2 desembre, 2019
Autors:
Andreas Trotzke & Eva Wittenberg
Títol:
Long-standing issues in adjective order and corpus evidence for a multifactorial approachEditorial: Linguistics 57(2), 273-282
Data de publicació: 2 desembre 2019
Més informació
Text completIn this paper, we introduce the issue of adjective order and show that different approaches vary in their answers to the question of how fine-grained the semantic categories determining adjective order are. We report on a corpus study that we conducted and that illustrates that a clear answer to the question of what general factors exactly determine adjective order is elusive, given the multifactorial nature of the problem. We then present the individual contributions to this special issue, and how they attempt to add new observations from Germanic languages to the general issues revolving around the topic of adjective order.
8 juliol, 2019
Autors:
Wojciech Lewandowski & Şeyda Özçalışkan
Títol:
How language type influences patterns of motion expression in bilingual speakersEditorial: Second Language Research
Data de publicació: 7 d'octubre de 2019
Més informacióExpression of motion shows systematic inter-typological variability between language types, particularly with respect to manner and path components of motion: speakers of satellite-framed languages (S-language; e.g. German) frequently conflate manner and path into a single clause, while verb-framed language speakers (V-language; e.g. Spanish) typically express manner and path in separate clauses, a pattern that also becomes evident in bilinguals’ expression of motion events in each language type. However, less is known about intra-typological variability within each language type, particularly for the expression of motion events among bilingual speakers. In this study, we examine motion descriptions produced by two groups of bilinguals – with Polish as first language – learning a second language that belongs to the same (Polish–German) or a different language type (Polish–Spanish), in comparison to monolinguals in each language (German, Spanish, Polish). Our results, based on written descriptions of animated motion scenes, showed evidence for both inter-typological and intra-typological variation in the expression of motion, with greater attunement to first-language (L1) patterns in learning a language of the same type, and closer alignment to second-language (L2) patterns in learning a language that belongs to a different language type.
1 setembre, 2020
Autors:
Andreas Trotzke & Xavier Villalba
Títol:
Exclamatives as responses at the syntax-pragmatics interfaceEditorial: Journal of Pragmatics, 168 (pp. 139–171)
Data de publicació: Octubre del 2020
Més informació
Text completIn this paper, we explore exclamatives when used as responses in a discourse. Our proposal is based on the following pragmatic observation: so-called that-exclamatives in both Germanic and Romance languages are preferred as responses to polar questions, while wh-exclamatives are restricted to a response use in non-polar contexts. We establish this data pattern empirically by means of two judgment studies, and we then provide a detailed theoretical account for these challenging new data points. In particular, we show that the differences between the response uses of wh-exclamatives and that-exclamatives can be explained on syntactic grounds, analogous to ‘the syntax of answers’ proposed in recent syntactic work by Holmberg (2013, 2015) at the syntax-pragmatics interface. In sum, we provide a pragmatically more refined view on exclamatives and their use in a discourse, suggesting new empirical distinctions at the syntax-pragmatics interface.
15 setembre, 2019
Autors:
Eulàlia Bonet, Lisa Lai-Shen Cheng, Laura J. Downing i Joan Mascaró
Títol:
(In)direct Reference in the Phonology-Syntax Interface under Phase Theory: A Response to "Modular PIC" (D'Alessandro and Scheer 2015)Editorial: Linguistic Inquiry, vol.50(4). MIT Press
Data de publicació: Tardor de 2019
ISBN13: E-ISSN: 1530-9150
Més informacióAlthough in many interface theories, the domains of phrasal phonological processes are defined in terms of prosodic constituents, D’Alessandro and Scheer (2015) argue that their proposed modification of phase theory, Modular PIC, renders prosodic constituents superfluous. Phrasal phonological domains can instead be defined directly in the syntax. In this response, we argue that Modular PIC does not provide a convincing new approach to the syntax-phonology interface, as it is both too powerful and too restrictive. We show that the analysis offered of raddoppiamento fonosintattico in Eastern Abruzzese does not justify the loss of restrictiveness Modular PIC brings to phase theory. We also show that Modular PIC is too restrictive to account for phenomena, from Bantu languages and others, that have received satisfactory analyses within interface theories that appeal to prosodic constituents. We conclude that Modular PIC does not successfully replace prosodic constituent approaches to the interface.
12 setembre, 2019
Autors:
Joan Mascaró
Títol:
On the Lack of Evidence for Nonmyopic HarmonyEditorial: Linguistic Inquiry, vol.50(4). MIT Press
Data de publicació: Tardor de 2019
ISBN13: E-ISSN: 1530-9150
Més informació
One important property that has been attributed to unbounded spreading is myopia (spreading from T to U is independent of whether spreading can proceed into Z, where U is located between T and Z). Walker (Linguistic Inquiry 4.1, 2010) claims that metaphony in two Italo-Romance dialects, Grado and Central Veneto, does not obey myopia. My paper examines the evidence presented, as well as additional evidence. The evidence shows that in early 20th century Grado harmony is myopic, while in Central Veneto and the more recent variety of Grado there is no evidence in favor of non-myopic spreading. I conclude that the generalization that all attested unbounded spreading processes obey myopia still holds, and in particular that Romance metaphony is myopic. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the problem of the quality of linguistic data.
