Showing papers on "Head (linguistics) published in 2017"

Real-world visual statistics and infants' first-learned object names.

Abstract: We offer a new solution to the unsolved problem of how infants break into word learning based on the visual statistics of everyday infant-perspective scenes. Images from head camera video captured ...

The timing of head movements: The role of prosodic heads and edges

Abstract: This study examines the influence of the position of prosodic heads (accented syllables) and prosodic edges (prosodic word and intonational phrase boundaries) on the timing of head movements. Gesture movements and prosodic events tend to be temporally aligned in the discourse, the most prominent part of gestures typically being aligned with prosodically prominent syllables in speech. However, little is known about the impact of the position of intonational phrase boundaries on gesture-speech alignment patterns. Twenty-four Catalan speakers produced spontaneous (experiment 1) and semi-spontaneous head gestures with a confirmatory function (experiment 2), along with phrase-final focused words in different prosodic conditions (stress-initial, stress-medial, and stress-final). Results showed (a) that the scope of head movements is the associated focused prosodic word, (b) that the left edge of the focused prosodic word determines where the interval of gesture prominence starts, and (c) that the speech-anchoring site for the gesture peak (or apex) depends both on the location of the accented syllable and the distance to the upcoming intonational phrase boundary. These results demonstrate that prosodic heads and edges have an impact on the timing of head movements, and therefore that prosodic structure plays a central role in the timing of co-speech gestures.

Head movement and ellipsis in the expression of Russian polarity focus

Abstract: This paper argues, based on the interaction of head movement and ellipsis possibilities in Russian, that certain types of head movement must take place in the narrow syntax. It does so by examining a variety of Russian constructions which are unified in several ways: they express some type of polarity focus; they involve head movement of the verbal complex to a high position (Pol), resulting in discourse-marked vso orders; and some of them involve ellipsis (of either vP or TP). Investigation of the interaction of the head movement and ellipsis possibilities of the language yields three of four logically possible patterns. I argue that the unattested pattern should be explained using reasoning that invokes MaxElide (Merchant 2008)—a principle normally used to explain why the larger of two possible ellipsis domains must be chosen if Ā-movement has occurred out of the ellipsis site. Extending this logic to the interaction of head movement and ellipsis requires that we take head movement to be a syntactic phenomenon.

A Microparametric Approach to the Head-Initial/Head-Final Parameter

Abstract: The fact that even the most rigid head-final and head-initial languages show inconsistencies and, more crucially, that the very languages which come closest to the ideal types (the “rigid” SOV and the VOS languages) are apparently a minority among the languages of the world, makes it plausible to explore the possibility of a microparametric approach for what is often taken to be one of the prototypical examples of macroparameter, the “head-initial/headfinal parameter.” From this perspective—the features responsible for the different types of movement (attraction) of the constituents of the unique structure of Merge from which all canonical orders derive —are determined by lexical specifications of different generality: from those present on a single lexical item, to those present on lexical items belonging to a specific subclass of a certain category, or to every subclass of a certain category, or to every subclass of two or more, or all, categories, (always) with certain exceptions.1

The syntax-phonology mapping of intonational phrases in complex sentences: A flexible approach

Abstract: In this paper, we extend to complex sentences the proposal that the notion of clause in A LIGN /M ATCH constraints related to the syntax-prosody mapping of the intonational phrase should be determined in each language (and each construction) by making reference to the highest syntactic phrase whose head is overtly filled by the verb (or verbal material) (Hamlaoui & Szendrői 2015). We propose that while root-clauses have a privileged status from the syntax-to- prosody mapping perspective, all clauses are equal in the prosody-to-syntax mapping. In the spirit of the Minimalist Program (Chomsky 2005), we bring in extragrammatical motivation for the proposed mapping principles from parsing and learnability. This allows us to account for the fact that, whereas in many languages like Basaa (Bantu) and Hungarian (Finno-Ugric), only root clauses normally map onto intonational phrases, additional intonational phrase edges can be found under the pressure of high-ranked prosodic, processing or information-structural requirements. This is the case with Hungarian embedded foci and Basaa embedded topics where, we argue, embedded ι edges are meant to satisfy S TRESS F OCUS and A LIGN T OPIC , respectively. In languages where embedded clauses seem to map onto their own intonational phrases more generally, such as Japanese or Luganda, further independent constraints should be evoked. This article is part of the special collection: Prosody and Constituent Structure

Interaction Between Syntactic Structure and Information Structure in the Processing of a Head-Final Language.

Abstract: The effects of syntactic and information structures on sentence processing load were investigated using two reading comprehension experiments in Japanese, a head-final SOV language. In the first experiment, we discovered the main effects of syntactic and information structures, as well as their interaction, showing that interaction of these two factors is not restricted to head-initial languages. The second experiment revealed that the interaction between syntactic structure and information structure occurs at the second NP (O of SOV and S of OSV), which, crucially, is a pre-head position, suggesting the incremental nature of the processing of both syntactic structure and information structure in head-final languages.

On the role of head motion in affective expression

Abstract: Non-verbal behavioral cues, such as head movement, play a significant role in human communication and affective expression. Although facial expression and gestures have been extensively studied in the context of emotion understanding, the head motion (which accompany both) is relatively less understood. This paper studies the significance of head movement in adult's affect communication using videos from movies. These videos are taken from the Acted Facial Expression in the Wild (AFEW) database and are labeled with seven basic emotion categories: anger, disgust, fear, joy, neutral, sadness, and surprise. Considering human head as a rigid body, we estimate the head pose at each video frame in terms of the three Euler angles, and obtain a time-series representation of head motion. First, we investigate the importance of the energy of angular head motion dynamics (displacement, velocity and acceleration) in discriminating among emotions. Next, we analyze the temporal variation of head motion by fitting an autoregressive model to the head motion time series. We observe that head motion carries sufficient information to distinguish any emotion from the rest with high accuracy and this information is complementary to that of facial expression as it helps improve emotion recognition accuracy.

Unilateral Head Impulses Training in Uncompensated Vestibular Hypofunction.

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to report a case of a young woman with unilateral vestibular chronic failure with a poorly compensated vestibuloocular reflex during rapid head rotation. Additionally, she developed migraine symptoms during the treatment with associated chronic dizzy sensations and blurred vision. Her report of blurred vision only improved after she completed a rehabilitation program using fast head impulse rotations towards the affected side for 5 consecutive days. We discuss why we elected this form of treatment and how this method may be useful for different patients.

Prepositional phrase attachment over word embedding products

Abstract: A method for resolving prepositional phrase attachments includes, for an input sequence of text, identifying a prepositional phrase and a set of candidate heads for the prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase includes a preposition and a modifier. For each candidate head in the set of candidate heads, the candidate head is scored with a scoring function which outputs a score as a function of a tensor product of a word embedding of the candidate head, a product of word embeddings of the preposition and modifier of the preposition, and a matrix of learned parameters or a decomposition thereof. One of the candidate heads is identified as a predicted head for attachment to the prepositional phrase based on the scores for the candidate heads.

A View of the CP/DP-(non)parallelism from the Cartographic Perspective

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to reconsider some aspects of the so-called clause/noun-phrase (non-)parallelism (Abney 1987 and much subsequent work). The question that arises is to find out what is common and what is different between the clause as a Complementizer Phrase (CP)-structure and the noun as a Determiner Phrase (DP)-structure in terms of structure and derivation. An example of structural parallelism lies in the division of the clause and the noun phrase into three domains: (i) the Nachfeld (right periphery), which is the thematic domain; (ii) the Mittelfeld (midfield), which is the inflection, agreement, Case and modification domain and (iii) the Vorfeld (left periphery), which is the discourse- and operator-related domain. However, we will show following Giusti (2002, 2006), Payne (1993), Bruening (2009), Cinque (2011), Laenzlinger (2011, 2015) among others that the inner structure of the Vorfeld and of the Mittelfeld of the clause is not strictly parallel to that of the noun phrase. Although derivational parallelism also lies in the possible types of movement occurring in the CP and DP domains (short head/X-movement, simple XP-movement, remnant XP-movement and pied-piping XP-movement), we will see that there is non-parallelism in the application of these sorts of movement within the clause and the noun phrase. In addition, we will test the respective orders among adverbs/adjectives, DP/Prepositional Phrase (PP)-arguments and DP/PP-adjuncts in the Mittelfeld of the clause/noun phrase and show that Cinque’s (2013) left–right asymmetry holds crosslinguistically for the possible neutral order (without focus effects) in post-verbal/nominal positions with respect to the prenominal/preverbal base order and its impossible reverse order.

Noun-modifying clause constructions in Sino-Tibetan languages

Abstract: After a short background introduction on Sino-Tibetan noun modifying clause constructions generally, this paper demonstrates, using naturally occurring data, that the Mandarin pre-head noun-modifying clausal construction is grammatically unlike a relative clause construction, as normally conceived, even though it can be used to restrict the identification of the referent of the head noun, but is grammatically a noun-noun compound, and, like noun compounds, exhibits grammatically unrestricted association between the head and the modifier. The pragmatics of how the relation between the modifier and the head is understood is also briefly discussed.

The multifaceted nature of denominal adjectives

Abstract: This study proposes a fine-grained classification and analysis of French denominal adjectives based mainly on the semantic relationships that exist between the noun the adjective modifies (the head-noun) and the noun it is derived from. Capitalizing on previous works, it is argued that these relationships are intrinsic whenever they focus on a dimension proper to the referent of the head-noun, but they are extrinsic whenever this referent is conceived of as a participant in an event denoted either by the head or the modified noun. After a brief characterization of denominal adjectives in relation with other adjectives, the article lists the variety of meanings these adjectives exhibit in French and tries to shed light on the reasons why only some of them sound acceptable when occurring with a degree adverb or in a predicative structure. In the account sketched in the final section, denominal adjectives are dealt with in the same way as intersective adjectives.

The expression of modifiers and arguments in the noun phrase and beyond : A typological study

Abstract: A major semantic distinction obtaining in phrases and clauses is that between modifiers and arguments. While arguments are inherent to the meaning of the head of the phrase or clause, modifiers merely supplement the head with additional information. Typical examples of argument-taking heads are verbs and adpositions, but also relational nouns such as kinship terms and body part terms. Typical examples of modifier-taking heads are non-relational nouns, such as those denoting concrete, inanimate objects, like ‘pot’ or ‘pen’. This dissertation investigates to what extent the modifier/argument opposition constrains the morphosyntactic expression of possessive NPs, adpositional phrases and verbal main clauses. Using data of 64 different languages from all over the world, it is shown that the modifier/argument distinction strongly correlates with four typological parameters: locus of marking, the referentiality of person marking, the formal bondedness of person marking, and identity of marking. The first three parameters apply to possessive NPs: it is shown that possessive modifiers, as functionally optional enrichments of the head, are more likely to be the locus of morphosyntactic marking than possessive arguments. Also, possessive modifiers tend to be expressed by more referential and more formally independent person markers than possessive arguments. The final parameter applies beyond the domain of the NP: it is shown that if a language uses the same morphosyntactic form to mark modifiers in phrases and arguments in clauses, it also uses this form to mark arguments in phrases. Together, these findings demonstrate the typological relevance of the semantic opposition between modifiers and arguments, in the possessive NP and beyond.

Using Numbered Head Together to Improve The Student’s Reading Comprehension in Narrative Text

Abstract: The aim of this research was to find out whether Number Head Together as one of the cooperative learning strategy can improve the students’ reading comprehension. The design of this research was Classroom Action Research (CAR) since this research focus on the teaching and learning activities in the classroom. This research was conducted at the eight grade of SMPN 1 Rejoso Kabupaten Pasuruan that consists of 27 students for D class. The result of this research can be said success because there was a progress improvement from each cycles conducted. It was proven by the result of the test in the cycle one 52% and cycle two 84% from the criteria of success which was standardized 80% from all students got minimal standard score 76.

Head Pose Estimation via Manifold Learning

Abstract: For the last decades, manifold learning has shown its advantage of efficient non-linear dimensionality reduction in data analysis. Based on the assumption that informative and discriminative representation of the data lies on a low-dimensional smooth manifold which implicitly embedded in the original high-dimensional space, manifold learning aims to learn the low-dimensional representation following some geometrical protocols, such as preserving piecewise local structure of the original data. Manifold learning also plays an important role in the applications of computer vision, i.e., face image analysis. According to the observations that many face-related research is benefitted by the head pose estimation, and the continuous variation of head pose can be modelled and interpreted as a low-dimensional smooth manifold, we will focus on the head pose estimation via manifold learning in this chapter. Generally, head pose is hard to directly explore from the high-dimensional space interpreted as face images, which is, however, can be efficiently represented in low-dimensional manifold. Therefore, in this chapter, classical manifold learning algorithms are introduced and the corresponding application on head pose estimation are elaborated. Several extensions of manifold learning algorithms which are developed especially for head pose estimation are also discussed and compared.

Information-Structurally (Un)Ambiguous Nominal Constructions in Hungarian

Abstract: We discuss Hungarian sentences in which a (possessor or non-possessor) dependent of a noun head takes either noun-phrase-internal or external scope. We also investigate cases in which (i) the dependent in question is extracted from its matrix nominal expression (at least virtually) and (ii) several scope taking dependents can be found within a nominal expression. Particular attention is paid to scope taking dependents of (complex-event denoting) deverbal nominal constructions. In order to capture the phenomenon of internal-scope taking within nominal expressions, we propose a general syntactic representation in which the essentially morphology-based accounts are integrated with cartographic Split-DP / clausal-DP approaches (e.g. Giusti 1996, Grohmann 2003) via inserting operator layers in the new noun phrase structure. Certain language-specific intricacies are attributed to a post-Transfer process in PF in Sigurðsson’s (2009) spirit, and certain extraction phenomena are accounted for by means of remnant movement.

Head Lice: An Under-Recognized Tropical Problem.

Abstract: Head lice, caused by infestation with Pediculus humanus capitis, is an extremely common problem in tropical countries. Pediculus humanus capitis is an obligate human ectoparasite. Morphologically, head lice are indistinguishable fromPediculus humanus corporis, the human body louse, although they are slightly smaller. Unlike body lice, head lice have not clearly been proven to be vectors for infectious agents. Adult head lice develop through three nymphal stages (Figure 1) and feed on blood from the scalp two to six times a day causing discomfort and pruritus. On examination, the eggs (nits) aremore commonly identified than adult lice (Figure 2). The complete life cycle takes 15–20 days, and adults survive up to 1 month. Adults mate once, and a fertilized female then produces 3 to 4 eggs per day (Figure 3) for the remainder of their lives. Nymphs must feed immediately on hatching, and therefore, nits located more than 1 cm from the scalp are considered nonviable. Infestation results in distress, social stigma, and absence from school. Like other ectoparasitic infections, the

A contrastive analysis of english and sundanese two root noun phrase constructions

Abstract: The arbitrariness causes the variety of language spoken in the world. There are many languages in the world and every language contains different set of rules and discrete linguistic units. It means language has arbitrariness in grammatical system too. People will have some problems when they learn it. The majority of a learner’s problem in producing foreign language, especially in the beginning levels, starts from the learner’s assumption that the target language operates like the native language. The study was a qualitative research. The data of the study were two root noun phrases taken by using random sampling from two different magazines; ‘Forbes Asia’ English magazine (published in November 2016) and ‘Mangle’ Sundanese magazine (published in December 2016). The data were analyzed using contrastive analysis in order to achieve the purpose of the study, i.e. to describe English and Sundanese noun phrases construction and to explain the similarities and the differences between English and Sundanese noun phrases construction. The findings show that there are fourteen patterns of English noun phrase based on its class of elements. On the other hand, there are eleven pattern of Sundanese noun phrase. There are only four same patterns in both English and Sundanese noun phrases. The construction type and modifier position of those patterns are exactly same both in English and Sundanese. There are two differences between English and Sundanese noun phrase constructions. First, some noun phrase constructions do not exist in Sundanese and only found in English. Second, the noun phrase construction exists in both languages, but with different modifier positions. For example, the pronoun in noun phrase of English and Sundanese with two elements ‘Noun and Pronoun’ is as a modifier of the noun, but the position of pronoun is different. In English the modifier (pronoun) comes before the head (noun) with ‘pn + N’ pattern, while in Sundanese the modifier (pronoun) comes after the head (noun) with ‘N + pn’ pattern. The result will hopefully be used by the teacher as a reference in teaching phrases of English or Sundanese. It helps the teacher in choosing how to teach the materials to the students in learning process, so the teacher will teach them in a better way.

Case Markers in Mongolian: A Means for Encoding Null Constituents in Noun Phrase and Relative Clause.

Abstract: This paper focuses on the capacity of the case markers in the Mongolian language, as a relative element, to generate any finite noun phrase or relative clause based on their syntactic function or relationship. In Mongolian, there are two different approaches to generate noun phrases: parataxis and hypotaxis. According to my early observation, if the noun phrase generated through the parataxis, is the complement of the postpositional phrase, the head word of the relevant noun phrase can be truncated. In other words, since this head noun is governed by case marker in its null form to generate the postpositional phrase, the head noun can be encoded. The second approach generates two different types of noun phrases in their structures: free structured and non-free structured noun phrases. Of them, the free structured noun phrase allows any syntactic transformations in their internal structure based on the senses of the case markers which denote a relation. That is to say, the null constituents in this type of noun phrases can be encoded to generate an extended alternative of the noun phrase and a relative clause.

Remarks on the Final-over-Final Condition: A View from Chinese Head-Final Structures

Abstract: Abstract The paper discusses the universality of the final-over-final condition (FOFC). It has been proposed that sentence-final particles (SFPs) in Chinese may invalidate the universality of FOFC. This paper argues that the challenge from SFPs is inconclusive since the evidence for the head status of SFPs is lacking. On the other hand, the leftward complement of N0 in Chinese (Huang 2016) poses a greater threat to FOFC. However, it is argued that the violation is caused by a language-particular word order constraint due to Case directionality (Li 1990). Relating the syntactic FOFC violation to the word order constraint in compounds, it is proposed that FOFC may be understood as an instance of the shape conservation principle (Williams 2003), where the language-particular constraint is satisfied at the expense of a minimal violation of the universal condition.

Heads Up! Dynamic Similitude for Perception With an Object Wielded By Head or Hand

Abstract: Possibilities for behavior (i.e., affordances) can be perceived with units spanning anatomical components and external objects. For example, affordances for standing on an inclined surface can be perceived with an object held in the hand or attached to the head. We investigated whether these two person-plus-object perceptual systems exhibit the same pattern of nonlinear phase transitions in perception of this affordance. Blindfolded participants explored an inclined surface with a rod held in the hand or attached to the head and reported whether they could stand on that surface. Inclinations were presented in ascending or descending sequences. In both conditions, responses exhibited negative hysteresis – perceptual boundaries occurred at steeper angles for descending than for ascending sequences. The generalization of this pattern across components that differ in physiology, sensitivity, and experience is consistent with both the soft assembly of perceptual devices and with a dynamical systems perspective on perception of affordances.

Exploiting Pitch Accent Information in Compound Processing: A Comparison between Adults and 6- to 7-Year-Old Children

Abstract: A noun can be potentially ambiguous as to whether it is a head on its own, or is a modifier of a Noun + Noun compound waiting for its head. This study investigates whether young children can exploi...

Análisis del sintagma nominal en chino y estudio comparativo con el español

Abstract: The Determiner Phrase Hypothesis proposed by Abney (1987) was thought as an important theory of Universal Grammar and has raised great interests in Chinese linguistics. Many studies (Li, 1996, 1998; Cheng y Sybesma, 1998; Liu, 2002; Wen, 2010) focus on verifying whether such a hypothesis suits for Chinese, a language without system of article, yet more evidence of cross language studies still are in need. In this paper, we analyzed the different structures of nominal phrases in Chinese that are able to express, respectively, the indefiniteness, definiteness and genericity. These analyses provided more evidence which could verify that the Determiner Phrase Hypothesis is also applicable for Chinese in which the head could be the numeral yī (one), the demonstrative zhe/na (this/that) or even the classifier depending on specific cases. To provide further proof, this paper also discussed the properties of the bare nouns of Chinese in order to find the possibility of their appearance in different syntactic positions and their different semantic references.

Single shot capture to animated vr avatar

Abstract: Presented herein are systems and methods configured to generate virtual entities representing real-world users. In some implementations, the systems and/or methods are configured to capture user appearance information with imaging devices and sensors, determines correspondence values conveying correspondences between the appearance of the user's body or user's head and individual ones of default body models and/or default head models, modifies a set of values defining a base body model and/or base head model based on determined correspondence values and sets of base values defining the default body models and/or default head models. The base body model and/or base head model may be modified to model the appearance of the body and/or head of the user.

Teop – an Oceanic language with multifunctional verbs, nouns and adjectives

Abstract: The corpus-based analysis of Teop word classes demonstrates that lexical multifunctionality is not incompatible with the grammatical distinction between verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs, because this distinction does not manifest itself in their syntactic functions of heads of phrases, but in the kinds of modifier the words can combine with. Consequently, the Teop word class system falsifies all word class typologies that assume that a formal differentiation of event, object and property words presupposes a distinctive distribution across the head positions of determiner-marked referential expressions and TAM-marked predicative expressions. In addition to the multifunctionality of verbs, nouns and adjectives, the Teop lexicon shows regular patterns of conversion. The paper concludes with an assessment of the results and the limitations of the corpus-based approach and suggests four topics for further research: (1) the development of elicitation methods to supplement corpus-based analyses; (2) a typology of formally distinguished phrase types; (3) regular patterns of conversion across languages; and (4) possessive comparative constructions.