The Syntax of Silence

The Syntax of Silence PDF

Author: Jason Merchant

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 9780199243730

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

A primary goal of contemporary theoretical linguistics is to develop a theory of the correspondence between sound (or gesture) and meaning. This sound-meaning correspondence breaks down completely in the case of ellipsis, and yet various forms of ellipsis are pervasive in natural language:words and phrases which should be in the linguistic signal go missing. How this should be possible is the focus of Jason Merchant's investigation. He focuses on the form of ellipsis known as sluicing, a common feature of interrogative clauses, such as in 'Sally's out hunting - guess what!'; and'Someone called, but I can't tell you who'. It is the most frequently found cross-linguistic form of ellipsis. Dr Merchant studies the phenomenon across twenty-four languages, and attempts to explain it in linguistic and behavioural terms.

Sounds of Silence

Sounds of Silence PDF

Author: Jutta Hartmann

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 347

ISBN-13: 0080466141

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Offering a study of "empty elements" in language use.

Silently Structured Silent Argument

Silently Structured Silent Argument PDF

Author: Yuta Sakamoto

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2020-05-08

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 9027261229

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Theoretical linguistics in the generative tradition has payed much attention to issues related to silence ? children know the syntax of silence despite the fact that they do not have direct access to it throughout their language acquisition process. One of the issues that have been hotly discussed regarding silence in natural languages is whether it involves syntactic structure or not. This book is concerned with a particular instance of silence in natural languages, what is called radical pro-drop, showing that it is silently structured on the basis of novel data from Japanese as well as Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, and Turkish. The discussion in this book also has consequences for the dichotomy between PF-deletion vs. LF-copying, shedding a new light on the proper analysis of several syntactic phenomena in Japanese, including wh-in-situ and control.

Silence as Language

Silence as Language PDF

Author: Michal Ephratt

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2022-08-25

Total Pages: 383

ISBN-13: 1108471676

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

With examples from a variety of contexts, this book provides a linguistic analysis of the role of silence in language.

Syntax and Semantics of Spatial P

Syntax and Semantics of Spatial P PDF

Author: Anna Asbury

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2008-05-21

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 9027290741

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The category P belongs to a less studied area in theoretical linguistics, which has only recently attracted considerable attention. This volume brings together pioneering work on adpositions in spatial relations from different theoretical and cross-linguistic perspectives. The common theme in these contributions is the complex semantic and syntactic structure of PPs. Analyses are presented in several different frameworks and approaches, including generative syntax, optimality theoretic semantics and syntax, formal semantics, mathematical modeling, lexical syntax, and pragmatics. Among the languages featured in detail are English, German, Hebrew, Igbo, Italian, Japanese, and Persian. This volume will be of interest to students and researchers of formal semantics, syntax and language typology, as well as scholars with a more general interest in spatial cognition.

The Edginess of Silence

The Edginess of Silence PDF

Author: Tue Trinh

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2019-04-15

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 3110634589

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Natural language differs from artificial ones in having the "displacement property," allowing expressions to "move" from one position to another in the sentence. The mapping from syntax to phonology, therefore, must include rules specifying how objects created by movement are pronounced, or in technical jargon, how chains are linearized. One of these rules is Copy Deletion. The present study investigates the structural description of Copy Deletion. Specifically, it proposes a phrase geometric constraint on its application. The proposal is corroborated by empirical arguments based on distributional and interpretational facts concerning predicate clefts, NP-Splits, and head ordering patterns. The data are drawn from languages of different types and families including Chinese, English, Dutch, German, Hebrew, Norwegian, Swedish, and Vietnamese. The book, thus, contributes to our understanding of a crucial property of natural language and should be of relevance to readers who are interested in the cross-linguistic approach to Universal Grammar research.

Movement and Silence

Movement and Silence PDF

Author: Richard S. Kayne

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2005-07-14

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This volume collects recent articles by Richard Kayne which illustrate the power of the comparative approach & state his argument that syntax is generally more complex than it first appears.

The Syntax of Multiple-que Sentences in Spanish

The Syntax of Multiple-que Sentences in Spanish PDF

Author: Julio Villa-García

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company

Published: 2015-03-20

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 9027269106

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Complementizers offer a window into the architecture of the left-periphery and further our understanding of the demarcation of the boundaries between the C(omplementizer) and T(ense) domains. Using the articulated left-periphery as a laboratory and Spanish constructions featuring more than one complementizer as a point of departure, the author delivers new insights into the syntactic positions and behavior of Spanish complementizer que along the left edge. These observations have far-reaching consequences to such fundamental linguistic concepts as the derivation of left dislocations, ellipsis, and locality of movement. Of great interest to syntax graduate students and researchers in general, this volume provides a stepping stone to cracking the code on several current syntactic questions, including the widely-contested position of preverbal subjects in null-subject languages like Spanish. In addition, it offers the linguist a bountiful toolbox for the cross-linguistic investigation of a number of left-peripheral and clausal phenomena.

Lanterna Rally - Theme by Grace Themes