-copulas. It is also a demonstration of what can be gained by applying modern linguistic analyses to dead languages. Citing and building off previous studies on this topic, this book will be of interest to those interested in the theoretical examination of copular and existential sentences and to those interested in Classical Hebrew more specifically.

Interfaces in Language 2

Interfaces in Language 2 PDF Author: David Hornsby
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443834165
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 215

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Book Description
This volume presents a collection of papers from the second Interfaces in Language conference, hosted from 5–7 May 2009 at the University of Kent at Canterbury by the University’s Centre for Language and Lingustic Studies (CLLS). Borne of a dissatisfaction with the rigid division of linguistics into sub-disciplines, Interfaces 2 offered specialists a platform to explore links between different approaches, and attracted participation from ten countries on four continents, addressing a wide range of themes. Contributions are arranged under three thematic headings: Categories and Orthodoxies; Contact, Conflict and Repertoire; and Language and Cognition. All, in their different ways, offer a challenge to received thinking or the rigidity of established categories. The papers explore a range of linguistic interfaces, probing the frontiers at the structural level between semantics and pragmatics, or challenging the notion of a clear division between semantics and syntax. A number of papers examine, in different ways, the interface between speech and writing, while other contributors apply the techniques of linguistic analysis to the study of translation, or to the stylistics of literature or journalism. The rejection of rigid modes of thinking has produced, in Interfaces in Language 2, an eclectic collection of thought-provoking papers of rare originality and quality.

Annual Workshop on Formal Approaches to Slavic Linguistics

Annual Workshop on Formal Approaches to Slavic Linguistics PDF Author: Katarzyna Dziwirek
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 452

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Book Description
Contains revised papers from a May 1998 workshop, covering East, West, and South Slavic languages, and focusing on topics in the areas of phonology, morphology, syntax, and discourse. Topics include adjectives in Russian, semantic types and the Russian genitive modifier construction, Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian clitics at the lexical interface, approaches to Polish person agreement, and opaque insertion sites in Bulgarian. The editors are affiliated with the University of Washington and the University of Oregon. Lacks a subject index. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Grammar of Copulas Across Languages

The Grammar of Copulas Across Languages PDF Author: María J. Arche
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192565427
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
This volume presents a crosslinguistic survey of the current theoretical debates around copular constructions from a generative perspective. Following an introduction to the main questions surrounding the analysis and categorization of copulas, the chapters address a range of key topics including the existence of more than one copular form in certain languages, the factors determining the presence or absence of a copula, and the morphology of copular forms. The team of expert contributors present new theoretical proposals regarding the formal mechanisms behind the behaviour and patterns observed in copulas in a wide range of typologically diverse languages, including Czech, French, Korean, and languages from the Dene and Bantu families. Their findings have implications beyond the study of copulas and shed more light on issues such as agreement relations, the nature of grammatical categories, and nominal predicates in syntax and semantics.

Journal of Slavic Linguistics

Journal of Slavic Linguistics PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Linguistics
Languages : en
Pages : 736

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Book Description