Author: Robert D. Van Valin
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027205728
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 512
Book Description
Investigations of the Syntax-Semantics-Pragmatics Interface presents on-going research in Role and Reference Grammar in a number of critical areas of linguistic theory: verb semantics and argument structure, the nature of syntactic categories and syntactic representation, prosody and syntax, information structure and syntax, and the syntax and semantics of complex sentences. In each of these areas there are important results which not only advance the development of the theory, but also contribute to the broader theoretical discussion. In particular, there are analyses of grammatical phenomena such as transitivity in Kabardian, the verb-less numeral quantifier construction in Japanese, and an unusual kind of complex sentence in Wari' (Chapakuran, Brazil) which not only illustrate the descriptive and explanatory power of the theory, but also present interesting challenges to other approaches. In addition, there are papers looking at the implications and applications of Role and Reference Grammar for neurolinguistic research, parsing and automated text analysis.
Investigations of the Syntax-semantics-pragmatics Interface
Author: Robert D. Van Valin
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027205728
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 512
Book Description
Investigations of the Syntax-Semantics-Pragmatics Interface presents on-going research in Role and Reference Grammar in a number of critical areas of linguistic theory: verb semantics and argument structure, the nature of syntactic categories and syntactic representation, prosody and syntax, information structure and syntax, and the syntax and semantics of complex sentences. In each of these areas there are important results which not only advance the development of the theory, but also contribute to the broader theoretical discussion. In particular, there are analyses of grammatical phenomena such as transitivity in Kabardian, the verb-less numeral quantifier construction in Japanese, and an unusual kind of complex sentence in Wari' (Chapakuran, Brazil) which not only illustrate the descriptive and explanatory power of the theory, but also present interesting challenges to other approaches. In addition, there are papers looking at the implications and applications of Role and Reference Grammar for neurolinguistic research, parsing and automated text analysis.
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027205728
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 512
Book Description
Investigations of the Syntax-Semantics-Pragmatics Interface presents on-going research in Role and Reference Grammar in a number of critical areas of linguistic theory: verb semantics and argument structure, the nature of syntactic categories and syntactic representation, prosody and syntax, information structure and syntax, and the syntax and semantics of complex sentences. In each of these areas there are important results which not only advance the development of the theory, but also contribute to the broader theoretical discussion. In particular, there are analyses of grammatical phenomena such as transitivity in Kabardian, the verb-less numeral quantifier construction in Japanese, and an unusual kind of complex sentence in Wari' (Chapakuran, Brazil) which not only illustrate the descriptive and explanatory power of the theory, but also present interesting challenges to other approaches. In addition, there are papers looking at the implications and applications of Role and Reference Grammar for neurolinguistic research, parsing and automated text analysis.
The Cambridge Handbook of Formal Semantics
Author: Maria Aloni
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 131655273X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 1239
Book Description
Formal semantics - the scientific study of meaning in natural language - is one of the most fundamental and long-established areas of linguistics. This Handbook offers a comprehensive, yet compact guide to the field, bringing together research from a wide range of world-leading experts. Chapters include coverage of the historical context and foundation of contemporary formal semantics, a survey of the variety of formal/logical approaches to linguistic meaning and an overview of the major areas of research within current semantic theory, broadly conceived. The Handbook also explores the interfaces between semantics and neighbouring disciplines, including research in cognition and computation. This work will be essential reading for students and researchers working in linguistics, philosophy, psychology and computer science.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 131655273X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 1239
Book Description
Formal semantics - the scientific study of meaning in natural language - is one of the most fundamental and long-established areas of linguistics. This Handbook offers a comprehensive, yet compact guide to the field, bringing together research from a wide range of world-leading experts. Chapters include coverage of the historical context and foundation of contemporary formal semantics, a survey of the variety of formal/logical approaches to linguistic meaning and an overview of the major areas of research within current semantic theory, broadly conceived. The Handbook also explores the interfaces between semantics and neighbouring disciplines, including research in cognition and computation. This work will be essential reading for students and researchers working in linguistics, philosophy, psychology and computer science.
Epithets at the Syntax-Semantics Interface
Author: Pritty Patel-Grosz
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443883883
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 162
Book Description
This book is one of the first extensive cross-linguistic theoretical investigations on epithets. Epithets (such as “the bastard”) are anaphoric expressions which take the shape of a definite description, contain an evaluative component, and are typically unstressed. This monograph shows that, in order to understand the perplexing nature of epithets, one must consider what kinds of behavior they exhibit in different components of the language faculty. In this vein, the text adopts a broad approach, analysing epithets from the perspective of the syntax-semantics-pragmatics interface. The empirical focus of this monograph is on epithets in embedded clauses. It unearths new empirical findings and shows that the acceptability of epithets is affected by a variety of influences, including syntactic factors, such as whether the epithet is in the subject position of an embedded clause, or its object position. Semantic-pragmatic restrictions further navigate the nature of epithets, such as whether they are intended to refer to an attitude holder whose beliefs or other attitudes embed the clause that contains them. Based on these findings, the book argues that epithets are a type of pronoun, subject to interface restrictions concerning the semantics and pragmatics of attitude reports. The insights in this monograph raise new questions concerning the division of labour of the language faculty with respect to the processes and mechanisms involved in Binding Theory.
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443883883
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 162
Book Description
This book is one of the first extensive cross-linguistic theoretical investigations on epithets. Epithets (such as “the bastard”) are anaphoric expressions which take the shape of a definite description, contain an evaluative component, and are typically unstressed. This monograph shows that, in order to understand the perplexing nature of epithets, one must consider what kinds of behavior they exhibit in different components of the language faculty. In this vein, the text adopts a broad approach, analysing epithets from the perspective of the syntax-semantics-pragmatics interface. The empirical focus of this monograph is on epithets in embedded clauses. It unearths new empirical findings and shows that the acceptability of epithets is affected by a variety of influences, including syntactic factors, such as whether the epithet is in the subject position of an embedded clause, or its object position. Semantic-pragmatic restrictions further navigate the nature of epithets, such as whether they are intended to refer to an attitude holder whose beliefs or other attitudes embed the clause that contains them. Based on these findings, the book argues that epithets are a type of pronoun, subject to interface restrictions concerning the semantics and pragmatics of attitude reports. The insights in this monograph raise new questions concerning the division of labour of the language faculty with respect to the processes and mechanisms involved in Binding Theory.
Aspectual Roles and the Syntax-Semantics Interface
Author: Carol Tenny
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401111502
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
All work is work in progress. The ideas developed in this work could be (and probably will be) developed further, revised, and expanded. But it was time to write them down and send them out. Some of these ideas about linking had their origins in my 1987 dissertation. However, this work has grown beyond the dissertation in a number of important ways. The most important of these advances lie in, first, articulating aspectual roles as linguistic objects over which lexical semantic phenomena can be stated, and over which linking generalizations are stated; second, recognizing that syntactic phenomena may be classified as to whether or not they are sensitive to the core event of event structure; and third, recognizing the modularity of aspectual and thematic/conceptual structure, and associating that modularity with a difference between language-specific and universal language generalizations. The three chapters of the book are organized around these ideas. I have tried to state these ideas as strong theses. Where they make strong predictions I have meant them to do so, as a probe for future research. I hope that other researchers will take up the challenge to investigate, test and develop these ideas across a wider realm of languages than I --as one person --can do.
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401111502
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 256
Book Description
All work is work in progress. The ideas developed in this work could be (and probably will be) developed further, revised, and expanded. But it was time to write them down and send them out. Some of these ideas about linking had their origins in my 1987 dissertation. However, this work has grown beyond the dissertation in a number of important ways. The most important of these advances lie in, first, articulating aspectual roles as linguistic objects over which lexical semantic phenomena can be stated, and over which linking generalizations are stated; second, recognizing that syntactic phenomena may be classified as to whether or not they are sensitive to the core event of event structure; and third, recognizing the modularity of aspectual and thematic/conceptual structure, and associating that modularity with a difference between language-specific and universal language generalizations. The three chapters of the book are organized around these ideas. I have tried to state these ideas as strong theses. Where they make strong predictions I have meant them to do so, as a probe for future research. I hope that other researchers will take up the challenge to investigate, test and develop these ideas across a wider realm of languages than I --as one person --can do.
Exploring the Syntax-Semantics Interface
Author: Robert D. van Valin, Jr.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781139445375
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
Language is a system of communication in which grammatical structures function to express meaning in context. While all languages can achieve the same basic communicative ends, they each use different means to achieve them, particularly in the divergent ways that syntax, semantics and pragmatics interact across languages. This book looks in detail at how structure, meaning, and communicative function interact in human languages. Working within the framework of Role and Reference Grammar (RRG), Van Valin proposes a set of rules, called the 'linking algorithm', which relates syntactic and semantic representations to each other, with discourse-pragmatics playing a role in the linking. Using this model, he discusses the full range of grammatical phenomena, including the structures of simple and complex sentences, verb and argument structure, voice, reflexivization and extraction restrictions. Clearly written and comprehensive, this book will be welcomed by all those working on the interface between syntax, semantics and pragmatics.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781139445375
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
Language is a system of communication in which grammatical structures function to express meaning in context. While all languages can achieve the same basic communicative ends, they each use different means to achieve them, particularly in the divergent ways that syntax, semantics and pragmatics interact across languages. This book looks in detail at how structure, meaning, and communicative function interact in human languages. Working within the framework of Role and Reference Grammar (RRG), Van Valin proposes a set of rules, called the 'linking algorithm', which relates syntactic and semantic representations to each other, with discourse-pragmatics playing a role in the linking. Using this model, he discusses the full range of grammatical phenomena, including the structures of simple and complex sentences, verb and argument structure, voice, reflexivization and extraction restrictions. Clearly written and comprehensive, this book will be welcomed by all those working on the interface between syntax, semantics and pragmatics.
Interrogative Phrases and the Syntax-Semantics Interface
Author: I. Comorovski
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401586888
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 203
Book Description
Interrogative Phrases and the Syntax-Semantics Interface starts by analyzing the interpretation of interrogative phrases in single and multiple constituent questions, including their interpretation under adverbs of quantification. The results are then put to work in a novel approach to some of the constraints on dependencies between fronted interrogative phrases and the associated gaps: superiority, weak crossover, as well as the so-called `weak islands' (the WH-island, the negative island and the Factive Island). It is argued that the possibility of fronting an interrogative phrase out of these configurations is determined by a semantic/pragmatic condition on questions, which requires them to be answerable. The analysis is worked out principally on Romanian, a language which allows multiple wh-fronting. The results are then extended to English. Audience: Researchers and students in syntax, semantics and their interface, as well as linguists studying the relation between the acceptability of sentences and the larger discourse context.
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9401586888
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 203
Book Description
Interrogative Phrases and the Syntax-Semantics Interface starts by analyzing the interpretation of interrogative phrases in single and multiple constituent questions, including their interpretation under adverbs of quantification. The results are then put to work in a novel approach to some of the constraints on dependencies between fronted interrogative phrases and the associated gaps: superiority, weak crossover, as well as the so-called `weak islands' (the WH-island, the negative island and the Factive Island). It is argued that the possibility of fronting an interrogative phrase out of these configurations is determined by a semantic/pragmatic condition on questions, which requires them to be answerable. The analysis is worked out principally on Romanian, a language which allows multiple wh-fronting. The results are then extended to English. Audience: Researchers and students in syntax, semantics and their interface, as well as linguists studying the relation between the acceptability of sentences and the larger discourse context.
The Cambridge Handbook of Pragmatics
Author: Keith Allan
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139501895
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 967
Book Description
Pragmatics is the study of human communication: the choices speakers make to express their intended meaning and the kinds of inferences that hearers draw from an utterance in the context of its use. This Handbook surveys pragmatics from different perspectives, presenting the main theories in pragmatic research, incorporating seminal research as well as cutting-edge solutions. It addresses questions of rational and empirical research methods, what counts as an adequate and successful pragmatic theory, and how to go about answering problems raised in pragmatic theory. In the fast-developing field of pragmatics, this Handbook fills the gap in the market for a one-stop resource to the wide scope of today's research and the intricacy of the many theoretical debates. It is an authoritative guide for graduate students and researchers with its focus on the areas and theories that will mark progress in pragmatic research in the future.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139501895
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 967
Book Description
Pragmatics is the study of human communication: the choices speakers make to express their intended meaning and the kinds of inferences that hearers draw from an utterance in the context of its use. This Handbook surveys pragmatics from different perspectives, presenting the main theories in pragmatic research, incorporating seminal research as well as cutting-edge solutions. It addresses questions of rational and empirical research methods, what counts as an adequate and successful pragmatic theory, and how to go about answering problems raised in pragmatic theory. In the fast-developing field of pragmatics, this Handbook fills the gap in the market for a one-stop resource to the wide scope of today's research and the intricacy of the many theoretical debates. It is an authoritative guide for graduate students and researchers with its focus on the areas and theories that will mark progress in pragmatic research in the future.
At the Syntax-pragmatics Interface
Author: Lutz Marten
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780199250646
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
This book explores the interaction of grammar and context in human communication. Lutz Marten focuses on verbs and verb phrases: he examines the relationship between language rules and linguistic behaviour, seeking to distinguish between language-specific syntactic knowledge and the general reasoning people need to understand and to make themselves understood. He considers how the component elements of linguistic theory explain what appear to be simple utterances but whose structure is hard to analyse - how, for example, 'Fran is baking Mary a cake in the oven' is different from 'Fran is baking Mary a cake in the kitchen'. The author's account of the interactions of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics is based on extensive observation among contrasting cultures and a variety of languages. He makes important contributions to understanding in all three areas. His book will appeal to linguistic theoreticians of all persuasions.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780199250646
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 246
Book Description
This book explores the interaction of grammar and context in human communication. Lutz Marten focuses on verbs and verb phrases: he examines the relationship between language rules and linguistic behaviour, seeking to distinguish between language-specific syntactic knowledge and the general reasoning people need to understand and to make themselves understood. He considers how the component elements of linguistic theory explain what appear to be simple utterances but whose structure is hard to analyse - how, for example, 'Fran is baking Mary a cake in the oven' is different from 'Fran is baking Mary a cake in the kitchen'. The author's account of the interactions of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics is based on extensive observation among contrasting cultures and a variety of languages. He makes important contributions to understanding in all three areas. His book will appeal to linguistic theoreticians of all persuasions.
The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Interfaces
Author: Gillian Ramchand
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199247455
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 686
Book Description
'The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Interfaces' explores how the core components of the language faculty interact. This book shows how these interactions are reflected in linguistic and cognitive theory, considers what they reveal, and looks at their reflections in expression and communication.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199247455
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 686
Book Description
'The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Interfaces' explores how the core components of the language faculty interact. This book shows how these interactions are reflected in linguistic and cognitive theory, considers what they reveal, and looks at their reflections in expression and communication.
The Composition of Meaning
Author: Alice ter Meulen
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027295107
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 240
Book Description
In the modular design of generative theory the syntax–semantics interface has accounted all along for meanings at the level of Logical Form. The syntax–pragmatics interface, on the other hand, is the result of what one may call the ‘pragmatic turn’ in the linguistic theory, where content is partitioned into given and new information. In other words, the structural division of the clause has been subjected to criteria of information, or discourse structure. Both interfaces require a structurally descriptive inventory whose specific shapes can be motivated on theory-internal grounds only. The present collection of original articles develops the concept of these interfaces further. The papers in the first section focus on the syntax–semantics interface, those in the second section on the syntax–pragmatics interface.
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027295107
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 240
Book Description
In the modular design of generative theory the syntax–semantics interface has accounted all along for meanings at the level of Logical Form. The syntax–pragmatics interface, on the other hand, is the result of what one may call the ‘pragmatic turn’ in the linguistic theory, where content is partitioned into given and new information. In other words, the structural division of the clause has been subjected to criteria of information, or discourse structure. Both interfaces require a structurally descriptive inventory whose specific shapes can be motivated on theory-internal grounds only. The present collection of original articles develops the concept of these interfaces further. The papers in the first section focus on the syntax–semantics interface, those in the second section on the syntax–pragmatics interface.