Low applicatives in Catalan: the case of 'veure-hi'

Naturally reflexive actions are expressed by intransitive reflexive stems in Hebrew and by transitive verbs with the reflexive pronoun sie in Polish. 2. Actions that are not naturally reflexive are expressed by transitive stems with the reflexive pronoun ’acmo in Hebrew, and by transitive verbs with the reflexive pronoun siebie in Polish. 3. Adverbials with anaphors referring to a subject contain personal pronouns in Hebrew, the reflexive pronoun siebie in Polish, if the reflexive reference of the pronoun is not abnormal. Otherwise the reflexive pronoun ’acmo and the emphatic pronoun samego siebie are used. 4. If a pronoun referring to the subject is a predicate, then in Hebrew it always has the form of an ordinary personal pronoun, while in Polish both the personal and the reflexive pronoun is possible, depending on the copula.

Background: Verb argument structure affects language production in aphasia. Unaccusative verbs have been found to be more difficult than transitive or unergative verbs across languages. Transitivity is also a factor with variable influence across aphasia types. Verb inflection production, and in particular tense and aspect, has been found to be vulnerable in aphasia, too. These domains have been studied independently of each other, and their potential interaction has been scarcely addressed.Aims: The present study explores the effects of argument structure and past tense on verb production in Greek aphasia. Additionally, we address the question of the interrelation between inflection and verb and argument structure production.Methods & Procedures: Two tasks were administered to 10 aphasic participants (six anomic, two Wernicke’s and two agrammatic Broca’s). The first task (sentence elicitation) consisted of video presentation and description of the video. The second task (tensed sentence elicitation) consisted of presentation of a video preceded by an adverbial prompting for a specific inflection marking. Participants had to produce a sentence with a verb in a specific past form. In both tasks, three verb classes were tested (unergative, unaccusative and transitive verbs with one object) with six items each.Outcomes & Results: The sentence elicitation task showed that unaccusative verbs are the most difficult class for the aphasic participants whose predominant error was the production of +agentive verbs instead of unaccusatives. The tensed sentence elicitation task showed that while for most patients there was no effect of inflection on verb and verb argument production, a decremental effect was noticed for an agrammatic participant.Conclusions: We suggest that +/− agentivity ranks above transitivity concerning verb production. To account for the unaccusativity effect, we provide a novel account based on the distinction between thematic and aspectual dimension and argue that unaccusative verbs are more difficult to produce, because they involve a mismatch between the two dimensions of argument structure (thematic and aspectual dimension). Concerning the effect of past tense on verb production we show that such pattern is possible but it does not emerge at the group level. Finally, our group data do not suggest any interrelation between inflection, on the one hand, and verb and argument structure production, on the other hand.

We examine the distribution of the transitive verb plus reflexive pronoun/personal pronoun patterns in English and in Japanese. We extract from a Japanese-English parallel corpus examples of the English patterns ‘transitive verb followed by reflexive pronoun’ and ‘transitive verb followed by personal pronoun’ together with their counterparts in Japanese. We estimate the distribution statistically, through a method developed by one of the authors. Then, we analyse the expressions syntactically and semantically, noting especially which types in one language correspond to which types in the other language. Certain types of verbs together with reflexive pronouns in English, for instance, are often translated into intransitive verbs in Japanese, and so on. We attempt to show that it makes more sense to focus on phrase alignments rather than word alignments when considering the correspondence between reflexive pronouns/personal pronouns in English and their counterparts in Japanese.

Background: Verb difficulties in aphasia often co-occur with difficulties specifying argument structure of the sentence. Recent exploration of verb and argument structure deficits has shown dissociations between lexical semantic information, argument structure information, and production of the argument structure. There is currently limited evidence regarding the implications of these dissociations for treatment.Aims: This paper explores the patterns of generalisation following intervention to increase access to verb argument structure for a 62-year-old woman (YR) with chronic agrammatic aphasia. YR had good access to nouns and verbs in picture naming alongside severe sentence production difficulties characterised by difficulty specifying argument structure.Methods & Procedures: Detailed pre-therapy language assessment investigated single word and sentence comprehension and production, with a specific focus on whether YR could produce argument structure. Intervention targeted verb retrieval, awareness of argument structure information, cueing of arguments, and production of argument and syntactic structure involving transitive verbs. A single-subject multiple baseline design was used to monitor the effectiveness of treatment. The primary outcome measure was accuracy of two-argument structures in sentence production to picture and sentence generation to written word tasks, with effects on treated and untreated verbs considered. Other measures of sentence comprehension and production were also obtained to determine any further generalisation.Outcomes & Results: Following the first phase of therapy, YR showed a significant improvement in the production of two-argument structures across both treated and untreated verbs in sentence production to pictures, with a corresponding significant reduction in incomplete argument structures. No change was seen in two-argument structures in sentence generation to written words. After the second phase of therapy, significant gains were seen in two-argument structures with both treated and untreated verbs in the sentence generation task while sentence production to picture performance maintained. Gains in sentence generation were more vulnerable following the cessation of therapy. Other tasks of sentence production also improved with no change seen on a control task.Conclusions: Argument structure can be selectively impaired in aphasia, in the presence of good verb and noun access at the single word level, and targeted in therapy to improve sentence production. The study highlights the complexity of the relationship between verbs and argument structure and that argument structure difficulties are not always a consequence of a semantic verb deficit. Generalised improvement in argument structure production provides evidence that therapy targeted general processes rather than lexically specified argument structure information.

The present study aims to explore the syntactic distribution and use of bare reflexive zi and ji based on an analysis of diachronic corpora of classical Chinese, which, in turn, unveils the origins of argumental and non-argumental ziji in modem Chinese. In this study, there were three major findings concerning reflexive zi and ji in classical Chinese: (1) in terms of syntactic distribution, zi and ji are complementary-ji occurs in an argument position (e.g., subject and object) and zi occurs in a non-argument position (e.g., between a modal and a verb); (2) in terms of syntactic functions, ji serves as a bare reflexive anaphor with the feature [+reflexive]_(-pronoun), whereas zi serves as a reflexive adverbial, which has two different syntactic properties-in most contexts, zi simply contains [+reflexive]_(-adverbial), but in zi + transitive verb (Vt.), zi conflates [+reflexive]_(-adverbial), with [+reflexive]_(-pronoun); and (3) the construction zi + Vt. + ji is not possible in normal syntactic contexts, since reflexive zi and ji cannot co-occur within a verb phrase due to Obligatory Contour Principle (OCP)-this leads to the construction of zi + Vt. These findings reveal that while reflexive zi and ji in classical Chinese have merged into the disyllabic word ziji 'oneself' in modem Chinese, they preserve their functions in both argument and non-argument positions. This, in turn, suggests that argumental and non-argumental ziji in modern Chinese do not share the same origin but, rather, originate from the classical Chinese ji and zi, respectively.

The analysis of basic clause structures shows that clauses in Bahasa Siladang consist of verbal and non-verbal predication. The non-verbal predicate can be filled by an adjective, noun, numeral or prepositional phrase. The analysis of the argument structure shows that the intransitive predicate requires one NP argument as the only argument functioning as the grammatical subject, which can be an agent or a patient. Meanwhile, the transitive verb predicate requires two or more arguments. The presence of these arguments in the predicate in transitive sentences is mandatory. The conclusion from the analysis of the grammatical behavior in syntactic construction is that SL is a language which has a grammatical alignment system which gives the same treatment to A and S, and a different treatment to P. It can be categorized as an accusative language, marking the direct object of transitive verbs, making them different from the subject of both transitive and intransitive verbs.
 Keywords: clause structure, argument structure, syntactic typology

The present study investigated the role of morphosyntactic information in the acquisition of transitive and intransitive verb argument structures (VAS) in the Japanese language, which allows massive omissions of arguments and case markers. In particular, we investigated how the ‘variation sets’ proposed by Küntay and Slobin work in Japanese. Longitudinal interaction data from three Japanese-speaking mother–child pairs were collected at five different times between the ages of 0;10 and 3;01. Children’s acquisition of VAS and mothers’ use of verbs were examined, including morphologically related verbs in a variety of sentence frames with null and overt arguments. The results indicate that all three mothers showed an increase in overt arguments in different syntactic roles as well as lexical given arguments around the time that children started uttering words. However, the use of a variety of sentence frames with null and overt arguments was not uniform among the mothers, and such individual differences were related to the acquisition of VAS among children. These findings support the role of ‘variation sets’ in the acquisition of VAS in Japanese and suggest that the availability of morphosyntactic information in the input helps children to reconstruct VAS.

CHAPTER PREVIEW This chapter discusses the semantics of the clause, particularly the relationship between a verb and its noun participants. This relationship is called the verb's argument structure. There are three basic questions: What principles determine which of the noun phrases associated with a transitive verb will be expressed as subject and which as object? Can verbs be grouped into classes about which argument structure generalizations can be made? Can constructions have meanings on their own? We begin by looking at the semantics of argument structure, a central topic in investigation of the way semantics and syntax are connected. We introduce and motivate the notion of thematic role , and go on to consider the modifications this notion has undergone in research into argument structure (10.1). We then consider argument structure alternations , (10.2), the name for situations where a single verb can take several different argument structures. Lastly, we consider construction grammar, which attributes many apparently lexical meanings to the grammatical constructions in which they occur (10.3). Verbs and participants As the core of the clause, verbs play an important role in the interaction between meaning and syntax. This is because verbs are typically accompanied by nouns which refer to the participants in the event or state the verb describes. These participants receive a range of morphosyntactic markers -case suffixes, subject or object markers, etc. – specifying which participant is the ‘actor’ or instigator of the action, which the undergoer of the action, as well as other possible roles.

This chapter describes Tshangla basic clauses, along with their argument structure, syntactic roles, and transitivity. The chapter focuses on argument suppression vs. zero anaphora, syntactic roles, and transitivity. Tshangla belongs to a class of languages sometimes known as 'pro-drop' languages, also referred to by means of zero anaphora, or 'zero pronouns'. We might say that there are two senses to the Tshangla verb, one for transitive usages, the other for intransitive. Tshangla verbs may be defined as intransitive if they only allow for a single core argument. Transitive verbs, by contrast, may be defined as verbs which may take two core arguments. A verb which may occur either with one or two core arguments will by this definition be a transitive verb. Transitive cause/ verbs are those which allow their agent argument to take the subject position, while intransitives are those for which the cause/agent argument must remain an oblique.Keywords: syntactic roles; transitive verb; transitivity; Tshangla basic clauses; zero anaphora

How the brain processes different dimensions of argument structure complexity: Evidence from fMRI

To increase the efficiency of diagnosis and orthodontic treatment of patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction based on the study of the relationship between the features of the position of the heads of the lower jaw and various face types in patients aged 25 to 44 years according to cone beam computed tomography. We examined 100 people who were divided into two main groups (50 males, 50 females). To study the formed groups index method for diagnosing facial types according to Isar was used. The facial indicator was determined: the percentage of physiognomic height to the morphological width of the face. The structural features and relative positions of the TMJ bone structures in patients with TMJ dysfunction in various face types were studied in the Avantis 3D computer program. It was noted that the upper position of the lower jaw heads in women and men with a narrow type of face was observed in 50% and 40% of cases, respectively; the distal position of the lower jaw heads in women and men with a wide type of face was observed in 50% and 42.3% of cases, respectively. The results of the study indicate that there is a relationship between different types of face and the position of the lower jaw heads in the lower jaw, which should be considered in comprehensive treatment planning. The most at risk of temporal dysfunction is the TMJ of a woman with a narrow type of face, in which dominates the upper position of the lower jaw heads and a woman with a wide type of face with the distal position of the lower jaw heads. Before orthodontic treatment it is necessary to investigate the position of the TMJ heads with the help of CBCT and make a mandatory correction before the beginning of orthodontic treatment.

This article explores the structure of the transitive verb that concurrently appears with both the causative morpheme -is- and the passive morpheme -iw- in Xitsonga. Generally, these two morphemes are treated independently of each other in the literature. Xitsonga is no exception to this phenomenon. No report is available which highlights the effect of the co-occurrence of the causative morpheme -is- and the passive morpheme -iw- on transitive verbs in Xitsonga. This, despite the fact that it is common to find the two morphemes occurring simultaneously on a single transitive verb in the everyday language of Xitsonga speakers. Five issues will be addressed in this article: first, the effect of each of these two morphemes on the argument structure; second, the linearity order of the two morphemes. That is, finding which of the two morphemes precedes or follows the other, as well as finding the order that yields grammaticality and that which yields ungrammaticality. Third, the effect of the features of ambiguity and a focus on the construction in which the transitive verb occurs simultaneously with the two morphemes will be examined. Fourth, the syntactic status, that is, the complement and the adjunct status of the agent PPs which modify the passive together with the determining factors thereof will be investigated. Fifth, the structures and the factors which allow or disallow the omission of agent PPs, instrument PPs and causer PPs, which are also known as unspecified agents/instruments/causers on constructions whose verbs occur with the causative morpheme -is- and the passive morpheme -iw-, including those that occur with the perfect morpheme -ile, in addition to the two morphemes, will be examined.

Previous research on argument structure (AS) has shown that verb processing costs scale with the number of arguments and as a result of non-canonical thematic mapping. The Basque language has unique AS: Basque unergatives and transitives select transitive auxiliary and ergative subject case markings, while unaccusatives are syntactically less complex. We studied the contribution of these syntactic factors in seventy-one, simultaneous Basque-Spanish bilinguals, measuring their performance on unergative, unaccusatives, and transitive verbs in a lexical decision and a sentence production task. We observed no differences between verb groups in the lexical decision task. In the production task, Basque unergatives elicited more ungrammatical sentences, while Spanish unaccusatives, in line with previous findings, elicited longer speech onset times. Our results indicate that AS processing can differ across languages, calling for further cross-linguistic investigation.

Typology study of Ciacia language (CL) in various linguistic aspects has not been conducted yet. It is the first study that focus on syntactic typology. Ciacia language is one of local languages in Buton Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province. The study focuses on five main problems, they are (1) How is the base construction of verbal clause in CL? (2) How are the predicate and structure argument constructions of verbal clause in CL, (3) How are the simple predicate and complex predicate constructions of verbal clause in CL? (4) How are valency and valency change mechanism of verbal clause construction in CL? (5) How are complex sentence construction and grammatical alliance system?. The oral data of this study is obtained through recording and elicitation techniques. Written data is obtained through the previous studies. The study also used synthetic data which is verrified by the informants. The data was analyzed by apportion (distributional) method.
 The investigation of clause base construction shows that verbal clause construction of Ciacia language is always filled by subject and aspect markers (PS/A) that is affixed to PRED verb. Base structure of verbal clause in CL consists of verbal predicated clause and non-verbal predicated clause. Non-verbal predicated clause can be constructed through base nominal and adjective categories. Verbal clause predicate can be filled by intransitive base verb, mono transitive base verb, ditransitive base verb, and ambi-transitive base verb.
 Predication and argument structure of verbal clause construction in CL can be classified in to verbal clause: (i) intransitive with one main argument in terms of SUBJ and as A or OBJ systematically; (ii) semi-transitive with one main argument as A/ACT and with the presence of OBJ argument optionally; (iii) mono-transitive with two main arguments, namely SUBJ as A/ACT with one OBJ argument as UND, (iv) ditransitive with three main arguments, namely SUBJ as A/ACT before PRED and two arguments after PRED, in terms of OTL (indirect object) and OL (direct object); and (v) ambi-transitive with one main argument, namely SUBJ, either as Sa or as So.
 Valency and transitivity of verbal clause construction in CL consists of (i) valency and intransitive verb transitivity with one argument or verb with one valency; (ii) semi-transitive verb with one argument before verb and the presence of argument after Pred verb optionally; (iii) transitive with the obligatory of O presence after Pred verb, so it has two main arguments or verb that has two valency arguments, namely S and O; (iv) ditransitive with three main arguments or verb that has three valency arguments; (v) ambi-transitive with only one argument or verb that has one valency.
 Verbal clause construction in CL can be filled by simple Pred verb and complex Pred verb. Simple predicate is created by base verb/intransitive verb and non-verb category, semi-transitive verb, and transitive verb with PS/A. Complex predicate is created through verb (i) intransitive; (ii) semi-transitive verb; and (iii) transitive integral verb. The valency change mechanism of verbal clause construction in CL can be done through formal causativation and semantic causativation, applicative, and resultative.

Part 1 A learnability paradox: argument structure and the lexicon the logical problem of language acquisition Baker's paradox attempted solutions to Baker's paradox. Part 2 Constraints on lexical rules: morphological and phonological constraints semantic constraints how semantic and morphological constraints might resolve Baker's paradox evidence for criteria-governed productivity problems for the criteria-governed productivity theory. Part 3 Constraints and the nature of argument structure: overview - why lexical rules carry semantic constraints constraints of lexical rules as manifestations of more general phenomena a theory of argument structure on universality. Part 4 Possible and actual forms: the problem of negative exceptions transitive action verbs as evidence for narrow subclasses the nature of narrow conflation classes defining and motivating subclasses of verbs licensing the four alterations the relation between narrow-range and broad-range rules. Part 5 Representation: the need for a theory of lexicosemantic representation is a theory of lexical semantics feasible? evidence for a semantic subsystem underlying verb meanings a cross-linguistic inventory of components of verb meaning a theory of the representation of grammatically relevant semantic structures explicit representations of lexical rules an lexicosemantic structures summary. Part 6 Learning: linking rules lexical semantic structures broad conflation classes (thematic cores) and broad range lexical rules summary of learning mechanisms. Part 7 Development: developmental sequence for argument structure alterations the unlearning problem children's argument structure changing rules are always semantically conditioned do children's errors have the same cause as adults? acquisition of verb meaning and errors in argument structure some predictions about the acquisition of narrow-range rules summary of development. Part 8 Conclusions: a brief summary of the resolution of the paradox argument structure as a pointer between syntactic structure and propositions the autonomy of semantic representation implications for the semantic bootstrapping hyposthesis conservatism, listedness and the lexicon spatial schemas and abstract thought.