Main Clause Research Articles

Incremental or delayed processing? L2 learners’ active gap-fillingin sentence comprehension

The contrast between first language (L1) and second language (L2) sentence processing provides valuable insights into how linguistic knowledge and cognitive mechanisms shape real-time comprehension. While L1 speakers are known to engage in incremental parsing–integrating linguistic input as it becomes available–it remains debated whether adult L2 learners adopt similar strategies or rely on delayed, non-structural parsing as proposed by the Shallow Structure Hypothesis (SSH). To investigate this, the present study employed the visual world eye-tracking paradigm to examine how Japanese L2 learners of English process structurally ambiguous wh-questions. Results revealed a strong preference for main clause (MC) interpretations, mirroring native speaker behavior. Crucially, eye-tracking data showed early fixation patterns consistent with active gap-filling, providing evidence against SSH. Furthermore, L2 learners demonstrated an even stronger commitment to the MC analysis than native speakers, suggesting that while their syntactic processing is guided by incremental structural parsing, it may also reflect a greater reliance on initial interpretations.

V2 in non-subject-initial main clauses in Latin American Norwegian: Results from a narration task

This paper presents an investigation of the verb second (V2) rule in Norwegian heritage language in Latin America (LatAmNo). Using a narrative retelling task with segments from the Chaplin film Modern Times, data was collected from 19 LatAmNo speakers from Argentina, Ecuador and Chile, and 10 homeland Norwegian speakers as a control group. The study focuses on non-subject-initial, declarative main clauses; the results show that LatAmNo speakers generally retain V2 despite some variation, in line with previous studies of Scandinavian heritage languages. LatAmNo speakers also exhibit a lower proportion of non-subject-initial declaratives than homeland speakers. This is similar to what has been observed in North American Norwegian (NAmNo); however, in LatAmNo, the lower proportion of non-subject-initial declaratives cannot be straightforwardly explained by cross-linguistic influence, in contrast to what has been proposed for NAmNo (Westergaard et al. 2023).

Mood Selection in the Old Northumbrian Gloss to Durham MS A.iv.19

AbstractThe aim of this article is to examine the use of the subjunctive in the 10th‐century Old Northumbrian gloss to Durham, MS.A.iv.19. We assess whether there is evidence for a weakening of the indicative/subjunctive opposition, as has been argued for the earlier gloss to the Lindisfarne Gospels, which was the work of the same glossator, Aldred of Chester‐le‐Street. For this purpose, we analyse the subjunctive forms in both main and subordinate clauses in conjunction with their Latin lemmata, taking into account both their syntactic context and cotext. We also examine the factors that may have conditioned Aldred's selection of mood and, additionally, address instances in which his glosses appear to correct erroneous Latin lemmata. No evidence was found for the breakdown of the subjunctive category in Durham Collectar, which may be related to features of this text type. Our study also identifies corrections of erroneous Latin inflections in the text and, conversely, potential misrecognition of the forms of the relevant Latin lemmata.

Syntactic subordination affects discourse accessibility and subjective propositional importance: evidence from Russian

ABSTRACT Various coordinating and subordinating conjunctions that connect clauses differ in their structural properties. Such properties seem to influence discourse prominence: references to antecedents from main clauses are more frequent than from subordinate. Structurally, coordinate and subordinate clauses, as well as in-between cases, can be distinguished based on the degree of integration to the host clause. We hypothesized that prominence effects previously found for main clauses are conditioned by the degree of integration: clauses integrated more deeply are less prominent in discourse, and vice versa. In four self-paced reading experiments in Russian, we varied coordination/subordination and the degree of integration within the same short discourses. We observed facilitated access to main clauses in subordination with a higher degree of integration. In addition, propositions from main clauses were judged as more important than those from subordinate clauses with a high but not low degree of integration. These results elucidate how properties of syntactic structures affect discourse representations.

Modal Categories of the Portuguese Grammar in the Mirror of Logical Analysis - II

This publication is the second part of the paper dedicated to the aspects of the logical analysis of the grammatical modality forms in the Portuguese language. The first part deals with the general nature of the modality in speech and language, distinguishing two levels of modality in language – a nominal and a verbal one − and seeing how they are embedded in the morphology of the Portuguese language. This part distinguishes and analyses the modi of the predicative modality in Portuguese. Several Portuguese grammatical examples are given to prove the extent to which the Portuguese verbal morphology corresponds to the logical conditions of the contextual truth of a sentence in accordance with the classical formal logic and the modern modal logic. Two kinds of modal predicative taxis are distinguished: an independent and a dependent one. The independent modal taxis operates on the basis of the laws of the classical formal logic that regulate the coordination of truth functions of the correlative sentences in the context. The modes of coordination in the independent modal taxis express one of the three kinds of logical relation between sentences: contrariety, sub-contrariety, and contradiction. The dependent modal taxis is governed by the principles of the intensional (modal) logic that determine the subordination of the dependent clause in its truth modality to the main clause. The truth modal subordination of the dependent clause to the main clause is based on the deontic opposition between the real and the possible worlds. The paper gives a logical explanation why, in Portuguese, not only the virtual, but also the real events (objective facts) are designated by the forms of subjunctive (i.e. conditionally untrue forms) tenses. Respectively, the independent modal taxis is defined as coordinative, and the dependent modal taxis is defined as subordinative one. The paper may be of interest to specialists in general linguistics, logical analysis of language, theoretical grammar, Romance languages and the Portuguese language studies.

Processing appositive relative clauses: Effects of information structure and sentence structure

ABSTRACT In a self-paced reading experiment, we investigate the processing of complex sentences containing a matrix clause and a subordinate clause, specifically, an appositive relative clause (ARC), which has been posited to have distinct information structural properties. We test the predictions made by three long-standing ordering principles: the given-new principle (given before new information ordering facilitates processing), the clause structure principle (matrix clause before subordinate clause ordering facilitates processing), and the clause-type mapping of information principle (given information in subordinate clause and new information in matrix clause facilitates processing). Our results show that predictions made by the given-new principle and the clause structure principle hold for sentences with an ARC. We do not find evidence for the clause-type mapping of information principle. Instead, our findings suggest that the matrix clause in sentences with an ARC has a function usually associated with subordinate clauses, namely grounding, whereby its content serves as the thematic ground that supports understanding of what follows in the next clause. We suggest this is due to the matrix clause-like nature of ARCs with respect to both their syntactic structure and their expected information status.

Mood Across Constructions: A Unified Approach

The present paper provides a uniform treatment of mood morphology across constructions in Spanish, including: (a) mood selection in complement clauses of attitude verbs and in matrix clauses, (b) mood alternation in relative clauses and, tentatively, (c) mood alternation in conditional clauses. We argue for the following combination of ingredients from different approaches: (i) mood tracks the modal architecture of the embedding verb, not the local context set; (ii) mood introduces a world pronoun, not world quantification; and (iii) indicative mood is presuppositionally heavier than subjunctive mood.

And tonight, shocking revelations about TV news broadcasts

Abstract TV news broadcasts (TVNBs) represent an unusual mix of oral/literate situational characteristics. In addition, TVNBs have shifted historically to become increasingly focused on ‘soft’ human-interest stories. Thus, we have good reason to predict that present-day TVNBs will incorporate a hybrid blend of oral and literate lexico-grammatical characteristics. The present study explores this possibility through a corpus-based analysis of TVNBs compared to conversation and newspaper writing. In part, the results confirm these prior expectations. Surprisingly, though, a more detailed analysis shows that this mixture of situational characteristics has given rise to a unique grammatical style of discourse rather than a hybrid style. In particular, TVNBs can be analyzed to a large extent as main clauses where the finite verb has been deleted. This discourse style is interesting because it cannot be attributed to challenging production circumstances. Rather, the functional motivation seems related to creating a perception of urgency and excitement.

As if grammar, discourse and prosody don’t interact: a comparative study of hypothetical manner clauses in English and Dutch

Abstract This study examines hypothetical manner (HM) clauses in spoken English and Dutch. In both languages, HM clauses can assume different levels of grammatical and discursive (in)dependence, and different semantic-pragmatic functions. This study examines whether the grammatical-discursive configurations that English and Dutch allow for are associated with different prosodic profiles. To this end, the study investigates not just prosodic integration of the clause in the same intonation unit as the main/previous clause, but also potential pitch resets (or downsteps) at the start of the clause, average amount of pausing before the clause, and the pitch contour with which the clause is uttered. The study finds that, while syntactic status and semantic-pragmatic function interact, syntactic status is generally the better predictor of the prosodic realisation of the clause. Among syntactically independent clauses, few differences are found between discursively independent clauses (‘stand-alone insubordinates’) and discursively dependent ones (‘dependency shifts’). We argue, therefore, that these two clause types are similar from a communicative viewpoint, both marking ‘fresh starts’ in the discourse. Finally, the many observed similarities between English and Dutch indicate that meaningful generalisations can be made about the interactions between grammatical, discursive and prosodic profiles, at least for the two languages under investigation.

Helt ärligt, vad gör man med fria initiala annex?

A Swedish main clause can be preceded by hanging topics: phrases in the left periphery without a resumptive in the following clause. This construction is labelled free-standing initial annexation (FIA) by the Swedish Academy grammar. However, FIA has received only limited attention in previous research – both in traditional grammar and in interactional linguistics. Furthermore, there seems to be little agreement on what FIA actually is. In this article I suggest a broad definition of FIA, based on formal as well as functional criteria. The functional variation of FIA is then investigated in a spoken language corpus, consisting of ten Swedish podcasts. From an interactional analysis, I distinguish eight different functions: navigate the conversation, announce the up-coming action, emphasize truthfulness, address a recipient, justify the next turn, set the stage, announce a topic for conversation, and mark a quote. From a turn-topological point of view, some FIAs are used as “contextualizers” for the main speech act of the turn. These FIA may overlap with other speech at turn transition relevant places, without the speaker repairing them. However, the topic announcing and stage-setting FIAs seem to not only contextualize the speech act but contribute to it, since the speakers tend to repeat these FIA if they overlap.

Pragmatic Strategies in Text. Alienation

It is well known that Bulgarian lacks coordination of tenses in complex sentences. This allows for various temporal combinations to be realized in the main and subordinate clauses. This is also the minimal necessary condition for implementing the pragmatic strategy of expressing the viewpoints of both the current speaker and the participant in the action being discussed, which R. Nitsolova calls empathy. The interesting aspect here is that when the two positions coincide, the current speaker can describe the event from the participant‘s perspective, with this difference usually having grammatical dimensions. R. Nitsolova notes that this is the preferred way of presenting the event. In this work, another possible pragmatic strategy is outlined, through which the speaker uses the available linguistic means to „remove“ the participant‘s position when they necessarily occupy it (when talking about themselves).

/d-/ as a Future Marker in the Jordanian Arabic Dialect of Irbid

Objectives: This study investigates the emergence of an incoming future marker in the Jordanian Arabic Dialect of Irbid. Methods: Using synchronic data from the Jordanian Arabic Dialect of Irbid collected by Husein (2022) and adopting the cline of grammaticality approach that was proposed by Hopper and Traugott (2003) [content word > grammatical word > clitic > inflectional affix], the researchers propose that d- prefix (the new incoming variant) developed from bid 'will' (functional) which originally arose from the volitional verb bid 'want' (lexical) and, therefore, expresses futurity. This assumption is supported by the semantic, syntactic, and phonological changes in the grammaticalization path of d-prefix. Results: The results indicate that d-prefix, similar to bid, shows nuances of willingness and intention in the future. Since the same token that expresses willingness and intention can indicate prediction, the d- prefix is used to realize futurity in the Jordanian Arabic Dialect of Irbid. Moreover, like bid, the present data show that the d-prefix is used in both subordinate (an advanced stage in the grammaticalization path) and main clauses. Also, the results show that the d-prefix expresses futurity unambiguously. Conclusions: The findings of this study show that bid (lexical) has undergone desemanticization, erosion, and decategoralization that resulted in the emergence of d- as a future marker (via the functional bid).

Chartalism in Ancient China: A Retrospective of Monetary Thought

Chartalism is an influential and continuous tradition of monetary thought in ancient China. It dates back to the earliest Chinese text on monetary thought and continued into the Qing Dynasty. A vast body of related literature can be found across ancient Chinese dynasties. Chartalism in ancient China had the following main propositions. First, money originated as an invention of ancient monarchs and is a creature of the state. The second is the nominal theory of money: useless metal can function as money and become a tool of state intervention in the economy through state support. Third, the right to issue money should be monopolized by the state; otherwise, the state's monetary policy will be interfered with by other currencies. Fourth, an important monetary policy is the government's buying and selling of commodities countercyclically by issuing and receiving money, thus stabilizing prices. Fifth, the circulation process of sovereign money consists of two parts: the state's minting of coins (or issuing of paper money) and spending are the outflow of money, and levying monetary taxes (or selling goods) is the inflow of money. The state stabilizes the value of money by intervening in the circulation process.

Dynamicity Predicts Inferred Temporal Order in Complex Sentences: Evidence from English, German, and Polish.

To build an accurate mental model of complex situations, people infer temporal order from sometimes underspecified linguistic information. The basis on which these inferences are drawn is an open question. While previous literature has focused on the role of linguistic structure and discourse pragmatic strategies as important contributors to temporal inferences, here we argue that, under uncertainty, people also use the dynamic properties of the described situations to derive temporal order from language. In three pre-registered studies using English, German, and Polish, adult participants used toys to act out complex situations described by main clause-relative clause structures. We consistently find that non-dynamic state descriptions are temporally ordered first, if the other clause describes a dynamic event. This pattern arises independently of whether dynamicity differences are lexically encoded, like in English or German, or grammatically encoded, like in Polish. More generally, our findings address an important gap in the discussion on the role of eventuality type for temporal inference. While there is substantial research on the significance of telicity and durativity, a third, much more overlooked feature is dynamicity, a concept rooted in event perception, not language. Our results therefore provide a crucial thread to closely weave together language comprehension and event cognition.

Pseudo-scoping out of tensed clauses: cumulation vs. buildups

Tensed complement clauses are often assumed to be scope islands for quan- tifier raising (QR) of universal quantifiers. However, as observed by Farkas & Gi- annakidou 1996, Barker 2022, Hoeks et al. 2022, a.o., there are apparent counterex- amples to this assumption, where a universal DP appears to scope out of a tensed complement clause to take scope over a singular indefinite in the matrix clause, hence- forth ’variation readings’. Hoeks et al. 2022 propose that QR out of tensed clauses is possible, but only in event structural configurations which involve buildup processes. In this paper, we report experimental results providing evidence that variation readings are not sensitive to buildups. We then offer an alternative analysis, capturing variation readings as a form of cumulation, and we present experimental results supporting this analysis. The empirical generalization suggests that tensed complement clauses are islands for QR after all, and apparent counterexamples are due to other mechanisms.

The positioning of quality and expertise in initial teacher education: policy enactment in the Australian context

Abstract Teacher quality and teacher education improvement have been central discourses for at least two decades in global education. In Australia, despite the pervasive nature of these discussions, there is a lack of substantial evidence indicating the existence of a problem in this regard. Policies aimed at enhancing the ‘preparedness’ of teacher graduates and elevating the ‘quality’ of ITE programs have nonetheless emerged as prevalent solutions over the past decade. The latest enactment of reforms in the policy chain is the Strong Beginnings report from the Teacher Education Expert Panel. In this paper, we align with Ball’s perspective that policy should be viewed as a dynamic process rather than a presumed, ready-made solution to a problem. We utilise systematic conceptual coding using Leximancer to enable a nuanced exploration of the understandings, practices, and conditions of influence for the policy actors inscribed in the TEEP report. We also analyse concept frequency and collocation in the final Strong Beginnings report, noting two main propositions: first, that there is a problem with quality in ITE; and second, that practice is foregrounded in professionalisation. We highlight the consistencies and contradictions within the discourses of the final report and the submissions from policy actors that contributed to this policy enactment process. We suggest that evidence is used when it suits a policy position, but ignored if it disrupts the platform position. We conclude by arguing that the policy actors in this policy enactment process should be afforded the professional authority to continue a well-established process of continual improvement.

The lexical boost effect is stronger in main clauses than in subordinate clauses

The lexical boost effect is stronger in main clauses than in subordinate clauses

Legal consequences of recognition of intellectual property rights (protective document) invalid as a way of protecting civil rights

The article considers certain problematic aspects regarding the invalidation of intellectual property rights (protection documents) and their legal consequences. Author proves that when intellectual property rights expire, they end their term of legal protection by virtue of the law, taking into account the temporary nature of such rights. If a person registers rights or an object of intellectual property, receives a protection document, but knows that such an object does not really meet the conditions for granting legal protection, and enteres into contractual relations with respect to it, the counterparty of such a person (a party to the contract) also has the opportunity to initiate the invalidation of such a contract on the basis of Art. 230 of the Civil Code of Ukraine. Within the invalidation of deeds regarding invalid intellectual property rights, one should also proceed from whether such contracts were fulfilled in full or in part and whether such a method of protection as the recognition of a contract (deed) as invalid will become an effective way of protecting civil rights and restore the violated, unrecognized or contested right. The situation remains unregulated, when intellectual property rights to an invention, a utility model are recognized partially invalid, and individual independent clauses of the claim of the invention (utility model) or signs of the appearance of the industrial design are excluded from legal protection. It has been proven that invalidation of intellectual property rights to an invention, utility model or industrial design, invalidation of a trademark certificate will de facto reduce the authorized capital of the business company (to which they contributed) in the amount of the monetary value of these rights, which was approved by the participants (founders) when they were introduced. If a member of the company has contributed to the authorized capital of the business company exclusively with property rights of intellectual property, it would be expedient to give him the opportunity to contribute money, securities or other property, unless otherwise established by law, to replace this contribution.

Reshaping Language Dynamics: Italian Verb Tenses and their Consecutio Temporum in Contemporary Communication

The Italian language employs a plethora of verb tenses, with the temporal context of an action bearing significance in both written and spoken communication. The grammatical framework governing verb tenses and their consecution temporum plays a pivotal role in achieving correctness, clarity, and linguistic excellence in Italian. Derived from Latin, the sequence of tenses entails a set of stringent rules that facilitate seamless coordination between main and subordinate clauses, thereby fostering coherent discourse. Through an analytical approach, this research aims to investigate the grammatical structure of Italian verb tenses and their consecutio temporum in contemporary communication. It seeks to explore whether these conventions retain their significance among Italians or if they have diminished in importance over time. Findings suggest that while consecutio temporum remains crucial in formal writing, adherence to this rule often falters due to the Italian educational system’s recent prioritization of sub

The Structure and Function of Yemsa Adverbial Clauses: Empirical Study

Yemsa, an Omotic language spoken in Ethiopia, has received limited attention in linguistic research, particularly with regard to its adverbial clauses. The lack of a comprehensive description of Yemsa’s adverbial clauses hinders our understanding of the language’s structure and its place in the Afroasiatic language family. This study aims to provide a detailed analysis of the structure and function of adverbial clauses in Yemsa, exploring their forms, functions, and subordinate markers. The research is based on a corpus of spoken and written Yemsa data, collected through fieldwork and supplemented by existing literature. A descriptive approach is employed to analyze the data, focusing on the morphological and syntactic properties of adverbial clauses. The study reveals that Yemsa adverbial clauses exhibit a range of characteristics, including dependent-person suffixes, temporal markers, and bound morphemes that connect them to main clauses. The analysis identifies five types of adverbial clauses in Yemsa: temporal, locative, manner, reason, and purpose. The findings also show that Yemsa treats aspects in adverbial clauses similarly to main clauses, with the perfective aspect remaining unmarked and the imperfective aspect marked. This research contributes significantly to our knowledge of Yemsa and the Omotic language family, providing new information about the structure and function of adverbial clauses, which is valuable for developing linguistic pedagogical materials for Yemsa. The study’s results have implications for linguistic theory, language pedagogy, and language documentation, highlighting the importance of descriptive research on understudied languages. The study’s methodology and findings can serve as a model for future research on other languages, promoting a more comprehensive understanding of linguistic diversity and complexity.