Dissertations / Theses: 'Lexical functional grammar'

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李逸薇 and Yat-mei Lee. "Complement functions in Cantonese: a lexical-functional grammar approach." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2002. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31226267.

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Lee, Yat-mei. "Complement functions in Cantonese : a lexical-functional grammar approach /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 2002. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?

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Chatsiou, Aikaterini (Kakia). "A Lexical Functional Grammar approach to modern Greek relative clauses." Thesis, University of Essex, 2010. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/20558/.

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This thesis presents an account of the properties of Relative Clauses in Modern Greek, with particular focus on the distribution of the resumption and gap relativization strategies. For the most part relative clauses have been regarded in the literature as a type of Long Distance dependencies with unique properties. This thesis looks at the properties of three types of relative clauses in Modern Greek (restrictive, non-restrictive and free relative clauses). Working in the framework of Lexical Functional Grammar, we present an overview of the most important properties of Modern Greek Relative Clauses focusing on the distribution of the gap and resumption strategies in these constructions. We propose an analysis of Relative Clauses that brings forward the similarities of the three types of Relatives while at the same time manages to account for their dissimilarities, and it is shown that such constructions can be accommodated in LFG quite straightforwardly. The thesis also presents a computational implementation of the analysis using XLE (Xerox Linguistics Environment) a platform for testing and writing LFG grammars.

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Bögel, Tina [Verfasser]. "The Syntax-Prosody Interface in Lexical Functional Grammar / Tina Bögel." Konstanz : Bibliothek der Universität Konstanz, 2017. http://d-nb.info/1129599108/34.

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Carretero, García Paloma. "A lexical functional grammar account of Spanish weak dative pronominals." Thesis, University of Essex, 2017. http://repository.essex.ac.uk/19951/.

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This thesis is concerned with Spanish weak dative pronominals. Similar elements-generally labelled as clitics- in many languages have been focus of much research in Linguistics. The present study, however, abstracts away from classic approaches that had the external form of clitics as their main focus and provides description and analysis of very specific uses of dative pronominal items, namely when they appear on ditransitive constructions, with psychological predicates or in a configuration where they are not lexically specified in the valency of the verb, the so-called non-selected datives. The analysis of the dative in ditransitive constructions is twofold. We claim that the distribution of the dative in such configurations has semantic and syntactic implications. The presence of the dative pronoun is becoming grammaticalised and provides an entailment of affectedness. In instances of clitic doubling where we have both the pronoun and a noun phrase, we are treating the pronoun as the element that the predicate subcategorises for and the noun phrase is linked to it through information structure. This analysis is quite innovative as it ensures both elements are linked but they retain syntactic independence, in contrast with their treatment in previous approaches. With psychological predicates, we are concerned with what the status of the dative marked argument is; as previous approaches have contradictory views of it as subject or object. We analyse this dative with the tools provided by Lexical Mapping Theory and disagree with previous accounts by proposing an analysis of this dative as OBJɵ. With regards to non-selected datives in Spanish, they have not been widely discussed in the literature. We describe the different types and propose a finer grouping based on their ability to be treated as derived arguments. We sketch an analysis that adds a dative argument to the valency of a predicate through a lexical operation.

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Lam, Shi-Ching Olivia. "Object functions and the syntax of double object constructions in lexical functional grammar." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2008. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:f2fce4eb-2f01-4fad-8c65-b95dee2ec4d9.

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It has long been observed that, in a double object constructions (DOC), the two objects exhibit different syntactic behaviour. In Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), these two objects are characterized as two distinct grammatical functions. The object that syntactically patterns with the monotransitive object is the unrestricted object OBJ. The one that does not is the restricted object OBJθ. The goals of this dissertation are to investigate the syntax of DOCs, and to explore the two object functions in LFG. When thinking about DOCs, the verb that almost invariably comes to mind is GIVE. This verb, however, may not be as prototypical as is commonly assumed. In Cantonese, it is the only verb whose objects are in an anomalous order, with the object that bears the theme role preceding the object which expresses the recipient role. Cantonese as a language does not uniformly have the direct (theme) object preceding the indirect (recipient) object. Other than the difference in their linear order, the objects in the GIVE-construction pattern with those in all other DOCs in the language. In some languages, there is a possibility of having more objects than is required by the underived form of a verb. An additional object can be licensed by the affixation of an applicative morpheme to the verb root. The syntax of the objects in an applicative construction is directly related to the type of semantic role that is applied. This has posed challenges for previous accounts of applicative constructions, as a change in the morphological structure of a verb is accompanied by a change in its argument structure. A new proposal is offered to account for this. A study of the syntax of DOCs involves much more than merely acknowledging the presence of two object functions in the construction. The morphology of the verb, the semantic roles that are required by the verb and the linear order of the arguments that express these roles are all relevant. Assuming various parallel but inter-related levels of representation, the theory of LFG has the suitable tools to take all these into consideration. Reference can be made straight-forwardly to the information at the different levels of representation, including the a-structure, the c-structure, the f-structure and the m-structure.

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Abire, Wondwosen Tesfaye. "Aspects of Diraytata Morphology and Syntax : A Lexical-Functional Grammar Approach." Doctoral thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Language and Communication Studies, 2006. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-2144.

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This thesis examines Aspects of Diraytata Morphology and Syntax as it relates to lexical categories, predicate arguments, anaphoric binding relations and patterns of argument structure and mapping relations in light of the theory of Lexical-Functional Grammar. Diraytata is one of leastknown languages in the Konsoid chain in the Oromoid subgroup in the Nuclear Southern Lowland East Cushitic group within the Cushitic family. The Ethiopian Languages Research Center (ELRC), of which the candidate is a member, gives priority and encourages its staff to conduct research on the least studied languages. The present thesis goes in line with the research priority of the Center. The data were obtained from informants from two longer fieldtrips to Dirashe Special District. The methods used for data collection were elicitation and group discussion.

The thesis has two parts and ten chapters. The first chapter gives a general introduction to the people, the language, previous studies on the language, etc. and the second chapter introduces the theoretical framework.

Part I, from chapters 3 to 5, examines the morphology of Diraytata. In chapter 3, the noun morphology has been presented. In Diraytata case and definiteness are inextricably bound up with the focus system and hence inexplicable without a prior exposure to the focus system. The major claim is that the nominative case is inappropriate to designate a subject case in Diraytata and be replaced by non-focalized subject case (NFS).

In chapter 4, the adjectives have been considered. Attributive adjectives inflect for gender and number. The predicative adjectives occur in clause final position. It has been argued that the attributive and predicative adjectives in Diraytata are derived from a common categorially unspecified bound stem.

In chapter 5, the verb morphology has been discussed. In the first section, we have dealt with inflections. We said that verbs inflect for various grammatical categories such as for agreement, aspect and mood. We posited a phonetically null bound affix "ø" in order to fill the gap in a predicate paradigm. The newly introduced null bound affix "ø" has a third person masculine singular interpretation. In the second section, we have seen the verb derivations: passives, middles and causatives.

Part II, from chapters 6 to 9, discusses the syntax. In chapter 6, the phrasal arguments of Diraytata have been examined. We have classified the predicates into three types on the basis of the types of arguments they select at f-structure.

In chapter 7, the clausal complements have been considered. The clausal complements are classified into two: controlled and non-controlled. The latter type does not allow an external controller to control clause internal arguments whereas the former type allows an external controller to control clause internal argument.

In chapter 8, the anaphoric binding relation has been discussed. We have divided the anaphors of Diraytata into two: nuclear and non-nuclear anaphors. The nuclear anaphors subsume reflexives and reciprocals. There are two types of reflexive morphemes: ?iss and mašš-. Reciprocity is indicated by the morpheme ?orr. The reflexive and the reciprocal function as an object argument only. On the other hand, the non-nuclear anaphors subsume pronouns designated by PRO.

In chapter 9, the argument structure and the Lexical Mapping Theory have been discussed. We have considered the application of LMT to various predicates in Diraytata such as intransitive, transitive, passive, raising and causative predicates. The major claim is that the standard LMT is inadequate to account for the causatives of ditransitive predicates in Diraytata, as such predicates may have more than one OBJ functions that goes contrary to the Function-Argument Bi-uniqueness principle. We have seen that the version of LMT called FMT of Alsina (1996) is appropriate to handle the causatives of ditransitive predicates as the FMT allows more than one OBJ functions.

We have proposed the Recipient Suppression operation to the Morpholexical Operations of Bresnan and Kanerva (1989) and Bresnan and Moshi (1990) in order to account for the active intransitive counterparts of the ditransitive predicates. The newly introduced suppression operation takes care of recipient or benefactive deletion in a ditransitive predicate.

In conclusion, this study proves that the basic assumptions, the principles and the formal architectures of LFG are generally correct in handling the empirical facts of Diraytata. However, we need to add some operations (e.g. Recipient Suppression) to explain syntactic phenomena more adequately.

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Mycock, Louise J. "Typology of constituent questions : : Lexical-functional grammar analysis of 'wh'-questions." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2006. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.488451.

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Pan, Yanhong. "On the verb phrase in Qinzhou Zhuang an LFG analysis of serial verb constructions /." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2010. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B43703975.

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Way, Andrew. "LFG-DOT : a hybrid architecture for robust MT." Thesis, University of Essex, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.340428.

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Hardymon, Nathan. "THE SHAWNEE ALIGNMENT SYSTEM: APPLYING PARADIGM FUNCTION MORPHOLOGY TO LEXICAL-FUNCTIONAL GRAMMAR'S M-STRUCTURE." UKnowledge, 2015. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/ltt_etds/8.

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Shawnee is a language whose alignment system is of the type first proposed by Nichols (1992) and Siewierska (1998): hierarchical alignment. This alignment system was proposed to account for languages where distinctions between agent (A) and object (O) are not formally manifested. Such is the case in Shawnee; there are person-marking inflections on the verb for both A and O, but there is not set order. Instead, Shawnee makes reference to an animacy hierarchy and is an inverse system. This thesis explores how hierarchical alignment is accounted for by Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), and also applies Paradigm Function Morphology to LFG’s m(orphological)-structure as most of the alignment system in Shawnee is realized in the inflectional morphology.

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Fung, Suet-man. "Topic and focus in Cantonese an OT-LFG account /." Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2007. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B38725113.

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Pan, Yanhong, and 潘艳红. "On the verb phrase in Qinzhou Zhuang: an LFG analysis of serial verb constructions." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2010. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B43703975.

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Sakurai, Kazuhiro, and 櫻井和裕. "An OT-LFG analysis of language change." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2011. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B46732482.

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Morapedi, Setumile. "The syntax of locative inversion and related constructions in Setswana : an approach to information structure in lexical functional grammar." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2007. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.441626.

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Snijders, Liselotte. "The nature of configurationality in LFG." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:1310f160-283e-411e-a8d7-20ab4b3380c2.

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The central issue in this thesis is configurationality, which has broadly been defined in terms of a division of the world's languages based on their core syntactic structure. Specifically, languages are traditionally divided into so-called configurational and non-configurational languages. Configurational languages are assumed to be languages with many restrictions on word order, and non-configurational languages are assumed to be languages with very few or no word order restrictions. Many linguists posit a strict division between the two different types of languages. In this thesis I propose a non-derivational approach to configurationality, and I discuss in detail three posited characteristics of non-configurational languages (in comparison to configurational languages): free word order, discontinuous expressions and subject-object asymmetries in binding. I propose a four-way classification of languages instead of a two-way one, based on constraints on annotations on phrase structure nodes, both for argument functions and for information structural roles (such as topic and focus). I propose that this four-way distinction is what underlies configurationality. I show that discontinuous expressions and potentially subject-object symmetries follow from the nature of languages that have traditionally been classified as non-configurational. For my analysis I employ Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), a non-derivational framework which is particularly well-suited to account for languages in which grammatical functions are not tied to specific phrase structural positions, due to its parallel architecture. This characteristic of LFG enables me to provide a straightforward classification of languages, by the ability to separate the influence of grammatical functions and information structural roles on word order and phrase structural configuration.

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Booth, Hannah. "Expletives and clause structure : syntactic change in Icelandic." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2018. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/expletives-and-clause-structure-syntactic-change-in-icelandic(7907d61b-4404-4964-bf8d-ce304c0fab8d).html.

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This thesis examines the historical development of the expletive það in Icelandic, from the earliest texts to the present day. This development is set against the backdrop of Icelandic clause structure, with particular attention to verb-second, information structure and the left periphery. The study combines corpus linguistic data and quantitative techniques with theoretical analysis, conducted within Lexical Functional Grammar. I show that Icelandic underwent three syntactic developments in the period 1750-present and argue that these all reflect one overall change: the establishment of það as a structural placeholder for the topic position (the clause-initial prefinite position). I claim that það functions as a topic position placeholder in the earliest attested stage of Icelandic (1150-1350), but is restricted to a specific context: topicless subjectless constructions with a clausal object, where það has cataphoric reference. The three changes in the period 1750-present represent the establishment of this topic position placeholder in new contexts: (1) það generalises to all types of topicless subjectless construction, beyond those with a clausal object; (2) það emerges in presentational constructions (which inherently lack a topic), out-competing the earlier expletive form þar; (3) in cataphoric contexts with a clausal subject, það begins to transition from subject to topic position placeholder. The majority of these contexts exhibit at least a short period in which það - or alternatively þar - behaves like a subject. Icelandic thus exhibits the emergence of a topic position placeholder expletive from an earlier subject-like element. This shift towards prefinite expletives, which sets Icelandic apart from e.g. Mainland Scandinavian, happens relatively late in the diachrony (1750-present). Moreover, the Icelandic development challenges the standard claim in the literature on Germanic expletives, which assumes that subject expletives emerge from prefinite expletives.

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Morcom, Lindsay A. "The universality and demarcation of lexical categories cross-linguistically." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2010. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:15c6d591-9721-4a53-a390-848ea2df95af.

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Drawing data from a variety of sources, this thesis compares functional evidence regarding lexical categories from a number of Salish and Wakashan languages, as well as from the Michif language. It then applies Prototype Theory to examine the structure of the lexicons of these languages. They are described in terms of prototype categories that overlap to varying extents, with each category and each area of overlap defined by a central set of prototypical features. A high degree of gradience appears to exist between categories in Salish and Wakashan languages, with no clear boundary between categories or areas of overlap, indicating that lexical categories in these languages, rather than being clearly demarcated, are instead fuzzy categories with very little distinguishing them. Categories in Michif, on the other hand, exhibit far less overlap. This variation is compared to variation in conceptual categories across languages, and challenges the notions of the universality of clearly demarcated lexical categories and the existence of separately stored language module in the human mind. In spite of the variation in lexical category demarcation observed across the languages studied, it is possible to demarcate the categories of Noun and Verb to at least some extent in all languages, as well as a category of Adjective in some languages. This supports the proposed universality of the categories of Noun and Verb, as well as the implicational universals proposed in the Amsterdam Model of Parts of Speech (Hengeveld 1992a, b). It is also possible to identify a number of defining characteristics for each lexical category that appear to hold across languages. Since similar characteristics can be identified across languages for all categories, but the categories themselves display varying degrees of overlap in individual languages, this research supports the proposal that language universals, rather than consisting of structures, rules, and categories that are identical in all languages, are rather collections of prototypical characteristics for grammatical categories that are similar across languages (Croft 2000).

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Fung, Suet-man, and 馮雪雯. "Topic and focus in Cantonese: an OT-LFG account." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2007. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B38725113.

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Lowe, John J. "The syntax and semantics of tense-aspect stem participles in early Ṛgvedic Sanskrit." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:45516bfd-cffb-457a-904c-100695cbd938.

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In this thesis I investigate the syntax and semantics of tense-aspect stem participles in the Ṛgveda, focusing primarily on the data from the earlier books II–VII and IX, seeking to establish a comprehensive and coherent analysis of this category within the linguistic system of Ṛgvedic Sanskrit. In recent literature tense-aspect stem participles are usually treated as semantically equivalent to finite verbs wherever possible, but contradictorily where they differ from finite verbs their adjectival nature is emphasized. I argue that tense-aspect stem participles are a fundamentally verbal formation and can be treated as inflectional verb forms: they are adjectival verbs rather than verbal adjectives. At the same time, however, they constitute an independent sub-category of verb form which is not necessarily semantically dependent on corresponding finite stems. I examine the syntactic and semantic properties of tense-aspect stem participles both in relation to finite verbal forms and their wider syntactic context, formalizing the evidence in the framework of Lexical-Functional Grammar. Consequently I am able to categorize the syntactic and semantic deviations which many participles exhibit in comparison to finite verbal forms. I contend that many such forms cannot be treated synchronically (and sometimes diachronically) as participles, but form distinct synchronic categories. My analysis permits a considerably more refined definition of the category of tense-aspect stem participles, dependent on clear morphological, syntactic and semantic criteria, as opposed to the usual, purely morphological, definition. From a diachronic perspective I argue that the category of tense-aspect stem participles as found in the Ṛgveda more closely reflects an inherited Proto-Indo-European category of tense-aspect stem participles than is usually assumed. I also reconsider theoretical treatments of participial syntax and semantics, and develop a more precise typology of non-finite verb systems which adequately accounts for Sanskrit participles.

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Haun, Julie Anne. "Functional Uses of Language in the Conversational Discourse of a Person with Alzheimer's Disease." PDXScholar, 1995. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/4923.

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Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, is estimated to occur in up to sixteen percent of people between the ages of 75 and 84. Deficits in linguistic skills that effect communication are a hallmark of the disease and have been the primary focus of past Alzheimer's research. Among other deficits, researchers have found that people with Alzheimer's often use indexical expressions without clear referents and convey less information that is relevant to the task they have been asked to perform than healthy subjects. Relatively little research has examined how Alzheimer's subjects use their linguistic knowledge to communicate with others in natural, open-ended interaction. The purpose of the present study was to identify what communication skills remain intact that enable an Alzheimer's subject to maintain conversational fluency despite lexical and pragmatic deficits. The study focused specifically on language skills that play a functional role in facilitating conversation. The data used in this study consisted of eight naturally occurring conversations between the subject and three interlocutors who had a close relationship with the subject. The interactions were recorded in the Alzheimer's wing of the subject's nursing home. The transcribed conversations were analyzed according to three types of functional language drawn from Nattinger and DeCarrico's (1992) work on lexical phrases: (1) conversational maintenance; (2) conversational purpose; and (3) familiar topics. The role played by lexical phrases in facilitating each of these functional categories was also examined. This study found that the subject had an intact knowledge of functional language skills that allowed her to successfully participate in conversation despite serious language deficits. Within the category of conversational maintenance, the subject retained skills necessary to share control in opening and closing conversations as well as nominating and shifting topics and requesting and offering clarification. In the category of conversational purpose, the subject used functional language to signal utterances intended to convey general politeness, gratitude and compliments as well as informing the interlocutor of her attitude in relation to the content of utterances. The study also found that lexical phrases played a central role in facilitating the subject's use of functional language.

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Kevari, Mary Kathleen. "The role of universal grammar in second language acquisition: An experimental study of Spanish ESL students' interpretation of lexical pronouns." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2000. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1710.

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Reuer, Veit. "PromisD." Doctoral thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philosophische Fakultät II, 2005. http://dx.doi.org/10.18452/15266.

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Gegenstand der Arbeit ist zunächst eine Analyse der didaktischen Anforderungen an Sprachlernsysteme, die sich zum Teil aus dem Fremdsprachenunterricht ergeben. Daraus ergibt sich ein Übungstyp, der vom Lerner eine frei gestaltete Eingabe erfordert und damit insbesondere die kommunikative Kompetenz fördert, der aber auch mit Hilfe computerlinguistischer Methoden realisiert werden kann. Anschließend wird zur Auswahl einer geeigneten Grammatiktheorie insbesondere die Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) näher betrachtet. Die Theorie muss sich aus computerlinguistischer Sicht für eine Implementierung im Rahmen eines Sprachlernprogramms eignen und es ist von zusätzlichem Vorteil, wenn die verwendeten Konzepte denen in Lernergrammatiken ähneln, um so die Generierung von Rückmeldungen zu vereinfachen. Im darauf folgenden Abschnitt wird kurz das eigentliche Programm PromisD (Projekt mediengestütztes interaktives Sprachenlernen - Deutsch) vorgestellt, wie es sich auch dem Nutzer präsentiert. Schließlich wird ein so genanntes antizipationsfreies Verfahren entwickelt, bei dem weder in der Grammatik noch im Lexikon Informationen zur Fehleridentifizierung enthalten sind. Die Fehlererkennung wird dabei auf die Bereiche eingeschränkt, in denen sich in einem Lernerkorpus häufig Fehler zeigen, um einerseits wesentliche Fehlertypen abzudecken und andererseits eine größere Effizienz bei der Analyse von realen Eingaben zu erreichen. Die Vorstellung des Verfahrens unterteilt sich entsprechend den grundlegenden Struktureinheiten der LFG in zwei Bereiche: die Konstituentenstruktur mit einer modifizierten Form des Earley-Algorithmus zur Integration von Fehlerhypothesen in die Chart und die Feature-Struktur mit einer veränderten Unifikationstrategie zur Behandlung und Speicherung von sich widersprechenden Werten in F-Strukturen. Zum Abschluss erfolgt die Evaluation und es werden die Möglichkeiten zur Gestaltung einer Rückmeldung an den Lerner diskutiert.
The dissertation starts with an analysis of the requirements for Intelligent Computer-Assisted Language Learning systems (ICALL), which partially depend on didactic aspects of foreign language teaching. Based on this a type of exercise can be identified, that on the one hand allows the learner to enter free formed input supporting the so called communicative competence as a major didactic goal and on the other hand may be realised with advanced computational linguistics'' methods. In the following chapter a look at grammar theories and especially Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) is taken. The grammar theory needs to be tractable in an implementation and it is of a further advantage if the concepts of the theory are similar to the concepts in learner grammars in order to simplify the generation of feedback. Subsequently the user interface of the actual program is presented with a focus on error messages. The implementation is named PromisD, which stands for "Projekt mediengestütztes interaktives Sprachenlernen - Deutsch". Finally an anticipation-free parsing method is developed using neither information from the lexicon nor the grammar in order to identify grammar errors. The recognition is restricted to those areas where errors occur frequently in a learner corpus in order to allow for a greater efficiency parsing authentic data. Along the two structural levels in LFG the presentation of the algorithm follows: the constituent-structure with a modified Early-algorithm integrating error hypotheses into the chart and the feature-structure with a new unification-strategie storing information about clashing values in the f-structure. The dissertation closes with an evaluation and an outlook on the generation of error messages.

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Park, Karen Elizabeth. "The selective properties of verbs in reflexive constructions." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2012. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:3154fd5f-a82c-4454-9679-cd3c5c7b0fb0.

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This dissertation investigates the relationship between verbs and reflexive markers within reflexive constructions, setting forth the hypothesis that the verb plays a determining role in anaphoric binding. The work builds upon Dalrymple’s (1993) argument that binding constraints are lexically specified by anaphoric elements and demonstrates that reflexive requirements can be lexically specified for distinct groups of verbs, an approach which offers another level of descriptive clarity to theories of anaphoric binding and introduces a means of predicting reflexive selection in domains where syntactic constraints do not readily apply. This is shown to be particularly pertinent in languages with more than one reflexive type that have overlapping syntactic binding domains. The hypothesis is substantiated by data from five typologically distinct languages: English, Dutch, French, Russian, and Fijian. Contributing to this data set, new empirical evidence in favour of previously unrecognized reflexive forms in the Fijian language is introduced in this work. Following Sells et al. (1987), it is demonstrated that reflexive constructions are definable over four different components of linguistic representation and a quadripartite linguistic analysis is, therefore, adopted that incorporates c-structure, f-structure, lexical structure, and semantic structure within a Lexical Functional Grammar theoretical framework. The level of semantic structure is found to be particularly interesting since the realization of a reflexive construction is shown to be influenced by differing semantic requirements between verbs and reflexives. On the basis of several semantic tests, verbs in reflexive constructions are shown to have two different predicate structure types, ‘transitive’ and ‘intransitive’, and reflexive markers are shown to have three different internal semantic structures, ‘strict’ (x,x), ‘close’ (x,f(x)), and ‘near’ (x,y). The syntactic, semantic, and lexical characteristics of the reflexives and verbs analyzed over the data set presented in this work result in the identification of eight different reflexive/verb types and the establishment of two implicational relationships:

Reflexive markers in lexically intransitive reflexive constructions have no semantic content.
Verbs that take a reflexive argument with a strict (x,x) or close (x,f(x)) internal structure must be intransitive at the semantic component of linguistic structure.

These results contribute to our understanding of anaphoric binding theory, directed verb categories, the syntax-semantics interface, and the licensing of multiple reflexive types within a given language.

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Fontes, Michel Gustavo [UNESP]. "A distinção léxico-gramática na Gramática Discursivo-Funcional: uma proposta de implementação." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/148543.

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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
Esta tese, ao investigar a distinção léxico-gramática no âmbito do modelo da Gramática Discursivo-Funcional (doravante GDF), de Hengeveld e Mackenzie (2008), objetiva reunir, num diálogo entre os princípios da gramaticalização e os da GDF, mecanismos que permitam uma abordagem, dentro desse modelo, da gradualidade entre léxico e gramática. Encaram-se, assim, duas frentes de investigação: (i) caracterizar a multifuncionalidade de ainda no português, e (ii) descrever a natureza composicional, a funcionalidade comunicativa e o estatuto categorial das formas perifrásticas com ainda, no caso ainda assim, ainda bem, ainda mais e ainda que. Em relação a (i), dois mecanismos se mostram pertinentes para a descrição dos diferentes usos de ainda: (a) a determinação das diferentes relações de escopo que ainda pode instaurar a depender de seu uso; e (b) a avaliação dos diferentes estatutos categoriais de ainda enquanto primitivo da formulação. Esta tese distingue, então, quatro usos de ainda, que se dispõem ao longo de um contínuo entre léxico e gramática e que evidenciam um processo de gramaticalização, que, à luz da GDF (cf. HENGEVELD, no prelo; DALL’AGLIO-HATTNHER; HENGEVELD, 2016), caracteriza-se por uma mudança de conteúdo e por uma mudança formal. Em relação a (ii), esta tese defende que as formas perifrásticas com ainda ocupam diferentes posições no cline de lexicalidade/gramaticalidade (cf. BRINTON; TRAUGOTT, 2005). Isso aponta para dois processos de mudança linguística envolvidos em sua emergência, lexicalização e gramaticalização, que, à luz da GDF, implicam não só um aumento nas relações de escopo ou uma mudança categorial, mas também um percurso do tipo relação núcleo-dependente > primitivo, que dá conta da representação do processo de fixação na emergência dessas formas via lexicalização ou gramaticalização.
This study investigates the lexical-grammatical distinction in Functional Discourse Grammar (FDG). Our point of departure is the interface between grammaticalization principles and the FDG model that allows representing the gradience between Lexicon and Grammar within this model. This requires a twofold analysis: (i) one that accounts for the multi-functions of ainda in Portuguese; and (ii) another one that describes the compositional nature, the functions, and the categorial status of derived forms of ainda, such as ainda assim, ainda bem, ainda mais e ainda que. In relation to (i), two mechanisms are relevant for the description of the different uses of ainda: (a) the determination of the different scope relations that ainda may obtain, and (b) the evaluation of ainda’s different categorial status as a primitive of formulation. Therefore, this thesis distinguishes four different uses of ainda, which are arranged in a continuum between Lexicon and Grammar and reveal that a grammaticalization process in a FDG approach is characterized by contentive and formal change (cf. Hengeveld, approved for publication; Dall’Aglio-Hattnher; Hengeveld, 2016). Regarding (ii), this study argues that the derived forms of ainda occupy different positions within the lexicality/grammaticality cline (cf. Brinton; Traugott, 2005). This shows that there are two processes of linguistic change responsible for their emergence: lexicalization and grammaticalization. From a FDG standpoint, both processes imply not only an increase in their scope relations or a categorial change, but also predict a path from a nucleus-dependent relation to a primitive, as a way of representing the fixing process in the appearance of periphrastic forms by lexicalization or grammaticalization.

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26

Henadeerage, Kumara, and kumara henadeerage@anu edu au. "Topics in Sinhala Syntax." The Australian National University. Faculty of Arts, 2002. http://thesis.anu.edu.au./public/adt-ANU20060426.142352.

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This study is a detailed investigation of a number of issues in colloquial Sinhala morphosyntax. These issues primarily concern grammatical relations, argument structure, phrase structure and focus constructions. The theoretical framework of this study is Lexical Functional Grammar.¶Chapter 1 introduces the issues to be discussed, followed by a brief introduction of some essential aspects of colloquial Sinhala as background for the discussion in the following chapters. In Chapter 2 we present basic concepts of the theoretical framework of Lexical Functional Grammar.¶ The next three chapters mainly concern grammatical relations, argument structure and clause structure in colloquial Sinhala. Chapter 3 examines grammatical relations. The main focus lies in establishing the subject grammatical relation in terms of various subjecthood diagnostics. We show that only a very small number of diagnostics are reliable, and that the evidence for subject is weaker than assumed previously. All the subjecthood diagnostics that were examined select the most prominent argument in the argument structure as the subject, i.e. 'logical subject'. However, there appear to be no processes in the language that are sensitive to the subject in the grammatical relations structure, i.e. 'gr-subject'. Further, there is no evidence for other grammatical relations like objects. In Chapter 4 we discuss the agentless construction and related valency alternation phenomena. It was previously assumed that the agentless construction, valency alternation phenomena and the involitive construction are all related. We argue that the agentless construction should be treated as a different construction from the involitive construction. We also show that the agentless construction and the involitive construction have contrasting characteristics, and that treatment of them as separate constructions can account for some phenomena which did not receive an explanation previously. The valency alternation phenomena are related to the agentless construction, therefore there is no valency alternation in involitive constructions. It will be shown that verbs undergoing the valency alternation can be distinguished from the other verbs in terms of the lexical semantic properties of individual verbs. Chapter 5 examines the structure of non-verbal sentences in terms of a number of morphosyntactic phenomena. It was previously argued that verbal sentences and non-verbal sentences in colloquial Sinhala differ in terms of clause structure. However, the present study shows evidence to the contrary.¶ The next two chapters deal with modelling contrastive focus and the phrase structure of the language. Chapter 6 is a detailed analysis of the contrastive focus (cleft) construction in various clause types in the language, and proposes a unified syntactic treatment of contrastive focus. Contrastive focus is in some constructions morphologically encoded, while in others it involves both morphological and configurational assignment of focus. The complex interaction between focus markers and verb morphology in various focus constructions is accounted for by general well-formedness conditions applying to the f-structure, and the principles of Functional Uncertainty and Morphological Blocking. In Chapter 7, we discuss the phrase structure of the language, in particular such issues as its non-configurational nature and the lack of evidence for VP. We propose non-configurational S and some functional projections to account for word order freedom under S and to explain certain morphosyntactic phenomena, such as configurational focus assignment. Finally, Chapter 8 summarises the conclusions made in previous chapters.

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Vigo, Eugenio M. "Copular inversion and non-subject agreement." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/397778.

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In this thesis I propose an explanation for the facts of copular inversion in Spanish, Catalan, and other Romance languages, as well as in German. Copular inversion is a phenomenon found in some languages, in which, at least superficially, the copula may be found agreeing with the postverbal DP instead of the preverbal DP. At first sight it appears that the agreeing postverbal DP is the subject of the sentence, but in this work I provide evidence that this is not the case: the agreeing postverbal DP is, in fact, the complement of the copula. This yields a singular case of non-subject agreement in Spanish, Romance and the rest of copular inversion languages that is not found in the rest of the grammar of these very same languages (e.g. they do not ever show object-agreement in transitive sentences). This requires an explanation that is integrated with the rest of the grammars of the languages. I claim that coreference is the driving force behind the presence of copular inversion: in copular inversion languages, all verbs actually seek agreement with it and all those grammatical functions that are coreferential with the subject. In intransitive and transitive sentences, the only possible candidate is the subject, but in copular sentences the complement is usually coreferential with the subject. The choice of the agreeing function among the possible candidates is decided with respect to a Person-Number Hierarchy: the copula will always agree with the function that has the most marked person and number agreement features with respect to it. This requires challenging the standard view of LFG by which the lexical entries of verbs determine the person and number features of the subject: the solution requires accepting that the person and number features of the verb must be represented in a function-independent “bundle” that is unified with the right grammatical function according to syntactic well-formedness constraints in an OT setting. Additionally to explain the facts of copular inversion languages, the proposed OT-LFG hypothesis predicts why other languages do not have copular inversion. Moreover, the proposed hypothesis can easily be extended to other phenomena of non-subject agreement, e.g. Catalan cleft sentences, Icelandic non-subject agreement in “quirky case” constructions, English locative inversion and agreement phenomena in the Dargwa family of languages.
En la presente tesis doctoral expongo una explicación para la inversión copulativa –presente en la mayoría de las lenguas romances como también en alemán–. Este fenómeno consiste, superficialmente, en que la cópula concuerda con el sintagma nominal posverbal en vez del preverbal. A primera vista, esto puede parecer simplemente que el sujeto se encuentra en posición posverbal, pero la evidencia que se presenta en este trabajo demuestra que ese sintagma posverbal no es el sujeto, sino el complemento del verbo. Por tanto, esta es una construcción singular en la que un verbo concuerda con un no-sujeto, con la misma morfología empleada para la concordancia con el sujeto, cosa absolutamente inusitada para la gramática de las lenguas analizadas –que carecen de cualquier tipo de concordancia verbo-objeto, por ejemplo–. Así pues, defiendo que la inversión copulativa es consecuencia del hecho de que la concordancia en estas lenguas es, en realidad, entre el verbo y alguna función gramatical que sea correferente con el sujeto, incluido el propio sujeto. Naturalmente, solo las oraciones copulativas poseen dos funciones correferentes con el sujeto –el sujeto y el complemento–, debido al significado de la cópula; en otros tipos de oraciones, la única función disponible es el sujeto, por lo cual el verbo solo puede concordar con este. La función con la cual se concuerda será aquella correferente con el sujeto cuyos rasgos de persona y número sean los más marcados según una Jerarquía de Persona y Número. Para ello, es absolutamente necesario abandonar la premisa de la Gramática Léxico-Funcional por la cual la concordancia del verbo se establece en su entrada léxica como una determinación de los rasgos de las funciones gramaticales concordantes. Aquí defiendo que los verbos simplemente determinan sus rasgos de concordancia, independientes de toda función gramatical, y que estos son unificados con los rasgos de una u otra función o funciones según restricciones formales de la gramática que, en este trabajo, se estipulan en un marco teórico inspirado en la Teoría de la Optimidad. Esto me permite explicar por qué existen lenguas como el inglés que carecen de dicha construcción e, incluso, explicar fácilmente otros fenómenos de concordancia verbal con no-sujetos en otras lenguas, como, por ejemplo, en islandés en construcciones de sujeto en caso oblicuo, en la inversión locativa presente en inglés y en general en las lenguas dargwa.

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Mokhathi-Mbhele, Masechaba Mahloli M. L. "Independent clause Sesotho personal names as texts in context: a systemic functional linguistics approach." Thesis, University of Western Cape, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/3348.

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Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
This study sought to examine independent clause Sesotho personal names as authentic social discourse using the Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) theory. It sought to analyze their structure and map them to social functions to demonstrate that they are enacted messages in socio-cultural context of Basotho. It used a form-meaning approach to interpret Sesotho names in socio-cultural contexts of use (cf. Halliday 1994, 2001, Eggins, 1996, 2004 and Martin & Rose 2007) as an alternative to the current formalist approach to onomastica interpretation. The SFL analysis was compared and contrasted mainly with the formalist syntactic specific and semantic specific analyses currently in use by Guma, Sesotho Academy and subsequent authors of Sesotho grammar and other linguists. The purpose of displaying these names as texts in social context enfolded the intent to reflect a systemic interface of lexico-grammar and social activity. The study used the clause-text-culture paradigm to explore Sesotho names as texts or semantic units. The idea was to access their ‘meanings beyond the clause’ (Martin & Rose 2007). Data was collected from national examinations pass lists, admission and employment roll lists from Public, Private, Tertiary, Orphanage institutions. Other data was identified in Telephone directories and Media. The purely linguistic lexico-grammatic analysis of the structure of names was supplemented by interview data from real interpretations from families, owners and senior citizens who have social and cultural knowledge of the meanings of some names. The study has established that Sesotho personal names can present as an independent clause feature. Sesotho personal names can also be described as lexico-grammatical properties and are meaningful in social contexts. They are used to exchange information as statements, demands and commands, and as questions and as exclamations. This means that these names can be categorized according to Halliday’s Mood types which make them function as declaratives, imperatives, interrogatives and exclamatives depending on the awarder’s evaluation. The study also finds that in negotiating attitudes, modality is highly incorporated. The study concludes that Sesotho names conform to the logical structures of the nominal group and the verbal group and these groups reciprocate in use. The verbal group is the core constituent in these names and it serves as a foundation for the nominal and verbal groups particularly because they function as reciprocating propositions. This includes the names with the sub-modification features. This extends the formalist description of Sesotho independent clause in that the identified sub-modifications which are opague and taken for granted by formalist analysts of Sesotho, are explicated as essential elements embedded in the formmeaning relation in SFL. The main contribution is that this is the only study on SFL and onomastica. There is no study that has been conducted using SFL to describe African names. It presents that Sesotho personal names are texts that have been negotiated in socio-cultural contexts. It provides a major departure from most studies that have used the Chomskian formulations or other sociolinguistic theories to describe the naming systems. It displays the art and importance of language use based on experience and culture in the naming system. The study also contributes to fields such as education, history, and others. Lastly, the study has established a new relation of onomastica and SFL theory and onomastica can now be added to the areas “being recognized as providing a very useful descriptive and interpretive framework for viewing language as a strategic, meaning-making resource.” (Eggins 1996:1).

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Araujo, Wagner Santos. "Os pronomes: uma classe de palavras léxico-gramaticais em retrospectiva." Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, 2007. https://tede2.pucsp.br/handle/handle/14448.

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Secretaria da Educação do Estado de São Paulo
The Dissertation is within the History Research Line and Description of the Portuguese Language/Post-Graduation Studies Program in Portuguese Language-PUCSP and focuses, by means of a historiography perspective, on the class of pronouns as object of the investigation, guided by the presupposition according to which the relationship between structure and linguistic function is inseparable: if there is a variation in the structure, then there is a variation in the function. The history of linguistics was the beginning point, whose grounds were the support for the building of the Greek and Latin grammar, extending them up to the current times, as the general purpose was aimed at the understanding of exposures or descriptions that enabled the understanding of the pronoun as a lexical and grammatical class, that is, in regards to its structure and functioning. In order to measure this general purpose, three specific objectives were established in view of the pronouns, in different stages of the building of the Traditional Contemporaneous Grammar, which became Normative in view of the creation of a model of linguistic policy, instituted by the Greek Estate. The first purpose focused on the treatment given to the pronouns by the Grammar of the Word; the second, by the Grammar of the Sentence, and the third, by the Descriptive or Scientific Grammar. The results presented in Chapter I guided the development of Chapters II and III: the non-dissociation between the units of the lexicon and its relationships, of morphosyntatic-semantic character, is the matrix by means of which the pronouns should be described, as the languages are classified in that manner. In this way, the pronouns are empty words, grammatical elements, whose contents come from the anaphoric relationship that they establish with the name they replace. This substitutive relationship needs to be seen by that one established between the name and the verb; as the content of the pronominal forms emerges from that relationship as an amalgam, which, by replacing the name in its relationship with the verb, binds the content of both of them - proposition conceived by Apolônio Díscolo for whom the pronoun was a paranonímia synonymy and a semiosis. It is evidenced that this presupposition contemporaneously retaken by the Speech Analysis, whose grounds are circumscribed to the theory of the enunciation got lost in the grammatical descriptions, although the Normative Grammar has been continuously re-contextualized. By means of this movement it continues being traditional in the innovation of the scientific advancements in the language field. Resulting from this process of reinterpretation of the past by the present, it extends the description centered in the word to the sentence, grounded on investigations of medieval philosophers and the taxonomic systematization of the substantive pronouns and the adjectives. However, the only grammars who focus on the pronouns because of their deictic and anaphoric functions are Evanildo Bechara Normative Grammar and Lucién Tesniére Dependency Grammar or Functional, enabling the assurance that these are the matrixes of the textual cohesion process: the voice of Apolônio in the modern times, the dialogue that allows the recognition of what is old in what is new
A Dissertação está situada na Linha de Pesquisa História e Descrição da Língua Portuguesa/Programa de Estudos Pós-Graduados em Língua Portuguesa-PUCSP e focaliza, por uma perspectiva historiográfica, a classe dos pronomes como objeto da investigação, orientada pelo pressuposto segundo o qual a relação entre estrutura e função lingüística é indissociável: havendo variação de estrutura, haverá variação de função. Tomou-se por ponto de partida a história da lingüística, cujos fundamentos se fizeram suporte para a construção da gramática greco-latina, estendendo-os até a atual contemporaneidade, pois o objetivo geral estava voltado para a compreensão de exposições ou descrições que facultassem compreender o pronome como classe léxico-gramatical, ou seja, quanto sua estruturação e funcionamento. Para mensurar esse objetivo geral, estabeleceram-se três objetivos específicos perspectivizando os pronomes, em diferentes fases de construção da Gramática Tradicional Contemporânea, que se fez Normativa em razão da criação de um modelo de política lingüística, instituída pelo Estado grego. O primeiro objetivo se voltou para o tratamento dado aos pronomes pela Gramática da Palavra; o segundo pela Gramática da Frase e o terceiro pela Gramática Descritiva ou Científica. Os resultados apresentados no Capítulo I orientaram o desenvolvimento dos Capítulos II e III: a não dissociação entre as unidades do léxico e suas relações, de caráter morfossintático-semântico, ser a matriz por meio da quais os pronomes devem ser descritos, pois as línguas assim se qualificam. Assim, os pronomes são palavras vazias, elementos gramaticais, cujos conteúdos advêm da relação anafórica que eles estabelecem com o nome que substituem. Essa relação substitutiva precisa ser focalizada por aquela estabelecida entre o nome e o verbo; pois é dela que emerge o conteúdo das formas pronominais como amálgama que, ao substituir o nome na sua relação com o verbo, enlaça o conteúdo de ambos proposição concebida por Apolônio Díscolo para quem o pronome era uma paranonímia - sinonímia e uma semiose. Comprova-se que esse pressuposto-retomado na contemporaneidade pela Análise do Discurso, cujos fundamentos estão circunscritos à teoria da enunciação - perderam-se nas descrições gramaticais, embora a Gramática Normativa tenha sido continuamente recontextualizada. Por esse movimento ela se mantém tradicional na inovação dos avanços científicos no campo da linguagem. Decorrência desse processo de reinterpretação do passado pelo presente, ela estende a descrição centrada na palavra para a frase, tendo por ancoragem investigações dos filósofos medievais e a sistematização taxionômica dos pronomes substantivos e dos adjetivos. Contudo, os únicos gramáticos que focalizam os pronomes pela suas funções dêiticas e anafóricas são Evanildo Bechara - Gramática Normativa - e Lucién Tesniére - Gramática Dependencial ou Funcional, possibilitando assegurar serem eles as matrizes dos processos de coesão textual: a voz de Apolônio nos tempos modernos, o diálogo que faculta reconhecer o velho no novo

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30

MO, RUO-PING, and 莫若萍. "Mandarin Chinese subcategorized topics:a lexical-functional grammar account." Thesis, 1990. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/32195236244029853097.

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31

Suzuki, Takeru. "A theory of lexical functors : light heads in the lexicon and the syntax." Thesis, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/8609.

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This thesis advances a specific model of 1-syntax, based on Hale and Keyser (1993, 1994) and Dechaine (1996) as a point of departure, and also proposes a general theory of the relation between the lexicon and the syntax. One of the essential proposals that I make is the F\mctionalization Principle, which permits a lexical head to project a functional projection if and only if the meaning of the head is represented by 1-syntactic structure without any extra semantic features. I refer to this type of head as a light head. The Functionalization Principle leads us to a principled account of various lexical and functional uses of lexical items such as a passive morpheme -en and have. Examples that support my analysis range from adjectival and verbal passives (e.g. Mary is very pleased and The glass was broken by BUI), to constructions of alienable and inalienable possession (e.g. John has Jive bucks and John has blue eyes), to causative/experiential constructions (e.g. John had his students walk out of class), and to perfect constructions (e.g. Lucie has advised the prime minister). Furthermore, the analysis of possessive have is extended to possessive nominals (e.g. John's cat and John's eyes). I also examine the implications of the theories of 1-syntax and 1- functors for Case. I propose that 1-syntactic structure partly determines inherent Case whereas the 1-functor checks what I call l-Junctor Case through the Spec-head relation. Furthermore, I show that these analyses of inherent Case and 1-functors account for essential properties of possessive D (a genitive marker -*s), some Hindi marked subject constructions and Japanese experiential transitive constructions.

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To, TV. "Linguistic complexity in English textbooks : a functional grammar perspective." Thesis, 2015. https://eprints.utas.edu.au/22763/7/Whole_To_thesis.pdf.

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Linguistic complexity is an important concept in language and literacy education. Despite its significant contributions to the understanding of language sciences, there are no general measures towards it, as different linguistic theories lead to different perspectives on the linguistic complexity. Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) is a theory of language that views language as a social semiotic and a meaning making resource. In other words, it looks at how people use language to construe and create meaning to fulfil their communicative purposes in social contexts. Despite the complexity of language in social contexts, SFL provides powerful principles to understand and manage complexity. Adopting SFL as the main theoretical and methodological framework, this study investigated linguistic complexity in English textbooks used in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) with special reference to the Vietnamese context. The purpose of this study was to examine how the level of linguistic complexity shifted across four textbook levels and within science and non-science fields in a book series. The study also examined the relationships among linguistic features characterising complexity as well as how complexity differed according to stages of text types. The study applied Halliday’s linguistic features, namely lexical density, grammatical intricacy, nominalisation, grammatical metaphor, and thematic structure to analyse 24 reading extracts in the selected textbooks on a quantitative analysis basis. Genre analysis of complexity regarding hierarchies of periodicity was conducted with four full texts. Results of the quantitative data analysis show that overall the language of textbook texts became more complex when the levels advanced in the chosen book series. Specifically, at a higher level of textbook, a greater number of nominalisations and grammatical metaphors were employed, contributing to lexically dense written texts. However, the highest level of textbook did not display the topmost complexity among the four levels. Concerning grammatical intricacy, on average, texts at higher levels were slightly more intricate. Also, various theme types were used in the selected texts across levels. In addition, the differences between descriptive statistics of linguistic features employed in the science related texts and those in the non-science ones were not significant within the same book. With regard to the complexity according to genre analysis, the analysis of four full texts reveals that both explanatory texts demonstrated higher scores of lexical density, nominalisation, grammatical metaphor, and lower intricacy in the explanation stages in comparison with the phenomenon stages. Two information reports displayed higher density values in the description stages, but lower intricacy compared with the general statement stages. Frequencies of nominalisation and grammatical metaphor were slightly higher in the description stage than in the general statement stage in the elementary text, but the figures were lower in the description stage in the intermediate text. Additionally, grammatical metaphors, which construct the textual prominence, were employed most in New in the four chosen texts. These findings not only give more insights into the nature of language, but also provide useful implications for English language teaching and learning, teacher education and training, textbook choice and writing, as well as curriculum design.

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Edwards, Owen. "Grammatical functions in Tolaki." Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/9388.

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I present data from Tolaki, an Austronesian language of Central Indonesia, which challenges the notion that grammatical functions form discrete categories. I argue that current models of grammatical functions within Lexical Functional Grammar cannot account for the data we find. If we were to posit discrete categories for grammatical functions on the basis of different behaviour under different morpho-syntactic tests, we would be forced to posit a minimum of nine categories in order to account for the results; nearly double the number of categories currently provided for by LFG. A better way of analysing the data we find in Tolaki is to posit a continuum of grammatical functions between the most and least privileged grammatical functions, subject and adjunct. Participants are located along this continuum and are either more subject-like or more adjunct-like.

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Barbour, Ross Patrick. "Spoken word recognition as a function of lexical knowledge and language proficiency level in adult ESL learners." Thesis, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/8743.

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This study assesses the usefulness of Marsien-Wilson’s (1989, 1987; Marsien Wilson & Welsh, 1978) cohort model of spoken (first language) word recognition as a method of explaining the high-speed, on-line processes involved in recognizing spoken words while listening to a second language. Two important assumptions of the model are: 1) syntactic and semantic properties of mental lexical entries can function to-facilitate spoken word recognition and 2) spoken word recognition is a function of the frequency of exposure to words in the general language environment. These assumptions were tested in three functionally defined levels of language proficiency: Native Speakers of English, Fluent Users of ESL, and Advanced learners of ESL. Their performance was compared on a reading cloze test and a spoken-word recognition task in which there were five different levels of contextual richness prior to a target word, and two levels of word frequency. The cloze results indicated that the three groups differed in their general English proficiency. Congruent with the cohort model, there was a significant overall effect of sentence context and word frequency on recognition latency. Despite the difference in cloze scores and immersion experience between the two ESL groups, there were no reliable differences in their recognition latencies or latency profiles across sentence contexts or across word frequency. There was an interaction of ESL group, word frequency, and sentence context. This may be due to a reorganization of rules used during processing or a restructuring of lexical knowledge. There was also an interesting non-linear relationship between recognition latency and language immersion time. Spoken word recognition speed decreased in the early immersion experience, and then increased with further exposure. There was a significant difference in overall mean recognition latency between the Native and the ESL speakers, with the ESL subjects responding on average 98 msec slower than the Native Speakers. However, there were no significant differences in the way Native Speakers and the ESL subjects used sentence context. In contrast with the comparison across the sentential contexts, there was a significant difference in the recognition profiles of the Native English speakers and the ESL subjects across word frequency.

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35

Henadeerage, Kumara. "Topics in Sinhala Syntax." Phd thesis, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/47148.

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This study is a detailed investigation of a number of issues in colloquial Sinhala morphosyntax. These issues primarily concern grammatical relations, argument structure, phrase structure and focus constructions. The theoretical framework of this study is Lexical Functional Grammar.¶ ...

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36

Tseng, Jesse. "The Representation and Selection of Prepositions." Phd thesis, 2001. http://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00004845.

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In the literature on prepositions, a simple binary distinction between ``lexical\'\' and ``functional\'\' uses is commonly assumed. In this thesis I investigate the nature of the lexical vs. functional distinction for prepositions, and I argue that these two uses correspond to cardinal points of a spectrum of prepositional uses. This spectrum can be modelled descriptively as the interaction of two properties: form-fixedness and perceived meaningfulness. At the functional corner of the spectrum, prepositions are characterized by low meaningfulness and high fixedness, while at the lexical corner, prepositions have high meaningfulness and low fixedness. There are also, however, prepositions that are perceived to be both meaningful and fixed, and these present a problem for the notion of a simple binary lexical vs. functional dichotomy.
A number of empirical tests have been proposed for inducing a binary classification of prepositional uses---for example, formation of the pseudopassive and wh-questions, and specifier attachment. While these are all interesting phenomena individually, they do not converge on a single classification collectively, and I conclude that there are no broad generalizations to be captured by postulating a primitive lexical vs. functional distinction theoretically.
My own analysis, formalized in the framework of Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar, includes two binary distinctions between contentful vs. empty prepositions, and between prepositions with syntactically selected form vs. those without. The interaction of these distinctions results in an idealized representation of the three-cornered descriptive spectrum of meaningfulness and fixedness. I discuss various ways in which my more or less discrete formal representations can give rise to gradient behavior on a descriptive level.

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Mayer, Elisabeth. "Syntactic variation of object arguments in Lime{u00F1}o contact varieties." Phd thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/150651.

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Generative linguists have mostly been concerned with either idealised data sets that nicely fit their theory, or an idealised relationship between speakers and their homogeneous speech community. Lexical-Functional Grammar is different from other formal theories. In allowing for a less rigid theory, structures and constraints can be linked to incorporate linear order and information structure. This constraint-based theory accommodates variation and change, it allows for my descriptive analysis of nonstandardised variation. The goal of this dissertation is to explore the complex relationship between differential object marking and clitic doubling in nonstandardised variation data from Lime{u00F1}o Spanish contact varieties (LSCV). The main focus of this study is on the microvariation of the person three clitic paradigm cooccurring with extended differential object marking in nonstandardised linguistic phenomena. In particular I focus on 'strange lo', a featureless and invariate form, which is part of the feature specifying third person direct object clitic paradigm, used to optionally crossreference animate and inanimate objects in LSCV. Contact speakers use a double object marking strategy that allows them to use either marked or unmarked forms. Dynamic competition of these morphosyntactic forms leads to competing grammars, a process that contributes to language change. Both mark essentially the same grammatical relation, however motivated by a difference in semantic and pragmatic strategies. In this work I argue that nonreferential grammaticalised direct object clitics are a vital part of a pragmatic marking strategy to mark the direct object in a monotransitive clause as the secondary topic. The motivation for these grammaticalisation processes is analysed as information packaging taking also into account the correlation between contact and inherent changes as trigger factors. Ultimately the syntactic strategy is twofold, firstly to mark the secondary topic of a monotransitive clause and secondly, to compete with the indirect object for the primary object space. The latter may lead to a new accusative case marker which would imply a typological change in monotransitive constructions only. This proposal is supported by similar findings from typologically related and related languages such as Hindi/Urdu, Persian, Basque, Ibizan Catalan and Mexican Spanish. The major linguistic elements for the historical development of the third person object clitics and object marking are multiple grammaticalisation processes of clitics and the differential object marker a, inherent diachronic instability of the clitic paradigm and prolonged contact mediated by Andean Spanish. All factors combined provide the setting for the variation found that may ultimately lead to change. An example for completed change would be the single clitic paradigm found in Ecuador and Paraguay. My hypothesis is based on two competing but not mutually exclusive theories. Alsina (1996b) proposes a binary distinction of [DAT+] and [DAT-] for Romance languages such Catalan and Spanish, where both objects are internal arguments, direct functions and distinct from the external arguments subject and oblique. In that case, the unmarked object is the semantically restricted theta role bearing object. In a new theory of differential object marking (Dalrymple & Nikolaeva, 2007), the differences between marked and unmarked objects are analysed as different information structures expressed in syntactic terms representing two different grammatical functions. Different from semantically-based theories, this new approach takes the communicative context into account. In these terms, marked direct objects can be analysed as the primary object and the secondary topic in a monotransitive clause. Both analyses are not mutually exclusive but complementary, signaling different stages of language change.

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Liu, Kun-Long. "Syntactic Interactions with Information Structure in Squliq Atayal." Phd thesis, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/112077.

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The present thesis investigates the syntactic interactions with information structure in Squliq Atayal, an Austronesian language in Taiwan. Information structure (i.e. i-structure) is a representation of discourse-pragmatic information at the sentence level in accordance with addressers’ mental states in given discourse-pragmatic contexts. By observing the interactions between syntax and information structure through both quantitative and qualitative evidence, the present thesis discovers that the syntactic structures of both unmarked and marked clauses in Squliq Atayal are formed not only for pure morphosyntactic motivations but also for discourse-pragmatic ones. The present thesis is composed of ten chapters. Chapter 1 is a brief introduction to the ethnic background of Squliq Atayal and the research questions of the present thesis. Chapter 2 reviews the research on information structure, topic, focus and topicality, as well as the studies on Squliq Atayal. In addition, this chapter elaborates the methodology of the present thesis, including data sources, the orthography and our theoretical framework, Lexical-Functional Grammar (LFG). Chapter 3 presents the basics of grammar of Squliq Atayal, which include the rigid word order Verb-Object/Oblique-Subject, case markers and multiple voices, with related theoretical discussion on the internal structure of c-structure and the lexically determined mapping between a-structure and f-structure. In Chapter 4, the theoretical model of feature-based discourse functions is proposed. There are four discourse features: givenness, aboutness, prominence and contrast, the values of which constitute twelve discourse functions in i-structure. In addition, the proposal of one-to-many mapping benefits the incorporation of gradience into LFG. Chapter 5 focuses on discourse evidence from topicality and information chaining. The former studies the topicality of subject, object, and oblique with the measurement proposed in Givón’s works. The latter looks into how a piece of information connects two adjacent sentences. It shows that new information is highly restricted by syntax. Chapter 6 identifies what discourse functions in i-structure the grammatical functions of subject, object and oblique correspond to. The conflict between quantitative discourse evidence from topicality and qualitative syntactic evidence from question-answer tests verifies the one-to-one general mapping between subject and continuing topic with the application of the conversion function, which further proves that Squliq Atayal is a quasi-f-structural language and that the multiple voice system in Squliq Atayal belongs to both the role-remapping voice system and the information-salience one in linguistic typology. Chapter 7 and 8 offer a general description of the properties of grammaticalized topics and grammaticalized foci respectively. Despite the complexity of the one-to-many mapping from grammatical functions to discourse functions, it is explained by the Informational Mapping Theory proposed in the present thesis, which directly establishes the mapping between f-structure and i-structure. Chapter 9 takes a diachronic perspective on the emergence of split-subjecthood in the Austronesian languages. By comparing Squliq Atayal and Tsou, it is hypothesized that split-subjecthood emerged from the shift of primary continuing topic from nominative subjects to oblique actors in NAV clauses. Chapter 10 summarizes the contributions of the present thesis and points out some issues for further research.

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Yamaguchi, Yumiko. "The acquisition of English as a second language by a Japanese primary school child : a longitudinal study from a processability viewpoint." Thesis, 2010. http://handle.uws.edu.au:8081/1959.7/489387.

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This thesis aims to investigate the acquisitional path of English as a second language (ESL) by a Japanese primary school child within the framework of Processability Theory (PT) (Pienemann 1998; Pienemann, Di Biase, and Kawaguchi 2005). Recent developments in linguistic theories, such as Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG) (e.g., Bresnan 2001), incorporate now new dimensions such as the interface between pragmatic-discourse functions and syntax. These have not been sufficiently investigated in ESL, especially through developmental (i.e., longitudinal) data. PT proposes three new hypotheses, which clarify the language-specific bases of syntactic development, the acquisition of sentential topic/focus, and the development of non-canonical mapping of argument on functional structures in the second language learner. These guided my investigation. The goal of this thesis is twofold: (1) to provide a more detailed description of morphological and syntactic development as observed in ESL acquisition by a Japanese primary school child; and (2) to test, for English L2, two of the new hypotheses in the extension of PT, namely the Unmarked Alignment Hypothesis and the Topic Hypothesis (Pienemann, et al, 2005), against this longitudinal data set. The issues I focus on in this investigation include the relative timing of the evolution of tense (-ed) and aspect (-ing) marking, a closer examination of the acquisition of plural -s in different linguistic contexts, the timing of the acquisition of possessive marking (-’s) with head nouns, and the development of verb phrasal morphology in English L2. Further, the developmental stages for English syntax are examined with longitudinal ESL data, according to the new PT hypotheses as represented in current PT literature (Bettoni and Di Biase, in press; Di Biase and Kawaguchi, in press; Pienemann, et al, 2005). In order to achieve these goals, I conducted a two-year longitudinal study on a Japanese child learning English in Australia from age 5;8 to 7;8. Full distributional analyses of speech data are carried out for a set of English morphological and syntactic structures hypothesized to emerge in the current processability hierarchies. Results show that the acquisitional path of ESL by the Japanese child is generally compatible with the current developmental PT framework. The findings in this study also demonstrate that English declaratives and interrogatives develop in rather independent manners. Further, this study shows that syntax develops faster than morphology at the early stages, while morphology develops faster than syntax at the later stages in ESL acquisition. It is also found that there are some connections between the development of interrogatives and morphological development. By testing the extended processability hierarchies for English on longitudinal data, this study contributes to second language acquisition on account of PT’s important theoretical position in the field. It also contributes to the development of ESL education as it provides a more detailed developmental map for possible pedagogical design, particularly in the planning of educational programs for primary school children.

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Di, Biase Bruno. "A Processability Approach to the Acquisition of Italian as a Second Language: Theory and Applications." Phd thesis, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/1885/6982.

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This thesis concerns the acquisition of Italian as a second language in instructed adult and child learners within the framework of Processability Theory (Pienemann 1998) with particular reference to morphological and syntactic development. It also contains some contributions to an extension of the theory itself, particularly the development of syntax, leading to a new exploration of the interface between discourse-pragmatics and syntax in L2 learners. The empirical longitudinal and cross-sectional studies on which these papers are based support Processability Theory’s universal developmental implicational hierarchy based on the hypothesised processing procedures in Levelt (1989). The second part of the thesis investigates the development of Italian L2 in primary school programs, testing both PT and Focus-on-form instruction. This study demonstrates that PT can be applied to classroom contexts and that it promotes more efficient language development in child-learners within existing school Italian L2 program time and resources constraints. This work also revealed that focused feedback is effective in promoting acquisition and accuracy in L2 production. This classroom- based quasi-experimental longitudinal study was supported by the Australian Research Council and Industry partner CoAsIt, a provider of Italian language education services. This work on researching practice shows the critical interrelation between theory construction and the investigation of practice itself. A sample of my contributions to professional journals exemplify the need for a continuing dialogue between research and professional practice.

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Motse-Mogara, Budzani Gabana. "A comparative study of the verb structure in northern, central and southern Khoesan: the case of Ju/’hoansi, Naro and !Xóõ." Thesis, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/23609.

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Text in English
This dissertation, deals with the verb structure found in Ju/̕hoansi, Naro and !Xóõ, which form part of the Northern, Central and Southern Khoesan respectively. Although previous studies have been conducted on these languages, no study has been done to date involving a detailed comparison of the structures in these languages. Thus, not much has been done in the area of syntax; particularly syntactical comparison. Previous studies ignored comparisons of grammatical categories and structures such as noun class markers, plural formation markers, tense and aspect markers and verbal extensions. This dissertation consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 covers the language situation in Botswana. Chapter 2 is devoted to the literature review. Chapter 3 deals with the linguistic features found in the three languages. Chapter 4 covers the methodology and the theoretical framework adopted in the dissertation. The theoretical framework is eclectic in nature, in other words, the study is largely descriptive. However, on occasion, some aspects of lexical functional grammar (LFG) are used. This theoretical framework is appealing as it best handles important aspects of the languages under consideration, particularly the verb extensions. Chapter 5 describes the noun class system, highlighting the markers found in different noun classes. It also covers tense and aspect markers as well as the verbal extensions found in the three languages. Specifically, it is argued in this chapter that plural formation occurs in three ways; regular plurals, irregular plurals and neutral plurals. The study reveals a close relationship between tense and aspect and the motion of the events, points of reference and moment of speech encoded in the verbs involved. Adverbials can co-occur with the relevant tenses. Lastly, it is shown that verbal extensions do not just combine freely; they are subject to different kinds of sequential constraints. Chapter 6 summarizes the main findings, highlighting the similarities and differences in the three languages. Naro is SOV while Ju/'hoansi and !Xóõ are SVO. Chapter 6 also indicates areas in these Khoesan Languages requiring further research.
African Languages
D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

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Šimková, Mária. "Častice v slovenčine a v češtine. Systémová a korpusovolingvistická analýza." Doctoral thesis, 2015. http://www.nusl.cz/ntk/nusl-351021.

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The youngest word class type used to arouse great interest and discussions when entering the grammar; in some countries (e. g. in Germany) particles have been an object of systematic research. However, many other languages still lack a complex description of particles as a class on its own - they represent an appropriate material also for comparative researches. Differences in functioning and theoretical treatment of particles have been present in typologically different languages but they can emerge also in related languages, even in the case of Slovak and Czech. Lexicographical and grammar descriptions of these languages provide only small sets of particles (in Slovak roughly amounting to 400, in Czech exceeding 200) and are usually divided by authors into small groups and further on into even smaller subgroups. Due to specific features as well as to paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations with other language or speech phenomena even one particle or a couple of them or a narrowly defined group of particles can become an object of individual scientific and research projects. Step by step, our thesis presents the development of attitudes towards particles as an independent word class in general and in Russian linguistics in particular, grammar descriptions of particles in Slovak, Czech and other...

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Creighton, Graham Robert. "An assessment of student's English vocabulary levels and an exploration of the vocabulary profile of teacher's spoken discourse in an international high school." Diss., 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/22590.

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In many international schools where English is the language of learning and teaching there are large percentages of students whose first language is not English. Many of these students may have low vocabulary levels which inhibits their chances of taking full advantage of their education. Low vocabulary levels can be a particular problem for students in mainstream classes where fluent English speaking teachers are using English to teach content areas of Mathematics, Science and History. Not only do students have to comprehend the low-frequency, academic and technical vocabulary pertaining to the subject, but they also need to know the higher frequency vocabulary that makes up general English usage. If students’ vocabulary levels fall too far below the vocabulary levels with which their teachers are speaking, then their chance of comprehending the topic is small, as is their chance of succeeding in their subjects. This study has two broad aims. Firstly, I have set out to assess the English vocabulary levels of students at an international school where English is the language of learning and teaching. The majority of students at this school do not have English as their first language. The second aim of this study is to explore the vocabulary profile of the teachers’ spoken discourse at the research school. By gaining a better understanding of the nature of teacher discourse – specifically the percentage of high, mid and low-frequency vocabulary, as well as academic vocabulary that they use – English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers will be in a stronger position to identify what the vocabulary learning task is and be able to assist students in reaching the vocabulary levels necessary to make sense of their lessons. This study revealed a large gap between the generally low vocabulary levels of ESL students and the vocabulary levels spoken by their teachers. As a result the need for explicit vocabulary instruction and learning is shown to be very important in English medium (international) schools, where there are large numbers of students whose first language is not English.
Linguistics and Modern Languages
M.A. (Applied Linguistics)

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