Author: M.W. Dickey
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401005680
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 317
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Book Description
This work is a psycho linguistic investigation of the processing of tense (more specifically, the English past tense): When it is interpreted, how it is interpreted, and what it is interpreted with respect to. While there has been a great deal of attention paid to tense in the syntax and semantics literature, little work has been done on the details of the psychological processing of this category. The chief value and contribution of this book is to present a richly detailed in-depth study of the processing of tense in adult comprehension tasks, providing an excellent model of how to conceive of detailed experimental work against a background of sophisticated, deep, and broad linguistic theory. The discussion of the representational issues is deep and informative, and is directly brought to bear on experimental issues. The experiments aim to evaluate whether a hypothesis called "Parsimony," a highly plausible notion that has received tentative experimental support in other domains, is the chief controlling feature of the interpretation of tense. The experimental results presented quite consistently do not confirm the apparent predictions made by Parsimony, but rather tend to be more consistent with another view (which Parsimony is aimed at opposing) which holds that actual structural factors in the syntax of a sentence are a decisive factor. Along the way, the author considers a number of other plausible hypotheses as the experimental results are presented, but evaluating Parsimony remains the chief organizing principle of the line of research presented here.
Author: Alessandro G. Benati
Publisher: Multilingual Matters
ISBN: 184769103X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 228
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Book Description
The research we present in this book establishes a unique line of research within the Processing Instruction model by assessing the transfer-of-training effects of this approach to grammar instruction on how learners make form-meaning connections. In this book we present the results of three experimental studies investigating secondary and cumulative effects in French, Italian and English.
Author: Joan Bybee
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226086658
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 420
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Book Description
Joan Bybee and her colleagues present a new theory of the evolution of grammar that links structure and meaning in a way that directly challenges most contemporary versions of generative grammar. This study focuses on the use and meaning of grammatical markers of tense, aspect, and modality and identifies a universal set of grammatical categories. The authors demonstrate that the semantic content of these categories evolves gradually and that this process of evolution is strikingly similar across unrelated languages. Through a survey of seventy-six languages in twenty-five different phyla, the authors show that the same paths of change occur universally and that movement along these paths is in one direction only. This analysis reveals that lexical substance evolves into grammatical substance through various mechanisms of change, such as metaphorical extension and the conventionalization of implicature. Grammaticization is always accompanied by an increase in frequency of the grammatical marker, providing clear evidence that language use is a major factor in the evolution of synchronic language states. The Evolution of Grammar has important implications for the development of language and for the study of cognitive processes in general.
Author: Adeline Patard
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027223831
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 331
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Book Description
This volume addresses problems of semantics regarding the analysis of tense and aspect (TA) markers in a variety of languages, including Arabic, Croatian, English, French, German, Russian, Thai, and Turkish. Its main interest goes out to epistemic uses of such markers, whereby epistemic modality is understood as indicating a degree of compatibility between the modal world and the factual world (Declerck). All contributions, moreover, tackle these problems from a more or less cognitive point of view, with some of them insisting on the need to provide a unifying explanation for all usage types, temporal and non-temporal, and all of them accepting the premise that the semantics of TA categories essentially refers to subjective, rather than objective, concerns. The volume also represents one of the first attempts to gather accounts of TA marking (in various languages) that are explicitly set within the framework of Cognitive Grammar. Ultimately, this volume aims to contribute to establishing an awareness that modal meaning elements are directly relevant to the analysis of the grammar of time.
Author: Oliver Bott
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027255458
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 409
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Book Description
Synthesizing ideas from event semantics and psycholinguistics, this monograph provides a new perspective on the processing of linguistic aspect and aspectual coercion. Confronting alternative semantic accounts with experimental evidence, the author develops a comprehensive model of online aspectual interpretation. The first part of the book critically reviews competing theoretical accounts of aspectual coercion. As an analytical tool the author introduces a computational model based on the event calculus by Hamm & van Lambalgen (2005) which makes use of planning formalisms from artificial intelligence. Detailed predictions from this framework are then tested in the experimental work reported in the second part. The focus here is on such questions as: Is aspectual coercion a uniform phenomenon or must we distinguish different types? Is aspect processed incrementally or is it computed only at the clause boundary? And finally, what insights can event related potentials yield about how the brain resolves local aspectual mismatch?
Author: Alessandro G. Benati
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1441115013
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 152
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Book Description
One of the key issues in second language learning and teaching concerns the role and practice of grammar instruction. Does it make a difference? How do we teach grammar in the language classroom? Is there an effective technique to teach grammar that is better than others? While some linguists address these questions to develop a better understanding of how people acquire a grammar, language acquisition scholars are in search of the most effective way to approach the teaching of grammar in the language classroom. The individual chapters in this volume will explore a variety of approaches to grammar teaching and offer a list of principles and guidelines that those involved in language acquisition should consider to design and implement effective grammar tasks during their teaching. It proposes that the key issue is not whether or not we should teach grammar but how we incorporate a teaching grammar component in our communicative language teaching practices.
Author: Brian MacWhinney
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
ISBN: 2889744833
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 291
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Book Description
Author: Martin Pütz
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027239029
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 385
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Book Description
This edited volume represents state of the field research linking cognition and second language acquisition, reflecting the experience of the learner when engaged in noticing, input/output processing, retrieval, and even attrition of target forms. Contributions are both theoretical and practical, describing a variety of L1, L2 and L3 combinations from around the world as observed in spoken, written, and computer-mediated contexts. The book relates conditions of language, task, medium or environment to how learners make decisions about language, with discussions about the application or efficacy of these conditions on linguistic success and development, and pedagogical implications.
Author: James F. Lee
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110215322
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 231
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Book Description
This volume tracks the impact Processing Instruction has made since its conception. The authors explain Processing Instruction, both its main theoretical underpinnings as well as the guidelines for developing structured input practices. They review the empirical research conducted to date, so that readers have an overview of new research carried out on the effects of Processing Instruction. The work concludes with reflections on the generalizability and limits of the research on Processing Instruction and offers future directions for Processing Instruction research.
Author: Graham Lock
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521453059
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 316
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Book Description
This text explores ways in which English grammar enables speakers and writers to represent the world, to interact with one another, and to create coherent messages. The hardback edition provides second language teachers with a functional description of English grammar, in which grammar is viewed not as a set of rules but as a communicative resource. It explores ways in which English grammar enables speakers and writers to represent their experience of the world, to interact with one another, and to create coherent messages. Each chapter includes a focus on areas of difficulty for second language learners, numerous authentic examples, tasks that allow the reader to apply the concepts introduced, and discussion questions. A final chapter covers issues in the learning and teaching of grammar, and reviews methodological options for the second or foreign language classroom. Assuming no previous study of linguistics or English grammar, Functional English Grammar is suitable for self-study or as a textbook in teacher education programs.
