A Unified Theory of Polarity Sensitivity

A Unified Theory of Polarity Sensitivity PDF Author: Ahmad Alqassas
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197554881
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
"This book examines polarity sensitivity - a ubiquitous phenomenon involving expressions such as anybody, nobody, ever, never, somebody and their counterparts in other languages with particular focus on Arabic. These expressions belong to different classes such as negative and positive polarity, negative concord, and negative indefinites, which led to examining their syntax and semantics separately. In this book, Ahmad Alqassas pursues unified approach that relies on examining the interaction between the various types of polarity sensitivity. Treating this interaction is fundamental for scrutinizing their licensing conditions. Alqassas draws on data from Standard Arabic and the major regional dialects represented by Jordanian, Egyptian, Moroccan, and Qatari. The book provides a new perspective on the syntax-semantic interface and develops a unified syntactic analysis for polarity sensitivity. Through the (micro)comparative approach, Alqassas explains the distributional contrasts with a minimal set of universal syntactic operations such as Merge, Move and Agree; and fine-grained inventory of negative formal features for polarity items and their licensors. The features are simple invisibles that paint a complex landscape of polarity. The results suggest that syntactic computation of Arabic polarity (externally merged in left periphery) is subservient to the conceptual-intentional interface. Alqassas argues for last resort insertion of covert negation operators in the CP layer to interpret non-strict NCIs, which is an extra mechanism that serves the semantic interface, but adds to the complexity of syntactic computation. Likewise, head NPIs in the left periphery require licensing by operators higher than the tense phrase, adding more constraints on the syntactic licensing"--

A Unified Theory of Polarity Sensitivity

A Unified Theory of Polarity Sensitivity PDF Author: Ahmad Alqassas
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197554881
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Get Book Here

Book Description
"This book examines polarity sensitivity - a ubiquitous phenomenon involving expressions such as anybody, nobody, ever, never, somebody and their counterparts in other languages with particular focus on Arabic. These expressions belong to different classes such as negative and positive polarity, negative concord, and negative indefinites, which led to examining their syntax and semantics separately. In this book, Ahmad Alqassas pursues unified approach that relies on examining the interaction between the various types of polarity sensitivity. Treating this interaction is fundamental for scrutinizing their licensing conditions. Alqassas draws on data from Standard Arabic and the major regional dialects represented by Jordanian, Egyptian, Moroccan, and Qatari. The book provides a new perspective on the syntax-semantic interface and develops a unified syntactic analysis for polarity sensitivity. Through the (micro)comparative approach, Alqassas explains the distributional contrasts with a minimal set of universal syntactic operations such as Merge, Move and Agree; and fine-grained inventory of negative formal features for polarity items and their licensors. The features are simple invisibles that paint a complex landscape of polarity. The results suggest that syntactic computation of Arabic polarity (externally merged in left periphery) is subservient to the conceptual-intentional interface. Alqassas argues for last resort insertion of covert negation operators in the CP layer to interpret non-strict NCIs, which is an extra mechanism that serves the semantic interface, but adds to the complexity of syntactic computation. Likewise, head NPIs in the left periphery require licensing by operators higher than the tense phrase, adding more constraints on the syntactic licensing"--

Polarity-Sensitive Expressions

Polarity-Sensitive Expressions PDF Author: Hideki Kishimoto, Osamu Sawada, Ikumi Imani
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110755211
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 640

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Book Description


The Grammar of Polarity

The Grammar of Polarity PDF Author: Michael Israel
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139500570
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
Many languages include constructions which are sensitive to the expression of polarity: that is, negative polarity items, which cannot occur in affirmative clauses, and positive polarity items, which cannot occur in negatives. The phenomenon of polarity sensitivity has been an important source of evidence for theories about the mental architecture of grammar over the last fifty years, and to many the oddly dysfunctional sensitivities of polarity items have seemed to support a view of grammar as an encapsulated mental module fundamentally unrelated to other aspects of human cognition or communicative behavior. This book draws on insights from cognitive/functional linguistics and formal semantics to argue that, on the contrary, the grammar of sensitivity is grounded in a very general human cognitive ability to form categories and draw inferences based on scalar alternatives, and in the ways this ability is deployed for rhetorical effects in ordinary interpersonal communication.

The Fine Structure of Polarity Sensitivity

The Fine Structure of Polarity Sensitivity PDF Author: Lucia M. Tovena
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135671583
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
First Published in 1998. Part of the Outstanding Dissertations in Linguistics series, this study investigates the phenomenon of polarity sensitivity. It proposes a new perspective which focuses on the behaviour and properties of sensitive items and the phrases they form. It originated in the observation that the fine structure of the phenomenon requires a more articulated analysis than the standard one based on licensing conditions.

Polarity Sensitivity as (Non)Veridical Dependency

Polarity Sensitivity as (Non)Veridical Dependency PDF Author: Anastasia Giannakidou
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027282285
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
Polarity phenomena have been known to linguists since Klima’s seminal work on English negation. In this monograph Giannakidou presents a novel theory of polarity which avoids the empirical and conceptual problems of previous approaches by introducing a notion wider than negation and downward entailment: (non)veridicality. The leading idea is that the various polarity phenomena observed in language are manifestations of the dependency of certain expessions, i.e. polarity items, to the (non)veridicality of the context of appearence. Dependencies to negation or downward entailment emerge as subcases of nonveridicality.The (non)veridical dependency may be positive (licensing), or negative (anti-licensing), and arises from the sensitivity semantics of polarity items. The book is also concerned with the syntactic mapping of the sensitivity dependency. It is argued that licensing does not necessarily correspond to a requirement that the licensee be in the scope of the licenser. In some cases, for instance for the interpretation of negative concord, the reverse is required: that the licensee takes the licenser in its scope. The theory is applied to an extended set of old and new data concerning affective, free-choice dependencies, and mood choice in relative clauses. The primary focus is on Greek, but data from Dutch, English, and to a lesser extend Romance and Slavic, are also considered.

Physiology and Pathobiology of Axons

Physiology and Pathobiology of Axons PDF Author: Stephen G. Waxman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description


Polarity in Plants

Polarity in Plants PDF Author: K. Lindsey
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 9780849323447
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
The establishment of polarity is a fundamental feature in eukaryotic development. Polarity in Plants provides an account of current research into the mechanisms by which polarity is generated at the level of the cell, organ and organism in plants, drawing especially on recent work with model organisms. The emphasis is on the use of the techniques of molecular genetics to dissect molecular mechanisms. This is the first volume to bring together the diverse aspects of polarity in plant development.

Physiology, Psychoacoustics and Cognition in Normal and Impaired Hearing

Physiology, Psychoacoustics and Cognition in Normal and Impaired Hearing PDF Author: Pim van Dijk
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331925474X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 487

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Book Description
​The International Symposium on Hearing is a prestigious, triennial gathering where world-class scientists present and discuss the most recent advances in the field of human and animal hearing research. The 2015 edition will particularly focus on integrative approaches linking physiological, psychophysical and cognitive aspects of normal and impaired hearing. Like previous editions, the proceedings will contain about 50 chapters ranging from basic to applied research, and of interest to neuroscientists, psychologists, audiologists, engineers, otolaryngologists, and artificial intelligence researchers.​

Cell Polarity in Development and Disease

Cell Polarity in Development and Disease PDF Author: Douglas W Houston
Publisher: Academic Press
ISBN: 0128125918
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
Cell Polarity in Development and Disease offers insights into the basic molecular mechanisms of common diseases that arise as a result of a loss of ordered organization and intrinsic polarity. Included are diseases affecting highly polarized epithelial tissues in the lung and kidney, as well as loss and gain of cell polarity in the onset and progression of cancer. This book provides a basic resource for understanding the biology of polarity, offering a starting point for those thinking of targeting cell polarity for translational medical research. - Provides basic science understanding of cell polarity disease and development - Covers diseases affecting polarized epithelial tissues in the lung and kidney, also covering the progression of cancer - Includes historical context of cell polarity research for potential future breakthroughs

Beyond 'Any' and 'Ever'

Beyond 'Any' and 'Ever' PDF Author: Eva Csipak
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110305232
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 376

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Book Description
The grammar of negative polarity items is one of the challenges for linguistic theory. NPIs cross-cut all traditional categories in grammar and semantics, yet their distribution is by no means arbitrary. Theories of NPI licensing have been proposed in terms of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics - each with its own merits and problems. The volume comprises state-of-the-art studies and suggests an interpolation approach to NPI licensing.