Dissimilation and referential form: Evidence from Finnish personal pronouns and anaphoric demonstratives

We present a corpus study and a production experiment that investigated the choice between two types of pronouns in written German – personal pronouns and so-called d-pronouns, which have properties of both personal and demonstrative pronouns. The existing research concerned with these pronouns has focused on language comprehension, in particular with regard to interpretative preferences in the case of referential ambiguity. In contrast to language comprehension, a choice between the two pronominal forms has to be made during language production whether there is an ambiguity or not. The corpus data show that the choice between p(ersonal) pronoun and d-pronoun depends on several factors that have been claimed to determine a referent’s accessibility (Ariel, 1990), in particular givenness and syntactic prominence (syntactic function and clausal position). The corpus study is supplemented by a production experiment that required participants to continue a short text passage with a sentence starting with either a p-pronoun or a d-pronoun. The results of the experiment strengthen the conclusion that several factors determine accessibility which in turn governs pronoun choice. We finally discuss several factors besides accessibility that affect the choice of either a p- or a d-pronoun.

We report three experiments on reference resolution in Dutch. The results of two off-line experiments and an eye-tracking study suggest that the interpretation of different referential forms—in particular, “emphatic” strong pronouns, weak pronouns, and demonstrative pronouns—cannot be satisfactorily explained in terms of a single feature of the antecedent. The findings show that while the different preferences of demonstratives pronouns and nonemphatic personal pronouns correlate with the antecedent's grammatical role, the distinction between strong/emphatic personal pronouns and weak personal pronouns cannot be satisfactorily explained by grammatical role. The results suggest that the strong form is sensitive to the presence of contrastive, switched topics. These findings indicate that the form-specific multiple-constraints approach (e.g., Kaiser & Trueswell, 2008) can be extended to the strong/weak distinction and contrast sensitivity. We also discuss the implications of these results for the nature of the form-function mapping in anaphoric paradigms from a Gricean perspective.

Cross-linguistic studies have reported that children’s interpretation of reflexives and pronouns varies at great length. According to the Binding Theory (Chomsky, 1981) reflexives are c-commanded by the noun phrases to which they are locally bound, while pronouns must be free in their local domain. Results from different studies have shown that reflexives are interpreted correctly by children from age 4 onwards. On the contrary, children of the same age show a non-adult interpretation of pronouns by allowing pronouns to co-refer with a local c-commanding antecedent. The delay of correct interpretation of pronouns is explained by the interference of pragmatic and syntactic constrains. Using a two picture task the present study aimed at examining the knowledge of the Binding Theory in Albanian children an aspect of grammar not previously investigated. Data collected from 60 children, aged 3;0-5;11 suggested that both reflexives and pronouns are comprehended around the age 5. Therefore, the results indicate a clear symmetry in the comprehension of reflexives and pronouns. This is explained by the fact that personal pronouns, which act like demonstratives in Albanian, are interpreted through binding which rules out any chance for accidental co-reference.

Reviewed by: Deixis and alignment: Inverse systems in indigenous languages of the Americas Denis Creissels Deixis and alignment: Inverse systems in indigenous languages of the Americas. By Fernando Zúñiga. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2006. Pp. 309. ISBN 9027229821. $180 (Hb). The treatment of inverse systems constitutes a particularly challenging issue in morphosyntactic typology. They are crucial for the discussion of typological hierarchies, which have been a major concern for typologists in the last decades, but their status in alignment typology is controversial. This book includes detailed descriptions of the relevant subsystems of five Amerindian languages or language groups, and a thorough discussion of the theoretical implications of the data presented for a general typology of direction marking and its interactions with other morphosyntactic phenomena. The book includes: an introduction; two chapters addressing general issues in the study of alignment, hierarchically based morphosyntactic mechanisms, and direction (Ch. 1, 'Alignment and direction'; Ch. 2, 'A theory of direction'); five chapters devoted to case studies (Ch. 3, 'Algonquian languages'; Ch. 4, 'Kutenai'; Ch. 5, 'Sahaptian languages'; Ch. 6, 'Kiowa-Tanoan languages'; Ch. 7, 'Mapudungun'); a conclusion (Ch. 8); three appendices on Algonquian paradigms, analysis of Kiowa personal prefixes, and optimality-theoretic syntax of inverses respectively; references; and language, author, and subject indices. The central part of the book provides precise and detailed descriptions of a variety of systems involving direction marking. The morphological intricacies that often make it difficult to choose [End Page 492] between two alternative analyses of the same data are presented as clearly as possible, but without any oversimplification. The accounts given by other linguists are thoroughly analyzed, and when the data allows for alternative interpretations (which is often the case), the competing analyses are carefully compared. After summarizing the basics of alignment typology as exposed in works such as Comrie 1981, Dixon 1994, Harris & Campbell 1995, and Dixon & Aikhenvald 2000, Ch. 1 discusses the way the classic model of alignment can accommodate various types of splits, and in particular the proposals to recognize a 'hierarchical type' (Nichols 1992) or an 'inverse type' (Klaiman 1992) as distinct from the basic types commonly recognized. The indexability hierarchy (Bickel & Nichols 2007)—also known as Silverstein's hierarchy, the empathy hierarchy, the animacy hierarchy, and so on, and omnipresent throughout the book—is described as involving an invariant core 'SAP [speech-act participant] > 3rd person pronouns > [+human] > [+animate] > [-animate]', but allowing for considerable crosslinguistic variation in further details, for example, the possibility to rank SAPs relative to each other as 1 > 2 or 2 > 1, or to leave them unranked. Most importantly, a single language may exhibit distinct variants of an indexability hierarchy with respect to different construction types, as discussed in detail for Algonquian: contrary to the commonly received opinion, the 2 > 1 ranking accounts for one particular aspect of Algonquian indexation systems only (access to prefix slot), but is contradicted by some aspects of the behavior of suffixed person marks. Direction is defined as reflecting 'the alignment between the indexability hierarchy and a relational hierarchy where A's outrank O's' (28), and Zuñiga insists that direction marking (direct vs. inverse) is a possible manifestation of the indexability hierarchy, logically independent from other possible manifestations such as access to marking slots or access to syntactic function. The emphasis on the necessity to clearly distinguish these notions in analyzing the morphosyntax of individual languages, and to consider the question of their interactions not as a theoretical but as an empirical and typological issue, is certainly one of the strongest points of this book. Some confusion may arise, however, from the fact that 'direction' is not always used in conformity with the clear and precise definition formulated on p. 28—which is somewhat surprising, given that, in general, Z is very careful with terminology. On p. 31, DIRECTION is defined as 'dynamic actional deixis', that is, the deictic status of couples of entities encoded as the A and P arguments of transitive verbs: 'he-me', 'you-us', and so on. The concept of DIRECTION2 (formulated on p. 31) involves no reference to any hierarchy, and the relationship between direction2 (defined on p. 31) and direction1 (defined on p. 28...

Structural and semantic constraints on the resolution of pronouns and reflexives

Beyond salience: Interpretation of personal and demonstrative pronouns

Introduction It has been known for quite some time that the binding theory developed in Chomsky (1981) and subsequent work does not account for the full range of binding facts (cf. Maling (1982), Giorgi (1984), Chomsky (1986a), Everaert (1986a), and others): The scope of conditions A and B is limited to binding within the domain of the first accessible subject, the local domain . Therefore, non-clausebounded reflexives, which are commonly referred to as long-distance (LD-) anaphors in languages as diverse as Icelandic, Finnish, Polish, Latin, Chinese, Japanese, etc., cannot be captured (see the various contributions in this volume for discussion and references). Even within the domain to which conditions A and B apply, language does not fully live up to their predictions. In a number of environments pronouns can be found where condition B excludes them. Well-known examples are English sentences of the type John saw the snake near him , reflexive verbs in Dutch and French which allow locally bound first and second person pronouns in object position, and Frisian, where this latitude also obtains with third person object pronouns (see Everaert (chapter 4), and Bouchard (1984)). For years, a unified theory of the various anaphors across languages seemed somewhat unfeasible, in view of the massive differences reported concerning their distribution, particularly in the case of LD-anaphors. A major breakthrough, however, has been the discovery that a distinction is needed between logophoric processes and structural binding relations.

Reporting on a study of 79 languages (see appendix B), I argue that (morpho-)syntactic structure plays a crucial role in two observed asymmetries: (i) in nouns number-driven root suppletion is common while case-driven root suppletion is virtually unattested, and (ii) in contrast to lexical nouns, pronouns commonly supplete for both number and case. I propose that the structural difference between lexical nouns and pronouns, combined with locality effects as proposed in Distributed Morphology (DM; Halle and Marantz 1993), account for the two asymmetries, which raises the question whether these can be captured in frameworks that deny that hierarchical syntactic structure plays a role in the morphology, such as Word and Paradigm approaches (e.g. Anderson 1992, Stump 2001).

Individual differences in the production of word classes in eight specific language-impaired preschoolers

The identification of language markers, referring to both form and content, for common mental health disorders such as major depressive disorder (MDD), can facilitate the development of innovative tools for early recognition and prevention. However, studies in this direction are only at the beginning and are difficult to implement due to linguistic variability and the influence of cultural contexts. This study aims to identify language markers specific to MDD through an automated analysis process based on RO-2015 LIWC (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count). A sample of 62 medicated patients with MDD and a sample of 43 controls were assessed. Each participant provided language samples that described something that was pleasant for them. (1) Screening tests for MDD (MADRS and DASS-21); (2) Ro-LIWC2015 - Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count - a computerized text analysis software, validated for Romanian Language, that analyzes morphology, syntax and semantics of word use. Depressive patients use different approaches in sentence structure, and communicate in short sentences. This requires multiple use of the punctuation mark period, which implicitly requires directive communication, limited in exchange of ideas. Also, participants from the sample with depression mostly use impersonal pronouns, first person pronoun in plural form - not singular, a limited number of prepositions and an increased number of conjunctions, auxiliary verbs, negations, verbs in the past tense, and much less in the present tense, increased use of words expressing negative affects, anxiety, with limited use of words indicating positive affects. The favorite topics of interest of patients with depression are leisure, time and money. Depressive patients use a significantly different language pattern than people without mood or behavioral disorders, both in form and content. These differences are sometimes associated with years of education and sex, and might also be explained by cultural differences.

In responding to customer questions or complaints, should marketing agents linguistically “put the customer first” by using certain personal pronouns? Customer orientation theory, managerial literature, and surveys of managers, customer service representatives, and consumers suggest that firm agents should emphasize how “we” (the firm) serve “you” (the customer), while de-emphasizing “I” (the agent) in these customer–firm interactions. The authors find evidence of this language pattern in use at over 40 firms. However, they theorize and demonstrate that these personal pronoun emphases are often suboptimal. Five studies using lab experiments and field data reveal that firm agents who refer to themselves using “I” rather than “we” pronouns increase customers’ perceptions that the agent feels and acts on their behalf. In turn, these positive perceptions of empathy and agency lead to increased customer satisfaction, purchase intentions, and purchase behavior. Furthermore, the authors find that customer-referencing “you” pronouns have little impact on these outcomes and can sometimes have negative consequences. These findings enhance understanding of how, when, and why language use affects social perception and behavior and provide valuable insights for marketers.

Yakuwarigo is a specific language pattern or style of speaking that originates from stereotypes. This style of speaking involves the use of vocabulary, grammatical structures, expressions, intonation, and other elements associated with a person's characteristic image, such as age, occupation, social status, time period, facial and physical appearance, traits, and so on. This study aims to describe the yakuwarigo used by samurai characters, based on the theory of kinsui (2007). The data source taken is the manga Rurouni Kenshin Meiji Kenkaku Romantan Hokkaido-hen Volume 1. This research uses qualitative descriptive method. The results of this study are from 3 samurai characters in the Rurouni Kenshin Meiji Kenkaku Romantan manga, there are 2 characters using danseigo, and 1 character using bushi kotoba. in the character who uses danseigo, he uses ore as a first person pronoun. whereas in the character who uses bushi kotoba, he uses sessha as a first person pronoun.

[Extract] Languages of different typological profiles are known to employ a wide array of morphosyntactic devices to encode information structure (thus supporting Rizzi 1997). In languages with flexible, or discourse-dependent, order of clausal constituents, linear position in a sentence or clause often correlates with marking topic or focus (cf. Pereltsvaig 2004). Alternative grammatical means encoding information structure may include particles encoding focus or topic, as in Urarina, an isolate from Peru (Olawsky 2006; also see cross-linguistic discussion in Lambrecht 1994), specialized marking on verbs (e.g. focus systems in Western Austronesian languages: see Dixon and Aikhenvald 1997 for a brief survey), or dedicated person marking such as proximal-obviative in Algonquian languages (e.g., lunker 2004; also see Frascarelli 2000). Valency-changing or valency-manipulating devices, such as applicatives, may have an additional pragmatic function, casting highly topical participants as core arguments (see Mithun 2001, for a general perspective). North Arawak languages of adjacent areas of Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia employ different sets of personal cross-referencing prefixes for grammatical marking of information structure (see Aikhenvald 1995, on Baniwa of Icana, and Bare; Aikhenvald 1998 on Warekena of Xie). Tariana, a North Arawak language closely related to Baniwa of lcana, is rather unusual for the Arawak family in that it employs cases on noun phrases as a major means for encoding topical and focal constituents. This is in addition to a plethora of other grammatical means including clausal constituent order, an applicative-like verbal derivation and placement of enclitics. In this paper I investigate the grammatical means for encoding pragmatic notions in Tariana, and outline the dynamics of their development in the situation of intensive language contact with genetically unrelated Tucanoan languages, and the increasingly dominant Portuguese, the local lingua franca. Tariana is the only Arawak language spoken in the multilingual area of the Vaupes River Basin. Its position, and the role of contact-induced change in its history, are addressed in §2. I then turn to a brief analysis of grammatical means encoding pragmatic notions in the Traditional Tariana (§3). This is accompanied by a comparison with similar patterns in Tucanoan languages. Intensive diffusion of patterns between Tariana and other languages of the area has brought about a plethora of changes in the ways of information structure is marked in the language of innovative speakers (§§4-5). The last section (§6) contains a summary.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has affected people’s daily lives and has caused economic loss worldwide. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the pandemic has increased depression levels among the population. However, systematic studies of depression detection and monitoring during the pandemic are lacking.ObjectiveThis study aims to develop a method to create a large-scale depression user data set in an automatic fashion so that the method is scalable and can be adapted to future events; verify the effectiveness of transformer-based deep learning language models in identifying depression users from their everyday language; examine psychological text features’ importance when used in depression classification; and, finally, use the model for monitoring the fluctuation of depression levels of different groups as the disease propagates.MethodsTo study this subject, we designed an effective regular expression-based search method and created the largest English Twitter depression data set containing 2575 distinct identified users with depression and their past tweets. To examine the effect of depression on people’s Twitter language, we trained three transformer-based depression classification models on the data set, evaluated their performance with progressively increased training sizes, and compared the model’s tweet chunk-level and user-level performances. Furthermore, inspired by psychological studies, we created a fusion classifier that combines deep learning model scores with psychological text features and users’ demographic information, and investigated these features’ relations to depression signals. Finally, we demonstrated our model’s capability of monitoring both group-level and population-level depression trends by presenting two of its applications during the COVID-19 pandemic.ResultsOur fusion model demonstrated an accuracy of 78.9% on a test set containing 446 people, half of which were identified as having depression. Conscientiousness, neuroticism, appearance of first person pronouns, talking about biological processes such as eat and sleep, talking about power, and exhibiting sadness were shown to be important features in depression classification. Further, when used for monitoring the depression trend, our model showed that depressive users, in general, responded to the pandemic later than the control group based on their tweets (n=500). It was also shown that three US states—New York, California, and Florida—shared a similar depression trend as the whole US population (n=9050). When compared to New York and California, people in Florida demonstrated a substantially lower level of depression.ConclusionsThis study proposes an efficient method that can be used to analyze the depression level of different groups of people on Twitter. We hope this study can raise awareness among researchers and the public of COVID-19’s impact on people’s mental health. The noninvasive monitoring system can also be readily adapted to other big events besides COVID-19 and can be useful during future outbreaks.

Differential object marking (DOM), also known as Prepositional Accusative in Romance Linguistics, is a marked variation in the realisation of the direct object which codes the direct object via a preposition. As in many languages that have a DOM-system, also in Romance the phenomenon is regulated by semantic features of the referents, such as animacy, definiteness and specificity (bossing 1985, Croft 1988). Animate, definite or specific objects receive an object marker, whereas inanimate, indefinite or non-specific objects remain unmarked. After discussing the main theoretical approaches to the phenomenon, I will analyse DOM in Old Sicilian, based primarily on a corpus of data from the Opera del Vocabolario Italiano (OVI) textual database, a corpus of early Italian containing also vernacular texts prior to 1375. I will attempt to show that DOM emerges in pragmatically and semantically marked contexts, namely with personal pronouns in left dislocations. I will then argue that DOM-system in Old Sicilian is motivated by the need for signaling that these objects are atypical 1) at the information structure level insofar as they are primary topics and 2) at the semantic level, because they are high on the animacy and definiteness hierarchies. Subsequently, I will show that in Modern Sicilian the construction has been extended to non-topical objects which share features of topic-worthiness. As a conclusion, I will argue that DOM signals iconically the non-obviousness of the pragmatic and semantic properties of the marked objects (Croft 1988: 174), which are more salient at the perceptual and cognitive level (cf. Givon 1985: 206), as confirmed by the low frequency of animate and definite objects in transitive clauses.