Ditransitive structures : the English preposition TO and the Romanian preposition LA

Ditransitive structures : the English preposition TO and the Romanian preposition LA PDF

Author: Tania MORARU-ZAMFIR

Publisher: Editura Universității din București - Bucharest University Press

Published: 2023-01-01

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 6061613865

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This book examines the syntactic properties of the English preposition to and the Romanian preposition la ”at/to” within ditransitive structures. Being a study of comparative syntax from a generative perspective, it aims at bringing into discussion the properties of these two functional prepositions, in both English and Romanian. The comparative approach shows that the English to is a functional preposition, fully predictable from the structure of the verb which can be deleted. To is a case marker and the dative arguments introduced by this preposition are DPs. By way of contrast, Romanian la has shifted from a case marker to a [Person] marker. La has a double status, as follows: it has a functional status only when the Dat argument, analysed as DP can be doubled by the clitic, where la is a [Person] marker. In the absence of the clitic, la-phrases are interpreted as PPs and la will be attributed a lexical status. Thus, unlike the functional to, la is both (a) a functional dative marker and (b) a core lexical preposition of the location and movement frames where la assigns accusative case to its object.

Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2017

Romance Languages and Linguistic Theory 2017 PDF

Author: Alexandru Nicolae

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2021-12-15

Total Pages: 385

ISBN-13: 9027258422

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This volume contains a selection of 18 peer-reviewed papers presented at the 31st edition of Going Romance. Phenomena found in Romance languages (European Portuguese, French, Italian, Spanish, Romanian), in Romance dialects (Cosentino, Salentino, southern Calabrese, Neapolitan, and Trevigiano), and even in creoles with a Romance lexifier (Makista and Kristang) either benefit from in-depth analyses confined to one single variety, or are subjected to comparative analysis (dialect vs standard language, dialect vs different major language(s), cross-dialectal comparison, cross-Romance comparison, and even comparison of language families). Theoretical and experimental approaches complement one another, as do diachrony and synchrony. Individually and as a whole, these contributions show how the Romance languages contribute to a better understanding of issues which are relevant in the current linguistic landscape: acquisition, n-words, ellipsis phenomena, focus and polarity, ditransitive constructions, grammaticalization theory, differential object marking, language ecology, event structure, cyclicity, passives and many more.

The Order of Prepositional Phrases in the Structure of the Clause

The Order of Prepositional Phrases in the Structure of the Clause PDF

Author: Walter Schweikert

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2005-08-18

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 9027294003

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For a long time prepositions seemed to enjoy a clandestine status in linguistic research. This has changed with a novel path of inquiry into the inner structure of complex prepositional expressions. In a unique approach to the examination of the outer syntax of prepositions the author uses established and new syntactic and statistical tests to achieve a convincing hierarchy of thematic roles expressed by prepositional phrases. From an antisymmetric point of departure the author presents an overview of possible derivations that result in the observed different word orders of PPs in VO and OV languages. It leads to a refreshing new proposal of how to include morphology into syntax. The plausibility of this model is underscored by a wide range of explanatory data. This book is indispensable for linguists interested in the syntax of modifiers.

The Logic of English Prepositions

The Logic of English Prepositions PDF

Author: J. Daniel Moore

Publisher:

Published: 2018-07-05

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 9781983361289

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(Workbook coming soon...)"I hate grammar! Why are English prepositions so difficult?""I don't know why we say it that way. That's just how we speak.""There's no logic to prepositions. You just have to memorize them."Here's a secret for you: English prepositions are logical.Why your English Teacher was WrongImagine a farm that grows a lot of different plants. On the surface, you see all the leaves and branches. These leaves and branches are the different dictionary definitions that seem to be disconnected and random. These "surface meanings" are what native speakers are aware of. However, underground we find the root of each plant. The root is the logic that all the dictionary definitions are based on. This underground level is part of the subconscious mind, so native speakers aren't consciously aware of it. This book teaches you the hidden, logical relationships that give prepositions their meaning.What's in this Book?This book contains seventeen of the most common and confusing prepositions in the English language. Each preposition has its own chapter that's divided into sections that guide you through the process and help you learn more easily and more effectively. The sections are: A) Example Sentences (there are over 450 examples); B) The Logic, which includes the key idea(s), an explanation, and etymology notes; C) Detailed explanations of how the logic works in the example sentences from section A; D) Verbs that often use each preposition; E) Phrasal verbs; and F) Idioms. At the end of the book are a few maps of the logical relationships.

An Adventure in English Language Space

An Adventure in English Language Space PDF

Author: George Takahashi

Publisher: Xlibris Corporation

Published: 2016-07-19

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 1514479451

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George Takahashis An Adventure in English Language Space: A Key to the Mysteries of Prepositions, goes beyond the basic dos and donts of English grammar into contextual space. He defines dimensional relationships of words to their meanings and proper usage to help native and non-native speakers of English grasp the layers of possibilities beneath the often ambiguous sound-and-sense method of approach to the English language. He finds discrepancies between other authoritative dictionaries and puts as many myths to rest in tangible explanations of how the structure of language in and around prepositions can be straightforward and comprehensible. Takahashis An Adventure in English Language Space is for everyone, from scholars to anyone who is curious about the sense and meaning of English prepositions.

(Re)labeling

(Re)labeling PDF

Author: Carlo Cecchetto

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2015-01-30

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 0262327236

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A new theory of labeling that sheds light on such syntactic phenomena as relativization, successive cyclicity, island phenomena, and Minimality effects. When two categories merge and a new syntactic object is formed, what determines which of the two merged categories transmits its properties one level up—or, in current terminology, which of the two initial categories labels the new object? In (Re)labeling, Carlo Cecchetto and Caterina Donati take this question as the starting point of an investigation that sheds light on longstanding puzzles in the theory of syntax in the generative tradition. They put forward a simple idea: that words are special because they can provide a label for free when they merge with some other category. Crucially, this happens even when a word merges with another category as a result of syntactic movement. This means that a word has a “relabeling” power in that the structure resulting from its movement can have a different label from the one that the structure previously had. Cecchetto and Donati argue that relabeling cases triggered by the movement of a word are pervasive in the syntax of natural languages and that their identification sheds light on such phenomena as relativization, explaining for free why relatives clauses have a nominal distribution, successive cyclicity, island effects, root phenomena, and Minimality effects.

The Syntax of Spanish

The Syntax of Spanish PDF

Author: Karen Zagona

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 9780521576840

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A clear and well-organised introduction to Spanish syntax, assuming no prior knowledge of current theory.

Analysing Sentences

Analysing Sentences PDF

Author: Noel Burton-Roberts

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-02-12

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 1317293827

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This highly successful text has long been considered the standard introduction to the practical analysis of English sentence structure. It covers key concepts such as constituency, category and functions, and also utilises tree diagrams throughout to help the reader visualise the structure of sentences. In this fourth edition, Analysing Sentences has been thoroughly revised and now features a brand new companion website with additional activities and exercises for students and an answer book for the in-text exercises for professors. The extra activities on the website give students practice in identifying syntactic phenomena in running text and will help to deepen understanding of this topic. Accessible and clear, this book is the perfect textbook for readers coming to this topic for the first time. Featuring many in-text, end-of-chapter and Further Exercises, it is suitable for self-directed study as well as for use as core reading on courses.