Finiteness And Nominalization

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Finiteness and Nominalization

Claudine Chamoreau,Zarina Estrada-Fernández
Finiteness and Nominalization Book PDF

Author : Claudine Chamoreau,Zarina Estrada-Fernández
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 380 pages
File Size : 52,9 Mb
Release : 2016-06-23
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027267023

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Finiteness and Nominalization by Claudine Chamoreau,Zarina Estrada-Fernández Pdf

This volume addresses the relation between finiteness and nominalization, which is far more complex than the simple opposition finite-nonfinite. The contributions analyze finiteness cross-linguistically from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives, focusing on a number of topics that has not been thoroughly explored in the literature. First, the correlation between finiteness and nominalization is also affected by a third factor, information structure. Second, there is a correlation between the continuum of finiteness and the scale from main/independent clauses to dependent clauses. Given that of nominalized constructions occur not only in dependent clauses, but also in independent clauses, it is possible to grade according to degree of nominalization, which can then be related to the scale of finiteness. Finally, each of these scales can also be seen as a product the diachronic process of re-finitization and of finitization.

Syntax

Talmy Givón
Syntax Book PDF

Author : Talmy Givón
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 420 pages
File Size : 52,8 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 1588110680

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Syntax by Talmy Givón Pdf

This new edition of Syntax: A functional-typological introduction is at many points radically revised. In the previous edition (1984) the author deliberately chose to de-emphasize the more formal aspects of syntactic structure, in favor of a more comprehensive treatment of the semantic and pragmatic correlates of syntactic structure. With hindsight the author now finds the de-emphasis of the formal properties a somewhat regrettable choice, since it creates the false impression that one could somehow be a functionalist without being at the same time a structuralist. To redress the balance, explicit treatment is given to the core formal properties of syntactic constructions, such as constituency and hierarchy (phrase structure), grammatical relations and relational control, clause union, finiteness and governed constructions. At the same time, the cognitive and communicative underpinning of grammatical universals are further elucidated and underscored, and the interplay between grammar, cognition and neurology is outlined. Also the relevant typological database is expanded, now exploring in greater precision the bounds of syntactic diversity. Lastly, Syntax treats synchronic-typological diversity more explicitly as the dynamic by-product of diachronic development or grammaticalization. In so doing a parallel is drawn between linguistic diversity and diachrony on the one hand and biological diversity and evolution on the other. It is then suggested that — as in biology — synchronic universals of grammar are exercised and instantiated primarily as constraints on development, and are thus merely the apparent by-products of universal constraints on grammaticalization.

Non-Finiteness

Bingjun Yang
Non Finiteness Book PDF

Author : Bingjun Yang
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 251 pages
File Size : 47,6 Mb
Release : 2022-04-28
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781316513415

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Non-Finiteness by Bingjun Yang Pdf

As a gateway to central questions in linguistics, non-finiteness is unavoidable in both typological studies and aspects of natural language processing, such as text segmentation and annotation. This study presents a 'process relation framework' to explain the more complex, previously unaccounted for, instances of non-finiteness in clause structure.

The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity

Talmy Givón
The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity Book PDF

Author : Talmy Givón
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 44,7 Mb
Release : 2009
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027232533

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The Genesis of Syntactic Complexity by Talmy Givón Pdf

Complex hierarchic syntax is a hallmark of human language. The highest level of syntactic complexity, recursive-embedded clauses, has been singled out by some for a special status as the evolutionary apex of the uniquely - human language faculty - evolutionary yet mysteriously immune to Darwinian adaptive selection. Prof. Givón's book treats syntactic complexity as an integral part of the evolutionary rise of human communication. The book first describes grammar as an adaptive instrument of communication, assembled upon the pre-existing platform of pre-linguistic object- and-event cognition and mental representation. It then surveys the two grand developmental trends of human language: diachrony, the communal enterprise directly responsible for fashioning synchronic morpho-syntax and cross-language diversity; and ontogeny, the individual endeavor directly responsible for acquiring the competent use of grammar. The genesis of syntactic complexity along these two developmental trends is compared with second language acquisition, pre-grammatical pidgin and pre-human communication. The evolutionary relevance of language diachrony, language ontogeny and pidginization is argued for on general bio-evolutionary grounds: It is the organism's adaptive on-line behavior- invention, learning and skill acquisition - that is the common thread running through all three developmental trends. The neuro-cognitive circuits that underlie language, and their evolutionary underpinnings, are described and assessed. Recursive embedding turns out to be not an adaptive target on its own, but the by-product of two distinct adaptive moves: (i) the recruitment of conjoined clauses as modal operators on, or referential specifiers of, other clauses; and (ii) the subsequent condensation of paratactic into syntactic structures.

Syntactic Complexity

T. Givón,Masayoshi Shibatani
Syntactic Complexity Book PDF

Author : T. Givón,Masayoshi Shibatani
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 561 pages
File Size : 47,5 Mb
Release : 2009-04-22
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027290144

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Syntactic Complexity by T. Givón,Masayoshi Shibatani Pdf

Complex hierarchic syntax is considered one of the hallmarks of human language. The highest level of syntactic complexity, recursive-embedded clauses, has been singled out by some for a special status as the apex of the uniquely-human language faculty – evolutionary but somehow immune to adaptive selection. This volume, coming out of a symposium held at Rice University in March 2008, tackles syntactic complexity from multiple developmental perspectives. We take it for granted that grammar is an adaptive instrument of communication, assembled upon the pre-existing platform of pre-linguistic cognition. Most of the papers in the volume deal with the two grand developmental trends of human language: diachrony, the communal enterprise directly responsible for fashioning synchronic morpho-syntax; and ontogeny, the individual endeavor directly responsible for the acquisition of competent grammatical performance. The genesis of syntactic complexity along these two developmental trends is considered alongside with the cognition and neurology of grammar and of syntactic complexity, and the evolutionary relevance of diachrony, ontogeny and pidginization is argued on general bio-evolutionary grounds. Lastly, several of the contributions to the volume suggest that recursive embedding is not in itself an adaptive target, but rather the by-product of two distinct adaptive gambits: the recruitment of conjoined clauses as modal operators on other clauses and the subsequent condensation of paratactic into syntactic structures.

Finiteness

Irina Nikolaeva
Finiteness Book PDF

Author : Irina Nikolaeva
Publisher : OUP Oxford
Page : 552 pages
File Size : 49,5 Mb
Release : 2007-04-06
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780191526725

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Finiteness by Irina Nikolaeva Pdf

This book explores the nature of finiteness, one of most commonly used notions in descriptive and theoretical linguistics but possibly one of the least understood. Scholars representing a variety of theoretical positions seek to clarify what it is and to establish its usefulness and limitations. In doing so they reveal cross-linguistically valid correlations between subject licensing, subject agreement, tense, syntactic opacity, and independent clausehood; show how these properties are associated with finiteness; and discuss what this means for the content of the category. The issues explored include how different grammatical theories represent finiteness; whether the finite/nonfinite distinction is universal; whether there are degrees of finiteness; whether the syntactic notion of finiteness has a semantic corollary; whether and how finiteness is subject to change; and how finiteness features in language acquisition. Irina Nikolaeva opens the book by describing the history of finiteness and its place in current thinking and research. She then introduces the chapters of the book, comparing the authors' perspectives and showing what they have in common. The book is then divided into four parts. Part I considers the role finiteness plays in formal syntactic theories and Part II its deployment in functional theories and as the subject of research in typology. Parts III and IV look respectively at the finite/nonfinite opposition in individual languages and at the role finiteness plays in linguistic change and linguistic development. The book is written and structured to appeal to scholars and students of syntax and general linguistics at graduate level and above.

Diverse Scenarios of Syntactic Complexity

Albert Álvarez González,Zarina Estrada-Fernández,Claudine Chamoreau
Diverse Scenarios of Syntactic Complexity Book PDF

Author : Albert Álvarez González,Zarina Estrada-Fernández,Claudine Chamoreau
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 265 pages
File Size : 54,6 Mb
Release : 2019-07-15
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027262301

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Diverse Scenarios of Syntactic Complexity by Albert Álvarez González,Zarina Estrada-Fernández,Claudine Chamoreau Pdf

This volume surveys the phenomenon of syntactic complexity in a diversity of languages and from a diversity of theoretical perspectives. The topics include clause combining strategies such as relative, complement, and adverbial clauses, serialization, clausal nominalizations, but also the switch reference systems involved in clause chains, the role of insubordination and the influence of language contact in the development of syntactic complexity as well as the acquisition of complex clauses in child language and the grammaticalization processes leading to syntactic complexity. These studies illustrate the varied aspects involved in clause combining and help to understand how syntactic complexity works and evolves in the world’s languages, how it varies across languages, how it is influenced by language contact, how it is acquired. As such, this book gives the opportunity for readers to expand both their typological and their theoretical knowledge about syntactic complexity in a variety of languages.

The Diachrony of Grammar

T. Givón
The Diachrony of Grammar Book PDF

Author : T. Givón
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 928 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2015-09-15
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027268884

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The Diachrony of Grammar by T. Givón Pdf

The case-studies assembled in these two volumes span a lifetime of research into the diachrony of grammar. That is, into the rise and fall of syntactic constructions and their attendant grammatical morphology. While focused squarely on the data, the studies are nonetheless cast in an explicit theoretical perspective – adaptive, developmental, variationist. Taken as a whole, this work constitutes a frontal assault on Ferdinand de Saussure's corrosive legacy in linguistics. Over the years, reviewers slapped the author's wrist periodically for having dared to commit that most heinous of sins against de Saussure's hallowed legacy – panchronic grammar. In this work he pleads guilty, having never seen a piece of synchronic data that didn't reek, to high heaven, of the diachrony that gave it rise. Reek in two distinct ways: first with the frozen relics of the past that prompt us to reconstruct prior diachronic states; and second with the synchronic variation that hints at ongoing change. Conversely, the author confesses to having never seen a diachronic explanation that did not hinge on the synchronic principles – Carnap's general propositions – that govern language behavior. The synchrony and diachrony of grammar are twin faces of the same coin. To study one without the other is to gut both. By understanding how synchronic grammars come into being we also understand the cognitive, communicative, neurological and developmental universals that constrain diachronic change – and through it synchronic typology.

The Story of Zero

T. Givón
The Story of Zero Book PDF

Author : T. Givón
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 414 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2017-01-19
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027266460

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The Story of Zero by T. Givón Pdf

The zero coding of referents or other clausal constituents is one of the most natural, communicatively and cognitively-transparent grammatical devices in human language. Together with its functional equivalent, obligatory pronominal agreement, zero is both extremely widespread cross-linguistically and highly frequent in natural text. In the domain of reference, zero represents, somewhat paradoxically, either anaphorically-governed high continuity or cataphorically-governed low topicality. And whether in conjoined/chained or syntactically-subordinate clauses, zero is extremely well-governed, at a level approaching 100% in natural text. The naturalness, cross-language ubiquity and well-governedness of zero have been largely obscured by an approach that, for 30-odd years, has considered it a typological exotica, the so-called "pro-drop" associated with a dubious "non-configurational" language type. The main aim of this book is to reaffirm the naturalness, universality and well-governedness of zero by studying it from four closely related perspectives: (i) cognitive and communicative function; (ii) natural-text distribution; (iii) cross-language typological distribution; and (iv) the diachronic rise of referent coding devices. The latter is particularly central to our understanding the functional interplay between zero anaphora, pronominal agreement and related referent-coding devices.

Nominalization in Languages of the Americas

Roberto Zariquiey,Masayoshi Shibatani,David W. Fleck
Nominalization in Languages of the Americas Book PDF

Author : Roberto Zariquiey,Masayoshi Shibatani,David W. Fleck
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 672 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2019-08-08
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027262738

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Nominalization in Languages of the Americas by Roberto Zariquiey,Masayoshi Shibatani,David W. Fleck Pdf

Recent scholarship has confirmed earlier observations that nominalization plays a crucial role in the formation of complex constructions in the world’s languages. Grammatical nominalizations are one of the most salient and widespread features of languages of the Americas, yet they have not been approached as foundational grammatical structures for constructions such as relative clauses and complement clauses. This is due to an imbalance in past scholarship, which has tended to focus on these constructions at the expense of the nominalization structures underlying them. The papers in this collection treat grammatical nominalizations in their own right, and as a starting point for the investigation of their uses in complex grammatical structures. A representative sample of Amerindian languages, with focus on South America, examines properties of grammatical nominalizations such as their multiple functions, their internal and external syntax, and their diachronic development. Among the far-reaching theoretical conclusions reached by the studies in this volume is that the various types of relative clauses recognized in the typological literature are actually no more than epiphenomena arising from the different uses of grammatical nominalizations.

Ute Reference Grammar

Talmy Givón
Ute Reference Grammar Book PDF

Author : Talmy Givón
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 467 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2011-01-01
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027202840

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Ute Reference Grammar by Talmy Givón Pdf

Ute is a Uto-Aztecan language of the northernmost (Numic) branch, currently spoken on three reservations in western Colorado and eastern Utah. Like many other native languages of Northern America, Ute is severely endangered. This book is part of the effort toward its preservation. Typologically, Ute offers a cluster of intriguing features, best viewed from the perspective of diachronic change and grammaticalization. The book presents a comprehensive synchronic description of grammatical structures and their communicative functions, as well as a diachronic account of a grammar in the midst of change. The book is the first of a 3-volume series which also includes a collection of oral texts and a dictionary. Ute speakers and tribal members may find in the present volume a step-by-step description of how words are combined into meaningful communication. Linguists may find a detailed account of one language, an account that is unabashedly informed by universals of grammar, communication and change.

Nominalization in Asian Languages

Foong Ha Yap,Karen Grunow-Hårsta,Janick Wrona
Nominalization in Asian Languages Book PDF

Author : Foong Ha Yap,Karen Grunow-Hårsta,Janick Wrona
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 796 pages
File Size : 49,8 Mb
Release : 2011-06-29
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027287243

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Nominalization in Asian Languages by Foong Ha Yap,Karen Grunow-Hårsta,Janick Wrona Pdf

Research on nominalization, a process that gives rise to referring expressions, has always played a central role in linguistic investigations. Over the years there has also been growing evidence that nominalization constructions often extend to non-referential domains. They participate in noun-modifying expressions (e.g. genitive and relative clauses), subordinate clauses and topic constructions, finite structures with the nominalizers reanalyzed as TAM markers, and stance constructions with evaluative, attitudinal, evidential and epistemic overtones. This volume brings together historical and crosslinguistic evidence from more than 20 different languages representing six different language families spanning the Asian continent and the Pacific and Indian oceans to elucidate the strategies and grammaticalization pathways that give rise to both referential and non-referential uses of nominalization constructions. This collection highlights the diversity of strategies and at the same time the robust cyclical nature of change within and across languages. The combined diachronic and typological analyses in this volume are particularly valuable for linguistic research on diachronic morphosyntax and linguistic ‘universals’, and are also an important supplementary cross-referencing tool for linguistic investigations of versatile and ubiquitous morphemes in under-documented languages.

Coherence

T. Givón
Coherence Book PDF

Author : T. Givón
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing Company
Page : 307 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2020-10-15
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027260796

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Coherence by T. Givón Pdf

Coherence, connectivity and the fitting together of smaller parts into larger structures and a coherent whole is the hallmark of complex biologically-based systems. As a structure-internal constraint, coherence makes it possible for the parts to work together as a whole. As an external constraint, it lets complex system evolve and adapt to novel contexts. As a constraint on information processing, it makes new knowledge accessible to the maturing, learning or evolving mind-brain. As a constraint on cultures, it enables members of social groups to be empathic and cooperative. As a constraint on language and communication, lastly, it allows the mind of speakers to be accessible to the mind of hearers. Part I explores first the role of coherence in the evolution of complex biological design, from precellular to mono-cellular to multi-cellular to multi-organ sentient beings. The complex hierarchic design of the mind-brain is explored next, probing the coherent organization of major brain systems—perception, attention, motor control, memory and language. In surveying the coherence of cultures next, the first-evolved Society of Intimates is viewed as the model for social cohesion, empathy, trust and cooperation. Part II deals with language and communication, touching upon the coherent organization of semantic memory, event clauses and clause chains, and the central role of grammar in coherent communication. Part III deals with three general issues. First, the role of coherence in organized science. Second, the eternal seesaw of selfish vs. social motivation in coherently functioning cultures. And last, the frail balance between homogeneity diversity in large-scale Societies of Strangers.

Relative Clauses in Languages of the Americas

Bernard Comrie,Zarina Estrada Fernández
Relative Clauses in Languages of the Americas Book PDF

Author : Bernard Comrie,Zarina Estrada Fernández
Publisher : John Benjamins Publishing
Page : 322 pages
File Size : 41,5 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9789027206831

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Relative Clauses in Languages of the Americas by Bernard Comrie,Zarina Estrada Fernández Pdf

Patterns of relative clause formation tend to vary according to the typological properties of a language. Highly polysynthetic languages tend to have fully nominalized relative clauses and no relative pronouns, while other typologically diverse languages tend to have relative clauses which are similar to main or independent clauses. Languages of the Americas, with their rich genetic diversity, have all been under the influence of European languages, whether Spanish, English or Portuguese, a situation that may be expected to have influenced their grammatical patterns. The present volume focuses on two tasks: The first deals with the discussion of functional principles related to relative clause formation: diachrony and paths of grammaticalization, simplicity vs. complexity, and formalization of rules to capture semantic-syntactic correlations. The second provides a typological overview of relative clauses in nine different languages going from north to south in the Americas.

Valency over Time

Silvia Luraghi,Elisa Roma
Valency over Time Book PDF

Author : Silvia Luraghi,Elisa Roma
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 385 pages
File Size : 51,8 Mb
Release : 2021-10-25
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9783110755718

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Valency over Time by Silvia Luraghi,Elisa Roma Pdf

Valency patterns and valency orientation have been frequent topics of research under different perspectives, often poorly connected. Diachronic studies on these topics is even less systematic than synchronic ones. The papers in this book bring together two strands of research on valency, i.e. the description of valency patterns as worked out in the Leipzig Valency Classes Project (ValPaL), and the assessment of a language's basic valency and its possible orientation. Notably, the ValPaL does not provide diachronic information concerning the valency patterns investigated: one of the aims of the book is to supplement the available data with data from historical stages of languages, in order to make it profitably exploitable for diachronic research. In addition, new research on the diachrony of basic valency and valency alternations can deepen our understanding of mechanisms of language change and of the propensity of languages or language families to exploit different constructional patterns related to transitivity.