LF Interface Research Articles

Se out of control

Within the framework of a uniform theory of the so-called se constructions in Spanish, I propose to explain a control ban that has received almost no attention in the previous bibliography. Specifically, as long as a subject control sentence has an impersonal SE as controller, the subordinate infinitive clause cannot contain any other instance of the clitic SE, other than the so-called spurious SE. The source of this restriction follows, as I will argue, from a legibility problem at LF produced, specifically, by a failed attempt to apply Agree between PRO and the embedded SE, which, as we shall see, acts as a probe for A-movement. If the explanation that I offer is correct, it also follows a series of theoretical conclusions that directly affect the way in which we must conceive of the design of Agree in the syntax and its effect at the LF interface. In particular, the system tolerates certain Agree failures (Preminger 2014) as long as it does not affect legibility in the semantics. Indeed, the theory of SE constructions that I assume here derives the distinction between paradigmatic and non-paradigmatic SE as the result of successful or unsuccessful Agree applications, respectively. The limit of this tolerance to failed applications of Agree must be found in the type of semantic object that can be deduced at LF. This limit is illustrated with the aforementioned restriction in control and impersonal SE contexts that motivates the present study.

Against the Low Periphery as Phrase Markers: Two Types of Contrastive Dislocations in Mandarin Chinese*

AbstractWe argue that the contrastive dislocation to the low peripheral position in Mandarin Chinese does not target phrase markers, like TopicP or FocusP, contra recent proposals that attempt to extend the cartographic theory to the low IP‐area. We argue that such dislocations are best analyzed as PF movements, which display the total reconstruction effect and do not affect the LF interface. We show that the contrastive dislocation to the low periphery in Mandarin Chinese is subject to the same PF licensing condition found in the Object Shift construction in Scandinavian. Our analysis thus claims that the low periphery is not a part of the narrow syntax (unlike the left periphery). The templatic nature of the low periphery explains why it is more restricted across languages and is prone to linguistic variation.

Implementation and Verification of a Low-Power UHF/LF Wireless Sensor Network as Part of the Intelligent Container

Abstract In this paper a new Low-Power UHF/LF Sensor System for the use in a container environment is presented. The aim is the dynamic and precise monitoring of physical parameters to minimize the loss of perishable food during transportation. Next to common UHF based Wireless Sensor Nodes [1] an LF interface is added that is able to wake up dedicated Sensor Nodes and request particular sensor values. A basestation is used to handle the communication and monitor the acquired sensor data. The whole system is adapted to the specific needs of transportation and is integrated in a 40 feet refrigerated container and long term measurements are taken to verify the proposed concept.

An adjunction analysis of quantifiers and adverbials in the Hungarian sentence

The paper argues against the uniform analysis of the left-peripheral elements of sentence structure as specifiers of designated functional projections, participating in feature checking. It shows on the basis of Hungarian evidence that quantifiers and adverbials – though sharing with specifiers the property of c-commanding their scope at the syntax–LF interface – also have properties which distinguish them from operators substituted into specifier positions, e.g., the lack of V-movement, multiple potential merging sites, and the lack of a fixed direction. So as to account for these properties, and to eliminate problems raised by feature-checking theories, e.g., Brody and Szabolcsi (2003), adverbial placement and Q-raising are analyzed as adjunction, which is defined as a spatial operation linearizable either as left-adjunction or as right-adjunction.

Aspect and argument realization: A study on antecedentless null objects in Greek

The aim of this study is to investigate the interaction between viewpoint aspect and argument realization. More specifically, we examine the correlation of +/−perfective verb forms in Greek and null objects with indefinite, non-specific interpretation. It is argued that although null objects are possible with both perfective and imperfective verbs, imperfective verbs favour object omission more than perfectives. We claim that this is due to two reasons: first, that there is a difference in the syntactic representation of overt direct objects with perfective and imperfective verbs, which is associated with the notion of economy in their respective derivations, i.e. Merge as opposed to Merge + Move; secondly, that perfective verbs show an interpretive difference at the LF interface depending on the overt versus null nature of the direct object, whereas imperfectives do not. The difference is related to the semantic notion of telicity. This prediction has been tested in an off-line sentence-completion task with two groups of native speakers of Greek, an adult and a child group. The data revealed that native speakers of Greek preferred to use overt DP objects with perfective verbs more than with imperfectives. This finding is interpreted as showing that Aspect is a functional feature with an effect on argument realization.

A novel high performance adhesion enhancing Zn-Cr leadframe coating for popcorn prevention

A novel adhesion enhancing Zn-Cr (A2) leadframe coating has been reported to be a highly effective solution for popcorn prevention in plastic surface mount packages. In this paper, we report our recent understanding of the adhesion and degradation mechanisms of such a coating system. TEM and TOF-SIMS were employed to study the structure of A2-coating and the molding compound/leadframe (MC/LF) interface. The A2-coating was found to be a partially thin, crystalline layer comprised of a continuous interfacial layer and a network of whiskers. Zn silicate compound, ZnO and Cr oxide(s) were identified as possible phases present in the A2-coating. The adhesion enhancing and degradation mechanisms of the A2-coating were investigated by lead pull test to study the influence of temperature cycling, pressure cooker testing, moisture preconditioning, and leadframe oxidation. The adhesion data showed that the A2-enhanced MC/Cu LF interface is not susceptible to thermomechanical stress and moisture degradation. The wetting of the molding compound coupled with mechanical interlocking mechanism offered by the whiskers are believed to be key contributing factors of adhesion enhancement. Degradation of the A2-enhanced MC/Cu LF adhesion was observed after 100 min exposure at 300/spl deg/C by Cu oxide formation from Cu outward diffusion through the A2-layer and was validated by AES analysis operated in the depth profiling mode. Lead pull test specimens were cleaved to have access to the MC/Cu LF interface for RBS analysis to identify the locus of failure.

Long Head Movement and Information Packaging in Breton

This article explores long head movement configurations in Breton. Its purpose is twofold. First it contributes to existing work by demonstrating that Breton long head movement is motivated by information structure. The operation of general economy principles, made sensitive to information structure, determines many of the properties of the Breton construction. Secondly, it is argued that the derivation of the Breton construction does not involve movement per se; minimality conditions on movement are not central to the derivation. Instead, the remaining properties of the construction are attributed to a semantic property of tense-aspect markers which is represented at the LF interface. This work bears on the issue of how to model the interpretive dependency between auxiliaries and main verbs and raises questions concerning the interaction between the stylistic component, information structure, and the LF interface.