Negative Morpheme Research Articles

Acquisition of a rare variant: ne-realization in the negative utterances of French children and their caregivers

ABSTRACT A growing body of evidence suggests children acquire linguistic variation and follow grammatical constraints on its use from a young age. While prior research predominantly focuses on variables for which both variants are well-attested, stable variation in natural language often includes variants with an unbalanced distribution. In many cases, one variant is extremely rare, which poses a learning challenge for children and may require revision of accounts of children’s acquisition of variation. The negative morpheme ne in French is one such rare variant as it is only rarely realized (<10%) in adult speech. While previous research suggests clear constraints on ne-realization in interadult speech, less is known about ne in French children’s early production and input. In the current study, we analyze ne-realization in the conversational speech of 14 monolingual French-learning children (ages 0.10–8.01) and their caregivers. We found that, for both French children and their caregivers, ne-realization was rare and followed the same linguistic constraint found in interadult speech. Importantly, children showed probabilistic production following the constraint extremely early on – at age 2.05 on average. Further, we found a strong influence of input on variation acquisition: caregivers with higher ne-realization rates had children who used more ne and from a younger age. Taken together, our results suggested that young children can acquire statistically rare but systematically patterned variants, adding further evidence that they are skilled and sophisticated language learners.

Children’s early negative auxiliaries are true auxiliaries

ABSTRACT This study investigates young children’s acquisition of functional categories through their use of negative words and negative auxiliaries in particular. Drawing from CHILDES, we analyze twelve months of spontaneous speech by 14 children (youngest age 1;9, oldest age 3;1) and their mothers, in order to assess whether children’s earliest negative productions are morphological combinations and reflect possession of abstract syntactic categories or are instead input-driven formulae. In five analyses we show that (i) two-year-olds use a wide and overlapping range of negative and positive auxiliaries; (ii) the range of the negative auxiliaries children produce is strongly correlated with the range of the positive auxiliaries they produce; (iii) children’s most common negative auxiliary, don’t, is used grammatically with respect to the syntactic category being negated and with respect to overt markings of tense; (iv) children’s subject agreement errors with don’t are mirrored by subject agreement errors with do, have, and haven’t; and (v) children omit auxiliaries with not at rates that cannot be attributed to properties of their input. Our findings support the hypothesis that children’s earliest negations are syntactically adult-like and reflect the possession of abstract syntactic categories. By age 2, English-learning children productively combine auxiliary, negation, and tense categories and syntactically differentiate different negative morphemes.

The Desemanticization of the Negative Morpheme ko in Dondo

The Desemanticization of the Negative Morpheme ko in Dondo

Apparent expletive negation, silent comparatives, and domain widening in Quebec French superlative and universal constructions

In Quebec French, embedded clauses introduced by a universal quantifier or by a superlative may contain a negative morpheme pas that has been analyzed as a type of expletive negation, although it does not have the distribution of the known cases of expletive negation. It is argued that, in the constructions containing that apparently expletive negation, pas is not a new type of expletive, but it is a standard negation operating in syntax and negating a silent comparative. The analysis accounts for the domain widening effect of the apparently expletive pas, and it has the welcome advantage of limiting the proliferation of theoretical constructs. In this analysis, an item that gives every sign of being expletive upon a superficial examination turns out to be not expletive at all once silent categories are taken into account.

Testing the effects of congruence in adult multilingual acquisition with implications for creole genesis

Linguists from across sub-disciplines have noted that congruence (i.e., form-function mapping) across languages in contact seems to affect acquisition and play a role in language emergence (e.g. Creole genesis). However, because congruence is often confounded with other variables (e.g., frequency, language type, speakers' proficiency levels, perceptual salience, semantic transparency), it remains unclear whether congruence per se benefits learners. In this paper, we provide an experimental test of the effects of congruence on acquisition through an artificial language-learning experiment involving English (L1) and two artificial languages (Flugerdu and Zamperese). English-speakers who identified as “native” (i.e., first-language) speakers (N = 163) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions, varying which of the three languages expressed negation with congruent forms: all three languages; only Flugerdu and Zamperese; only English and Flugerdu; or none. Our findings show that participants better acquired the negation morpheme when the form was congruent with negation in English but not when the two artificial languages alone shared a congruent form. We likewise found unanticipated spillover effects in which participants better acquired the vocabulary and grammar of the artificial languages when all three languages had congruent negation forms. These findings provide insight into the effects of congruence on language acquisition in multilingual environments and Creole language formation.

Moroccan Arabic Consonant Clusters Resulting From Negation as an Exception to Benhallam’s SSAA: An Optimality-Theoretic Account

This article examines the status of the consonant cluster resulting after the concatenation of the discontinuous plural morpheme ma…….∫. In disconformity with Benhallam’s Syllable structure Assignment Algorithm (henceforth SSAA) which predicts that every succession of consonants is resolved in MA by inserting schwa to break hiatus, the succession of consonants after the abovementioned morphological operation does not permit schwa epenthesis. As such, it is imperative to account for the status of the final consonants and incorporate them into the syllable structure of the language. The claim of this article is that schwa is not inserted here as the ∫ of the negative morpheme is assigned an appendix which is moraless. So, it cannot make a mora in combination with the moraless schwa. The analysis is couched within the framework of Optimality Theory (OT). More specifically, the constraints that interact to account for this seeming ad hoc are both faithfulness and markedness constraints. It is argued that some faithfuness as well as markedness constraints interacting with each other are responsible for the existence of such consonant clusters.

From Latin to Modern Italian: Some Notes on Negation

This article aims at investigating some diachronic aspects of the Italian negative system, considering a time span ranging from Old Latin to Modern Italian. Most of the negative polarity phenomena populating the Modern Italian system are consequences of a crucial change that occurred in Old Latin: The Latin negative morpheme nōn (“not”), which initially displayed a maximal projection status, and became a syntactic (negative) head. This change caused the shift from a double negation system to a negative concord one, which affects many Romance languages (and their dialects). It also determines the availability of the expletive reading of negation in Italian, as well as in other Romance languages (ex. French), calling for a new generalization: only languages (and structures) displaying a negative head allow the expletive interpretation of negation, languages displaying a maximal projection status do not.

Negative verb morpheme in Tamil Verb structure

In this world each and all languages are based on noun and verb. Without the naming and action words we cannot frame even a single sentence. In the same way, Tamil Language also depend on noun and verb. Verb is an important component of language. Tamil grammarians and linguists classify and interpret the types of verbs in different ways. Among the classifications, one of them is a negative verb. Changes are taken within the language system. The continuous change will be occurred in the language system and it process over time to time. Languages ​​that are subject to change are likely to survive. Thus, the structure of modern Tamil negative verbs is entirely different from the system of ancient Tamil negative verbs in Tamil. This article focuses these differences through morphologically with one of the linguistic subdivisions. It also describes the development and growth of negative verb morphological elements and the places where we use it.

Acquisition of Korean short form negation by native Chinese and English speakers: A learner corpus-based study

This study aims to investigate L2 acquisition of Korean short form negation by Chinese-speaking and English-speaking learners. In terms of the choice and placement of negative morphemes in short form negation, whether L2 learners from different L1 backgrounds show different developmental aspects, and whether their performance improves as proficiency increases were examined based on the data from Korean Learners

The Negative Morpheme mal- as a Verb: Its Distribution and Meaning

The Negative Morpheme mal- as a Verb: Its Distribution and Meaning

Successive Cyclicity in DPs: Evidence from Mongolian Nominalized Clauses

Successive Cyclicity in DPs: Evidence from Mongolian Nominalized Clauses

Temporal Affixation in Polish Sign Language

The following article undertakes another analysis of affixation in Polish Sign Language (PJM). This time the question concerns affixes carrying temporal significance. In a previous issue of this journal, negative affixation in PJM was discussed. As it turns out, in addition to these negative morphemes, PJM also possesses suffixes that relate to time: year, day, hour, minute and second. It has been observed that these affixes have undergone partial or complete grammaticalization. As discussed in this paper, there are some restrictions on the use of temporal suffixes, which are caused by numeral incorporation. In addition to these affixes, there are also two morphemes in PJM, which do not represent a time measure. One of these signifies the completion of an educational stage and the other refers to the future performance of an action.

A Comparative Study of Negation in Igbo and Etulo

This paper examines the negation typology of two Benue Congo languages, Igbo and Etulo. It discusses the similarities and differences evident in the negation marking strategies of both languages. From our findings, it is observed that despite the differences, Etulo and Igbo unanimously make a distinction between the standard negation marker and other types of negation markers such as the prohibitive negation marker as in Igbo and the interrogative negation marker as in Etulo. The distinction made in both languages lends support to the assumption in negation studies that the negative morpheme associated with standard negation often differs from the negative marker used in the negation of other construction types such as the prohibitive, and polar questions. This work adopts a descriptive approach in the analysis of the Igbo and Etulo language data. The Igbo language data presented and analyzed were obtained from the existing grammatical description of negation in Igbo while the Etulo language data were obtained from Etulo language consultants using the elicitation method.

Can beginner L2 learners handle explicit instruction about language variation? A proof-of-concept study of French negation

Research has pointed to the importance of introducing social aspects of language at the beginning stages of second language (L2) acquisition (Yates, 2017). This proof-of-concept study therefore sought to determine if an explicit pedagogical intervention consisting of various types of sociolinguistic awareness activities could be implemented with beginner learners of French to bring about changes in knowledge about form, meaning and use of French negation. A beginner university-level French course (N = 22) received systematic explicit instruction on language variation over a 15-week period, targeting the variable use of the negative morpheme ne in verbal negation in French. To assess the effects of instruction on declarative knowledge, participants provided L1 explanations about the target feature at the beginning (Time 1) and end of the course (Time 2).They also displayed application of the rule in writing at Time 1 and 2. Findings point to increased awareness of variable presence of ne and its use, as well as increased ability to use target features in their appropriate contexts of use, suggesting that introduction of sociolinguistic features at early stages of acquisition can benefit L2 learners without confusing or overwhelming them. Discussed are the potential benefits of implementing pedagogical strategies to increase beginner learners’ sociolinguistic awareness.

ON THE TYPOLOGY OF THE NEGATION MARKER MÂ IN MODERN ARABIC DIALECTS: KUWAITI, JORDANIAN, SUDANESE, AND YEMENI

Modern Arabic Dialects (MADs) have an identical morphological system with some similarities and differences in the choice of the negation morphemes. The main concern of this paper is to discuss the typological properties of the negation morpheme mâ- ما and its variation in four Modern Arabic Dialects (MADs), JA (Jordanian Arabic), KA (Kuwaiti Arabic), SA (Sudanese Arabic), and YA (Yemeni Arabic) taking into account two negation strategies identified by Brustad (2000), namely Verbal Negation and Predicate Negation. Specifically, the study will shed light on the types and positions of the negation morphemes regarding VN and PN strategies. The study employed a descriptive-analytical approach. The data were taken from previous studies on negation in MADs and online sources, i.e., published articles and YouTube. The study found that when the negation morpheme mâ - ما is used as a one-negation system or a two-negation system, as a verbal and predicate negation, it changes to the negation morpheme mâ- ما due to phonological conditions and its pre-verbal position. The study concluded that three negation templates might be generalized in the four dialects, namely one-morpheme template, two-morpheme-template, and predicate negation template. Moreover, blocking of the negation morpheme movement in the sentences happens to do to phonological conditions.

Lexicographic Treatment of Negation in Sepedi Paper Dictionaries

Negation in Sepedi is a complex matter — a variety of negative morphemes are used across complicated verbal and copulative structures and these morphemes are not interchangeable. Dictionary users in a text production situation need to be guided to the correct compilation of negative constructions. In most cases negative morphemes are not lemmatised in Sepedi paper dictionaries or if they are, the lexicographic treatment is inadequate. This paper provides an inventory of negation from which an abstraction of the negative morphemes is given. This is followed by a critical evaluation of Sepedi dictionaries and suggested model entries for lexicographic treatment of negative morphemes.

Tense, Aspect and Negation (TAN) in Ìgáṣí

Studies that are available on Ìgás̩í have only classified the speech form as one of the speech forms under the Ako̩ko̩id language cluster but none has examined tense, aspect and negation in the speech form. The present study provides a descriptive account of tense, aspect and negation in the speech form. It maintains that tense in Ìgáṣí polarises future and non-future. It establishes, among other things, that the speech form uses the pre-verbal particle á to mark its future tense and demonstrates that aspects in the speech form are divided into perfect and imperfect. The study also claims that Ìgáṣí has three basic negative morphemes which are kpa, sẹ and àgẹ̀ and shows that the future tense, perfect and habitual aspects have overt morphemes that reflect their presence in negative sentences. It is further claimed that àgẹ̀ which is divisible into nominal prefix (à) and negator (gè̩) functions as the lexical negator in the speech form. Data in this study were obtained from native speakers of Ìgás̩í through oral interviews and their responses were recorded. It is hoped that this study, throws more light on the relationship among the functional categories (tense, aspect and negation) in Ìgás̩í speech form and document its syntax for posterity as nothing has been in that category.

Breve caracterização dos tipos de negação em Mehinaku (Arawák)

A negação se manifesta nas línguas de duas maneiras: (i) como construção morfológica ou negação sintética e (ii) como construção sintática ou negação analítica. Tipologicamente, uma língua usa diversas estratégias para derivar uma oração negativa, tais como: (i) a ocorrência de verbos negativos; (ii) o uso de partículas negativas; (iii) o emprego de afixos; (iv) e a ocorrência de morfemas negativos com propriedades nominais. Neste artigo, apresenta-se uma breve análise das maneiras de se expressar negação na língua Mehinaku, uma língua da família Arawák. Além da negação padrão, inclui-se a descrição da construção proibitiva, da negação existencial e do uso do prefixo ‘privativo’ {ma-}, um sufixo derivacional, reflexo da proto-forma *ma-, e o ‘atributivo’ {ka-}. A análise se baseia em dados primários coletados em trabalhos de campo junto aos falantes da língua Mehinaku, das aldeias Utawana e Kaupüna, no Território Indígena do Xingu, Mato Grosso.

Negation and the functional sequence

There exists a general restriction on admissible functional sequences which prevents adjacent identical heads. We investigate a particular instantiation of this restriction in the domain of negation. Empirically, it manifests itself as a restriction the stacking of multiple negative morphemes. We propose a principled account of this restriction in terms of the general ban on immediately consecutive identical heads in the functional sequence on the one hand, and the presence of a Neg feature inside negative morphemes on the other hand. The account predicts that the stacking of multiple negative morphemes should be possible provided they are separated by intervening levels of structure. We show that this prediction is borne out.

Negative scope, temporality, fixedness, and right- and left-branching

Abstract ‘Negative scope’ concerns what it is that is negated in an utterance with a negative morpheme. With English and Japanese conversational data, we show that for an English speaker, calculating negative scope requires that recipients incrementally keep track of all the material in the clause that follows the negative morpheme, which comes early in the clause. In contrast, the negative morpheme comes late in the clause in Japanese; thus it would seem that recipients need to hold in memory all the material in the clause preceding the negative until the negative morpheme is produced. Several features of Japanese grammar, however, suggest that this characterization is not accurate. We argue that prosody, grammar, cognition, processing, and fixedness all interact with the grammar of clause organization to afford quite different real-time processing strategies for calculating the assignment of negative scope in languages with different ‘word order’ norms.