General Linguistic Theory Research Articles

Phenomenon of Functional Homonymy in Ossetian Language

The phenomenon of homonymy in the Ossetian language is considered as one of the complex and multi-aspect problems in Ossetian linguistics and in general linguistic theory. The lack of special works in Ossetian studies makes it relevant to consider this phenomenon in the context of functional homonymy. It is emphasized that the factors complicating the process of studying the conditions of emergence and functioning of homonyms in language and speech are the semantic intersections with polysemy, grammatically diverse “unpredictability”, functional variability, and as a result, the presence of various classifications and definitions within homonyms. An overview of the most well-known classifications of homonyms, analysis of lexicographical sources and literary texts has been made. As a result, the main criteria for “recognizing” functional homonyms have been identified and their differentiation from lexicalgrammatical homonyms in the Ossetian language has been carried out. The analysis has shown a number of difficulties in identifying functional homonyms. The author concludes that morphological instability and the syntactic functions of a word in a sentence can change its semantics, thus transferring it from one type of homonym to another. At the same time, it is noted that the main etymological principle of distinguishing homonyms may be ineffective when considering a larger number of parts of speech.

Значение концепции Р. О. Якобсона для исследования категории засвидетельствованности

This paper analyzes the theoretical and linguistic substantiation of the status, semantics, and functions of the verbal category of evidentiality suggested by R. Jakobson in his famous work “Shifters, Verbal Categories and the Russian Verb.” When studying the linguistic-typological classification of verbal categories and their organization in the scientific paradigm of the general linguistic theory of speech activity, the scholar distinguished a separate grammatical category of evidentiality. Its special function in a speech communicative act was identified as “indicating the source of information about the reported fact”, with illustrations of the morphological expression of different variants of the speaker’s evidence of the reported event provided. Jakobson examined the data of the two South Slavic languages, Bulgarian and Macedonian, and also the published descriptions of the indigenous languages of North America. However, of concern is his identification of the “indicated source of information about the reported fact” with the “transmitted fact of the message”, suggesting the morphologically expressed indication of some source of information to indicate the preceding speech communicative act, a previously received message. Jakobson refers to the source of information as “a message from some other person.” However, no explanation is provided regarding the basis and logic of attributing all “sources of information about a reported fact” to a “citation” source. This paper argues the Jakobson’s concept to serve as a theoretical basis for modern studies of the grammatical category of evidentiality. The significance of the verbal category of evidentiality is traced by describing the evidential verbal forms in the Selkup language.

Lexical stylistic features of Mo Yan’s literary texts (based on the short stories “Genius” and “Set free”)

The article is devoted to the study of lexical and stylistic means of creating portraits of heroes and objects in the short stories of the Chinese writer Mo Yan. The necessity of deepening the general linguistic theory about lexical stylistics and the wide usage of lexicalstylistic means in Mo Yan’s works, as well as the lack of research on this topic determine the relevance of our research. The aim of the work is to highlight and analyze in detail all the lexical and stylistic tools used by Mo Yan in his novels to describe the emotions, character traits and appearance of the characters and to paint a portrait landscape of nature and the environment. The article examines the main aspects of lexical stylistics, which is stylistic means in combination with the contextual meanings of words, especially their coloring, expressiveness, emotionality and signs of unmarkedness. The analysis of lexical and stylistic units was carried out on the basis of Mo Yan’s stories 天才 «Genius”, 放呀 “Set Free”. In parallel with the illustrative material, the own translation of both novels is suggested. By using special theoretical and linguistic methods in this study, we managed to identify the entire range of lexical means, with the help of which the author constructs and describes the image of the main characters of his stories. Based on the analysis of quotations and excerpts, it was found that the majority of lexical and stylistic devices are represented in Mo Yan’s texts with the help of tropical figures that gravitate to linguistics, unmarked vocabulary or groups of words by lexical meaning. Using the method of percentage transformation, the ratio of all lexical and stylistic units in each work was determined separately. From a literary point of view, the general features of the author’s writing style are outlined: unique features of the images of characters and inanimate objects, authentic motives and gender features of the protagonists of the works. From the point of view of translation studies, the main problems of translating realia and the reasons for the formation of lacuna in the target language were illustrated.

CONCEPTUALIZING LITERACY IN AAC: SOME REFLECTIONS

Literacy is a concept, which almost has taken over and included concepts like reading, writing and inter human social communication in general. However, it has only recently been integrated into the AAC-fields connected to social work, special education and assistive technologies. This paper focuses on some key-questions regarding AAC and literacy, mentioning that the holistic approach of AAC in combination with a general linguistic theory as the one by Charles Peirce, creates a more whole or holistic perspective for thinking and looking for answers on these questions. The social model created by Uri Bronfenbrenner is also very applicable. Even though a holistic approach demands openness on the behalf of the teacher or interventionist as well as of the user her/himself, it is important to remember the need for good methods and methodology, based upon good practical evidence with the common target to acquire literacy.

Behavioral and Neurodynamic Effects of Word Learning on Phonotactic Repair.

Processes governing the creation, perception and production of spoken words are sensitive to the patterns of speech sounds in the language user’s lexicon. Generative linguistic theory suggests that listeners infer constraints on possible sound patterning from the lexicon and apply these constraints to all aspects of word use. In contrast, emergentist accounts suggest that these phonotactic constraints are a product of interactive associative mapping with items in the lexicon. To determine the degree to which phonotactic constraints are lexically mediated, we observed the effects of learning new words that violate English phonotactic constraints (e.g., srigin) on phonotactic perceptual repair processes in nonword consonant-consonant-vowel (CCV) stimuli (e.g., /sre/). Subjects who learned such words were less likely to “repair” illegal onset clusters (/sr/) and report them as legal ones (/∫r/). Effective connectivity analyses of MRI-constrained reconstructions of simultaneously collected magnetoencephalography (MEG) and EEG data showed that these behavioral shifts were accompanied by changes in the strength of influences of lexical areas on acoustic-phonetic areas. These results strengthen the interpretation of previous results suggesting that phonotactic constraints on perception are produced by top-down lexical influences on speech processing.

A Theoretical Review of General Linguistic on Linguistic Phenomena in Arabic Language

This paper aims to describe linguistic phenomena in Arabic as seen from general linguistic theories. Based on the universal nature of language, the unique of a language system can be analyzed using external approaches outside of it. By this comparative method, novelty can be found frequently and encourage the development of a theory. The method used is descriptive and comparative. Descriptive methods are used to describe general linguistic theories. The comparative method is used to find the similarities of the two linguistic systems, especially at the syntactic and morphological levels. Several conclusions were drawn. First, at the syntactic level, Arabic has a system that is not much different from the system in general linguistics. Several syntactic theories in general linguistics such as transitivity theory, X-Bar Theory, Theta Theory and Case Theory can be found in Arabic equivalent. Second, in its morphological system, Arabic also has the same word formation processes such as Affixation, Acronym, Conversion, Back Formation, Clipping, Blending, Compounding, Borrowing, and Coinage.

Headedness and modification in Functional Discourse Grammar

The notions of head and modifier are two basic tenets of general linguistic theory and play a fundamental role in the view of grammatical structure endorsed by Functional Discourse Grammar. The aim of this paper is to refine the theory’s current approach to headedness and modification, according to which linguistic expressions that lack a head at the semantic or the pragmatic level are not available for any sort of lexical modification. It is argued that this assumption originates from a view of headedness and modification inherited from traditional Functional Grammar, where heads and modifiers were conceived of, respectively, as “first” and “second” restrictors of the variable to which they apply; such an approach, I will suggest, is no longer tenable in the light of the theoretical principles that have meanwhile been introduced in the framework of Functional Discourse Grammar. The main proposal put forth in the paper is that, by shifting to a definition of the head/modifier opposition in terms of internal vs. external specifications of the linguistic units which they serve to qualify, Functional Discourse Grammar becomes perfectly capable of accounting for any possible type of modification of headless pragmatic or semantic units.

Verbal Argument Structure in the War Scroll

Abstract This essay presents the results of an extended study of verbal argument structure in the War Scroll (1QM). I first establish a method based in generative linguistic theory. I then illustrate this method with a discussion of the argument structure of Qal ‮יצא‬‎ in 1QM and other Dead Sea Scrolls. Following this case study, I present the data from 1QM on verb argument structure—specifically, instances where 1QM adds evidence that is not covered in previous studies of the Dead Sea Scrolls. 1QM presents few developments from earlier Hebrew; I argue that such continuity is significant. I conclude with reflections on the implications of argument structure in 1QM for the study of ancient Hebrew.

Child Relativized Minimality and Grammaticality Judgement.

Grammaticality judgements are the fundamental experimental source of generative linguistic theory. They may be difficult to elicit, especially in some populations, but generally they inform us neatly about what the grammar licenses or, on the contrary, bans. On the other hand, acceptability is multifactorial and therefore, unlike grammaticality judgement, can be quantified. In this paper I consider a particular empirical domain, that of Relativized Minimality (RM) in acquisition, and its relation to the dichotomy between grammaticality and acceptability. Friedmann et al. (2009) argued that children hold a stricter version of RM than adults. In particular, children would require a disjoint feature specification, not just a distinct feature specification, between target and intervener. The literature shows asymmetries in comprehension of subject and object relative clauses in various languages which fulfill the predictions of child RM. Variation between adults and children might be expected not only in production and comprehension, but also in grammaticality judgement. If so, children would be predicted to reject object relatives as well as the classic RM violations. Alternatively, if child RM is a processing effect, the prediction is that children would be able to tease apart object relative clauses from RM violations under favorable processing conditions. The question I address is: do children assimilate RM violations and object relative clauses? Grammaticality judgement should provide an answer to this question. In this paper I present an experiment targeting grammaticality judgement for object relatives and RM violations and report preliminary results for a group of 6-year-old Catalan-speaking children showing that object relatives and RM violations are not judged in a parallel fashion, since RM violations are rejected more often than object relatives.

An unaddressed phonological contradiction

Abstract There is general agreement on the main features of the process through which the phonology of modern standard Chinese has evolved over three millennia from that of Old Chinese. However, according to general linguistic theory, that phonological history is impossible: the theory claims that no human language can evolve in the manner in which Chinese is believed to have evolved. Furthermore, this particular strand of general linguistic theory has recently been corroborated through stringent statistical testing. Thus there is a glaring contradiction between two areas of scholarship, and to date there has been little recognition by the scholarly community of the need to resolve this contradiction, indeed little willingness to admit its existence. I argue that the contradiction is real and serious, and needs resolution.

Changing Genders: Linguistic Factors Beyond Ambiguous Gender Marking and the Case of Spanish el arte vs el ave and el hambre

The Spanish noun arte is unique in that it is, for all intents and purposes, masculine in the singular, but feminine in the plural, e.g. el arte culinario vs las artes culinarias. This noun was feminine in Latin, and in Old Spanish as well, but because it has been preceded by the ‘feminine el’ (i.e., allomorph of the feminine definite article la) and has exhibited the ambiguous gender marker –e, el arte (feminine) was eventually, and understandably, reanalysed as el arte (masculine). The feminine nouns ave and hambre, however, which exhibit the same morphology as arte when appearing with the feminine el, complicate the seemingly transparent historical development of the change in gender from el arte (f.) > el arte (m.). The present study seeks to identify factors beyond ambiguous gender marking that can explain why a change in gender from feminine to masculine has occurred in the case of el arte, but not in the case of el ave and el hambre, thus contributing, not only to our understanding of this one aspect of Spanish historical grammar, but also to issues of gender and gender change in general linguistic theory.

Тематико-ідеографічний аспект опису та аналізу епонімії

The paper focuses on the thematic-ideographic aspect of eponymic derivation and, correspondingly, eponymic derivation relationship. Eponymy is a three-member structure which consists of an underlying proper name, a derived eponymic lexeme (or phraseme), and the language-internal as well as extralinguistic relationship between the underlying and derived entities. Eponyms are derived from proper names (or onoma propria). From the viewpoint of thematic-ideographic classification, eponyms are categorized into various groups, such as realonyms and mythonyms, in accordance with what is their real world status: realonyms denote real objects, whereas mythonym non-existent or fictitious ones. In the group of realonyms, such thematic-ideographic subclasses are distinguished as anthroponyms, ergonyms, ethnonyms, zoonyms, cosmonyms, toponyms, chrononyms and chrematonyms (indcluding ideonyms), and in mythonym group, mythological anthroponyms, ergonyms, ethnonyms, zoonyms and theonyms (including daemonyms), toponyms and chrematonyms. Various thematic-ideographic groups of proper names differ in the degree of their activity with respect to eponym formation. Illustrating this, the authors draw on relevant etymological and semantic data: each group of Ukrainian, English and French examples is provided with etymological and semantic information. They also consider the problem of the special status of chrononyms and ethnonyms as proper names. Their study shows that in the abovementioned languages, the most productive with respect to eponymic derivation are anthroponyms and toponyms, and the most unproductive, chronomyms and chrematonyms, No eponyms are found to derived from onomastic fitonyms. An important part of eponym study, thematic-ideographic and other, is so called source critique, something which is demonstrated by the analysis of some entries of Etymologic dictionary of the Ukrainian language (ESUM), The present paper and the materials it contains are of interest for general linguistic theory research in the field of the overall semantic and semiotic potential of the secondary use of proper names as a whole and their individual thematic-ideographic subclasses in particular.

Equidistance returns

Abstract Modern generative linguistic theory furnishes a variety of general principles that appear to be at work in the grammar of all the world’s languages. One of the most basic and uncontroversial of these principles is that Agree/Move operates according to the constraint Attract Closest, which dictates that the closest suitable goal must be the target for the relevant operation (Rizzi 1990; Chomsky 1995, 2000; Richards 1998). The Polynesian language Niuean (Tongic subgroup, predicate initial word order, ergative-absolutive case system) presents a well known challenge to the universality of {Attract Closest}. The challenge manifests in a variety of distinct constructions in Niuean, but the best known case involves an operation first documented by Seiter (1980), which he terms “raising.” Specifically, Niuean raising appears to license an A-type dependency between the subject position of the matrix clause and the object position of an immediately embedded clause. This is illustrated in (1), where the semantic object of the embedded subjunctive clause, Sione, appears as the syntactic subject of the matrix predicate maeke. (1) To maeke a Sione$_{1}$ [ke lagomatai he ekekafo $t_{1}$]. fut possible abs Sione sbj help erg doctor ‘It’s possible the doctor can help Sione.’ (lit.: Sione is possible that the doctor help [him]) Granting that the filler-gap dependency in (1) is A-type, this is both a clear violation of {Attract closest} (Rizzi 1992; Chomsky 1995; Richards 1998) and a typological anomaly. Our aim in this paper is to argue that such apparent violations of {Attract Closest} are only that. Specifically, we show first that the challenge inherent in Seiter’s raising construction is pervasive throughout the language: in general, objects are accessible to syntactic operations even if the intervening clause-mate subject is also a licit target. In other words, Niuean clause-mate subjects and objects are equally accessible to syntactic operations. Then, we argue that this typologically uncommon equal-accessibility follows from the convergence of several otherwise independently attested operations: (i) a configurational system of case licensing, with a $v$P as the case computation domain; (ii) obligatory object shift to Spec($v$P); (iii) an EPP on T triggering V/VP-raising rather than DP externalization. The resulting basic clause structure is then as below, so that Niuean adheres to standard locality constraints. (2)

Language acquisition and linguistic theory: When linguistic theory meets empirical data

Abstract This Special Issue brings together the current work of well-established and well-known researchers in the field of language acquisition from a formal approach across several languages and of bilingual acquisition (2L1 and adult simultaneous and successive bilinguals), focusing on the syntax, semantics and pragmatics of different linguistic phenomena. Specifically, the four papers that will encompass this Special Issue together with an afterword paper written by a leading researcher in the field, Itziar Laka, discuss two main issues for current linguistic theory, both related, in this discussion, to Spanish: on the one hand, how do data and phenomena from the acquisition of different Romance languages inform and shape generative linguistic theory? And, on the other, how does generative linguistic theory frame and constrain research on the acquisition of Romance languages? To that end, divergent bilingual populations are used in these studies, which present longitudinal or cross-sectional data using a diverse range of methodologies (more on this within the individual summaries).

The construction of textual cohesion in Spanish and Italian, as mother tongues and as second languages

This paper analyses 80 narrative texts concerned with Italian and Spanish as L1s and L2s. We shall compare the way both native speakers and learners build textual cohesion when faced with a narrative task involving several referential restrictions: contrasts of entity and polarity; maintenance of the same predication; temporal shifts; etc. The stimulus used to collect the data is The Finite Story by Dimroth (2006). Our work adds to the debate about the learners’ tendency to establish anaphoric linkage according to the specific grammaticized or lexicalized (readily encodable) concepts of their mother tongue even when their competence in L2 is advanced and their L1 is typologically and genetically very close to the L2. Nevertheless, our native and acquisitional data show that grammatical and lexical facts cannot exhaustively explain the speakers’ choices with respect to textual cohesion and the construction of perspective in a given language; an integrative explanation is therefore necessary. We propose to combine the Quaestio model with an enunciative framework. Finally, we will offer some reflections about the functioning of languages in general, which will contribute to general linguistic theory as well as to the domain of second language acquisition.

Systemic-functional linguistics in China (2010–2016)

This article reviews Systemic-Functional Linguistic Studies in China in the period of 2010–2016. To keep scholars up-to-date about Systemic-Functional Linguistics (SFL) in China, there have been several state-of-the-art introductions and reviews of different periods before the present one. The present is a continuation of previous reviews; it covers the period from 2010 through 2016, when SFL continued to thrive as an appliable and general linguistic theory. This can be seen from the number of studies published as journal articles, collections, monographs, and regular conferences, “systemics weeks” and colloquia. We group the studies into eight areas according to the research topics: theoretical explorations, syntax, discourse analysis, studies of Chinese, translation studies and language comparison, the Appraisal Theory (AT) and its applications, grammatical metaphor (GM), and other topics. We will discuss the new trends shown in these studies and suggest directions for future research.

Afterword: Where are we now?

Labov recapitulates his view of linguistics when he entered the field in 1961, and what he hoped to achieve. He acknowledges Meyerhoff's stress on the convergence of methods and Coupland's view of the vernacular as an ‘overdetermined’ concept which is simultaneously undervalued. The value of new methods for the study of variation has been tested by their application to other cultures (Gal), to African American Vernacular English (Rickford), and to indigenous and endangered languages (Stanford). Thomas indicates how the Atlas of North American English builds on traditional methods of American dialect geography. Johnstone's account of Labov's approach to narrative links sociolinguistic work to broader areas in the humanities. Cornips and Gregersen see Labov's contribution to general linguistic theory as a joint enterprise in which intuitions and observations form a harmonious database.

The impact of Labov's contribution to general linguistic theory

The paper first discusses the influence of Labov on certain recent Chomskyan developments, starting from an identification of two radically different readings of the relationship between Labovian variationist sociolinguistics and the dominant theoretical paradigm of the latter half of the 20th century which is Chomskyan theoretical linguistics, i.e. as either a supplement or an alternative. Variation at the level of closely related languages, at the level of the language community, and at the level of the individual, have all been treated by Chomskyans under various headings, thus giving evidence that empirical results stemming from variationist sociolinguistics cannot be ignored. However, the treatment has not led to an integration of variation into Chomskyan theory, nor could it. In the final section we outline what a Labovian materialist alternative to Chomskyan idealism could be. We argue that this calls for a broader definition of sociolinguistics than just variationism and poses demands for both internal integration, viz. of linguistic disciplines, and external integration of the language sciences with evolutionary psychology, anthropology and social history.

Another look at the universal grammar hypothesis: Commentary on Evans 2014

Another look at the universal grammar hypothesis: Commentary on Evans 2014 Adele E. Goldberg It is important to recognize that The language myth (TLM) is not a research monograph, but is instead aimed at a popular audience, and therefore it should be judged in this light. Popular books necessarily oversimplify certain issues, on pain of not being very popular, yet TLM does satisfy its intended purpose: it demonstrates, in a clear and engaging way, that the existence of a universal grammar, involving structure or syntactic knowledge that is unique to language and not learned, is quite far from established fact (see also e.g. Ambridge et al. 2014, Christiansen & Chater 2008, Elman et al. 1996, Evans & Levinson 2009, Everett 2012, Goldberg 2013, 2016, Hurford 2012, Newmeyer 2016, Sampson 2005, Tomasello 1995). The position that TLM counters is no straw man, as the following easy-to-find quotes make clear (boldface added): Two facts about language learning are indisputable. First, only a human baby, but not her pet kitten, can learn a language. It is clear, then, that there must be some element in our biology that accounts for this unique ability. Chomsky’s Universal Grammar (UG), an innate form of knowledge specific to language, is a concrete theory of what this ability is. (Yang 2004:451) Generative linguistic theory stands on the hypothesis that grammar cannot be acquired solely on the basis of an analysis of the input, but depends, in addition, on innate structure within the learner to guide the process of acquisition. (Lidz et al. 2003:295) the most controversial claim of Noam Chomsky’s is that Language is also an instinct. Many parts of Language are built in, or innate. Much of Language is an ability hard-wired into our brains by our genes … . There are very good reasons to believe … that a human faculty for Language (perhaps in the form of a ‘Language organ’ in the brain) is innate. We call this facility Universal Grammar (or UG). (Carnie 2013:19) [End Page 200] Many of the familiar arguments in favor of a universal grammar are addressed and countered in TLM, and the book weaves together discussions drawn from research in linguistics, psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, and anthropology. Evans agrees that human language is distinct from animal communication in many ways, even while he draws certain parallels between them (Ch. 2). While it follows from this generally agreed-upon conclusion that humans’ general capacity for language is in some way unique to our species, it simply does not follow that any knowledge or structure that is specific to language need be ‘innate’ (cf. Adger 2015:77 and the first quote above). Instead, a combination of prerequisites for language may be required, prerequisites that need not themselves be specific to language and that may interact with one another and the environment in complicated ways (Ch. 4). This more subtle perspective concerning how phenotypes relate to genotypes has much evidence in its favor and is, in fact, uncontroversial within biology generally (see Blumberg 2005 for a popular overview). E addresses the issue of whether there exists evidence of provable (i.e. falsifiable) language universals in Ch. 3. He briefly surveys a range of work on absolute and implicational (i.e. ‘if a language has X, then it has Y’) universals, and covers topics ranging from phonology to syntax in clear and jargon-free prose. He concludes that falsifiable language universals are relatively rare and are typically explicable in terms of the functional pressures of communication as well as domain-general constraints (see also Newmeyer 2016). Ch. 4 focuses on language acquisition, emphasizing the role of statistics in the input, as well as the functions of constructions that are learned. This chapter also reviews some important evidence that human ‘cultural-intelligence’ serves as a key and uniquely human prerequisite for language (see also Ch. 8; and for relevant data, see Herrmann et al. 2007, Tomasello 2009). Ch. 5 discusses the neural underpinnings of language, emphasizing arguments against a modular linguistic system. Here it may be worth pointing out that even if there do exist areas in the typically developed adult brain that are devoted to language (as argued in Fedorenko et...

John Rupert Firth?s Model of Linguistics: A Critical Study

The attempt was made to clarify Firth’s main interests in linguistics. His writings show that the study of ‘Meaning’ and ‘Context’ should be central in linguistics, in addition to the development of a model called ‘Prosodic Analysis’, where he laid out his views as to how language works and how linguists should approach its analysis. For Firth, the analysis of language comes within the range of a social theory. A general linguistic theory should then study language as a social behavior, and context within the context of culture. Firth also advocated the investigation of corpora of written texts, which can be strategically selected to exemplify a restricted language.