DOCSLIB.ORG

Prior Linguistic Knowledge Matters : the Use of the Partitive Case In

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

B 111 OULU 2013 B 111 UNIVERSITY OF OULU P.O.B. 7500 FI-90014 UNIVERSITY OF OULU FINLAND ACTA UNIVERSITATIS OULUENSIS ACTA UNIVERSITATIS OULUENSIS ACTA SERIES EDITORS HUMANIORAB Marianne Spoelman ASCIENTIAE RERUM NATURALIUM Marianne Spoelman Senior Assistant Jorma Arhippainen PRIOR LINGUISTIC BHUMANIORA KNOWLEDGE MATTERS University Lecturer Santeri Palviainen CTECHNICA THE USE OF THE PARTITIVE CASE IN FINNISH Docent Hannu Heusala LEARNER LANGUAGE DMEDICA Professor Olli Vuolteenaho ESCIENTIAE RERUM SOCIALIUM University Lecturer Hannu Heikkinen FSCRIPTA ACADEMICA Director Sinikka Eskelinen GOECONOMICA Professor Jari Juga EDITOR IN CHIEF Professor Olli Vuolteenaho PUBLICATIONS EDITOR Publications Editor Kirsti Nurkkala UNIVERSITY OF OULU GRADUATE SCHOOL; UNIVERSITY OF OULU, FACULTY OF HUMANITIES, FINNISH LANGUAGE ISBN 978-952-62-0113-9 (Paperback) ISBN 978-952-62-0114-6 (PDF) ISSN 0355-3205 (Print) ISSN 1796-2218 (Online) ACTA UNIVERSITATIS OULUENSIS B Humaniora 111 MARIANNE SPOELMAN PRIOR LINGUISTIC KNOWLEDGE MATTERS The use of the partitive case in Finnish learner language Academic dissertation to be presented with the assent of the Doctoral Training Committee of Human Sciences of the University of Oulu for public defence in Keckmaninsali (Auditorium HU106), Linnanmaa, on 24 May 2013, at 12 noon UNIVERSITY OF OULU, OULU 2013 Copyright © 2013 Acta Univ. Oul. B 111, 2013 Supervised by Docent Jarmo H. Jantunen Professor Helena Sulkala Reviewed by Professor Tuomas Huumo Associate Professor Scott Jarvis Opponent Associate Professor Scott Jarvis ISBN 978-952-62-0113-9 (Paperback) ISBN 978-952-62-0114-6 (PDF) ISSN 0355-3205 (Printed) ISSN 1796-2218 (Online) Cover Design Raimo Ahonen JUVENES PRINT TAMPERE 2013 Spoelman, Marianne, Prior linguistic knowledge matters: The use of the partitive case in Finnish learner language University of Oulu Graduate School; University of Oulu, Faculty of Humanities, Finnish Language, P.O. Box 1000, FI-90014 University of Oulu, Finland Acta Univ. Oul. B 111, 2013 Oulu, Finland Abstract The partitive (one of the fifteen Finnish cases and a typical case characterizing Finnic languages) developed from the Uralic separative locative into a grammatical case. In modern Finnish, it is one of the object, existential subject and predicative cases, representing that side of the case alternations that expresses unboundedness and negative polarity. Probably because the three case alternations differ in certain respects and clear-cut grammar rules cannot always be formulated, the use of the partitive remains a constant struggle for learners of Finnish. This study investigates the use of partitive objects, subjects and predicatives in Estonian, German and Dutch learners of Finnish as a foreign language. By comparing groups of learners from L1 backgrounds closely related and non-related to the target language (TL), it is aimed to explore the role of presence versus lack of relevant prior linguistic knowledge. The use of the partitive is namely largely similar in the closely related Estonian language. However, the purpose of the study is not only to gain valuable insights into the phenomena of L1 influence and intralingual influence but also to identify (common and L1 background-specific) stumbling blocks in the use of the partitive case, and to draw pedagogical implications based upon the findings. Research materials were selected from the Estonian, German and Dutch subcorpora of the International Corpus of Learner Finnish (ICLFI), aligned to the CEFR proficiency levels, and analyzed based on combined error-frequency analyses, involving partitive over- and underuse errors and partitive-requiring contexts (PRCs). As will be shown, the study reveals conspicuous differences between the learner corpora. In general, the Estonian learner corpus not only shows significantly fewer partitive errors than the other corpora, but also some specific error patterns attributable to subtle L1-L2 differences and, unlike the remaining corpora, a lack of overgeneralization of L2 grammar rules. The findings do not only indicate that -and how- prior linguistic knowledge matters, but also suggest that stumbling blocks could potentially be turned into stepping stones by emphasizing L1-L2 differences in the case of Estonian learners of Finnish, and by highlighting similarities and differences from within the TL in cases of learners from non-related L1 backgrounds. Keywords: partitive case - learner corpus research - L1 influence and intralingual influence Spoelman, Marianne, Partitiivin käyttö oppijansuomessa Oulun yliopiston tutkijakoulu; Oulun yliopisto, Humanistinen tiedekunta, Suomen kieli, PL 1000, 90014 Oulun yliopisto Acta Univ. Oul. B 111, 2013 Oulu Tiivistelmä Itämerensuomalaisille kielille tyypillinen partitiivi on aikaa myöten kehittynyt separatiivi-nimi- sestä uralilaisen kantakielen paikallissijasta syntaktisia funktioita ilmaisevaksi sijamuodoksi. Nykysuomessa partitiivi on yksi objektin, eksistentiaali-subjektin ja predikaativin sijoista, jolla ilmaistaan rajaamattomuutta ja kielteisyyttä. Partitiivin käyttö aiheuttaa suomen kielen oppijoil- le usein ongelmia, luultavasti koska objektin, subjektin ja predikatiivin sijanvalinnassa on vaih- telua ja ratkaisevien kieliopillisten sääntöjen muodostus on toisinaan erittäin vaikeaa. Tässä tut- kimuksessa tarkastelen virolaisten, saksalaisten ja hollantilaisten suomea vieraana kielenä opis- kelevien partitiiviobjektin, -subjektin ja -predikatiivin käyttöä lähde- ja kohdekielen samanlai- suuden ja erilaisuuden näkökulmasta. Lähde- ja kohdekielen roolin selvittämisen lisäksi tutki- muksen tavoitteina on identifioida partitiivin (yleiset ja lähdekielikohtaiset) ongelmakohdat ja yhdistää tutkimustulokset vieraan kielen oppimiseen ja -opetukseen. Tutkimusaineistoina on virolaisten, saksalaisten ja hollantilaisten opiskelijoiden kirjoittamia tekstejä, jotka on poimittu Kansainvälisestä oppijansuomen korpuksesta (ICLFI) ja arvioitu Eurooppalaisen viitekehyksen (CEFR) kielitaitotasojen mukaan. Virhe- ja frekvenssianalyyseis- sä aineistoista analysoidaan muun muassa partitiivin yli- ja alikäyttövirheet ja partitiivin vaati- mat kontekstit. Tutkimuksesta käy ilmi, että virolaisten oppijoiden ja ei-sukukieliä puhuvien oppijoiden tuo- toksissa on silmiinpistäviä eroja. Virolaisten aineistosta löytyy yleisesti tilastollisesti vähemmän partitiivivirheitä kuin kahdesta muusta osakorpuksesta ja lisäksi myös virhekategorioita ja - rakenteita, jotka johtunevat lähdekielen vaikutuksesta. Tämän lisäksi saksalaisten ja hollantilais- ten tuotoksissa on selvästi enemmän kohdekielen sääntöjen yliyleistämistä kuin virolaisten osa- korpuksessa. Tutkimustulokset siis osoittavat, että lähdekieli vaikuttaa kohdekielen oppimiseen, ja sen, miten se vaikuttaa. Lisäksi tutkimustulosten avulla on mahdollista kehittää sellaisia ope- tuksen apuvälineitä, joilla voidaan selventää virolaisille suomenoppijoille L1:n ja L2:n partitii- vin käytön eroja ja yhtäläisyyksiä ja tehostaa oppimista; ei-sukukielisten oppijoiden opetuksessa ovat puolestaan kohdekielen ja sijanvaihteluiden sisäiset tunnusmerkit tärkeitä. Asiasanat: partitiivi - oppijankielen tutkimus - lähde- ja kohdekielen vaikutus Acknowledgements It was shortly after Midsummer, five years ago, that I left the countryside of the north of the Netherlands and headed twelve degrees more north to pursue a Ph.D in Finnish as a foreign language. My time in Finland has been an unforgettable journey, during which I have learned and gained more than I could have ever imagined. One of the joys of completing my dissertation is to look back on my journey of the past few years and take a moment to thank everyone who has helped and supported me along the way. Of all the people I wish to acknowledge, I first would like to thank my supervisor, Jarmo Harri Jantunen, for the guidance and thoughtful support he provided during my research and for allowing me the freedom to work as I chose. My deepest thanks also go to my second supervisor, Helena Sulkala, for her valuable comments, encouragement and warm support. Special thanks also to Lili Ahonen, who taught me the ropes of the intriguing Finnish language, inspired and encouraged me and has always shown interest towards my work. I am grateful to these three people in particular for believing in me and my research. My special thanks are extended to my pre-examiners, Tuomas Huumo and Scott Jarvis, for their very valuable and detailed comments on my work. Additionally, I would like to express my great appreciation to Scott Jarvis for agreeing to act as the opponent at my dissertation defence and for generously indicating nearly all orthographic errors and grammatical mistakes in my manuscript. By supplementing my lack of Finnish L1 competence whenever needed, Lili Ahonen and Inkeri Tuikka have been a great help to me during the error tagging procedure, while Helena Sulkala and Heli Laanekask thought over some of my Estonian translations, and Tuomas Huumo was so kind to indicate the last instances of Finnish influence in my Estonian. My sincere thanks also to Santeri Palviainen for his comments and for explaining how to solve my layout problem, and to my father, Henk Spoelman, for greatly assisting me (with his absolute precision) in a general and final checking session. All of this has greatly contributed to improve the quality of my work and to get it finished. The remaining errors and unclarities are naturally mine. 7 Furthermore, it has been a privilege to spend several years at the department of Finnish language of the University
Recommended publications
  • Estonian Transitive Verb Classes, Object Case, and Progressive1 Anne Tamm Research Institute for Linguistics, Budapest

    Estonian Transitive Verb Classes, Object Case, and Progressive1 Anne Tamm Research Institute for Linguistics, Budapest

    Estonian transitive verb classes, object case, and progressive1 Anne Tamm Research Institute for Linguistics, Budapest 1. Introduction The aim of this article is to show the relation between aspect and object case in Estonian and to establish a verb classification that is predictive of object case behavior. Estonian sources disagree on the nature of the grounds for an aspectual verb classification and, therefore, on the exact verbal classes. However, the morphological genitive and nominative case marking as opposed to the morphological partitive case marking of Estonian objects is uniformly seen as an important indicator for an aspectual verb class membership. In addition, object case alternation reflects the aspectual oppositions of perfectivity and imperfectivity that cannot be accounted for by verbal lexical aspect only. This article spells out these aspectual phenomena, relating them to a verb classification. The verb classes are distinguished from each other according to the nature of the situations or events they typically describe. The verb classification is established on the basis of tests that involve only the partitive object case. These tests use the phenomena related to progressive in Estonian. 2. A note on terminology Several accounts of aspectuality view a sentence’s aspectual properties as being determined by more components in a sentence than just the verb alone. More specifically, two temporal factors of situations or aspectuality are distinguished: on the one hand, boundedness, viewpoint, or perfectivity and, on the other hand, situation, event structure or telicity (Smith 1990, Verkuyl 1989, Depraetere 1995). Authors such as Verkuyl (1989) distinguish syntactically two distinct levels of aspectuality. The VP aspectual level, that is, the aspectual phenomena at the level of the verb and its complements, is referred to as telicity, VP- terminativity, or event structure.
  • Finnish Partitive Case As a Determiner Suffix

    Finnish Partitive Case As a Determiner Suffix

    Finnish partitive case as a determiner suffix Problem: Finnish partitive case shows up on subject and object nouns, alternating with nominative and accusative respectively, where the interpretation involves indefiniteness or negation (Karlsson 1999). On these grounds some researchers have proposed that partitive is a structural case in Finnish (Vainikka 1993, Kiparsky 2001). A problematic consequence of this is that Finnish is assumed to have a structural case not found in other languages, losing the universal inventory of structural cases. I will propose an alternative, namely that partitive be analysed instead as a member of the Finnish determiner class. Data: There are three contexts in which the Finnish subject is in the partitive (alternating with the nominative in complementary contexts): (i) indefinite divisible non-count nouns (1), (ii) indefinite plural count nouns (2), (iii) where the existence of the argument is completely negated (3). The data are drawn from Karlsson (1999:82-5). (1) Divisible non-count nouns a. Partitive mass noun = indef b. c.f. Nominative mass noun = def Purki-ssa on leipä-ä. Leipä on purki-ssa. tin-INESS is bread-PART Bread is tin-INESS ‘There is some bread in the tin.’ ‘The bread is in the tin.’ (2) Plural count nouns a. Partitive count noun = indef b. c.f. Nominative count noun = def Kadu-lla on auto-j-a. Auto-t ovat kadulla. Street-ADESS is.3SG car-PL-PART Car-PL are.3PL street-ADESS ‘There are cars in the street.’ ‘The cars are in the street.’ (3) Negation a. Partitive, negation of existence b. c.f.
  • The Finnish Noun Phrase

    The Finnish Noun Phrase

    Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere Corso di Laurea Specialistica in Scienze del Linguaggio The Finnish Noun Phrase Relatore: Prof.ssa Giuliana Giusti Correlatore: Prof. Guglielmo Cinque Laureanda: Lena Dal Pozzo Matricola: 803546 ANNO ACCADEMICO: 2006/2007 A mia madre Table of contents Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………….…….…… III Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………........ V Abbreviations ……………………………………………………………………………VII 1. Word order in Finnish …………………………………………………………………1 1.1 The order of constituents in the clause …………………………………………...2 1.2 Word order and interpretation .......……………………………………………… 8 1.3 The order of constituents in the Nominal Expression ………………………… 11 1.3.1. Determiners and Possessors …………………………………………………12 1.3.2. Adjectives and other modifiers …………………………………………..… 17 1.3.2.1 Adjectival hierarchy…………………………………………………………23 1.3.2.2 Predicative structures and complements …………………………………26 1.3.3 Relative clauses …………………………………………………………….... 28 1.4 Conclusions ............……………………………………………………………. 30 2. Thematic relations in nominal expressions ……………………………………….. 32 2.1 Observations on Argument Structure ………………………………….……. 32 2.1.1 Result and Event nouns…………………………………………………… 36 2.2 Transitive nouns ………………………………………………………………... 38 2.2.1 Compound nouns ……………….……………………………………... 40 2.2.2 Intransitive nouns derived from transitive verbs …………………… 41 2.3 Passive nouns …………………………………………………………………… 42 2.4 Psychological predicates ……………………………………………………….. 46 2.4.1 Psych verbs ……………………………………………………………….
  • Spatial Semantics, Case and Relator Nouns in Evenki

    Spatial Semantics, Case and Relator Nouns in Evenki

    Spatial semantics, case and relator nouns in Evenki Lenore A. Grenoble University of Chicago Evenki, a Northwest Tungusic language, exhibits an extensive system of nominal cases, deictic terms, and relator nouns, used to signal complex spatial relations. The paper describes the use and distribution of the spatial cases which signal stative and dynamic relations, with special attention to their semantics within a framework using fundamental Gestalt concepts such as Figure and Ground, and how they are used in combination with deictics and nouns to signal specific spatial semantics. Possible paths of grammaticalization including case stacking, or Suffixaufnahme, are dis- cussed. Keywords: spatial cases, case morphology, relator noun, deixis, Suf- fixaufnahme, grammaticalization 1. Introduction Case morphology and relator nouns are extensively used in the marking of spa- tial relations in Evenki, a Tungusic language spoken in Siberia by an estimated 4802 people (All-Russian Census 2010). A close analysis of the use of spatial cases in Evenki provides strong evidence for the development of complex case morphemes from adpositions. Descriptions of Evenki generally claim the exist- ence of 11–15 cases, depending on the dialect. The standard language is based on the Poligus dialect of the Podkamennaya Tunguska subgroup, from the Southern dialect group, now moribund. Because it forms the basis of the stand- ard (or literary) language and as such has been relatively well-studied and is somewhat codified, it usually serves as the point of departure in linguistic de- scriptions of Evenki. However, the written language is to a large degree an artifi- cial construct which has never achieved usage in everyday conversation: it does not function as a norm which cuts across dialects.
  • Berkeley Linguistics Society

    Berkeley Linguistics Society

    PROCEEDINGS OF THE FORTY-FIRST ANNUAL MEETING OF THE BERKELEY LINGUISTICS SOCIETY February 7-8, 2015 General Session Special Session Fieldwork Methodology Editors Anna E. Jurgensen Hannah Sande Spencer Lamoureux Kenny Baclawski Alison Zerbe Berkeley Linguistics Society Berkeley, CA, USA Berkeley Linguistics Society University of California, Berkeley Department of Linguistics 1203 Dwinelle Hall Berkeley, CA 94720-2650 USA All papers copyright c 2015 by the Berkeley Linguistics Society, Inc. All rights reserved. ISSN: 0363-2946 LCCN: 76-640143 Contents Acknowledgments . v Foreword . vii The No Blur Principle Effects as an Emergent Property of Language Systems Farrell Ackerman, Robert Malouf . 1 Intensification and sociolinguistic variation: a corpus study Andrea Beltrama . 15 Tagalog Sluicing Revisited Lena Borise . 31 Phonological Opacity in Pendau: a Local Constraint Conjunction Analysis Yan Chen . 49 Proximal Demonstratives in Predicate NPs Ryan B . Doran, Gregory Ward . 61 Syntax of generic null objects revisited Vera Dvořák . 71 Non-canonical Noun Incorporation in Bzhedug Adyghe Ksenia Ershova . 99 Perceptual distribution of merging phonemes Valerie Freeman . 121 Second Position and “Floating” Clitics in Wakhi Zuzanna Fuchs . 133 Some causative alternations in K’iche’, and a unified syntactic derivation John Gluckman . 155 The ‘Whole’ Story of Partitive Quantification Kristen A . Greer . 175 A Field Method to Describe Spontaneous Motion Events in Japanese Miyuki Ishibashi . 197 i On the Derivation of Relative Clauses in Teotitlán del Valle Zapotec Nick Kalivoda, Erik Zyman . 219 Gradability and Mimetic Verbs in Japanese: A Frame-Semantic Account Naoki Kiyama, Kimi Akita . 245 Exhaustivity, Predication and the Semantics of Movement Peter Klecha, Martina Martinović . 267 Reevaluating the Diphthong Mergers in Japono-Ryukyuan Tyler Lau .
  • The Biabsolutive Construction in Lak and Tsez

    The Biabsolutive Construction in Lak and Tsez

    Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect Lingua 150 (2014) 137--170 www.elsevier.com/locate/lingua The biabsolutive construction in Lak and Tsez Annie Gagliardi a, Michael Goncalves a, Maria Polinsky a,*, Nina Radkevich b a Harvard University, USA b University of York, United Kingdom Received 12 November 2013; received in revised form 4 July 2014; accepted 8 July 2014 Available online Abstract In ergative constructions, the agent of a transitive verb is in the ergative case and the theme is in the absolutive case. By contrast, in biabsolutive constructions, both the agent and theme of a transitive verb appear in the absolutive case. This paper presents and analyzes the biabsolutive construction in two Nakh-Dagestanian languages, Lak and Tsez. Despite many surface similarities, the biabsolutive constructions in Lak and Tsez call for different syntactic analyses. We argue that the biabsolutive construction in Lak is an instance of restructuring in the presence of an aspectual head bearing a progressive (imperfective) feature. Tsez biabsolutive constructions, on the other hand, are biclausal; we argue that the theme and the lexical verb are contained in a PP complement selected by a light verb. Related languages may be classified as ‘‘Lak-type’’ or ‘‘Tsez-type’’ based on the behavior of their biabsolutives. The existence of two underlying structures for one surface pattern in Nakh-Dagestanian poses a learnability problem for a child acquiring a language with biabsolutive constructions. We outline a set of strategies used by a learner who must compare the available input data with a set of structural hypotheses. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.
  • Elevation As a Category of Grammar: Sanzhi Dargwa and Beyond Received May 11, 2018; Revised August 20, 2018

    Elevation As a Category of Grammar: Sanzhi Dargwa and Beyond Received May 11, 2018; Revised August 20, 2018

    Linguistic Typology 2019; 23(1): 59–106 Diana Forker Elevation as a category of grammar: Sanzhi Dargwa and beyond https://doi.org/10.1515/lingty-2019-0001 Received May 11, 2018; revised August 20, 2018 Abstract: Nakh-Daghestanian languages have encountered growing interest from typologists and linguists from other subdiscplines, and more and more languages from the Nakh-Daghestanian language family are being studied. This paper provides a grammatical overview of the hitherto undescribed Sanzhi Dargwa language, followed by a detailed analysis of the grammaticalized expression of spatial elevation in Sanzhi. Spatial elevation, a topic that has not received substantial attention in Caucasian linguistics, manifests itself across different parts of speech in Sanzhi Dargwa and related languages. In Sanzhi, elevation is a deictic category in partial opposition with participant- oriented deixis/horizontally-oriented directional deixis. This paper treats the spatial uses of demonstratives, spatial preverbs and spatial cases that express elevation as well as the semantic extension of this spatial category into other, non-spatial domains. It further compares the Sanzhi data to other Caucasian and non-Caucasian languages and makes suggestions for investigating elevation as a subcategory within a broader category of topographical deixis. Keywords: Sanzhi Dargwa, Nakh-Daghestanian languages, elevation, deixis, demonstratives, spatial cases, spatial preverbs 1 Introduction Interest in Nakh-Daghestanian languages in typology and in other linguistic subdisciplines has grown rapidly in recent years, with an active community of linguists from Russia and other countries. The goal of the present paper is to pour more oil into this fire and perhaps to entice new generations of scholars to join the throng.
  • Estonian Transitive Verbs and Object Case

    Estonian Transitive Verbs and Object Case

    ESTONIAN TRANSITIVE VERBS AND OBJECT CASE Anne Tamm University of Florence Proceedings of the LFG06 Conference Universität Konstanz Miriam Butt and Tracy Holloway King (Editors) 2006 CSLI Publications http://csli-publications.stanford.edu/ Abstract This article discusses the nature of Estonian aspect and case, proposing an analysis of Estonian verbal aspect, aspectual case, and clausal aspect. The focus is on the interaction of transitive telic verbs ( write, win ) and aspectual case at the level of the functional structure. The main discussion concerns the relationships between aspect and the object case alternation. The data set comprises Estonian transitive verbs with variable and invariant aspect and shows that clausal aspect ultimately depends on the object case. The objects of Estonian transitive verbs in active affirmative indicative clauses are marked with the partitive or the total case; the latter is also known as the accusative and the morphological genitive or nominative. The article presents a unification-based approach in LFG: the aspectual features of verbs and case are unified in the functional structure. The lexical entries for transitive verbs are provided with valued or unvalued aspectual features in the lexicon. If the verb fully determines sentential aspect, then the aspectual feature is valued in the functional specifications of the lexical entry of the verb; this is realized in the form of defining equations. If the aspect of the verb is variable, the entry’s functional specifications have the form of existential constraints. As sentential aspect is fully determined by the total case, the functional specifications of the lexical entry of the total case are in the form of defining equations.
  • On Uses of the Finnish Partitive Subject in Transitive Clauses Tuomas Huumo University of Turku, University of Tartu

    On Uses of the Finnish Partitive Subject in Transitive Clauses Tuomas Huumo University of Turku, University of Tartu

    Chapter 15 The partitive A: On uses of the Finnish partitive subject in transitive clauses Tuomas Huumo University of Turku, University of Tartu Finnish existential clauses are known for the case marking of their S arguments, which alternates between the nominative and the partitive. Existential S arguments introduce a discourse-new referent, and, if headed by a mass noun or a plural form, are marked with the partitive case that indicates non-exhaustive quantification (as in ‘There is some coffee inthe cup’). In the literature it has often been observed that the partitive is occasionally used even in transitive clauses to mark the A argument. In this work I analyze a hand-picked set of examples to explore this partitive A. I argue that the partitive A phrase often has an animate referent; that it is most felicitous in low-transitivity expressions where the O argument is likewise in the partitive (to indicate non-culminating aspect); that a partitive A phrase typically follows the verb, is in the plural and is typically modified by a quantifier (‘many’, ‘a lot of’). I then argue that the pervasiveness of quantifying expressions in partitive A phrases reflects a structural analogy with (pseudo)partitive constructions where a nominative head is followed by a partitive modifier (e.g. ‘a group of students’). Such analogies may be relevant in permitting the A function to be fulfilled by many kinds of quantifier + partitiveNPs. 1 Introduction The Finnish argument marking system is known for its extensive case alternation that concerns the marking of S (single arguments of intransitive predications) and O (object) arguments, as well as predicate adjectives.
  • Grammar in Metaphor: a Construction Grammar Account of Metaphoric Language

    Grammar in Metaphor: a Construction Grammar Account of Metaphoric Language

    UC Berkeley Dissertations, Department of Linguistics Title Grammar in Metaphor: A Construction Grammar Account of Metaphoric Language Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9d9222f9 Author Sullivan, Karen Publication Date 2007 eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California Grammar in Metaphor: A Construction Grammar Account of Metaphoric Language by Karen Sorensen Sullivan B.A. (University of Oregon) 2001 M.A. (University of California, Berkeley) 2004 A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Eve Sweetser, Chair Professor Gary Holland Professor George Lakoff Professor John Lindow Professor Richard Rhodes Fall 2007 Grammar in Metaphor: A Construction Grammar Account of Metaphoric Language © 2007 by Karen Sorensen Sullivan Abstract Grammar in Metaphor: A Construction Grammar Account of Metaphoric Language by Karen Sorensen Sullivan Doctor of Philosophy in Linguistics University of California, Berkeley Professor Eve Sweetser, Chair Over the past few decades, the conceptual metaphor revolution inspired by Lakoff and Johnson (1980) has offered considerable insight into the conceptual structure of metaphor. However, interest in the conceptual characteristics of metaphor has sometimes overshadowed the question of how metaphor surfaces in language. This dissertation tackles the issue of metaphoric language by identifying how specific linguistic resources – from grammatical constructions to poetic devices – are employed to convey the conceptual structure of metaphor. The dissertation focuses on the role of grammatical constructions in metaphoric language. In metaphoric phrases that can be understood out of context, such as bright idea, the dissertation argues that words in particular constructional slots indicate the source domain of a conceptual metaphor (i.e.
  • Language Typology and Universals

    Language Typology and Universals

    STUF 2016; 69(1): 131–169 Ilja A. Seržant* External possession and constructions that may have it DOI 10.1515/stuf-2016-0006 Abstract: There seems to be no construction that would code specifically the possession relation of external possessors. Instead, various host constructions such as the free-affectee construction (a subtype of which is the free-dative con- struction), monotransitive or applicative construction can – to a different degree – accommodate participants that are bound by a possession relation. The binding procedure identifying the possessor operates at the pragmatic-semantic interface and takes into account the semantic roles of the event participants, their discourse saliency and lexical properties (such as animacy), world knowledge, properties of the possessum (such as the degree of (in)alienability), etc. The external-possession relation and the meaning of the hosting construction are orthogonal to each other, but there is a strong interplay between them. Positing a dedicated external-possessor construction faces the following problems: the same binding procedure is found in other constructions as well (such as the monotransitive or ditransitive construc- tions); at the same time, the very possession relation is only inconsistently found in constructions referred to as external-possessor constructions, and, what is more, the possession relation may sometimes be canceled (even if it is inalienable). To account for this terminologically, I introduce the term non-thematic affectee construction,a subtype of which is the free (non-thematic) affectee construction particularly spread in European languages. The latter is found with different types of coding (accusative, dative, different prepositional phrases) which have different diachronic sources.
  • 1 Tsezian Languages Bernard Comrie, Maria Polinsky, and Ramazan

    1 Tsezian Languages Bernard Comrie, Maria Polinsky, and Ramazan

    Tsezian Languages Bernard Comrie, Maria Polinsky, and Ramazan Rajabov Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany University of California, San Diego, USA Makhachkala, Russia 1. Sociolinguistic Situation1 The Tsezian (Tsezic, Didoic) languages form part of the Daghestanian branch of the Nakh-Daghestanian (East Caucasian) language family. They form one branch of an Avar-Andi-Tsez grouping within the family, the other branch of this grouping being Avar-Andi. Five Tsezian languages are conventionally recognized: Khwarshi (Avar x∑arßi, Khwarshi a¥’ilqo), Tsez (Avar, Tsez cez, also known by the Georgian name Dido), Hinuq (Avar, Hinuq hinuq), Bezhta (Avar beΩt’a, Bezhta beΩ¥’a. also known by the Georgian name Kapuch(i)), and Hunzib (Avar, Hunzib hunzib), although the Inkhokwari (Avar inxoq’∑ari, Khwarshi iqqo) dialect of Khwarshi and the Sagada (Avar sahada, Tsez so¥’o) dialect of Tsez are highly divergent. Tsez, Hinuq, Bezhta, and Hunzib are spoken primarily in the Tsunta district of western Daghestan, while Khwarshi is spoken primarily to the north in the adjacent Tsumada district, separated from the other Tsezian languages by high mountains. (See map 1.) In addition, speakers of Tsezian languages are also to be found as migrants to lowland Daghestan, occasionally in other parts of Russia and in Georgia. Estimates of the number of speakers are given by van den Berg (1995) as follows, for 1992: Tsez 14,000 (including 6,500 in the lowlands); Bezhta 7,000 (including 2,500 in the lowlands); Hunzib 2,000 (including 1,300 in the lowlands); Hinuq 500; Khwarshi 1,500 (including 600 in the lowlands).