Noun Phrases in Article-less Languages

Noun Phrases in Article-less Languages PDF Author: Lola Türker
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027262896
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 198

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book is a theoretically oriented, comparative study of noun phrases and their semantic and morpho-syntactic properties. This is the first study that provides a comprehensive analysis of the nominal structure in Uzbek, and compares it with corresponding structures in other article and article-less languages. Uzbek nominals represent a fertile ground to test the universality of the DP hypothesis and to make an insightful contribution to an ongoing debate about the functional architecture of the nominal domain in languages with and without articles. The study shows that the ordering of various nominal suffixes in Uzbek reflects a rich functional structure, involving not only DP but also KP. The work also discusses elements such as determiners, demonstratives, quantifiers and adjectives, and positioning of these elements within the nominal domain. This study is especially useful for researchers interested in theoretical linguistics, comparative syntax and typology.

Noun Phrases in Article-less Languages

Noun Phrases in Article-less Languages PDF Author: Lola Türker
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027262896
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 198

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book is a theoretically oriented, comparative study of noun phrases and their semantic and morpho-syntactic properties. This is the first study that provides a comprehensive analysis of the nominal structure in Uzbek, and compares it with corresponding structures in other article and article-less languages. Uzbek nominals represent a fertile ground to test the universality of the DP hypothesis and to make an insightful contribution to an ongoing debate about the functional architecture of the nominal domain in languages with and without articles. The study shows that the ordering of various nominal suffixes in Uzbek reflects a rich functional structure, involving not only DP but also KP. The work also discusses elements such as determiners, demonstratives, quantifiers and adjectives, and positioning of these elements within the nominal domain. This study is especially useful for researchers interested in theoretical linguistics, comparative syntax and typology.

Noun Phrase in the Generative Perspective

Noun Phrase in the Generative Perspective PDF Author: Artemis Alexiadou
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
ISBN: 3110207494
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 688

Get Book Here

Book Description
The goal of this book is twofold. On the one hand we want to offer a discussion of some of the more important properties of the nominal projection, on the other hand we want to provide the reader with tools for syntactic analysis which apply to the structure of DP but which are also relevant for other domains of syntax. In order to achieve this dual goal we will discuss phenomena which are related to the nominal projection in relation to other syntactic phenomena (e.g. pro drop will be related to N-ellipsis, the classification of pronouns will be applied to the syntax of possessive pronouns, N-movement will be compared to V-movement, the syntax of the genitive construction will be related to that of predicate inversion etc.). In the various chapters we will show how recent theoretical proposals (distributed morphology, anti-symmetry, checking theory) can cast light on aspects of the syntax of the NP. When necessary, we will provide a brief introduction of these theoretical proposals. We will also indicate problems with these analyses, whether they be inherent to the theories as such (e.g. what is the trigger for movement in antisymmetric approaches) or to the particular instantiations. The book cannot and will not provide the definitive analysis of the syntax of noun phrases. We consider that this would not be possible, given the current flux in generative syntax, with many new theoretical proposals being developed and explored, but the book aims at giving the reader the tools with which to conduct research and to evaluate proposals in the literature. In the discussion of various issues, we will apply the framework that is most adequate to deal with problems at hand. We will therefore not necessarily use the same approach throughout the discussion. Though proposals in the literature will be referred to when relevant, we cannot attempt to provide a critical survey of the literature. We feel that such a survey would be guided too strongly by theoretical choices, which would not be compatible with the pedagogical purposes this book has. The book is comparative in its approach, and data from different languages will be examined, including English, German, Dutch (West-Flemish), Greek, Romance, Semitic, Slavic, Albanian, Hungarian, Gungbe.

The World Atlas of Language Structures

The World Atlas of Language Structures PDF Author: Martin Haspelmath
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 0191531243
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 712

Get Book Here

Book Description
The World Atlas of Language Structures is a book and CD combination displaying the structural properties of the world's languages. 142 world maps and numerous regional maps - all in colour - display the geographical distribution of features of pronunciation and grammar, such as number of vowels, tone systems, gender, plurals, tense, word order, and body part terminology. Each world map shows an average of 400 languages and is accompanied by a fully referenced description of the structural feature in question. The CD provides an interactive electronic version of the database which allows the reader to zoom in on or customize the maps, to display bibliographical sources, and to establish correlations between features. The book and the CD together provide an indispensable source of information for linguists and others seeking to understand human languages. The Atlas will be especially valuable for linguistic typologists, grammatical theorists, historical and comparative linguists, and for those studying a region such as Africa, Southeast Asia, North America, Australia, and Europe. It will also interest anthropologists and geographers. More than fifty authors from many different countries have collaborated to produce a work that sets new standards in comparative linguistics. No institution involved in language research can afford to be without it.

Crosslinguistic Studies on Noun Phrase Structure and Reference

Crosslinguistic Studies on Noun Phrase Structure and Reference PDF Author: Patricia Cabredo Hofherr
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004261443
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 413

Get Book Here

Book Description
Crosslinguistic Studies on Noun Phrase Structure and Reference contains 11 studies on the grammar of noun phrases. Part One explores NP-structure and the impact of information structure, countability and number marking on interpretation, using data from Russian, Armenian, Hebrew, Brazilian Portuguese, Karitiana, Turkish, English, Catalan and Danish. Part Two examines language specific definiteness marking strategies in spoken and signed languages—differentiated definiteness marking in Germanic, double definiteness in Greek, adnominal demonstratives in Japanese, ‘weak’ definiteness in Martiniké and the special referring options made avilable by signing. Part Three examines the second-language acquisition of genericity in English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. This volume will be of interest to researchers and students in syntax, formal semantics, and language acquisition. Contributors include: Željko Bošković, Patricia Cabredo Hofherr, Edit Doron, Nomi Erteschik Shir, Brigitte Garcia, Elaine Grolla, Tania Ionin, Loïc Jean-Louis, Makoto Kaneko, Marika Lekakou, Silvina Montrul, Ana Müller, Asya Pereltsvaig, Marie-Anne Sallandre, Helade Santos, Serkan Şener, Rebekka Studler, Kriszta Szendröi, Anne Zribi-Hertz.

English Noun Phrases from a Functional-Cognitive Perspective

English Noun Phrases from a Functional-Cognitive Perspective PDF Author: Lotte Sommerer
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company
ISBN: 9027258252
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 443

Get Book Here

Book Description
Despite a significant increase in interest over the last two decades in the English Noun Phrase, there are still many open questions and unexplored issues. The papers collected in this volume contribute to this ongoing research by addressing a range of topics concerning the internal structure, use and development of English Noun Phrases. The eleven chapters represent three main themes: 1. Determination, modification and complementation; 2. Shell nouns and the X-is construction; 3. Binominal constructions. These topics are approached in different ways: some chapters are synchronic in nature, others diachronic; and while most subscribe to functional-cognitive modelling, some take a more formal approach. In addition, different methodologies are employed, varying from qualitative and quantitative corpus analyses to experimental methods. As a result, the contributions to this volume represent both the main topics currently discussed in research on the English Noun Phrase, and the diversity in the way these topics are investigated.

A Reference Grammar of Romanian

A Reference Grammar of Romanian PDF Author: Carmen Dobrovie-Sorin
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
ISBN: 9027271356
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 930

Get Book Here

Book Description
Based on recent research in formal linguistics, this volume provides a thorough description of the whole system of Romanian Noun Phrases, understood in an extended sense, that is, in addition to nouns, pronouns and determiners, it examines all the adnominal phrases: genitive-marked DPs, adjectives, relative clauses, appositions, prepositional phrases, complement clauses and non-finite modifiers. The book focuses on syntax and the syntax-semantics interface but also includes a systematic morphological description of the language. The implicitly comparative description of Romanian contained in the book can serve as a starting point for the study of the syntax/semantics of Noun Phrases in other languages, regardless of whether or not they are typologically related to Romanian. This book will be of special interest to linguists working on Romanian, Romance languages, comparative linguistics and language typology, especially because Romanian is relevant for comparative linguistics not only as a Romance language, but also as part of the so-called Balkan Sprachbund.

The Bantu Noun Phrase

The Bantu Noun Phrase PDF Author: Blasius Achiri-Taboh
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000995518
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 255

Get Book Here

Book Description
This collection of original essays addresses salient issues in a range of empirical and conceptual analyses, providing detailed case studies of phenomena in Bantu languages and robust and interesting discussions on the structure of the noun phrase. This volume speaks to contemporary debates on the Bantu noun phrase, seeking to stimulate a greater understanding of the true nature of adnominal modification, definiteness, and anaphoric relations associated with it, with respect to various segmental and supra-segmental, noun formation, and noun classification phenomena. The ten chapters take the reader through the Grassfields, North-Western, North-Eastern and Southern present-day Bantu homeland, making important contributions to the documentation and analysis of Bantu languages. The Bantu Noun Phrase: Issues and Perspectives is unique in its inclusion of so many North-Eastern Bantu languages in its discourse on Bantu linguistics and this important collection will be of particular interest to those researching, teaching, and studying African languages and linguistics.

Contemporary Linguistic Parameters

Contemporary Linguistic Parameters PDF Author: Antonio Fabregas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472532716
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 341

Get Book Here

Book Description
Parameters have lain at the core of linguistic research in the generative tradition for decades. The theoretical questions they have raised are deep and broad: this reference text investigates how contemporary linguistics has best tried to answer them. This book looks at how parameters might be properly defined and what their locus might be :lexical information, functional heads, the computational system, the phonological branch of the grammar. What kind of data forms trigger acquisition of a parameter? Are parameters necessary or can we study languages without making reference to them? The questions looked at are not just theoretical: how can a theory of parameters be used to help understand second language acquisition, and what contributions can it make to the study of language typology? This is the right time to gather all this information, dispersed in many different kinds of publications by single authors and groups, into one comprehensive volume.

Nominal Modification in Italian Sign Language

Nominal Modification in Italian Sign Language PDF Author: Lara Mantovan
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 1501504819
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 211

Get Book Here

Book Description
Since the recent creation of a large-scale corpus of Italian Sign Language (LIS), a new research branch has been established to study the sociolinguistic variation characterizing this language in various linguistic domains. However, for nominal modification, the role of language-internal variation remains uncertain. This volume represents the first attempt to investigate sign order variability in this domain, examining what shapes the syntactic structure of LIS nominal expressions. In particular, three empirical studies are presented and discussed: the first two are corpus studies investigating the distribution and duration of nominal modifiers, while the third deals with the syntactic behavior of cardinal numerals, an unexplored area. In this enterprise, three different theoretical dimensions of inquiry are innovatively combined: linguistic typology, generative linguistics, and sociolinguistics. The research setup involves both quantitative and qualitative data. This mixed approach starts from corpus data to present the phenomenon, examine linguistic facts on a large scale, and draw questions from these, and then looks at elicited and judgment-based data to provide valid insights and refine the analysis. Crucially, the combination of different methods contributes to a better understanding of the mechanisms driving nominal modification in LIS and its internal variation.

Definiteness across languages

Definiteness across languages PDF Author: Ana Aguilar-Guevara
Publisher: Language Science Press
ISBN: 3961101922
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 502

Get Book Here

Book Description
Definiteness has been a central topic in theoretical semantics since its modern foundation. However, despite its significance, there has been surprisingly scarce research on its cross-linguistic expression. With the purpose of contributing to filling this gap, the present volume gathers thirteen studies exploiting insights from formal semantics and syntax, typological and language specific studies, and, crucially, semantic fieldwork and cross-linguistic semantics, in order to address the expression and interpretation of definiteness in a diverse group of languages, most of them understudied. The papers presented in this volume aim to establish a dialogue between theory and data in order to answer the following questions: What formal strategies do natural languages employ to encode definiteness? What are the possible meanings associated to this notion across languages? Are there different types of definite reference? Which other functions (besides marking definite reference) are associated with definite descriptions? Each of the papers contained in this volume addresses at least one of these questions and, in doing so, they aim to enrich our understanding of definiteness.