This paper investigates the behaviors of tag questions in Chinese and proposes a unifying analysis involving empty CP/DP pro-forms and predication. It is found that there are universally two types of Tag questions – (i) the invariable type and (ii) the (modal) verbal type, which correspond to the question-types in Chinese syntax. Previous research by Culivocer (1992. English tag questions in Universal Grammar. Lingua 88. 193–226) analyzed English tag questions as a pro-IP structure that is bound by a previous sentence. However, in Chinese, two types of tag questions include both A-not-A form and particle form. Furthermore, both the two kinds of tag questions display syntactic predication between the tag and an empty subject pro. An abbreviated "yes-no question" is attached to empty CP/DP constituents in these constructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Keywords: context; inheritance network; pseudogapping; question-under-discussion; VP ellipsis EN context inheritance network pseudogapping question-under-discussion VP ellipsis 457 494 38 09/06/22 20220901 NES 220901 1 Basic properties As illustrated in (1a) and (1b), gapping elides a finite verb in the non-initial conjunct of a coordinate structure while VPE (VP ellipsis) deletes a whole VP after an auxiliary. As we have seen in the analysis of VPE, the auxiliarihood of the head in the construction reflects the simple fact that VPE and pseudogapping are both sensitive to the presence of an auxiliary. (76) HT
a.
[[antecedent-VP]] = x[go.to(x.st)]
b.
[[antecedent-S]] = [go.to(k.st)]
ht The I pro i in the VPE clause in (75a) will refer to the VP meaning in (76a). Differing from an example where the VP complement is an overt one, in VPE sentences like (62), as noted earlier, the VP complement is realized as a covert I pro i expression. Ever since the pioneering work of [45], many have suggested that ellipsis involves a focus assignment to an expression and further that ellipsis resolution requires certain "parallelism" between the clause including the ellipsis and its antecedent clause (see, among others, [13]; [15]; [16]; [22]; [39]; [48]; [52]; [53]). [Extracted from the article]
*TEST interpretation, *GENERATIVE grammar, *DISCOURSE analysis, *NATIVE language, *PHILOSOPHY of language
Abstract
That is, we should find that for multiple wh-fronting questions and multiple sluicing, only pair-list answers are acceptable, while for single wh-fronting questions, either both answer types are acceptable, or only single-pair is. 3.2.3 Results and discussion Figure 2 shows the results of Experiment 1b: a violin plot of the acceptability ratings for single-pair/pair-list answers as potential responses to the three relevant constructions. Keywords: ellipsis; experimental syntax; Hungarian; multiple sluicing; multiple wh-questions EN ellipsis experimental syntax Hungarian multiple sluicing multiple wh-questions 401 423 23 09/06/22 20220901 NES 220901 1 Introduction An important theoretical claim in the ellipsis literature is that properties of non-elliptical sentences in a language should predict the properties of elliptical ones (i.a. HT
*LINGUISTIC typology, *GENERATIVE grammar, *CARTOGRAPHY, *ENGLISH language, *SPANISH language
Abstract
Adverbs and Functional Heads: a Cross-Linguistic perspective (Cinque, Guglielmo. 1999. Adverbs and functional heads: A cross-linguistic perspective. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press)—one of the founding works of "Syntactic Cartography"—combines some of the developments in Syntactic Theory from the 1980s and 1990s with insightful contributions from Linguistic Typology. This paper has two interrelated goals. First, it aims to review the fundamental theses of Cinque's monography of 1999—which are far from controversial among scholars working in Cartography—; at the same time it provides conceptual support to them. Secondly, it aims to explore some methodological tools of Syntactic Cartography presented and discussed by Cinque, Guglielmo. 1999. Adverbs and functional heads: A cross-linguistic perspective. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, namely the so-called precedence-and-transitivity tests—after a brief discussion on methodology used to recognise the functional categories, namely the criterion by Jackendoff, Ray. 1972. Semantic interpretation in generative grammar. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press—and the use of the hierarchies as tools to detect intra and interlinguistic variation. With regard to this latter issue, the paper gathers data from Brazilian Portuguese, Canadian English and Colombian Spanish on verb raising. The discussion of the data not only favours Cinque, Guglielmo. 2017. On the status of functional categories (heads and phrases). Language and Linguistics 18(4). 521–576 recent updates of his theoretical approach to the cartography of the clause but also shows how Cartography offers a natural scenario for a methodological approach to both micro and macro-variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
This article argues that there is no narrow syntax, and that the language faculty merely consists of the semantic and phonological components, and linking between these and other systems. It follows as a logical consequence from the latest works of Chomsky (2007 et seq.) and Hauser et al. (2002) who argue that narrow syntax consists of as few features as possible, ideally only recursive embedding and mapping to the interfaces, and Nordström (2014) who shows that the language faculty cannot involve recursive embedding if one wants it to be able to handle discrete infinity, but must merely be a discrete combinatorial system. As such, it shares features with many other mental processes, such as tool making, and, this paper argues, should not be seen as a separate module. The discrete combinatorial processes, as argued here, take place in the semantic and phonological components, which are linked by an axonal pathway. The paper further shows that other potential features of narrow syntax, namely word order, agreement and case (Pinker and Jackendoff 2005; Chomsky 2000 et seq.) can also perfectly well be located within the semantic and phonological components, dispensing with so-called uninterpretable features and leading to the ultimate conclusion that there is no narrow syntax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
*ELLIPSIS (Grammar), *GRAMMAR, *LINGUISTICS, *GENERATIVE grammar, *NATURAL languages
Abstract
Following an introduction to ellipsis and its consequences both for communication and for the theory of grammar, this paper addresses a number of issues which have been debated in the linguistic literature on ellipsis, namely structure, identity and licensing. This study brings to the readers' attention the effects which such conditions have for the study of ellipsis in different languages as well as their constraints within the generative framework. As case studies on the conditions and the characterisation of the linguistic strategy under scrutiny, this paper also summarises the main approaches to ellipsis in the studies embodied in this special issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Research on bilingual grammars from a formal perspective has often come under the guise of mainstream generative grammar. Since the inception of Chomsky's (1995 et seq.) Minimalist Program (MP), many scholars have adopted the notion of formal features representing abstract grammatical information that can be associated with lexical items. To model changes in bilingual grammars due to the acquisition of particular forms, the attrition of information by means of incomplete acquisition or the lack of usage throughout the course of the lifespan, or due to intense contact with another grammar, the mechanism known as feature reassembly (e.g. Lardiere 1998) - whereby abstract grammatical information in the form of formal features can be detached and reassigned to other lexical items - has enjoyed a great deal of success in the literature. In this article we argue that in spite of this success, the analysis of aspects of bilingual grammars can be improved upon by replacing the notion of feature reassembly with the satisfaction of constraints. Here we provide conceptual and empirical evidence arguing for the adoption of constraint satisfaction in place of the feature reassembly mechanism. Finally, in addition to constraint satisfaction we also make the case for adopting a parallel model of cognition and language for the bilingual mind, which is strongly supported by recent psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
*CONSONANTS, *OPTIMALITY theory (Linguistics), *PHONOLOGY, *OPACITY (Linguistics), *GENERATIVE grammar
Abstract
Consonant cluster simplification in Tundra Nenets coexists with other consonantal alternations, such as fricative strengthening, lenition of stops, and a variety of NC-effects, which all apply within the same phrasal domain. These processes interact with each other, suggesting an opaque ordering within the same post-lexical domain and thus presenting a challenge not only for inherently parallel theories like classical Optimality Theory, but also for the cyclic derivational approaches such as Stratal OT. We analyze all instances of Tundra Nenets cluster simplification as coalescence and show that a variety of apparently opaque alternations accompanying cluster simplification can be seen as transparent on this account. We also argue that strengthening in consonant clusters is caused by an intermediate stage where coda obstruents lose their place and turn into a glottal stop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
*GENERATIVE grammar, *BILINGUALISM, *GRAMMAR, *MINIMALIST theory (Communication), *CONSTRAINTS (Linguistics)
Abstract
Research on bilingual grammars from a formal perspective has often come under the guise of mainstream generative grammar. Since the inception of Chomsky's (1995 et seq.) Minimalist Program (MP), many scholars have adopted the notion of formal features representing abstract grammatical information that can be associated with lexical items. To model changes in bilingual grammars due to the acquisition of particular forms, the attrition of information by means of incomplete acquisition or the lack of usage throughout the course of the lifespan, or due to intense contact with another grammar, the mechanism known as feature reassembly (e.g. Lardiere 1998) - whereby abstract grammatical information in the form of formal features can be detached and reassigned to other lexical items - has enjoyed a great deal of success in the literature. In this article we argue that in spite of this success, the analysis of aspects of bilingual grammars can be improved upon by replacing the notion of feature reassembly with the satisfaction of constraints. Here we provide conceptual and empirical evidence arguing for the adoption of constraint satisfaction in place of the feature reassembly mechanism. Finally, in addition to constraint satisfaction we also make the case for adopting a parallel model of cognition and language for the bilingual mind, which is strongly supported by recent psycholinguistic and neurolinguistic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]