Showing papers on "Head (linguistics) published in 2008"

The Structure of DPs: Some Principles, Parameters, and Problems

Abstract: The investigation of the internal structure of nominal constructions has recently provided important evidence for at least three aspects of syntactic theory: a) the syntactic representation of empty categories b) the deductive depth of parameter theory c) the form of the syntax-semantics mapping The results so achieved begin to provide a preliminary reference framework for parametric descriptions of Determiner Phrases across the world's languages: they concern both the lexical structure and the functional structure surrounding head nouns and will be examined in turn.

Different phrasal prominence realizations in vo and ov languages

Abstract: How do infants start learning the syntax of the language they are exposed to? In this paper, we examine a plausible mechanism for the acquisi- tion of the relative order of heads and complements. We hypothesize that the iambic-trochaic law determines the physical realization of main prominence within phonological phrases that contain more than one word: if it is realized mainly through pitch and intensity, it is in a phonological phrase that is stress- initial and has a complement-head structure, otherwise it is in a phonological phrase that is stress-final and has a head-complement structure. We show this to be the case both across languages (French and Turkish), and within a lan- guage (German, where both orders of head and complement are found). Our finding allows us to consider a psychologically plausible mechanism for the acquisition of the relative order of heads and complements, one of the basic properties of syntax. Because the mechanism is based on auditory percep- tion, it can be utilized before any knowledge of words, thus accounting for the flawlessness in infants' first words combinations.

Head Dependence in Stress‐Epenthesis Interaction

Abstract: 1. Introduction What is the nature of the interaction between stress and epenthesis? Do epenthetic syllables count in word stress, or not? This paper will study these questions from various angles and discuss the theoretical issues they raise. In SPE style phonology (Chomsky & Halle 1968), stress-epenthesis interaction depends on rule ordering. If vowel insertion is ordered before stress assignment, epenthetic vowels will be counted and stressed according to the regular pattern; conversely, if stress precedes epenthesis, then the inserted vowels will be inactive in stress. While the Rule Ordering theory can account for virtually any pattern of stress-epenthesis interaction, this theory fails to offer an explanation of the phenomena. The behavior of epenthetic vowels in stress is described by stipulating the required rule ordering, leaving us to wonder why the state of affairs could not be different. Working within theories of Prosodic Phonology, some researchers have tried to improve on the Rule Ordering theory by considering the role of prosodic representations in deriving stress-epenthesis interaction (see Broselow 1982 for example). In this approach, a class of epenthesis rules are identified as syllabically conditioned (as in Selkirk 1981, 1984, Itô 1989), and this kind of epenthesis must be counted in stress because of general principles of prosodic organization. In particular, syllables must be dominated by prosodic feet, and this prosodic layering works from the 'bottom-up'. As an example of how the Bottom-Up theory works, consider Broselow's analysis of the interaction between stress and epenthesis in Swahili. Swahili regularly stresses the penult (1a). Further, epenthetic vowels introduced in loanwords are counted and stressed according to the canonical pattern (1b); in the examples below and throughout, epenthetic vowels are underlined.

Probes, pronouns and Binding in the Minimalist Program

Abstract: In chapter 2, I claim that not only heads, but phrases, too, are probes I show that there are in fact no theoretical and empirical problems involved if we abandon the stipulation that only heads may probe In chapter 3, I explore the structure of nominal expressions The difference we see between reflexives and personal pronouns is argued to be an effect of the syntactic derivation, not of the pronominal root itself The difference between the two is that in a pronominal DP (and an r-expression) the root pronoun is merged to the category forming head N This head (or other heads higher in the projection, but crucially lower than D) has phi-features with values Consequently, any DP with an embedded N will be `self sufficient', except for case In the reflexive DP, on the other hand, the pronominal root is merged to the functional head D0 This head has phi-features, but without values Consequently, any DP without an N will require a relation to a another syn-tactic object that has values for these features This valuation of features corresponds to a syntactically bound variable relation between an antecedent and a reflexive The actual morphophonological form of the DPs is determined by post-syntactic processes after the narrow syntax, as described in the framework of Distributed Morphology In chapter 4, we look at previous approaches to the binding problem In chapter 5, I show that the results from chapters 2 and 3 can be fruitfully com-bined I also show that non-local distribution of coreferential DPs seems to be non-syntactic, or at least of a different syntactic nature I present arguments for not treating phenomena falling under GB's Principle C as syntactic in nature It seems the Agree approach to reflexives developed in this thesis successfully distinguishes between the local inter-pretation and distribution of reflexive and non-reflexive DPs This makes it possible to eliminate the Binding Principles altogether In conclusion, without any extra theoretical assumptions the data that the Binding Principles in GB-theory covered can be incorporated in the MP In addition we get an ex-planation to why reflexives have to be in a relation with an antecedent,and why there is phi-agreement be-tween reflexives (bound variables) and their antecedents Also, the fact that some languages allow r-ex-pressions as bound var-iables can be incorporated in the analysis proposed here The distribution of nominal ex-pressions is governed by independent syntactic operations; probing, and feature checking Consequently, we can eliminate the Binding Principles as syntactic principles

Classifying What-Type Questions by Head Noun Tagging

Abstract: Classifying what-type questions into proper semantic categories is found more challenging than classifying other types in question answering systems. In this paper, we propose to classify what-type questions by head noun tagging. The approach highlights the role of head nouns as the category discriminator of what-type questions. To reduce the semantic ambiguities of head noun, we integrate local syntactic feature, semantic feature and category dependency among adjacent nouns with Conditional Random Fields (CRFs). Experiments on standard question classification data set show that the approach achieves state-of-the-art performances.

A Grammar of Jamsay

Abstract: This is the first complete grammar of any of the twenty or so Dogon languages of Mali, West Africa. Its most interesting features are the systematic use of stem-wide tone contour overlays, and of intonational effects, for grammatical purposes, for example, marking the head NP of a relative clause, and expressing 'X and Y' coordination.

Agreement and Concord in Nominal Expressions

Abstract: This paper claims that feature sharing should be analyzed as the result of at least two different processes, which are named here Agreement and Concord, and inquires how these two processes are manifested inside nominal expressions (NEs). Agreement is the transfer of the Person features of the possessor (the “subject” of the NE) onto some functional head (parallel to subject Agreement in the clause) with the effect that (Genitive) Case is assigned. On the contrary, Concord is the transfer of Number, Word Class, and Case specifications from a functional head onto a modifier, which is first-merged as a Specifier of that functional head. The claim is that, quite differently from Agreement, Concord arises from the merger of a modifier, underspecified for uninterpretable features, in the specifier of a functional head, carrying a copy of those features. In other words, Concord is directly enhanced by the Spec-Head configuration; it does not involve merger of a probe which targets a goal and, as a consequence, never triggers (overt or covert) movement. This proposal can dispense with a number of otherwise unmotivated movements and can derive the different properties of these two kinds of feature sharing phenomena. The argument is supported by observing macro-parallelisms across Bantu and Romance languages, in particular Swahili and Xhosa on the one hand and Romanian and Italian on the other hand.

Morphology at the Interfaces: Reduplication and Noun Incorporation in Uto-Aztecan

Abstract: This monograph addresses morphology and its interfaces with phonology and syntax by examining comparative data from the Uto-Aztecan language family, and analyses involving reduplication as well as noun incorporation and related derivational morphology are provided within the framework of Distributed Morphology. Reduplication is treated by analyzing reduplicative morphemes (reduplicants) as morphological pieces (Vocabulary Items) inserted into syntactic slots at Morphological Structure. Noun incorporation constructions are analyzed as involving either incorporation (head movement in syntax, a la Baker 1988), or conflation, involving direct merger of a nominal root into verbal position (a la Hale and Keyser 2002). It is argued that denominal verb constructions should be treated as a sub-case of NI, as in Hale and Keyser (1993). Finally, the historical development of the polysynthesis parameter in Nahuatl is discussed, and a reconstruction of the likely stages of development, each of which is attested elsewhere in the family, is presented.

Distinguishing theories of syntactic expectation cost in sentence comprehension: Evidence from Japanese*

Abstract: Previous research in the sentence comprehension literature has established that people expend resources keeping track of partially processed phrase structures during the process of comprehending sentences. An open question in this literature has been what units of syntactic expectation cost the human parser utilizes. Two viable options from the literature are (1) incomplete syntactic dependencies; and (2) predicted syntactic heads. This article provides a self-paced reading experiment from Japanese — a head-final language — that tests the incomplete dependency hypothesis. The materials in the current experiment manipulate the number of dependents of an upcoming verb, by manipulating (1) the presence/absence of a locative postpositional phrase modifier of the verb and (2) the presence/absence of a dative argument of the verb. The results failed to show any support for the incomplete dependency hypothesis, but were completely consistent with the predictions of the predicted head hypothesis. Taken with the re

Type noun uses in the English NP: A case of right to left layering

Abstract: This article addresses the relatively neglected question of identifying and characterizing the various uses of sort, kind and type in the English NP. It does so on the basis of close analysis of a set of data extracted from the Times subcorpus of the COBUILD corpus. The proposed description refers to the general functions fulfilled by elements of the NP, which, from right to left, form an objective — subjective continuum. At the same time, we characterize the specific grammatical, collocational and discoursal patterns that can be observed to shape each use in the empirical data. In this way, we distinguish, besides the generally recognized head and qualifier uses, also modifier, postdeterminer and quantifier uses. We then consider these intra-NP type noun uses as a possible case of Adamson’s (2000) hypothesis, which correlates subjectification with leftward movement in the NP.

An overview of theories of the syntax-phonology interface

Abstract: This article is intended as a critical survey of the phonological theories of the syntax-phonology interface. These theories can be divided into two main groups, according to the role they attribute to syntactic representations in creating phonological domains. On the one hand there is the Direct Reference Theory, which claims that phonological operations are directly sensitive to syntactic information, in terms of relations of c-command or m-command (i.e., government) holding between the elements participating in phonological processes. On the other, there is the Prosodic Hierarchy Theory of Prosodic Phonology, which defends the view that syntactic and phonological representations are not isomorphic and that there is a distinct level of representation called Prosodic Structure which contains a hierarchically organized set of prosodic constituents. These constituents are built from syntactic structure by a finite set of parameterized algorithms, and phonological processes refer to prosodic constituents rather than to syntactic constituents. Elordieta (1997, 1999) proposes that certain phonological phenomena may be specified to apply in the domains or constituents formed by functional and lexical heads related by feature checking. Seidl’s (2001) Minimal Indirect Reference Theory claims that syntactic relationships such as theta-domains determine phonological constituency at the phrasal level. Another important, more recent view is the one that maintains that spellout domains (that is, all the material included in a syntactic phase except for the head of the phase and elements in the specifier of that phase) are interpreted as phonological constituents in PF.

More on the Indefinite Character of the Head Of Restrictive Relatives

Abstract: The literature on relative clauses makes occasional reference to the fact that the Head internal to a (restrictive) relative clause is indefinite. For example, Browning (1987, 129-131) observes (also see Bianchi 1999,43) that the trace within a restrictive relative clause is interpreted as indefinite, appearing in contexts that exhibit an indefiniteness restriction: The men that there were in the garden vs. *There were the men in the garden (cf. There were (some/ many/three) men in the garden). Similarly, Kayne (1994, chapter 9, 124), suggests that an indefinite determiner should not necessarily be taken to occupy the same position as the definite determiner that takes scope over the Head and the relative clause (and that marks the uniqueness or maximality of the intersection of the set of things denoted by the Head and the set of things denoted by the relative clause). Rather it could be taken to head “some “smaller” category, perhaps a QP” (Kayne 1994,p.167, fn.15; also see Kayne 2006,§7). 1

Case suffixes , postpositions, and the phonological word in Hungarian

Abstract: In this article I propose a new construction algorithm for the phonological word in Hungarian. Based on a detailed discussion of the differences between so-called 'postpositions' and 'case suffixes', I show that both types of adpositional elements are of the same morphosyntactic category, and that phonological word status depends not on an arbitrary division between affixes and syntactically free items, but on phonological properties of the respective adpositions: Bisyllabic adpositions form phonological words on their own, while monosyllabic adpositions are integrated into the phonological word of their lexical head. Generalizing this result, I argue that all functional elements of Hungarian traditionally called 'inflectional affixes' are syntactically independent functional heads integrated into the phonological word of a preceding lexical head because they are prosodically too small. I show that apparently bisyllabic inflectional affixes must either be decomposed into different markers or are underlyingly monosyllabic, and develop a ranking of optimality-theoretic alignment constraints implementing the construction algorithm for the phonological word in formal detail.

Short article An asymmetric effect of relational integration on recognition memory

Abstract: Two experiments assessed whether conceptual relations (e.g., contains: COOKIE JAR) facilitate the retrieval of concepts (e.g., COOKIE and JAR) from long-term memory. The CARIN model of nominal combination asserts that conceptual relations are represented with and selected from the modifier noun (COOKIE). Thus, the model predicts that relational integration will facilitate memory for modifiers but not for head nouns (JAR). In Experiment 1, concepts were studied in pairs and were then tested individually. Recognition accuracy was higher for modifiers than for head nouns. In Experiment 2, the studied concepts (e.g., COOKIE JAR) were tested in the context of a new pair that instantiated either the same relation (e.g., COOKIE plate) or a different relation (e.g., COOKIE crumb). Recognition was again better for modifiers than for head nouns, but only when the same conceptual relation was instantiated at both study and test. Thus, results indicate that conceptual relations (a) facilitate recognition memory, and (b) are associated more strongly with the modifier than with the head noun.

Left branch extraction of nominal modifiers in old Scandinavian

Abstract: Old Scandinavian differs from modern Scandinavian in allowing Left Branch Extractions of nominal modifiers. In this paper I argue that this difference is related to a difference in noun phrase structure between old Scandinavian and modern Scandinavian: old Scandinavian is a language where modifiers like adjectives, quanti-fiers and numerals are adjoined to NP, whereas in modern Scandinavian such modifiers are heads, taking the noun or its extended projection as its complement. The change from old Scandinavian to modern Scandinavian is seen as the result of a grammaticalization that follows van Gelderen’s (2004) economy principle “Be a head rather than a phrase”.

Method for applying phrase index technology into internet search engine

Abstract: The invention applies phrase index technology to Internet search engine, decomposes the sentences in page documents into words and expressions, adds a plurality of other phrases to compose index phrase set in front of and behind key words which are taken as head words and generates index documents of web contents with phrases as unit; extracts the content words in query information submitted by user through word segmentation procedure and performs reasonable and possible combination of the words to gain the phrase set for search; precisely matches the phrases in the phrase set for search with the phrases in the index document in turn to gain search results; the phrase emphasizes single words in the aspect of expressing semantics, which facilitates the search result embody the possible intention of query more precisely.

VP-Internal DPs and Right-Dislocation in Zulu

Abstract: Many Bantu languages have SVO as their unmarked word order and allow some sort of right dislocation of both subjects and objects, but only recently has significant attention been paid to the characteristics of the right periphery in Bantu (Marten 2007, Cheng & Downing 2007, Riedel 2008, Yoneda 2008). Zulu is such an SVO Bantu language in which postverbal elements, such as objects, are sometimes inside the verb phrase and sometimes outside of it (rightdislocated). The purpose of this paper is to examine the types of noun phrases that can appear in these two different positions. For example, can a noun phrase modified by ‘all’, ‘every’, or ‘only’ appear in both positions? The scope of negation with respect to these two positions is also examined. The idea espoused in Cheng & Downing (2007) that, in Zulu, elements interpreted as non-given must appear VP-internally will be supported, but it will be shown that the structural position of right-dislocated elements cannot be adjunctions to CP as they argue. Rather, these elements must be at least as low as an inflectionaldomain Neg head. Zulu right dislocation thus lends support to an analysis of along the lines of Cecchetto (1999) for Italian, which places right-dislocated elements in a sub-IP structural position.

The Order of Stage-level and Individual-level Relatives and Superiority Effects

Abstract: This paper argues that the two-layer modification of noun phrases as proposed in Larson & Takahashi (2004), Del Gobbo (2005), and Hsieh (2005) cannot account for the distribution of the order of stage-level and individual-level relatives in Mandarin. Alternatively, it is suggested that I-level relatives must occur closer to the head nouns than S-level relatives because I-level modifiers are arguments of ＂augmented nouns＂, whereas S-level modifiers are true adjuncts. It is always the case that adjuncts are base-generated outside arguments. It is also shown that relative clauses in Mandarin may be attracted to the specifier position of DP. When they move, however, they have to obey syntactic economy conditions such as Shortest. Consequently, the hierarchical positions of an S-level and I-level relative after the movement must preserve their original base-generated hierarchical order before movement.

The Tremendous World I Have Inside My Head: Franz Kafka: A Biographical Essay

Abstract: Kafkaesque: the very word evokes tortuous bureaucracy, crushing self doubt, and an almost unbearable inadequacy in the face of higher powers. After Kafka, it can be said, literature was not the same. In the few novels and short stories he left behind, he distilled the horrors of the new age. Kafkas is the voice of the outsider—that is, the voice of each one of us—at once defined by its affiliations and completely, utterly alone.

Relativization in Qiang

Abstract: In this paper, we review the strategies of relativization and discuss the different types of relative clauses and morpho-syntactic properties of relative clauses in eight varieties of Qiang. The Qiang language shows six types of relativization in terms of whether there is a head noun or not, and the relative positions of the head noun and relative clause. Double-headed relative clauses are unusual cross-linguistically. Head-internal relative clauses are modified by a demonstrative-(numeral)-classifier/ (in)definite-classifier, which helps readers to identify head-internal relative clause structures as NPs. In Qiang, different nominalizers, the genitive marker, and the definite marking or indefinite marking are used as clues in identifying the clause as relative; the choice of nominalizers or the genitive marker depends on the semantic role of the head in the relative clause. In some varieties of Qiang there are also some relative clauses that are not marked by nominalizers but are marked by person with aspect marking. Similar to English and Mandarin Chinese, almost all NPs, like actor, undergoer, experiencer, destination, instrument, source, location, time, etc., may be relativized on, therefore, there is no restricted neutralization (S/A pivot or S/P pivot) in nominalized relative clauses, while there is restricted neutralization in nonnominalized relative clauses (finite relative clauses), i.e. S/A is the same marking.

7. Adjective + Noun sequences in attributive or NP-final positions: Observations on lexicalization

Abstract: Frequent Adjective + Noun sequences in the British National Corpus based on the most frequent ‘central’ adjectives were examined in their use as noun premodifiers and in other uses (predicative, adverbial, or with N being the head of a noun phrase). Hyphenated and non-hyphenated occurrences were taken into account. An investigation of the presence of these sequences in dictionaries shows a relatively strong correlation with frequency of occurrence, as well as with hyphenated spelling. Six Adj + N sequences were more closely examined in the Periodicals and Spoken sections of the BNC, and evidence of reanalysis was found in changes of scope, predicative uses of an adjectival nature, adverbial uses, and occurrences of Adj + N as subjects or objects with restricted sense. A small, but not negligible, proportion of unambiguously lexicalized occurrences was found. Finally, the accentual behaviour of Adj + N sequences was investigated in a laboratory experiment. The prevalence of the /12/ accentual pattern across the frequency of occurrence range and in attributive as well as predicative uses showed that degree of lexicalization had no influence on the stress pattern.

Analysis of inter- and intra-speaker variability of head motions during spoken dialogue.

Abstract: Head motions naturally occur in synchrony with speech and may carry paralinguistic information, such as intentions, attitudes and emotions, in dialogue communication. With the aim of verifying the relationship between head motions and the linguistic and paralinguistic functions carried by speech, analyses were conducted on motion-captured data of several speakers during natural dialogues. The analysis results firstly confirmed the trends of our previous work, showing that regardless the speaker, nods frequently occur during speech utterances, not only for expressing dialogue acts such as agreement and affirmation, but also appearing at the last syllable of the phrases, in strong phrase boundaries, especially when the speaker is confidently talking, or expressing interest to the interlocutor’s talk. Inter-speaker variability indicated that the frequency of head motions may vary according to the speaker’s age or status, while intraspeaker variability indicated that the frequency of head motions also differ depending on the inter-personal relationship with the interlocutor.

A Māori Head: Public Domain?

Abstract: This case arose out of a controversy over the return of a Māori head from the collection of a city of Rouen museum to New Zealand. The case raised the issue of whether the head was a French public good that required declassification before it could be returned or a body part (and not a work of art) that could be immediately returned for appropriate treatment in its place of origin.