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Books > Language & Literature > Language & linguistics > Grammar, syntax, linguistic structure > General
The topic of the book is the relationship between mind and language
on all levels of linguistic research. Over the past decade, the
cognitive approach to language and its methodology have started to
permeate other areas of linguistic study, which, in turn, is
opening up room for new types of research and resulting in new
knowledge that contributes to explaining not only the linguistic
phenomena, but also how they function in a linguistic community and
contemporary society. The book tries to reflect these new
developments. It consists of 11 chapters organized into three
thematic sections: language and mind from linguistic perspective,
the language and mind of the translator, and language and mind from
the teacher's perspective.
In this volume, international experts in negation provide a
comprehensive overview of cross-linguistic and philosophical
research in the field, as well as accounts of more recent results
from experimental linguistics, psycholinguistics, and neuroscience.
The volume adopts an interdisciplinary approach to a range of
fundamental questions ranging from why negation displays so many
distinct linguistic forms to how prosody and gesture participate in
the interpretation of negative utterances. Following an
introduction from the editors, the chapters are arranged in eight
parts that explore, respectively, the fundamentals of negation;
issues in syntax; the syntax-semantics interface; semantics and
pragmatics; negative dependencies; synchronic and diachronic
variation; the emergence and acquisition of negation; and
experimental investigations of negation. The volume will be an
essential reference for students and researchers across a wide
range of disciplines, and will facilitate further interdisciplinary
work in the field.
Classification of parts of speech in Chinese is tough due to the
lack of morphological differences, and thus is short of in-depth
investigation and exploration. Based on the analysis and research
of nearly 40,000 Chinese characters, this book elaborates on the
system of Chinese parts of speech and proposes a set of criteria on
their classification, contributing to relevant theoretical and
methodological studies. To begin with, it examines the common
characteristics and internal hierarchies of parts of speech, as
well as the relationship between grammatical functions and parts of
speech in modern Chinese. Then it puts forward the criteria on the
classification of Chinese parts of speech, with a descriptive
explanation of around 20 parts of speech. Besides, it illustrates
the statistical studies on Chinese parts of speech, offering data
support and corpus verification to the criteria. Also, it analyses
the system of Chinese parts of speech from the perspective of
typology. Specifically, it elucidates the correspondence between
syntactic positions and parts of speech, functional differentiation
of Chinese word items, etc. This book will be a valuable reference
to researchers and students in Chinese linguistics. Learners of
Chinese will also be attracted by it.
This volume collects some of Juan Uriagereka's previously published
pieces and presentations on biolinguistics in recent years in one
comprehensive volume. The book's introduction lays the foundation
for the field of biolinguistics, which looks to integrate concepts
from the natural sciences in the analysis of natural language,
situating the discussion within the minimalist framework. The
volume then highlights eight of the author's key papers from the
literature, some co-authored, representative of both the
architectural and evolutionary considerations to be taken into
account within biolinguistic research. The book culminates in a
final chapter showcasing the body of work being done on
biolinguistics within the research program at the University of
Maryland and their implications for interdisciplinary research and
future directions for the field. This volume is essential reading
for students and scholars interested in the interface between
language and the natural sciences, including linguistics, syntax,
biology, archaeology, and anthropology.
Polarity phenomena are pervasively observed in natural languages.
Previous studies on Chinese polarity items are mainly in line with
the non-veridicality approach. This book, however, employs the
downward-entailing hypothesis as its analytical foundation, and
argues that downward entailment is the only licensor for different
kinds of Chinese polarity items, and non-veridicality is neither a
necessary nor sufficient condition and thus offers inferior
explanatory power compared with the former. To begin with, it lays
the groundwork for this research by presenting a brief introduction
to polarity phenomena and reviewing the existing relevant theories.
Then it addresses the status of the commonly used element dou in
Chinese. Specifically, it applies the tripartite structural frame
to the studies of dou, and examines the role of dou in licensing
the polarity items. Moreover, it investigates the properties and
behavior of dou with respect to modality. Based on the analysis
above, it observes that non-interrogative wh-indeterminates in
Chinese can be licensed in the restriction domain of a necessity
operator. Also, the non-uniformity of three Chinese polarity items,
i.e., shenme, na-CL, and renhe, is scrutinized within the
downward-entailing framework. This book will appeal to scholars,
teachers and students in the field of linguistics, especially in
the areas of formal semantics and generative grammar. Researchers
and engineers in cloud computing and big data who are seeking help
from linguistic contributions to meaning and logic will also
benefit from it.
This volume collects eleven papers written between 1991 and 2016,
some of them unpublished, which explore various aspects of the
architecture of grammar in a minimalist perspective. The phenomena
that are brought to bear on the architectural issue come from a
range of languages, among them French, European Portuguese, Welsh,
German and English, and include clitic placement, expletive
pronouns, resumption, causative structures, copulative and
existential constructions, VP ellipsis, as well as the distinction
between the SVO, VSO and V2 linguistic types. This book sheds a new
light on the division of labor between components and paves the way
for further research on grammatical architecture.
Arabic L2 Interlanguage is a significant and timely addition to the
field of Second Language Acquisition, providing valuable insight
into the development of 'interlanguage', the interim language of
early beginners, in learners of Arabic. This book: Clearly
establishes what interlanguage is and why it should form an
important part of foreign language teaching Presents the reader
with a sequence in which six English-speaking learners of Arabic
acquire the language Makes use of the rich morphological and
syntactic property of Arabic to offer a new perspective on the
field of Second Language Acquisition. Arabic L2 Interlanguage
contributes directly towards building a more comprehensive
theoretical framework for explaining how L2s are acquired. It will
be key text for SLA scholars as well as an important resource for
graduate students in Linguistics and Foreign Language Teaching.
The Semantics of Chinese Classifiers and Linguistic Relativity
focuses on the semantic structure of Chinese classifiers under the
cognitive linguistics framework, and the implications thereof on
linguistic relativity and language acquisition. It examines the
semantic correlation between a given classifier and its associated
nouns. Nouns in Chinese, which are assigned specific classifiers
according to their selected characteristics, reflect the process of
human categorization. The concrete categories formed by the
relationship between nouns and classifiers may serve to explain the
conceptual structure of the Chinese language and certain underlying
aspects of culture and human cognition. Song Jiang is Assistant
Professor of Chinese for the Department of East Asian Languages and
Literatures at university of Hawai'i at Manoa.
Partition and Quantity: Numeral Classifiers, Measurement, and
Partitive Constructions in Mandarin Chinese presents an in-depth
investigation into the semantic and syntactic properties of Chinese
classifiers and conducts a comprehensive examination on the use of
different quantity constructions in Chinese. This book echoes a
rapid development in the past decades in Chinese linguistics
research within the generative framework on Chinese classifier
phrases, an area that has emerged as one of the most cutting-edge
themes in the field of Chinese linguistics. The book on the one
hand offers a closer scrutiny on empirical data and revisits some
long-lasting research problems, such as the semantic factor bearing
on the formation of Chinese numeral classifier constructions, the
(non-)licensing of the linker de ( ) in between the numeral
classifier and the noun, and the conditions regulating the use of
pre-classifier adjectives. On the other hand, particular attention
is paid to the issues that have been less studied or gone unnoticed
in previous studies, including a (more) fine-grained
subcategorization of Chinese measurement constructions, the
multiple grammatical roles played by the marker de ( ) in different
numeral classifier constructions, the formation and derivation of
Chinese partitive constructions, etc.
This book provides a summary of Radical Minimalism, putting forth a
neurocognitively implementable theory of grammar as I-language.
Radical Minimalism tries to give a 'fully explicit' description of
syntactic structures mapped into cognitive frames of thought. It
focuses on the division of labor between Narrow Syntax and
Meaningful Units of the sentence and also on the role of Mental
Lexicon (understood as a selection of Roots and Labels), the
Labeling Mechanism, and the participation of the Senso-Motoric and
Conceptual-Intentional Interfaces within a Crash-proof Grammar of
Human Language. The data are taken from the languages of different
genetic origins and types. The book is based on the idea that
language and thought are closely connected and must be studied
within the physical laws of the Anti-Entropy and Dynamical
Frustration theory. Peter Kosta's new book touches on an
exceptional range of subjects in theoretical syntax and the
philosophy of grammar, bearing ample proof of his lifelong
engagement with these vital disciplines within the humanities of
the 20th/21st centuries. His acute awareness of important insights
and discussions in current day minimalism is evident from every
page, informing his treatment of a wide diversity of problems in
the morphosyntax of Slavic languages and beyond. (Jan-Wouter Zwart,
University of Groningen) This book provides a breath of fresh air
in linguistic theorising by combining empirically based syntactic
innovations with original discussions of long-standing semantic
puzzles and a revised architecture of the Faculty of Language.
Foundational notions in generative theory are thoroughly revised in
the light of detailed comparative analyses. This remarkable work
represents the culmination of years of research on what meaning is,
how it is structured, and to what extent syntax encodes meaning.
(Diego Gabriel Krivochen, University of Verona)
This book provides an account of the structure of A-bar
constructions, focusing on wh-questions and fragment answers in
Dagbani, a Mabia (Gur) language spoken in Northern Ghana. It
demonstrates that Dagbani wh-phrases occur in two distinct
positions, ex-situ and in-situ, except for subject wh-phrases,
which only occur in the former position. It provides a theoretical
analysis of the distribution of the wh-phrases couched within
minimalism (Chomsky 1995). Finally, the book gives an account of
the structural correlation between wh-questions and their answers
with the focus on the syntactic derivation of fragment answers. The
author contends that the derivation of fragment answer involves two
processes: A-bar movement together with PF-deletion
A Survey of Modern English covers a wide selection of aspects of
the modern English language. Fully revised and updated, the major
focus of the third edition lies in Standard American and British
English individually and in comparison with each other. Over and
beyond that, this volume treats other Englishes around the world,
especially those of the southern hemisphere countries of Australia,
New Zealand, and South Africa as well as numerous varieties spoken
in southern, eastern and western Africa, south and southeast Asia,
and the Pacific. The main areas of investigation and interest
include: pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary; multiple facets of
English dialects and sociolects with an emphasis on gender and
ethnicity; questions of pragmatics as well as a longer look at
English-related pidgin and creole varieties. This authoritative
guide is a comprehensive, scholarly, and systematic review of
modern English. In one volume, the book presents a description of
both the linguistic structure of present-day English and its
geographical, social, gender, and ethnic variations. This is
complemented with an updated general bibliography and with
exercises at the end of each chapter and their suggested solutions
at the end of the volume, all intended to provide students and
other interested readers with helpful resources.
This book defends a version of linguistic idealism, the thesis that
the world is a product of language. In the course of defending this
radical thesis, Gaskin addresses a wide range of topics in
contemporary metaphysics, philosophy of language, philosophical
logic, and syntax theory. Starting from the context and
compositionality principles, and the idea of a systematic theory of
meaning in the Tarski-Davidson tradition, Gaskin argues that the
sentence is the primary unit of linguistic meaning, and that the
main aspects of meaning, sense and reference, are themselves
theoretical posits. Ontology, which is correlative with reference,
emerges as language-driven. This linguistic idealism is combined
with a realism that accepts the objectivity of science, and it is
accordingly distinguished from empirical pragmatism. Gaskin
contends that there is a basic metaphysical level at which
everything is expressible in language; but the vindication of
linguistic idealism is nuanced inasmuch as there is also a derived
level, asymmetrically dependant on the basic level, at which
reality can break free of language and reach into the realms of the
unnameable and indescribable. Language and World will be of
interest to scholars and advanced students working in metaphysics,
philosophy of language, and linguistics.
Working Welsh offers a new approach to building up and
consolidating learners' fluency and confidence, focusing on the
mechanics - the words and phrases that build and drive sentences
and make them fit together. 200 Welsh words and phrases are listed
alphabetically, explained in clear and accessible language, and
given ample exemplification to illustrate their meaning and use.
All instances of mutation are marked with the usual typographic
signs, and cross-references are given throughout to related
entries. Grammatical appendices and an English index round off the
manual. Working Welsh is an innovative resource for post-beginner
students wishing to explore and master the principal
discourse-drivers in modern spoken and standard Welsh.
This innovative grammar text is an ideal resource for writers,
language students, and classroom teachers who need an accessible
refresher in a step-by-step guide to essential grammar. Rather than
becoming mired in overly detailed linguistic definitions, Nancy
Sullivan helps writers and students understand and apply
grammatical concepts and develop the skills they need to enhance
their writing. Along with engaging discussions of both contemporary
and traditional terminology, Sullivan's text provides clear
explanations of the basics of English grammar and a practical,
hands-on approach to mastering the use of language. Complementing
the focus on constructing excellent sentences, every example and
exercise set is contextually grounded in language themes. This
updated edition includes new sections in each chapter on Writing
Matters (addressing key tools and concerns for writers) and
Language Matters (addressing issues of social and regional dialect
variation). This is an ideal textbook for any writing course across
disciplines where grammatical precision is important. Online
resources including additional exercises, links, and an answer key
are available at www.Routledge.com/9780367148683. Instructor
materials accompanying the text provide teachers with activities
designed for face-to-face, hybrid, and online instruction to
enliven these basic grammar lessons as well as writing activities
to integrate these concepts into students' own writing.
A Survey of Modern English covers a wide selection of aspects of
the modern English language. Fully revised and updated, the major
focus of the third edition lies in Standard American and British
English individually and in comparison with each other. Over and
beyond that, this volume treats other Englishes around the world,
especially those of the southern hemisphere countries of Australia,
New Zealand, and South Africa as well as numerous varieties spoken
in southern, eastern and western Africa, south and southeast Asia,
and the Pacific. The main areas of investigation and interest
include: pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary; multiple facets of
English dialects and sociolects with an emphasis on gender and
ethnicity; questions of pragmatics as well as a longer look at
English-related pidgin and creole varieties. This authoritative
guide is a comprehensive, scholarly, and systematic review of
modern English. In one volume, the book presents a description of
both the linguistic structure of present-day English and its
geographical, social, gender, and ethnic variations. This is
complemented with an updated general bibliography and with
exercises at the end of each chapter and their suggested solutions
at the end of the volume, all intended to provide students and
other interested readers with helpful resources.
The Routledge Handbook of Arabic Linguistics introduces readers to
the major facets of research on Arabic and of the linguistic
situation in the Arabic-speaking world. The edited collection
includes chapters from prominent experts on various fields of
Arabic linguistics. The contributors provide overviews of the state
of the art in their field and specifically focus on ideas and
issues. Not simply an overview of the field, this handbook explores
subjects in great depth and from multiple perspectives. In addition
to the traditional areas of Arabic linguistics, the handbook covers
computational approaches to Arabic, Arabic in the diaspora,
neurolinguistic approaches to Arabic, and Arabic as a global
language. The Routledge Handbook of Arabic Linguistics is a
much-needed resource for researchers on Arabic and comparative
linguistics, syntax, morphology, computational linguistics,
psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics, and
also for undergraduate and graduate students studying Arabic or
linguistics.
This book brings together for the first time a series of previously
published papers featuring Ian Roberts' pioneering work on
diachronic and comparative syntax over the last thirty years in one
comprehensive volume. Divided into two parts, the volume engages in
recent key topics in empirical studies of syntactic theory, with
the eight papers on diachronic syntax addressing major changes in
the history of English as well as broader aspects of syntactic
change, including the introduction to the formal approach to
grammaticalisation, and the eight papers on comparative syntax
exploring head-movement, the nature and distribution of clitics,
and the nature of parametric variation and change. This
comprehensive collection of the author's body of research on
diachronic and comparative syntax is an essential resource for
scholars and researchers in theoretical, comparative, and
historical linguistics.
This book assembles a collection of papers in two different
domains: formal syntax and neurolinguistics. Here Moro provides
evidence that the two fields are becoming more and more
interconnected and that the new fascinating empirical questions and
results in the latter field cannot be obtained without the
theoretical base provided by the former. The book is organized in
two parts: Part 1 focuses on theoretical and empirical issues in a
comparative perspective (including the nature of syntactic
movement, the theory of locality and a far reaching and influential
theory of copular sentences). Part 2 provides the original sources
of some innovative and pioneering experiments based on neuroimaging
techniques (focusing on the biological nature of recursion and the
interpretation of negative sentences). Moro concludes with an
assessment of the impact of these perspectives on the theory of the
evolution of language. The leading and pervasive idea unifying all
the arguments developed here is the role of symmetry (breaking) in
syntax and in the relationship between language and the human
brain.
Spanning more than two decades of thinking about generative
approaches to Universal Grammar, the two interviews with Noam
Chomsky in this book permit a rare and illuminating insight into
his views on numerous issues in linguistics and beyond. The first
discussion dates from the early days of the so-called Government
Binding Theory, the second one took place after a decade of
Minimalism. Thereby the evolution and the dynamics in linguistic
theorizing are dramatically revealed. Scholars of grammar,
cognitive scientists, philosophers will profit by reading this
book, but anyone with an ardent interest in this marvellous,
eminently human achievement of evolution called language will want
to read about it in the words of the undisputed grand master of
linguistic research, Noam Chomsky.
This book provides an up-to-date survey of the role of linguistic
and cultural interaction in the process of language change. It
covers theoretical issues; different forms of language contact in
Medieval and Renaissance Italy; and dialect transition and
diversity in the North and South of Italy.
Innovations and Challenges in Grammar traces the history of common
understandings of what grammar is and where it came from to
demonstrate how 'rules' are anything but fixed and immutable. In
doing so, it deconstructs the notion of 'correctness' to show how
grammar changes over time thereby exposing the social and
historical forces that mould and change usage. The questions that
this book grapples with are: Can we separate grammar from the other
features of the language system and get a handle on it as an
independent entity? Why should there be strikingly different
notions and models of grammar? Are they (in)compatible? Which one
or ones fit(s) best the needs of applied linguists if we assume
that applied linguists address real-world problems through the lens
of language? And which one(s) could make most sense to
non-specialists? If grammar is not a fixed entity but a set of
usage norms in constant flux, how can we persuade other
professionals and the general public that this is a positive
observation rather than a threat to civilised behaviour? This book
draws upon both historical and modern grammars from across the
globe to provide a multi-layered picture of world grammar. It will
be useful to teachers and researchers of English as a first and
second language, though the inclusion of examples from and
occasional references to other languages (French, Spanish, Malay,
Swedish, Russian, Welsh, Burmese, Japanese) is intended to broaden
the appeal to teachers and researchers of other languages. It will
be of use to final-year undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral
students as well as secondary and tertiary level teachers and
researchers in applied linguistics, second language acquisition and
grammar pedagogy.
This study of reduplication in Afrikaans provides a unified and
principled analysis of an unusual and highly complex word formation
process, shedding new light on the scope and content of various
fundamental lexicalist principles of word formation. Surprisingly,
Rudolf Botha concludes that the principles involved in Afrikaans
reduplication are not unique to Afrikaans, as has often been
thought, and are used by many other languages. Moreover, the
interpretation of Afrikaans reduplications depends on principles of
conceptual structure that are restricted neither to Afrikaans nor
to the interpretation of reduplications, thus supporting recent
work on cognition and meaning undertaken by Ray Jackendoff and
other scholars. In analysing the data, Professor Botha has also
provided a concrete illustration of how the Galilean style of
linguistic inquiry can fruitfully be applied in the study of word
formation and meaning. The study thus represents an important
theoretical and methodological advance which will be of as much
interest for its method of inquiry and argumentation as for the
fresh insights it provides for scholars and researchers in the
fields of morphology, word formation and semantics.
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