Showing papers in "Lingvisticae Investigationes in 2006"
TL;DR: This paper showed that non-prepositional complements are likely to be placed before the verb in modern French, contrary to commun assumptions, and made a distinction between two different types of pre-verbal complements.
Abstract: In modern French, Noun Groups which fulfill a function of non prepositional complements (ie. direct objects) are traditionnally said to have a strictly fixed position after the verb, in contrast with other types of complements which have a freer distribution. Using data mostly drawn from spoken language corpora, we show that, contrary to commun assumptions, non prepositional complements are likely to be placed before the verb. In order to give a precise account, it appears necessary to make a distinction between two different types of pre-verbal complements. Such a distinction is made through the theoretical frame of macro-syntax.
37 citations
TL;DR: This article showed that principal word order phenomena can be described in a topological approach to linearization, i.e. a linking of an (unordered) dependency tree and a ordered structure, the topological constituent tree.
Abstract: This article aims at two objectives : We want to show that principal word order phenomena can be described in a topological approach to linearization, i.e. a linking of an (unordered) dependency tree and a ordered structure, the topological constituent tree. Moreover, we want to put forward the importance and naturalness of a particular constituent in the modeling of French word order, the verb cluster (amas verbal) : It is composed of one or more verbs, of necessary functional words (prepositions and complementizers), and of very constraint lexical elements other than the verbs as for example clitics and certain adverbs. The work is based on a rigorous formalization of the dependency-topology link in Gerdes & Kahane 2001. The verb cluster in the topological structure remains to be shown to be closely related to a prosodic constituent.
18 citations
TL;DR: This paper proposed a new type of syntactic deficiency called lightness, which is relevant for all major syntactic categories and applies to both words and phrases, and showed that lightness is important for French word order in the verbal domain.
Abstract: We propose a new type of syntactic deficiency that we call “lightness”, which is relevant for all major syntactic categories. It applies to both words and phrases. Lightness is taken into account by different aspects of syntax (word order, extraction, adjunction sites, subcategorisation). Light forms differ from both incorporated and traditional “weak” forms, in the sense that they can be modified or coordinated. We show that lightness is relevant for French word order in the verbal domain. Light forms must be closer to the head (the verb) than other forms.
13 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the difference between processeurs referentiels mise aou jour trouve sa contrepartie dans la structure prosodique a la realisation du message.
Abstract: L'objectif de cet article est de montrer que, malgre leur identite de structure, qui est a l'origine de leur regroupement, les demonstratifs "textuels" du type:
J'aime ces longs cigares italiens que fume Clint Eastwood dans les westerns spaghetti
et les "demonstratifs-titres" du type:
Ces programmes de tele qui exasperent les francais
ne fonctionnet pas de la meme maniere. Nous essaierons de prouver, d'un point de vue semantique et referentiel (premiere partie) et d'un point de vue prosodique (deuxieme partie), que les deux types de demonstratifs donnent lieu a des expressions referenctielles dont le fonctionnement et la construction du referent sont differents. Nous viserons, plus particulierement et la construcion du referent sont differents. Nous viserons, plus particulierement, a montrer que la difference de processeurs referentiels mise aou jour trouve sa contrepartie dans la structure prosodique a la realisation du message
7 citations
Journal Article•
6 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a topological approche topologique de the construction of enonces is proposed. But this approche is not applicable to the case of a construction sui generis, i.e., a construction that does not derive a postposition in the form of a preposition.
Abstract: Dans les enonces assertifs du francais moderne, l'anteposition du sujet nominal par rapport au verbe (ordre ‘S V') est statistiquement plus frequente que sa postposition (ordre ‘V S') ; cette derniere, dite « inversion simple » , se rencontre principalement en presence d'un terme introducteur (complement prepositionnel ou adverbial dans les independantes , pronom dans les relatives et les interrogatives indirectes). Je m'interesserai ici aux enonces contenant un locatif spatial X (adverbe ou syntagme prepositionnel) a l'initiale, et tenterai de montrer que les enonces a sujet postpose en ‘X V S' (Sur la cheminee tronent deux chandeliers) — couramment denommes « a inversion locative » — correspondent a une construction sui generis, qui ne derive ni de ‘X S V' (Sur la cheminee, deux chandeliers tronent) ni de ‘S V X' (Deux chandeliers tronent sur la cheminee). Cela me conduira a proposer quelques elements en vue d'une approche topologique de la construction de ces enonces.
5 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors demonstrate the relevance of drawing a line between the two word-order phenomena, and show that some properties typical of locative inversion do not apply to absolute inversion.
Abstract: Linguistics studies on full inversion in French do not clearly state a difference between locative inversion (LI) and absolute inversion (AI) in independent clauses. In this corpus-based study, I demonstrate the relevance of drawing a line between the two word-order phenomena. I first outline the different formal constraints shared by the two inversions, and then show that some properties typical of LI — which have been put forward in previous work- do not apply to AI. In a final section, I relate the formal properties of both inverted structures to two different deictic functions in written discourse. Both inversions imply a deictic reference to the on-going discourse, but whereas LI refers directly to the situation that is represented, AI refers to the discursive strategy of the discourse.
5 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the concept of an independent topological level of description was introduced by Danish grammarians, and it was shown that a description of word order based upon the syntactic structure necessarily amounts to a topological description because syntactic trees needed to describe certain word order phenomena are so ''flat'' that they become indistinguishable from the linear and unidimensional sequence of topology.
Abstract: The article gives an introduction to the concept of an independent topological level of description as developped by Danish grammarians. According to this approach topology (the linear ordering of constituents) and syntax (the hierarchical ordering of constituents) constitute two different levels with a certain, but not necessary, isomorphy between their elements. The topology of Danish and Old French, two V2 languages, is described and confronted with a proposal for a topological description of Modern French. It is proposed that whereas the verb constitutes the topological centre or pivot in V2 languages, it is the (nominal) subject which has this role in Modern French. Some consequences of this proposal are examined and it is shown that a description of word order based upon the syntactic structure necessarily amounts to a topological description because the syntactic trees needed to describe certain word order phenomena are so « flat » that they become indistinguishable from the linear and unidimensional sequence of topology.
4 citations
TL;DR: An analysis of French clitic pronouns in multimodal categorial grammars is provided and the formalisation provides an easy way to compute semantic representations even when there are clitic climbing and control phenomena.
Abstract: We provide an analysis of French clitic pronouns in multimodal categorial grammars. This analysis is a simplification of the one by Esther Kraak along the lines of Raffaela Bernardi and Richard Moot for quantifier scope. As expected from the categorial setting, our formalisation provides an easy way to compute semantic representations even when there are clitic climbing and control phenomena.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, only locative inversion (LI) constructions with spatial complements are given a description of their most salient syntactic properties and of their discursive effects.
Abstract: A locative inversion (LI) sentence is a distinct construction characterized by the presence in clause-initial position of a locative or temporal complement (which is either subcategorized by the verb or operates as an adjunct) followed by the verb itself followed by the subject . The discourse function of such a construction is to establish the spatial or temporal setting of a discourse-new entity (represented by the subject) within the framework of a more general context already presented in a preceding discourse. The verb is there only to provide and denote a specific manifestation of the existence, localisation or state of this entity, but the information it conveys can be often reduced to a minimum (to be, to be found) or even omitted. On the contrary, the subject in clause-final position is assigned a predicate-focus function (“presentational focus”) from which the following discourse is generally bound to develop. In this study, only LI constructions with spatial complements are given a description of their most salient syntactic properties and of their discursive effects.
3 citations
TL;DR: This article proposed an analysis of the position and meaning of adjectives in French in terms of movement of restrictive and evaluative adjectives to the pre-N position and the presence of logical operators of existence and genericity within DP.
Abstract: The position and meaning of Modern French adjectives is discussed in the generative syntax framework. The classical analysis of Cinque (1995), by N-raising to some functional position, is rejected for a number of reasons, notably its inability to account for changes in position since the Old French period. After a brief discussion of some typological and diachronic facts, two ‘semantic’ analyses are considered, those of Bouchard (1998) and Larson (1998). Based on Larson’s mapping model, the present study proposes an analysis of the position and meaning of adjectives in French in terms of movement of ‘restrictive’ and ‘evaluative’ adjectives to the pre-N position and the presence of logical operators of existence and genericity within DP. This analysis is supported by both semantic and syntactic facts: constraints on the determiner, as well as on modification, stress and coordination, defective semantic features.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors solve translation problems between French and Italian is they appear on the tables of the Lexique-Grammaire by returning to the return to the criterium of frequency which enables one to draw a distinction between panregionalims and less extensive diatopic data and to identify specific dialectal variations.
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to solve translation problems between French and Italian is they appear on the tables of the Lexique-Grammaire. These difficulties are originated by differences in speech level; others stem from the specific usage of the Italian language (caused by regional variation, or due to specific cultural references).
After reexamining the criteria traditionally used by the community of the Lexique-Grammaire, the author proposes returning to the returning to the criterium of frequency which enables one to draw a distinction between panregionalims and less extensive diatopic data and to identify specific dialectal variations. This encoding is complementary to the there usual layers of electronic dictionaries.
TL;DR: This work describes a Unicode-based sorting algorithm inspired by (LaBonte 1998) for proper names which outperforms other sorting algorithms, such as those implemented in Intex (Silberztein 1993) and Unitex (Paumier 2003) systems.
Abstract: The computational treatment of multilingual language resources (as in the Prolex projet, cf (Grass et al. 2002)) should respect lexical conventions admitted by each language’s native speakers. These conventions may vary from one language to another, as in the case of alphabetical sorting algorithm. This algorithm must take a number of universal as well as language-dependent particularities into account, such as the distinction of upper- and lowercase letters, the sorting bi-directionality (from the left to the right or conversely), the role of diacritics (resulting either in variants of a letter, as e, e and e in French, or in independent letters, as a in Danish or ą in Polish), the role of punctuation characters, the multi-character letters (as ch or ll in Spanish, or dzs in Hungarian) and the ligatures (as œ in French, or s in German). We describe a Unicode-based sorting algorithm inspired by (LaBonte 1998) for proper names. In the particular case of the sorting of the proper names, three additional points are to be taken into account : the presence of numerical values (Arab numerals or Roman numerals), the variation of spelling of the ligatures and the permutation in the sorting of the multi-word units. Apart from the word list to be sorted, its input is a language-dependent code table which defines the language’s alphabet, the number of algorithm’s passes, the direction of each pass, and the order of letters or groups of letters in each pass. The implementation of the algorithm is done by a finite-state transducer which allows a fast assignment of sort keys to words. The algorithm proved correct for European languages such as English, French, and Polish, as well as for Thai. It outperforms other sorting algorithms, such as those implemented in Intex (Silberztein 1993) and Unitex (Paumier 2003) systems.
TL;DR: Evidence is tried to give evidence that the phenomena of reduction in Arabic goes beyond the simple cases of isolated word deletion, and is summed up in equivalent reduced ones.
Abstract: This paper deals with reduction in Arabic. It attempts to give evidence that the phenomena goes beyond the simple cases of isolated word deletion. In this order, data, relating to deverbal, appropriate and classifier noun constructions, are examined. Reconstructed sequences are established and, in almost all situations, summed up in equivalent reduced ones. This gives place to some kind of information, with neither loss, nor redundancy.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare the organization of the French sentence structure with that of Dutch, and show that the difference between French and Dutch can be attributed to the V2 feature of Dutch and to the specific status of the initial intra-clausal position.
Abstract: The description of the French sentence structure is based on the contrast between arguments and adjuncts. In order to show that this contrast is confirmed by other linguistic facts, the organization of the French sentence is compared to that of Dutch. It is showed, firstly, how the comparison of French and Dutch contributes to improve the descriptive models of sentence structure used in the two languages. Secondly, it is argued that the opposition between adjuncts and arguments in French is confirmed by their differences in behaviour when placed in the initial extra-clausal position: whereas arguments have to be resumed by a coreferential pronoun that is intonationally integrated in the clause, adjuncts are not subject to this constraint. In Dutch, by contrast, arguments and adjuncts behave in the same way, in that they are both resumed by a coreferential element. The difference between French and Dutch, finally, can be ascribed to the V2 feature of Dutch and to the specific status of the initial intra-clausal position.
TL;DR: The aim of the authors is to provide a description of the lexical ambiguities to be found in Ancient Greek and to present a first set of local grammars intended to solve them.
Abstract: Every project of automated lemmatization is confronted to the problem of lexical ambiguities. The aim of the authors is to provide a description of the lexical ambiguities to be found in Ancient Greek. They also wish to present a first set of local grammars intended to solve them. Results of automated desambiguisation are compared with lexical data previously treated by hand.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors give an overwiew of a natural syntactic class of constituents defined by means of a specific set of criteria: the non regis (NR) (non integrated in the grammatical structure of the utterance).
Abstract: In the first part of the paper we give an overwiew of a natural syntactic class of constituents defined by means of a specific set of criteria : the “non regis” (NR) (non integrated in the grammatical structure of the utterance). This class, gathers, various kinds of grammatical units of non canonical syntactic status in traditional descriptions : sentence adverbials, appositions, interjections, non canonical subordinate clauses, discourse particles… In the second part of the paper we show that, contrary to current assumptions, these linguistic units are not randomly combined with the core elements of the sentence. They are inserted in the utterance according to specific ordering rules and distributional constraints. These constraints are studied at two levels : constraints on their possible insertions in grammatical structures (microsyntax), constraints on the positions they can occupy in relation with the “macrosyntactic” nucleus of the utterance (the part of the utterance bearing its illocutionnary force) as defined in Blanche-Benveniste (84, 90).