Tatiana Nikitina

Bio: Tatiana Nikitina is an academic researcher from Centre national de la recherche scientifique. The author has contributed to research in topics: Syntax & Verb. The author has an hindex of 12, co-authored 37 publications receiving 1227 citations. Previous affiliations of Tatiana Nikitina include University of Oslo & Stanford University.

Predicting the dative alternation

Abstract: Theoretical linguists have traditionally relied on linguistic intuitions such as grammaticality judgments for their data. But the massive growth of computer-readable texts and recordings, the availability of cheaper, more powerful computers and software, and the development of new probabilistic models for language have now made the spontaneous useoflanguageinnaturalsettingsarichandeasilyaccessiblealternativesourceofdata. Surprisingly, many linguists believe that such ‘usage data’ are irrelevant to the theory of grammar. Four problems are repeatedly brought up in the critiques of usage data: 1. Correlated factors seeming to support reductive theories; 2. Pooled data invalidating grammatical inference; 3. Syntactic choices reducing to lexical biases; and 4. Cross-corpus differences undermining corpus studies. Presenting a case study of work on the English dative alternation, we show first,that linguistic intuitions of grammaticality are deeply flawed and seriously underestimate the space of grammatical possibility, and second, that the four problems in the critique of usage data are empirical issues that can be resolved by using modern statistical theory and modeling strategies widely used in other fields. The new models allow linguistic theory to solve more difficult problems than it has in the past, and to build convergent projects with psychology, computer science, and allied fields of cognitive science.

The Gradience of the Dative Alternation

Abstract: Natural uses of dative constructions in English reveal that the boundaries between categoricity and gradience are fluid in both lexicon and grammar.1 In the lexicon, the mapping between semantic classes of dative verbs and alternative syntactic constructions rests on probabilistic biases rather than strict categories. In the grammar of argument type positioning, even the strongest of constraints on ditransitive complements shows variability, while a very weak statistical pattern corresponds to near categorical regularities elsewhere. Both the lexical and the grammatical gradience can be modeled within Stochastic Optimality Theory, and combining them has surprising empirical consequences.

Animacy encoding in English: why and how

Abstract: We report on two recent medium-scale initiatives annotating present day English corpora for animacy distinctions. We discuss the relevance of animacy for computational linguistics, specifically generation, the annotation categories used in the two studies and the interannotator reliability for one of the studies.

Subcategorization pattern and lexical meaning of motion verbs: a study of the source/goal ambiguity

Abstract: The article addresses the problem of the linguistic encoding of the locative roles of Goal and Source of motion. After discussing the typological patterns of marking static locations, goals, and sources of motion, I analyze data from Wan, a Southeastern Mande language that often does not encode the distinction between sources and goals either outside of the verb (by adpositions or case) or in the verb’s argument structure. In addition to a class of specialized verbs that subcategorize for a particular type of locative argument (‘‘source verbs’’ and ‘‘goal verbs’’), Wan has a number of verbs that do not restrict their argument to either sources or goals. I show that the two verb classes contrast with respect to the amount of information about the direction of motion that is entailed by the verb’s lexical meaning. In encoding the role of the locative argument, the two verb classes rely on ¯

Analyzing linguistic data : a practical introduction to statistics using R

Abstract: Statistical analysis is a useful skill for linguists and psycholinguists, allowing them to understand the quantitative structure of their data This textbook provides a straightforward introduction to the statistical analysis of language Designed for linguists with a non-mathematical background, it clearly introduces the basic principles and methods of statistical analysis, using 'R', the leading computational statistics programme The reader is guided step-by-step through a range of real data sets, allowing them to analyse acoustic data, construct grammatical trees for a variety of languages, quantify register variation in corpus linguistics, and measure experimental data using state-of-the-art models The visualization of data plays a key role, both in the initial stages of data exploration and later on when the reader is encouraged to criticize various models Containing over 40 exercises with model answers, this book will be welcomed by all linguists wishing to learn more about working with and presenting quantitative data

Second language acquisition.

Abstract: Second language acquisition (SLA) is a field that investigates child and adult SLA from a variety of theoretical perspectives. This article provides a survey of some key areas of concern including formal generative theory and emergentist theory in the areas of morpho-syntax and phonology. The review details the theoretical stance of the two different approaches to the nature of language: generative linguistics and general cognitive approaches. Some results of key acquisition studies from the two theoretical frameworks are discussed. From a generative perspective, constraints on wh-movement, feature geometry and syllable structure, and morphological development are highlighted. From a general cognitive point of view, the emergence of tense and aspect marking from a prototype account of inherent lexical aspect is reviewed. Reference is made to general cognitive learning theories and to sociocultural theory. The article also reviews individual differences research, specifically debate on the critical period in adult language acquisition, motivation, and memory. Finally, the article discusses the relationship between SLA research and second language pedagogy. Suggestions for further reading from recent handbooks on SLA are provided. WIREs Cogni Sci 2011 2 277-286 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.106 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Predicting the dative alternation

Abstract: Theoretical linguists have traditionally relied on linguistic intuitions such as grammaticality judgments for their data. But the massive growth of computer-readable texts and recordings, the availability of cheaper, more powerful computers and software, and the development of new probabilistic models for language have now made the spontaneous useoflanguageinnaturalsettingsarichandeasilyaccessiblealternativesourceofdata. Surprisingly, many linguists believe that such ‘usage data’ are irrelevant to the theory of grammar. Four problems are repeatedly brought up in the critiques of usage data: 1. Correlated factors seeming to support reductive theories; 2. Pooled data invalidating grammatical inference; 3. Syntactic choices reducing to lexical biases; and 4. Cross-corpus differences undermining corpus studies. Presenting a case study of work on the English dative alternation, we show first,that linguistic intuitions of grammaticality are deeply flawed and seriously underestimate the space of grammatical possibility, and second, that the four problems in the critique of usage data are empirical issues that can be resolved by using modern statistical theory and modeling strategies widely used in other fields. The new models allow linguistic theory to solve more difficult problems than it has in the past, and to build convergent projects with psychology, computer science, and allied fields of cognitive science.