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Swahili Conditional Constructions in Embodied Frames of Reference: Modeling Semantics, Pragmatics, and Context-Sensitivity in Uml Mental Spaces

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Swahili Conditional Constructions in Embodied Frames of Reference: Modeling Semantics, Pragmatics, and Context-Sensitivity in Uml Mental Spaces SWAHILI CONDITIONAL CONSTRUCTIONS IN EMBODIED FRAMES OF REFERENCE: MODELING SEMANTICS, PRAGMATICS, AND CONTEXT-SENSITIVITY IN UML MENTAL SPACES by RODERICK D. FISH Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN LINGUISTICS in the FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY February 2020 © Roderick D. Fish, 2020 . ii Abstract Studies of several languages, including Swahili [swa],1 suggest that realis (actual, realizable) and irrealis (unlikely, counterfactual) meanings vary along a scale (e.g., 0.0–1.0). T-values (True, False) and P-values (probability) account for this pattern. However, logic cannot describe or explain (a) epistemic stances toward beliefs, (b) deontic and dynamic stances toward states-of- being and actions, and (c) context-sensitivity in conditional interpretations. (a)–(b) are deictic properties (positions, distance) of ‘embodied’ Frames of Reference (FoRs)—space-time loci in which agents perceive and from which they contextually act (Rohrer 2007a, b). I argue that the embodied FoR describes and explains (a)–(c) better than T-values and P-values alone. In this cognitive-functional-descriptive study, I represent these embodied FoRs using Unified Modeling LanguageTM (UML) mental spaces in analyzing Swahili conditional constructions to show how necessary, sufficient, and contributing conditions obtain on the embodied FoR networks level. Keywords: Swahili, conditional constructions, UML, mental spaces, Frames of Reference, epistemic stance, deontic stance, dynamic stance, context-sensitivity, non-monotonic logic 1 The ISO 639-3 identifier [swa] stands for Swahili. ISO 639-3 is a standardized code of three-letter identifiers for all known languages (Eberhard, Simons, & Fennig 2019). iii Table of Contents 1. CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 AIMS, OBJECTIVES, AND MOTIVATIONS ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 DEFINITIONS .................................................................................................................................................. 3 1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM ........................................................................................................................... 5 1.4 PROPOSED SOLUTION ...................................................................................................................................... 8 1.5 POTENTIAL OBJECTIONS .................................................................................................................................... 9 1.6 LIMITATION OF SCOPE .................................................................................................................................... 11 1.7 THESIS STRUCTURE ........................................................................................................................................ 12 1.8 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................... 13 2. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................. 14 2.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 14 2.2 TRUTH-CONDITIONAL SEMANTICS AND PRAGMATICS ............................................................................................ 14 2.2.1 Monotonic semantics .......................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.1.1 Overview .................................................................................................................................................... 15 2.2.1.2 A critical review of Lycan (2001) ................................................................................................................ 16 2.2.1.3 Recent monotonic logics ............................................................................................................................ 19 2.2.2 Non-monotonic semantics and pragmatics ........................................................................................ 20 2.2.3 Context-sensitivity in truth-conditional semantics and pragmatics .................................................... 21 2.3 EMBODIED COGNITION AS THE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................... 22 2.3.1 Empirical foundations ......................................................................................................................... 23 2.3.2 Theoretical foundations ...................................................................................................................... 25 2.3.3 Approaches to data analysis ............................................................................................................... 26 2.3.4 Reconceptualizing modal stance in Embodied Cognition .................................................................... 27 2.4 MODELING DEICTIC PROPERTIES IN MENTAL SPACES AS EMBODIED FORS .................................................................. 30 2.5 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................... 33 iv 3. METHODOLOGY, METHODS, AND DATA .................................................................................................... 34 3.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 34 3.2 METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN PRINCIPLES .............................................................................................................. 34 3.3 METHODS ................................................................................................................................................... 37 3.3.1 Designing a mental space ontology in Unified Modeling LanguageTM ................................................ 37 3.3.1.1 UML ‘state machine’ diagram .................................................................................................................... 39 3.3.1.2 Specifications for UML mental spaces ....................................................................................................... 39 3.3.1.3 UML mental spaces and deictic properties ................................................................................................ 41 3.3.1.4 UML pseudostates ..................................................................................................................................... 43 3.3.2 UML Operator arrows ......................................................................................................................... 45 3.3.2.1 Flow ............................................................................................................................................................ 46 3.3.2.2 Inheritance ................................................................................................................................................. 47 3.3.2.3 Composition ............................................................................................................................................... 48 3.3.2.4 Aggregation ................................................................................................................................................ 49 3.3.2.5 Realization .................................................................................................................................................. 50 3.3.2.6 Dependency ............................................................................................................................................... 51 3.4 DATA SELECTION CRITERIA AND SOURCES ........................................................................................................... 52 3.5 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................... 53 4. DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ................................................................................................................. 54 4.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 54 4.2 REALIS CONDITIONAL CONSTRUCTIONS .............................................................................................................. 55 4.2.1 Overview ............................................................................................................................................. 55 4.2.2 ki- conditional prefix ............................................................................................................................ 58 4.2.3 ikiwa conditional conjunction ............................................................................................................. 64 4.2.4 iwapo conditional conjunction ............................................................................................................ 71 4.2.5 endapo conditional conjunction .........................................................................................................
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