Copular Sentences in Russian

Copular Sentences in Russian PDF Author: Asya Pereltsvaig
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402057938
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 171

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Book Description
This book provides a detailed study and a novel Minimalist account of copular sentences in Russian, focusing on case marking alternations (nominative vs. instrumental) and drawing a distinction between two types of copular sentences. On the assumption that Merge is defined in the simplest way possible, it is argued that not all syntactic structures are a(nti)symmetrical. One of the copular sentence types is analyzed as a poster child for symmetrical structures, while the other type is treated as asymmetrical. The originality of this study lies in treating the copula in the two types of copular sentences neither as completely identical nor as two distinct lexical items; instead, the two types of copula are derived through the process of semantic bleaching. Furthermore, it is argued that the two types of the copula need to combine with post-copular phrases of different categories. It is concluded that Russian draws a distinction between saturated DPs and unsaturated NPs, in spite of its renowned lack of overt articles.

Copular Sentences in Russian

Copular Sentences in Russian PDF Author: Asya Pereltsvaig
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402057938
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 171

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book provides a detailed study and a novel Minimalist account of copular sentences in Russian, focusing on case marking alternations (nominative vs. instrumental) and drawing a distinction between two types of copular sentences. On the assumption that Merge is defined in the simplest way possible, it is argued that not all syntactic structures are a(nti)symmetrical. One of the copular sentence types is analyzed as a poster child for symmetrical structures, while the other type is treated as asymmetrical. The originality of this study lies in treating the copula in the two types of copular sentences neither as completely identical nor as two distinct lexical items; instead, the two types of copula are derived through the process of semantic bleaching. Furthermore, it is argued that the two types of the copula need to combine with post-copular phrases of different categories. It is concluded that Russian draws a distinction between saturated DPs and unsaturated NPs, in spite of its renowned lack of overt articles.

Existence: Semantics and Syntax

Existence: Semantics and Syntax PDF Author: Ileana Comorovski
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402061986
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 331

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Book Description
This collection of essays grew out of the workshop ‘Existence: Semantics and Syntax’, which was held at the University of Nancy 2 in September 2002. The workshop, organized by Ileana Comorovski and Claire Gardent, was supported by a grant from the Reseau ́ de Sciences Cognitives du Grand Est (‘Cognitive Science Network of the Greater East’), which is gratefully acknowledged. The ?rst e- tor wishes to thank Claire Gardent, Fred Landman, and Georges Rebuschi for encouraging her to pursue the publication of a volume based on papers presented at the workshop. Among those who participated in the workshop was Klaus von Heusinger, who joined Ileana Comorovski in editing this volume. Besides papers that developed out of presentations at the workshop, the volume contains invited contributions. We are grateful to Wayles Browne, Fred Landman, Paul Portner, and Georges Rebuschi for their help with reviewing some of the papers. Our thanks go also to a Springer reviewer for the careful reading of the book manuscript. We wish to thank all the participants in the workshop, not only those whose contributions appear in this volume, for making the workshop an int- active and constructive event. Ileana Comorovski Klaus von Heusinger vii ILEANA COMOROVSKI AND KLAUS VON HEUSINGER INTRODUCTION The notion of ‘existence’, which we take to have solid intuitive grounding, plays a central role in the interpretation of at least three types of linguistic constructions: copular clauses, existential sentences, and (in)de?nite noun phrases.

Copular Clauses

Copular Clauses PDF Author: Line Mikkelsen
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027294135
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
This book is concerned with a class of copular clauses known as specificational clauses, and its relation to other kinds of copular structures, predicational and equative clauses in particular. Based on evidence from Danish and English, I argue that specificational clauses involve the same core predication structure as predicational clauses — one which combines a referential and a predicative expression to form a minimal predicational unit — but differ in how the predicational core is realized syntactically. Predicational copular clauses represent the canonical realization, where the referential expression is aligned with the most prominent syntactic position, the subject position. Specificational clauses involve an unusual alignment of the predicative expression with subject position. I suggest that this unusual alignment is grounded in information structure: the alignment of the less referential DP with the subject position serves a discourse connective function by letting material that is relatively familiar in the discourse appear before material that is relatively unfamiliar in the discourse. Equative clauses are argued to be fundamentally different.

The Syntax of Russian

The Syntax of Russian PDF Author: John F. Bailyn
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521885744
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 393

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Book Description
An essential guide to Russian syntax, which examines major syntactic structures and grammatical puzzles of the language.

On the Semantics of the Russian Copular Verb "byt"́

On the Semantics of the Russian Copular Verb Author: Pål Kristian Eriksen
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Bytʹ (The Russian word)
Languages : en
Pages : 152

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Book Description


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.

Weak Referentiality

Weak Referentiality PDF Author: Ana Aguilar-Guevara
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027269386
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 404

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Book Description
This volume brings together studies in the domain of weak referentiality, the phenomenon that a definite or indefinite noun phrase lacks its usual referential force. Several papers investigate syntactic or semantic properties of indefinite noun phrases, such as modality, number neutrality, narrow scope, incorporation, predication, and case marking, and that in a range of languages (Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Catalan, German, Papiamentu, Russian). Other papers deal with weakly referential definite noun phrases in various languages (Basque, Dutch, English, French) involving scrambling, modification, possession, and accessibility. The papers demonstrate a range of empirical methods and theoretical models. This volume will not only be of interest to researchers and students in syntax and semantics, but also in psycholinguistics and language typology.

Annual Workshop on Formal Approaches to Slavic Linguistics

Annual Workshop on Formal Approaches to Slavic Linguistics PDF Author: Jindřich Toman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Foreign Language Study
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description


Nominalizations, Double Genitives and Possessives

Nominalizations, Double Genitives and Possessives PDF Author: Anja Šarić
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110621037
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 182

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Book Description
The goal of this work is twofold. First, it aims to account for double genitive constructions in Serbian. Second, it aims to re-evaluate the DP hypothesis in light of their existence in Serbian. Based on evidence from the categorial status of possessives, argumenthood in the nominal domain, the morphosyntactic structure of nominalizations, and the assignment of the genitive case, it is argued that DP projection must be assumed in Serbian.

Differential Subject Marking

Differential Subject Marking PDF Author: Helen de Hoop
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402064977
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 313

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Book Description
Not all sentences encode their subjects in the same way. Some languages overtly mark some subjects depending on certain features of the subject argument or the sentence in which the subject figures. This is known as Differential Subject Marking (DSM). Containing illuminating discussions of DSM from languages all over the world, this book shows that DSM is often the result of interactions between conflicting constraints on language use.