Head (linguistics)

About: Head (linguistics) is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2540 publications have been published within this topic receiving 29023 citations. The topic is also known as: nucleus.

Definiteness and specificity in Runyankore-Rukiga

Abstract: This study investigates the manifestations of the universal categories of (in)definiteness and (non-)specificity in the Runyankore-Rukiga determiner phrase by means of discoursepragmatic and morpho-syntactic considerations. Runyankore-Rukiga, like all other Bantu languages, exhibits no (in)definite articles, but there are various ways the language employs to encode the definiteness. Lyons’s (1999) semantic principles of definiteness and his definition of specificity are adopted for the study, as well as the Minimalist and Cartographic approaches to syntax. The data come from authentic written materials, recorded spoken discourse and elicitation (backed up by other native speakers’ grammaticality judgement). The study considers modified and unmodified (bare) nouns. Bare nouns are generally (save for those with inherent unique semantic features) ambiguous between (in)definite and (non-) specific readings Thus, an appropriate reading is contingent on a correct discourse-pragmatic setting. Nominal modifiers are categorized into three groups (Visser, 2008). Those which contribute unambiguously to the definiteness interpretation of head nouns, e.g., demonstratives, the functional elements -a and nya-, some quantifiers and the absolute pronoun. The second category includes nominal modifiers which have neutral semantic features of (in)definiteness and (non-)specificity, namely, adjectives, numerals, possessives as well as nominal and clausal relatives. Thirdly, nominal modifiers occur which are assumed to possess an inherent semantic feature of indefiniteness, for example, some quantifiers and the lexicalized element haine. The study investigates the inferences associated with the Initial Vowel (IV) when it occurs optionally in the inflectional morphology of nominal modifiers with the neutral feature of (in)definiteness and (non-)specificity in prenominal, and postnominal positions, as well as in positions when the head of the phrase is a pro category. The intricate relation of the core morpheme of the demonstrative and the IV is investigated. The study concludes that the initial vowel occurring optionally in the inflectional morphology of neutral nominal modifiers and with bare object nouns following a negative verb evolved from the core demonstrative morpheme and exhibits anaphoric features in the absence of a full lexical head as well as functioning as a functional category determiner, expressing specificity, contrastive focus and sometimes emphasis features. Indefinite nominal modifiers contribute to indefiniteness reading of their head nouns although the indefinite feature is not inherent in them, in that they Stellenbosch University http://scholar.sun.ac.za

A Head-Driven and Constraint-Based Analysis of Korean Relative Clause Constructions

Abstract: Relative clause constructions have been notorious for their complexity in terms of syntax and semantics. This paper develops a treatment of the syntactic and semantic properties of Korean relative clause constructions, differing in several key respects from those of English. This treatment, developed within the tradition of a constraint-based framework, Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar theory, adapts Sag's (1997) approach to grammatical constructions in English relatives. As in Sag's analysis, our analysis is 'head-driven' and 'constraint-based' in the sense that the head of a lexical (relative-clause) head and declarative constraints on well-defined constructions play a crucial role in the formation of relative clauses. This system enables us to eliminate the invisible element (e.g., trace or empty operator) from the analysis of Korean relative clauses and further to express cross-cutting generalizations among grammatical constructions thru the mechanism of hierarchical inheritance of type constraints. One of the main consequences of this analysis is to provide a straightforward account for local as well as non-local relative clause constructions which have been known as violating the firm syntactic island constraints such as the Complex Noun Phrase Constraints (CNPC) but for which no plausible and comprehensive analysis has been provided yet.