Open Access Published by De Gruyter Mouton

Volume 55 Issue 4 -

Issue of Linguistics

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Publicly Available July 16, 2017

Frontmatter

Page range: i-iv

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June 27, 2017

Testing the weak NP analysis of gapless bei sentences in Mandarin Chinese: Implications for the affectedness typology of passives

Jen Ting, Larry Hong-lin Li

Page range: 683-738

Abstract

Motivated by the lack of a consensus on the basic judgment data on gapless (or indirect exclusive) bei passives in Chinese, in this study we used quantitative methods to test the weak NP analysis, proposed by Lin (2009, Licensing “gapless” bei passives. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 18(2). 167–177), which is constructed on informally collected acceptability judgment data. Three experiments were designed to obtain a comprehensive body of judgments that followed the rigorous data collection standards as advocated by Gibson and Fedorenko (2013, The need for quantitative methods in syntax and semantics research. Language and Cognitive Processes 28(1–2). 88–124). The experimental results showed that despite acceptable indirect exclusive bei sentences observed in the literature, the generation of such bei passives is limited. The results also cast doubt on the weak NP hypothesis for gapless bei passives given that the test items all received low acceptability irrespective of the presence of the alleged weak NP licensor. In addition, the experimental results revealed that the retained object in indirect bei passives cannot be licensed by any pragmatically significant relation, such as a direct kinship relation manipulated in the experiments. Taken together, the experimental findings were shown to draw implications for the affectedness typology of passives. We argue that the continuity approach (Shibatani 1985, Passives and related constructions: A prototype analysis. Language 61(4). 821–848; Washio 1993, When causatives mean passive. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 2. 45–90) fares better than the core syntax/semantic approach (Oshima 2006, Adversity and Korean/Japanese passives: Constructional analogy. Journal of East Asian Linguistics 15. 137–166) to capturing the affectedness patterns of passives in Korean, Japanese and Chinese.

July 6, 2017

Suppletion in Zapotec

Natalie Operstein

Page range: 739-782

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of suppletion phenomena in Zapotec. As established by previous cross-linguistic studies of suppletion, most suppletion phenomena in Zapotec occur in the verb system. Nominal suppletion is attested in the possessed forms of selected nouns, such as tortilla, clothing, house , and pueblo , and the numeral system includes suppletive forms of the numeral first . Verbal suppletion types include suppletion based on aspect, mood, person/number of the subject, person of the oblique object, and valence. Each category of nominal and verbal suppletion is represented by a small number of strongly suppletive forms that appear to be etymologically distinct and a larger number of weakly suppletive forms that appear to derive from morphological processes that have ceased to be productive. By documenting suppletion phenomena across the Zapotec family, the present study aims to contribute both to the comparative Zapotec linguistics and to the empirical basis of the typological and theoretical investigation of suppletion.

June 21, 2017

Acquisition of sociolinguistic awareness by German learners of English: A study in perceptions of quotative be like

Julia Davydova, Agnieszka Ewa Tytus, Erik Schleef

Page range: 783-812

Abstract

This article examines the perception of the quotatives be like and say among German learners of English. We compare their evaluations with findings made for native-speakers of English (Buchstaller 2014). We also attempt to pinpoint the factors underlying successful acquisition of social judgements on variation. Data comes from written verbal guise tests in which participants rated stimuli doublets, each containing only one of the quotative variants, on multiple social attribute scales. Broadly, learner evaluations seem to match those of native speakers, in that speakers using be like are considered more fashionable, extroverted, etc. and less educated, pleasant, etc. than speakers using say . Learners have also developed notions about typical users of the two quotatives. We argue that the acquisition of social meanings is mediated by a combination of factors that involve, among others, proficiency and length of time spent abroad and potentially interlanguage processes that result in the creation of new meanings. Moreover, we suggest that the learners re-analyze the native-like meanings attached to linguistic variants in their L2 grammars and create new meanings that draw on resources available in their learner ecology. We call this interlanguage ideological extension . Finally, the paper raises the question of the role played by the local – German – language ideologies in the development of L2 social meanings, and points to the urgent need for further experimental work on interlanguage attitudes.

July 11, 2017

Cooptation as a discourse strategy

Bernd Heine, Gunther Kaltenböck, Tania Kuteva, Haiping Long

Page range: 813-855

Abstract

Some recent lines of research suggest that there are two different domains of discourse processing where one is concerned with the form and meaning of sentences and their parts and the other with the organization of discourse beyond the sentence and the relationship between linguistic material and the extra-linguistic situation of discourse. One important mechanism relating the two domains to one another is provided by cooptation, a cognitive-communicative operation whereby pieces of discourse located in one domain are transferred to another domain. In the present paper, the nature of this operation is looked at in more detail based on the framework of Discourse Grammar (Kaltenböck et al. 2011, On thetical grammar. Studies in Language 35(4). 848–893; Heine et al. 2013, An outline of Discourse Grammar. In Shannon Bischoff & Carmen Jeny (eds.), Reflections on functionalism in linguistics , 175–233. Berlin & Boston: De Gruyter Mouton).

June 27, 2017

Unusual manner constructions in Shua (Khoe-Kwadi, Botswana)

William B. McGregor

Page range: 857-897

Abstract

This paper describes a set of three interrelated constructions in Shua (Khoe-Kwadi, Botswana) that make reference to the manner of performance of an event, or to the condition of an entity or entities either in general or as they are involved in an event or situation. There is a subordinate version of the construction that employs reduplication of the verb and a marked case of the subject to signal subordinate status. The other two types are main clause constructions with the overall appearance of copular clauses (i.e., clauses employing a grammeme as a linking device), with a final ‘be’ copula together with an instance of the subordinate variety of the construction. These two constructions, however, show grammatical features that attest to their distinctiveness, distinguishing them from other types of copular clause. The paper discusses the range of meanings and uses of the three manner constructions, and proposes grammatical analyses.

June 29, 2017

Do degree adverbs guide adjective learning crosslinguistically? A comparison of Dutch and Russian

Elena Tribushinina

Page range: 899-933

Abstract

A fundamental question in language acquisition research is how language-specific input interacts with (pre-linguistic) universal concepts. In order to shed more light on this issue, the present paper reports the results of two experiments, set up as a modified version of Syrett, Kristen & Jeffrey Lidz. 2010. 30-month-olds use the distribution and meaning of adverbs to interpret novel adjectives. Language Learning and Development 6(4). 258–282. Their study has revealed that English-speaking 30-month-olds use degree adverbs for interpreting novel adjectives; the participants were more likely to assign a relative meaning (e.g., tallness) to a novel adjective if the adjective was modified by the booster very and to select an absolute interpretation (e.g., straightness) if the adjective was preceded the maximizer completely . The distribution in Dutch, although typologically similar to English, is obscured by phonological, morphological and semantic factors, which makes the Dutch degree adverbs heel ‘very’ and helemaal ‘completely’ less reliable cues to a language learner. In Russian, the booster očen’ ‘very’ is a reliable cue and the maximizer sovsem ‘completely’ is not, since it can be used with both absolute and negative-pole relative adjectives. The results demonstrate that children’s performance is related to the reliability of cues in their input. Russian-speaking toddlers only relied on the booster očen’ , but not on the maximizer sovsem for assigning novel adjectives to semantic classes, and their Dutch-speaking peers did not show evidence of using degree adverbs for adjective learning at all. No evidence of interfering universal predispositions was found.

July 14, 2017

“Subject-predicate predicate sentences” in modern Mandarin Chinese: A Cardiff Grammar approach

Wei He

Page range: 935-977

Abstract

This study investigates “subject-predicate predicate sentences” (“S-P P sentences”) in modern Mandarin Chinese from a Cardiff Grammar approach with the aim of answering three main questions: (i) What is/are the functional syntactic structure(s) of the sentences to be considered in the study? (ii) What is/are the semantic motivation(s) for the structure(s)? (iii) What is/are the contextual constraints on the structure(s)? The study is guided by three basic principles: (a) language is multifunctional; (b) meaning is primary while form is the realization of meaning; and (c) different strands of meaning are realized by a single syntactic structure. Further, the study utilizes the concepts of Theme and Subject within the Cardiff Grammar in order to analyze and discuss the generally acknowledged seven types of “S-P P sentences”. The results show that only one type is truly S-P P and another type only in one sense, whereas no other types can be categorized as such. All the syntactic structures are conditioned by a different set of distinctive semantic features and contextual factors.

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Starting with volume 60 (2022), Linguistics is transformed into a Diamond Open Access journal thanks to our subscribers participating in the Subscribe to Open (S2O) project. All current content will be published under a Creative Commons License (CC-BY 4.0) at no cost to authors and will be freely available to readers.

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Linguistics publishes articles addressing research questions of current or general relevance that make a significant contribution to our understanding of human language as a system of communication or a cognitive, social and historical phenomenon. This includes aspects of grammatical organization (phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax) as well as questions of meaning and use (semantics, pragmatics, discourse). Studies may deal with linguistic systems as instantiated in speaking, signing, writing and other modes of communication, as well as the language users themselves and their communities (e.g. psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics). The focus may be on one or several languages, the perspective may be synchronic or diachronic, the methodology may be qualitative or quantitative, and the approach may be exploratory or confirmatory. Linguistics publishes up to two special issues a year in these areas, for which it welcomes proposals.

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