Showing papers on "Antecedent (grammar) published in 1985"

A Grammar Of Anaphora

Abstract: The study of anaphoric expressions -- especially reflexives and reciprocals -- has played an increasingly important role in linguistic theory. Within the Extended Standard Theory, the central notions of government and binding have depended crucially on the proper understanding of anaphoric relations. A Grammar of Anaphora offers the most comprehensive and significant treatment of such phenomena currently available. Its theoretical and empirical investigation of the notions of anaphora and of binding in syntax should define the direction of research in this field for the next decade.In Chomsky's Government-Binding (G-B) framework the relationship between an anaphoric expression and its antecedent is constrained by certain binding principles. This book argues that another kind of anaphoric relation exists, beyond those defined by Chomsky's framework. Its generalization of binding extends the theory so that it can solve various conceptual and empirical problems that it originally raised, and provides a unified explanation of seemingly unrelated phenomena in a host of constructions and languages. The book is also able to dispense with the Empty Category Principle which has been a major focus within G-B theory. It proposes instead a structural unification of the notions of pronouns, empty categories, and anaphors which leads to new insights in areas never treated in a coherent way before.

Variables in Palauan syntax

Abstract: The analysis of unbounded dependencies in terms of Wh-movement lies at the heart of generative grammar. The components of this analysis are central concepts of the theory: the trace theory of movement rules, the Subjacency Condition, the ECP and recoverability, and the ordering of abstract levels of representation. One of the strengths of this analysis is that it has been found to apply consistently over a wide range of languages. However, it is this generality which poses a challenge to linguists analyzing unbounded dependencies in unfamiliar languages: one needs to maintain a characterization that appears to have universal validity, while giving the special properties of the language one is des- cribing their due weight in the analysis. In this paper I will describe the grammar of unbounded dependencies in an Austronesian language, Palauan, whose syntax at first appears to have quite unusual properties. First, although Palauan can be analyzed as having no syntactic Wh-movement, it has the full range of unbounded dependencies at S-structure. Second, though these dependencies involve the use both of gaps and resumptive pronouns, the distribution of gap and pronoun is unrelated either to island constraints or to the type of clause in which the binding takes place. Finally, though all the structures in question are base generated, they contain evidence that the variable, gap or pronoun, is bound to its antecedent at S-structure. This paper will attempt to show that most Of these phenomena can be accommodated within Government-Binding Theory (GB), while still allowing the special nature of Palauan grammar to emerge. Those phenomena that remain unaccounted for will be seen to be suggestive of parametric variation, and I will propose a way in which the theory might be adjusted to account for the Palauan facts.

The Immediacy of Inferences in the Understanding of Pronouns

Abstract: This chapter is concerned with the immediacy of inference processes in anaphora resolution. The question is, at which point in time readers construct their interpretation. This question is investigated for pronoun assignment in sentences such as “Albert won the money from Mary because she played carelessly”. The main clause contained interpersonal verbs, with a strong so-called implicit causality . These verbs bias the assignment of the pronoun toward one of the antecedents, either toward the antecedent in the first nounphrase or toward the antecedent in the second nounphrase. The verbphrases of the subordinate clauses were constructed congruent and incongruent with this biasing property. The gender of the pronoun and of the possible antecedents was varied so as to create conditions with and without a gender cue on the basis of which the pronoun unambiguously could be assigned. In a number of studies the immediacy of processing and interpreting was explored with latency measures at different points in time. Naming latency, verification latency, reading time per sentence and per clause, and eye fixation duration were measured. The results provide evidence that information relevant to this kind of inference may be used immediately when the informative word is encountered, but also that the interpretation is not necessarily completed immediately.

Agrammatism: Structural Deficits and Antecedent Processing Disruptions

Abstract: This chapter has three sections. The first provides an examination of the general notion that the brain distinguishes among amodal linguistic components. The second section attempts to support a more specific claim: Namely, that from a linguistic perspective, agrammatism can best be reconstructed in syntactic terms. And the third section focuses upon processing disruptions in agrammatism-that is, upon the antecedents of the inability to represent structural information.

Motivational Antecedents: A Test of Predictor Models

Abstract: This paper reports the results of a study of motivational antecedents of military noncommissioned officers (NCOs). The antecedent variables examined included individual characteristics, organizational factors, and task characteristics. The results, which were based upon estimates of multiple regression equations predicting NCOs' estimates of expectancy and instrumentality, indicated several individual characteristic, organizational, and total characteristic variables were potentially important predictors of NCOs' estimates of job-related expectancy and instrumentality.

Thematic Dependency and Semantic Interpretation

Abstract: This paper is concerned with the formulation of a constraint on the set of NPs which can serve as “antecedent” for PRO and floated quantifiers. I will begin by showing that a principle formulated in terms of c-command encounters problems distinguishing between two classes of NPs occurring within PPs. I will then propose that a more comprehensive and successful constraint can be formulated in terms of thematic dependency, a relation holding between an NP and the lexical category which determines its thematic role.

Sentence Diagramming as an Aid to Explaining Scientific and Technical German Sentence Structure.

Abstract: The most difficult aspect of scientific and technical German is the often convoluted sentence structure.' Each new sentence encountered represents a unique challenge for students of technical reading and translation, no matter how thorough their preparation and sophisticated their knowledge of German grammar. Sentences which present the most problems include complex and compound-complex sentences containing one or more of the following syntactic features: 1) several dependent clauses introduced by conjunctions, 2) clauses imbedded within clauses, 3) infinitive phrases within clauses, 4) clauses within infinitive phrases, 5) relative pronoun clauses not immediately adjacent to their antecedents, 6) two or more relative pronoun clauses sharing the same antecedent, and 7) extended modifiers. Even after intensive practice in reading and translating texts of gradually increasing difficulty, there comes a point when the structure of a particular sentence seems indecipherable. When perplexed, the students can attempt to analyze the sentence structure themselves by bracketing the extended modifiers, underlining the main clauses, drawing arrows from the relative pronouns to their antecedents, labeling the verbs, and so on.2 In highly complicated sentences, however, these techniques can often add to the confusion because of the sheer length and complexity of the sentence. In the instances where the students' attempts using these methods fail, the instructor must find ways to explain the structure of the sentence as clearly and succinctly as possible. To that end, the sentence often must be dissected and presented schematically. Visual representations of structures can be much more illuminating than verbose explanations and myriad underlinings and labels within the text. My students and I have found sentence diagramming to be a valuable tool for graphically illustrating the interrelationships between clauses and phrases in particularly complicated sentences.3 The technique is easy for the instructor to master and use, and the diagrams can either be prepared in advance on transparencies or drawn spontaneously at the board when the need arises. While the approach described below was specifically developed for students who have already completed two years of traditional college German and are enrolled in the introductory course leading to certification in technical translation, the same technique could also be used in technical reading and translation courses utilizing the minimal grammar approach.4

The Status of Intrapersonal (or P-) Variables in the Recent Collective Behavior Literature

Abstract: This paper examines the causal and explanatory role assigned to intrapersonal (or P-) variables in the recent sociological literature on collective behavior. In Part I emphasis is on the use–or nonuse–of P-variables as factors mediating between collective behavior episodes and their antecedent social and situational determinants. It is suggested that P-variables have been (1) excluded on methodological grounds in favor of more directly observable and/or manipulable behavior, (2) analyzed as dependent variables, defined by and contingent on antecedent social and situational considerations, or (3) introduced as independent variables and therefore significantly figuring in any explanatory account of collective behavior. Part II deals with the conceptually deeper issue concerning the terminology and metaphors employed in the literature regarding collective behavior and its causal antecedents.