Ditransitive Constructions in a Cross-linguistic Perspective

Ditransitive Constructions in a Cross-linguistic Perspective PDF

Author: Agnes Korn

Publisher: Dr Ludwig Reichert

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9783954903733

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The issue of ditransitive constructions has enjoyed increased attention over the last decade, and a number of important studies appeared. However, a number of questions are not quite explored yet. The contributions in this volume address a variety of languages, provide rich new data on the distribution of ditransitive constructions in lesser-researched languages, and substantiate the findings with corpus data. Recurrent themes in the present collection include the factors underlying the choice of construction in the ditransitive alternation, the most important of which are lexical choices, information structure and discourse prominence of theme and recipient argument.

Studies in Ditransitive Constructions

Studies in Ditransitive Constructions PDF

Author: Andrej Malchukov

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2010-12-23

Total Pages: 793

ISBN-13: 3110220377

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This rich volume deals comprehensively with cross-linguistic variation in the morphosyntax of ditransitive constructions: constructions formed with verbs (like give) that take Agent, Theme and Recipient arguments. For the first time, a broadly cross-linguistic perspective is adopted. The present volume, consisting of an overview article and twenty-odd in-depth studies of ditransitive constructions in individual languages from different continents, arose from the conference on ditransitive constructions held at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Leipzig) in 2007. It opens with the editors' survey article providing an overview of cross-linguistic variation in ditransitive constructions, followed by the questionnaire on ditransitive constructions, compiled by the editors in order to elicit various properties of these patterns. The editors' overview discusses formal properties of ditransitive constructions as well as behavioral (or syntactic) and lexical properties (i.e., the extension of ditransitive constructions across different verb classes). The volume includes 23 contributions describing properties of ditransitive constructions in languages from all over the world, written by leading experts. Care has been taken that the contributions to the volume will be representative of structural, geographic and genealogical diversity in the domain of ditransitive constructions. Thus the present volume provides a unique source of information on typological diversity of ditransitive constructions. It is expected that it will be of central interest to all scholars and advanced students of linguistics, especially to those working in the field of language typology and comparative syntax.

Cross-Linguistic Perspectives on Verb Constructions

Cross-Linguistic Perspectives on Verb Constructions PDF

Author: Signe Oksefjell Ebeling

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2015-09-10

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1443882305

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This volume sheds new light on verb constructions by exposing them to cross-linguistic analysis based on multilingual corpora. It is composed of nine studies which provide insights into various aspects of cross-linguistic diversity, including showing that seemingly equivalent verb constructions may differ in their semantics, and that similar meanings may be expressed by different types of constructions. In other words, this book shows that different languages have different ways of lexicalising verb-based meanings, most notably by means of other, divergent verb constructions. A range of lexicogrammatical aspects of verb constructions are explored throughout the book, including time reference; modality; voice; light verb constructions; non-finite complementation of lexical verbs; posture-verb constructions; semiperiphrastic constructions; and the construction and semantic composition of verbs of putting. All of the contributions consider English in comparison with at least one of the following languages: Czech, German, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Spanish, and Swedish. As such, this volume offers a truly multilingual perspective on verb constructions. The diversity of comparisons also highlights the multi-faceted nature of the verb phrase, which seems to have virtually limitless potential for exploration in the fields of tense, aspect, modality, lexical semantics, syntax, and phraseology.

Converbs in Cross-Linguistic Perspective

Converbs in Cross-Linguistic Perspective PDF

Author: Martin Haspelmath

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-08-10

Total Pages: 576

ISBN-13: 3110884461

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Research on language universals and research on linguistic typology are not antagonistic, but rather complementary approaches to the same fundamental problem: the relationship between the amazing diversity of languages and the profound unity of language. Only if the true extent of typological divergence is recognized can universal laws be formulated. In recent years it has become more and more evident that a broad range of languages of radically different types must be carefully analyzed before general theories are possible. Typological comparison of this kind is now at the centre of linguistic research. The series empirical approaches to language typology presents a platform for contributions of all kinds to this rapidly developing field. The distinctive feature of the series is its markedly empirical orientation. All conclusions to be reached are the result of a deepened study of empirical data. General problems are focused on from the perspective of individual languages, language families, language groups, or language samples. Special emphasis is given to the analysis of phenomena from little known languages, which shed new light on long-standing problems in general linguistics. The series is open to contributions from different theoretical persuasions. It thus reflects the methodological pluralism that characterizes the present situation. Care is taken that all volumes be accessible to every linguist and, moreover, to every reader specializing in some domain related to human language. A deeper understanding of human language in general, based on a detailed analysis of typological diversity among individual languages, is fundamental for many sciences, not only for linguists. Therefore, this series has proven to be indispensable in every research library, be it public or private, which has a specialization in language and the language sciences. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Birgit Sievert.

Argument Structure and Syntactic Relations

Argument Structure and Syntactic Relations PDF

Author: Maia Duguine

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2010-07-14

Total Pages: 356

ISBN-13: 9027288135

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The topic of this collection is argument structure. The fourteen chapters in this book are divided into four parts: Semantic and Syntactic Properties of Event Structure; A Cartographic View on Argument Structure; Syntactic Heads Involved in Argument Structure; and Argument Structure in Language Acquisition. Rigorous theoretical analyses are combined with empirical work on specific aspects of argument structure. The book brings together authors working in different linguistic fields (semantics, syntax, and language acquisition), who explore new findings as well as more established data, but then from new theoretical perspectives. The contributions propose cartographic views of argument structure, as opposed to minimalistic proposals of a binary template model for argument structure, in order to optimally account for various syntactic and semantic facts, as well as data derived from wider cross-linguistic perspectives.

Grammatical Relations

Grammatical Relations PDF

Author: Franz Müller-Gotama

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2012-10-25

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 3110887339

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The series is a platform for contributions of all kinds to this rapidly developing field. General problems are studied from the perspective of individual languages, language families, language groups, or language samples. Conclusions are the result of a deepened study of empirical data. Special emphasis is given to little-known languages, whose analysis may shed new light on long-standing problems in general linguistics.

Introducing the Framework, and Case Studies from Africa and Eurasia

Introducing the Framework, and Case Studies from Africa and Eurasia PDF

Author: Andrej Malchukov

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2015-09-14

Total Pages: 885

ISBN-13: 3110338815

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Earlier empirical studies on valency have looked at the phenomenon either in individual languages or a small range of languages, or have concerned themselves with only small subparts of valency (e.g. transitivity, ditransitive constructions), leaving a lacuna that the present volume aims to fill by considering a wide range of valency phenomena across 30 languages from different parts of the world. The individual-language studies, each written by a specialist or group of specialists on that language and covering both valency patterns and valency alternations, are based on a questionnaire (reproduced in the volume) and an on-line freely accessible database, thus guaranteeing comparability of cross-linguistic results. In addition, introductory chapters provide the background to the project and discuss its main characteristics and selected results, while a series of featured articles by leading scholars who helped shape the field provide an outside perspective on the volume’s approach. The volume is essential reading for anyone interested in valency and argument structure, irrespective of theoretical persuasion, and will serve as a model for future descriptive studies of valency in individual languages.

The Diachrony of Ditransitives

The Diachrony of Ditransitives PDF

Author: Chiara Fedriani

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2020-10-26

Total Pages: 327

ISBN-13: 3110701375

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

While ample studies exist on ditransitives in various languages, notably from a typological perspective, more work needs to be done on identifying the main processes and factors that trigger and constrain the changes they undergo over time. The goal of this volume is to help fill this gap by bringing together data and information on individual languages that have thus far been left out of the discussion and by expanding our knowledge of already studied linguistic traditions so as to achieve a broader diachronic description. Since one of the distinctive features of ditransitives is their synchronic variability in terms of structural alternation and alignment split, diachronic research can throw up new insights into developmental dynamics that are eminently complementary; namely, on the one hand, the emergence, development and loss of construction alternation and, on the other, the acquisition of new functions over time. The analyses offered in the book yield different and interconnected answers to the general question of how ditransitives change by drawing on different functional principles that play a role in the diachronic reorganization of this dynamic domain and by providing a number of original theoretical suggestions.

Contrastive Studies in Construction Grammar

Contrastive Studies in Construction Grammar PDF

Author: Hans Christian Boas

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 9027204322

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The papers in this volume provide a contrastive application of Construction Grammar. By referencing a well-described constructional phenomenon in English, each paper provides a solid foundation for describing and analyzing its constructional counterpart in another language. This approach shows that the semantic description (including discourse-pragmatic and functioanl factors) of an English construction can be regarded as a first step towards a "tertium comparationis" that can be employed for comparing and contrasting the formal properties of constructional counterparts in other languages. Thus, the meaning pole of constructions should be regarded as the primary basis for comparisons of constructions across languages - the form pole is only secondary. This volume shows that constructions are viable descriptive and analytical tools for cross-linguistic comparisons that make it possible to capture both language-specific (idiosyncratic) properties as well as cross-linguistic generalizations.

The Syntax of Ditransitives

The Syntax of Ditransitives PDF

Author: Elena Anagnostopoulou

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 9783110170283

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The book investigates the nature and properties of indirect objects and develops a typology of double object constructions on the basis of an examination of a variety of data within and across languages. It argues for a four-class division of double object constructions depending on (a) a type of case on the goal argument and (b) whether the goal is introduced by a zero applicative head or is an argument of the main verb. The central questions addressed revolve around locality, case and the structural representation of double object constructions.