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Easy in Any Language: Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics of Activity-Oriented Adjectives in Six Languages

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Easy in Any Language: Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics of Activity-Oriented Adjectives in Six Languages San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research Summer 2020 Easy in Any Language: Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics of Activity-Oriented Adjectives in Six Languages David Koffman San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation Koffman, David, "Easy in Any Language: Syntax, Semantics, and Pragmatics of Activity-Oriented Adjectives in Six Languages" (2020). Master's Theses. 5128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.edgb-m36t https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/5128 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EASY IN ANY LANGUAGE: SYNTAX, SEMANTICS, AND PRAGMATICS OF ACTIVITY-ORIENTED ADJECTIVES IN SIX LANGUAGES A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the Department of Linguistics and Language Development San José State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts by David Koffman May 2020 © 2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED David Koffman The Designated Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled EASY IN ANY LANGUAGE: SYNTAX, SEMANTICS, AND PRAGMATICS OF ACTIVITY-ORIENTED ADJECTIVES IN SIX LANGUAGES by David Koffman APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS AND LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY May 2020 Soteria (Roula) Svorou, Ph.D. Department of Linguistics and Language Development Hahn Koo, Ph.D. Department of Linguistics and Language Development Kevin Moore, Ph.D. Department of Linguistics and Language Development ABSTRACT EASY IN ANY LANGUAGE: SYNTAX, SEMANTICS, AND PRAGMATICS OF ACTIVITY-ORIENTED ADJECTIVES IN SIX LANGUAGES Words that denote the degree of effort required for some activity, called easy adjectives here, have distinctive behavior. This behavior is explored in six languages to determine how the semantics of these words is reflected in the expressions to which they can apply, the constructions in which they appear, and their use in discourse. For four Indo-European languages, English, Spanish, German, and Russian, the analysis is based on random samples from linguistic corpora. For two non-Indo-European languages, Japanese and Swahili, the analysis is based on consultant elicitations and published examples. The analysis confirms that easy adjectives have distinctive behavior compared to prototypical adjectives that describe properties of things. In every language studied, easy adjectives (such as English easy, difficult, and hard) apply exclusively to: finite and non-finite clauses; Noun Phrases (NPs) that denote activities, including de-verbal nominalizations; NPs that act as metonymies for activities due to frame-semantic associations; NPs that appear in constructions along with an explicitly stated activity; and pro-forms with non-specific antecedents. Details are given of the specific constructions employed in these patterns, showing how a variety of syntactic means are employed in different languages to achieve the same functions. Corpus data for the four Indo- European languages are used to show how the behavior of evaluation adjectives (those that describe the value, cost, or benefit of an activity) differs from that of easy adjectives despite some similarities that have been the focus of prior literature. TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... ix 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. What is an “Adjective”? ......................................................................................... 2 1.2. Typical Adjectives ................................................................................................. 3 1.3. Easy Adjectives ...................................................................................................... 4 1.4. Easy Adjectives and “Tough Movement” .............................................................. 7 1.5. Outline of the Thesis .............................................................................................. 9 2. Easy Adjectives and their Use in English ..................................................................... 10 2.1. Expected Behavior of Easy Adjectives ................................................................ 10 2.2. Prototypical Adjectives ........................................................................................ 14 2.3. Targets of Easy Adjectives in English ................................................................. 15 2.4. Clausal Targets of Easy Adjectives ..................................................................... 19 2.5. NP Targets of Easy Adjectives ............................................................................ 20 2.5.1 Activity NPs ................................................................................................. 20 2.5.2 Syntax of Activity NP Targets. .................................................................... 23 2.5.3 Implicit-Frame Targets. ............................................................................... 23 2.5.4 Syntax of Implicit Frames ............................................................................ 27 2.5.5 Explicit-Frame Targets. ............................................................................... 28 2.5.6 Syntax of Explicit-Frame Targets. ............................................................... 32 2.6. Summary of Target Types and Syntax in English ............................................... 33 3. Easy Adjectives in Spanish, German, and Russian ....................................................... 36 3.1. Spanish ................................................................................................................. 36 3.1.1 Data Source. ................................................................................................. 36 3.1.2 Spanish Grammar......................................................................................... 36 3.1.3 Targets of Easy Adjectives in Spanish......................................................... 37 3.1.4 Non-specific Targets in Spanish .................................................................. 38 3.1.5 Clausal Targets in Spanish ........................................................................... 39 3.1.6 Activity NP Targets in Spanish.................................................................... 40 3.1.7 Implicit-Frame Targets in Spanish............................................................... 42 3.1.8 Explicit-Frame Targets in Spanish............................................................... 43 3.2. German ................................................................................................................. 45 3.2.1 Data Source .................................................................................................. 45 3.2.2 German Grammar ........................................................................................ 46 3.2.3 Targets of Easy Adjectives in German ........................................................ 47 3.2.4 Adverbial Use of Easy Adjectives in German ............................................. 49 3.2.5 Non-specific Targets in German .................................................................. 50 3.2.6 Clausal Targets in German........................................................................... 50 v 3.2.7 Activity NP Targets in German ................................................................... 51 3.2.8 Implicit-Frame Targets in German .............................................................. 53 3.1.5 Explicit-Frame Targets in German .............................................................. 54 3.3. Russian ................................................................................................................. 57 3.3.1 Data Source .................................................................................................. 57 3.3.2 Russian Grammar......................................................................................... 58 3.3.3 Easy Adjectives in Russian .......................................................................... 59 3.3.4 Adverbial Use of Easy Adjectives in Russian ............................................. 60 3.3.5 Non-specific Targets in Russian .................................................................. 61 3.3.6 Clausal Targets in Russian ........................................................................... 61 3.3.7 Activity NP Targets in Russian.................................................................... 62 3.3.8 Implicit-Frame Targets in Russian............................................................... 63 3.3.9 Explicit-Frame Targets in Russian............................................................... 65 4. Comparison of Languages ............................................................................................ 68 4.1. Similar Target Types and Confirmation of the Basic Hypothesis ....................... 68 4.1.1 Clausal and Non-specific Targets. ..............................................................
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