Attitude Verbs Research Articles

When factivity meets the conjoint/disjoint alternation

This paper examines the conjoint/disjoint alternation in matrix verbs which take clausal complements in Zulu. It shows that the typical verbs which by default take the disjoint form with a clausal complement are factive verbs, though it is also clear that other attitude verbs can also undergo the conjoint/disjoint alternation. The paper explores the connection between focus and the conjoint/disjoint alternation in Zulu under the Question Under Discussion (QUD) approach, to help understand the interpretations associated with the alternations in combination with clausal complements.

Una vía hacía el significado expresivo de los verbos de actitud proposicional

In this paper, I defend a non-descriptivist and non-psychological account regarding the meaning of propositional attitude verbs versus the standard theory of propositional attitudes (and attitude-attributing sentences). My purpose is to avoid some problematic consequences associated with the standard theory, such as a) the postulation of intentional objects; b) the assumption that subject to whom a particular mental state is attributed, using a propositional attitude verb, stands in a first-order relation to such intentional objects; c) the assumption that propositional attitude sentences are used to describe such a relation. My defence will take advantage of classical texts by Wittgenstein, Ryle, and Urmson and will be bolstered, prior characterizing expressivism, with the semantic expressivism developed, in several recent articles, by M.J. Frapolli and N. Villanueva for functions of propositions. In summary, the aim is to show that by employing the notion of functions of propositions, it is possible to explain the expressive meaning of propositional attitude verbs and to avoid a) - c).

Sentences with Object-oriented Adverbials and the Syntax-Semantics Interface

SOOAs refer to the phenomenon that the state adjective in the adverbial position is semantically associated with the object. In this paper this fact will be accounted for by invoking the properties of a pre-syntactic level of semantic representation and its interplay with syntax proper. It will be argued that the object-oriented adverbial is not derived from the attributive; in effect, it is base-generated in the complement position. A model of projection of arguments that allows for this will be proposed. It will be shown that the other special properties of SOOAs follow from the way the verb’s object and complement are represented at the pre-syntactic level. In particular, it will be shown that the underlying structure must satisfy both the requirement of the syntactic system and the requirement of the semantic system. The presence of any symbol in a representation is conditional. The theta-roles of internal arguments are assigned by the predicate, which is locally constrained, whereas the theta-roles of external arguments are assigned by the maximal projection of the predicate, viz. VP. When an external argument occurs, there is an empty predicate position in the representation, for there is an asymmetry between the conceptual system and the syntactic system. Derivation involves Move-α and Generalized Transformation. Different use of derivation methods gives rise to various forms of constructions in Chinese. Similarly, different semantic orientations result from different distributions. The state adjective is base-generated in the position behind the object because its nature is to serve the function of the complement of the object. It co-occurs with the object in the embedded VP because they are closely related to each other in terms of semantics. There is no overt predicate between the object and the state adjective. The state adjective occurs in other positions, which is the result of movement. Movement falls into two types, viz. object movement and state adjective movement. Object movement is prior to state adjective movement. In order to satisfy the requirement of feature checking, the object moves to the position NP. Then the state adjective moves to the major predicate and merges with it so as to maintain its semantic association with the state adjective and to serve the function of the complement. It follows that the difference between Chinese SOOAs and English as well as German SOOAs lies in the distance of movement of state adjectives. In Chinese, there are causative markers, resultative markers, and manner markers that can license the state adjective in the landing sites and help to maintain its semantic association with the object while in English and German there are no such markers. As a consequence, the object in Chinese-type SOOAs does not move while the state adjective moves out of the embedded VP to the empty verb position where the manner marker is inserted. The major predicate moves to the same position and merges with the newly-formed syntactic object ADJ-MANN. Furthermore, Chinese-type SOOAs allow the state adjective to precede the major predicate as the manner marker can license the state adjective. In contrast, in English-type SOOAs, neither the state adjective nor the object moves. Moreover, English-type SOOAs do not allow the state adjective to come before the major predicate because there is no manner marker to license it.

Static locative expressions in Amharic

AbstractThis paper describes the semantics of static locative expressions in Amharic, particularly the variety spoken in Godʒdʒam. The analysis shows that the semantic category of a site subsumed under Path is exclusively expressed by an adposition. The adpositions can be specific and general locatives. The specific locatives show a specific type of topological relation (for instance, verticality as intatʃtʃ‘below, under,’ horizontality as infit‘front,’ containment as inwɨst’‘in’) between figure and ground entities, but not the general locatives. Besides, static positional verbs encode the conflation of the fact of locatedness with a manner of the positioning of a figure. Based on Talmy’s Motion event typology, the present study has identified that Amharic uses a satellite-framed pattern in static locative constructions exclusively. Moreover, based on Ameka & Levinson’s typology of locative predication, Amharic can be classified under type Ia where a language uses a dummy verb in basic locative construction.

Introduction

Introduction

Situation types in complementation: Oromo attitude predication

Though languages show rich variation in the clausal embedding strategies employed in attitude reports, most mainstream formal semantic theories of attitudes assume that the clausal complement of an attitude verb contributes at least a proposition to the semantics. The goal of this paper is to contribute to the growing cross-linguistic perspective of attitudes by providing semantic analyses for the two embedding strategies found with attitude verbs in Oromo (Cushitic): verbal nominalization, and embedding under akka 'as'. We argue that Oromo exemplifies a system in which non-speech attitudes uniformly embed situations rather than propositions, thereby expanding the empirical landscape of attitude reports in two ways: (i) situations and propositions are both ontological primitives used by languages in the construction of attitude reports, and (ii) attitude verbs in languages like Oromo do the semantic heavy lifting, contributing the "proposition" to propositional attitudes.

Expression of propositional attitudes in conversation by adults with traumatic brain injury: A relevance theoretic approach.

Impairments in social communication are ubiquitous after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Most attempts to quantify these impairments have been descriptive rather than theoretically motivated. We propose that Relevance Theory provides a framework for characterizing social communication limitations after TBI and linking these problems to underlying cognitive impairments. This study asked how adult speakers with and without TBI used specific linguistic forms in social communication. We selected three linguistic markers that convey thoughts and feelings of the speaker and which are intended to influence the same in the listener: propositional attitude verbs, the discourse marker like and the quotative like. Ten adults with moderate to severe TBI and 12 healthy adults completed 5-min casual conversations with student researcher partners as part of a larger research study. Conversations were transcribed and analysed for the frequency of the three linguistic markers, corrected for total words in the transcript. Participants in the TBI group used discourse marker like significantly less than participants in the healthy comparison group (0.75% and 2.06% of total words, respectively; p = 0.05, d = -0.43) and showed less variety in functions of like. The use of propositional attitude verbs and quotative like was not affected by TBI. Expression of propositional attitude seems largely preserved after TBI. Relevance Theory may provide a helpful framework (1) to interpret subtle quantitative and qualitative differences that contribute to social conversation problems of adults with TBI; and (2) to elucidate relations among the social communication signs and symptoms and underlying cognitive impairments. What this paper adds What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? More awareness and understanding of how social cognition may look in everyday conversations, may help SLPs who treat patients with such difficulties as a result of TBI.

Alternations of classificatory verb stems in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì: a cognitive semantic account

Abstract This paper investigates the phenomenon of ‘classificatory verbs’, i.e. a set of motion and positional verbs that show stem alternations depending on the semantic features of one of their arguments in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), based on field notes and documentary sources of the language. The paper shows that Tłı̨chǫ classificatory verbal categories belong to four semantic subclasses which have inconsistent stem inventories caused by the presence or absence of some semantic features. Stem inventories of locative verb systems vary depending on the scalar [effort] feature, and those of motion verbs correlate with the scalar [agentive] feature. The paper explains why other semantically related verbs do not show stem alternations and proposes contrastive hierarchies to represent variations in stem inventories intra- and cross-linguistically assuming that the selection of a stem for a particular semantic category follows a series of binary choices that characterize the opposition’s active in the language.

Alternations of classificatory verb stems in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì: a cognitive semantic account

AbstractThis paper investigates the phenomenon of ‘classificatory verbs’, i.e. a set of motion and positional verbs that show stem alternations depending on the semantic features of one of their arguments in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì (Dogrib), based on field notes and documentary sources of the language. The paper shows that Tłı̨chǫ classificatory verbal categories belong to four semantic subclasses which have inconsistent stem inventories caused by the presence or absence of some semantic features. Stem inventories of locative verb systems vary depending on the scalar [effort] feature, and those of motion verbs correlate with the scalar [agentive] feature. The paper explains why other semantically related verbs do not show stem alternations and proposes contrastive hierarchies to represent variations in stem inventories intra- and cross-linguistically assuming that the selection of a stem for a particular semantic category follows a series of binary choices that characterize the opposition’s active in the language.

“Quasi-Passive” With Positional Copula Verbs in English

“Quasi-Passive” With Positional Copula Verbs in English

Conceptualization of the caused posture verbs denoting sitting position in Ukrainian and German

Conceptualization of the caused posture verbs denoting sitting position in Ukrainian and German

О метафорической семантике английских глаголов положения в пространстве sit, stand и lie

О метафорической семантике английских глаголов положения в пространстве sit, stand и lie

The Lightness of English Copula Be

The purpose of this research is twofold: firstly, it is to clarify the syntactic and semantic status of the copula be; secondly, it is to see how much light the copula be and argue that the copula be is light enough to be a null copula at the position of a light verb v of vP without a specifier. I argue that the copula be is an impoverished category and the lightness of copula be is a pure instantiation of a functional head v, in which a little v introduces verbal predicates as well as external arguments. The proposal in this paper is supported by synchronic and diachronic data. The optional existence of the null copula in synchronic grammatical diversities like child acquisition, standard English casual speech, journal headlines, rhetoric, and African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is discussed to prove the lightness of copula be. Diachronically, the grammaticalization shows that the null copula can be a by-product of copularization in the unidirectionality of grammaticalization in English.

Bouletic modality in Karitiana

Este artigo apresenta um estudo sobre modalidade bulética em Karitiana (Tupi) à luz dos fundamentos teóricos da semântica formal. Assumiremos que modalidade é a categoria do significado relacionada à expressão de possibilidades e necessidades (VON FINTEL, 2006). Há vários tipos de modalidade. A modalidade bulética está relacionada aos desejos/vontades de um indivíduo. Investigaremos as diferentes formas pelas quais a língua Karitiana gramaticaliza a expressão de desejos e vontades. Neste artigo, analisaremos três estruturas que são empregadas para veicular modalidade bulética: (i) o morfema desiderativo -wak; (ii) o verbo pyting; e (iii) o verbo py’eep. Esse artigo é relevante na medida em que é o primeiro trabalho especificamente sobre modalidade bulética em Karitiana. Além disso, algumas características da gramaticalização da modalidade bulética em Karitiana contribuem para o debate teórico em torno da semântica dos verbos que expressam tal modalidade. Comparamos propostas nas quais esses são verbos de atitude proposicional (VON FINTEL e HEIM, 2011; VON FINTEL e IATRIDOU, 2017) com propostas nas quais esses verbos tomam indivíduos (KRATZER, 2006; KRATZER, 2016). As propriedades morfossintáticas dos verbos em Karitiana parecem corroborar a proposta que eles não são proposicionais; no entanto, mostraremos que apenas uma análise proposicional fornece uma semântica adequada para eles.

Efficient trade-offs as explanations in functional linguistics: some problems and an alternative proposal

The notion of efficient trade-offs is frequently used in functional linguistics in order to explain language use and structure. In this paper I argue that this notion is more confusing than enlightening. Not every negative correlation between parameters represents a real trade-off. Moreover, trade-offs are usually reported between pairs of variables, without taking into account the role of other factors. These and other theoretical issues are illustrated in a case study of linguistic cues used in expressing “who did what to whom”: case marking, rigid word order and medial verb position. The data are taken from the Universal Dependencies corpora in 30 languages and annotated corpora of online news from the Leipzig Corpora collection. We find that not all cues are correlated negatively, which questions the assumption of language as a zero-sum game. Moreover, the correlations between pairs of variables change when we incorporate the third variable. Finally, the relationships between the variables are not always bidirectional. The study also presents a causal model, which can serve as a more appropriate alternative to trade-offs.

La posición del verbo en la frase y el ritmo en el sistema de Alviero Niccacci

A partir de la interpretación dada al onomástico divino veterotestamentario y la partícula waw en las formas verbales reconocemos, dentro del sistema desarrollado por Alviero Niccacci para el análisis del verbo hebreo, el criterio de la posición del verbo en la frase como responsable de la generación del ritmo en los textos bíblicos, tanto narrativos (transiciones temporales) como poéticos (merismos). Criterio que pensamos capaz de alcanzar la ondulación vibrante del origen, ritmo original (Yhwh) y originante (waw/ἰw-hwh), propio de las lenguas primitivas, abriéndose en dos direcciones: con la waw y el Tetragrama, en el contacto con el egipcio, en cuanto lengua afroasiática; y con la categoría de actualidad en el mensaje, hasta nuestra existencia (verbo ser) contemporánea. De este modo, en la posición del verbo, se reconoce una teología implícita en la sintaxis; el ritmo primitivo, original y originante.From the interpretation given to the divine veterotestamentary onomastic and the waw particle in verbal forms we recognize within the system developed by Alviero Niccacci for the analysis of the Hebrew verb, the criterion of the position of the verb in the phrase as responsible for the generation of rhythm in biblical texts, both narrative (temporal transitions) and poetic (merismus). Criterion that we think is able to achieve the vibrant ripple of the origin, original rhythm (Yhwh) and originant (waw/ἰw-hwh), typical of primitive languages opening in two directions: with waw and Tetragram in contact with the Egyptian as an Afroasiatic language, and with the category of actuality in the message until our contemporary existence (verb to be). Thus, at the position of the verb an implicit theology is recognized in the syntax, the primitive original and originant rhythm.

On Single and Two-Tiered Approaches to Control

In his most recent work, Landau suggests that control in impersonal passive constructions is cross-linguistically limited to attitude verbs and argues that this universal restriction offers convincing support for his two-tiered theory of control (TTC) over his earlier “single tier” Agree-based model. This paper further examines sentences involving control and passivization and argues that improved empirical coverage is achieved in this area by a single-tier Agree approach to control, one fundamentally different from Landau’s earlier analysis in its extension to control Reuland’s proposals reducing binding phenomena to Agree.

Locative Constructions in Dangme

This paper explores locative constructions in Dangme, a language that belongs to the Kwa family of languages. The paper discusses the components of the basic locative construction in Dangme. It also examines the syntax and semantics of verbs of position and verbs of change of location that function in the basic locative constructions in Dangme. Data were drawn from mainly primary sources from 14 native speakers of Dangme. I demonstrate that postposition and locative nouns mainly express location in Dangme. There are a set of nouns that also function as indicators of location and direction to places. It is to be noted that in locative constructions, the postposition class and the adjunct of location indicate the location of entities in Dangme as in other languages. The postposition class can take the form of a word or a phrase. The phrase is made up of an NP and locative morphemes: mi ‘inside’, se ‘back’, nɔ/hiɔwe ‘top’, kpɛti ‘middle’, he ‘side’ nya ‘edge of, tue ‘edge’ and sisi ‘under’. The data also revealed that in Dangme, a locative morpheme or phrase can co-occur with a positional verb in a construction to express the position of an entity at a location.

A Contrastive Analysis of Posture Verbs in Russian and Korean: A Focus on “Sidet(сидеть)” and “Antta(앉다)”

A Contrastive Analysis of Posture Verbs in Russian and Korean: A Focus on “Sidet(сидеть)” and “Antta(앉다)”

Truthmaker semantics for natural language: Attitude verbs, modals, and intensional transitive verbs

AbstractThis paper gives an outline of truthmaker semantics for natural language against the background of standard possible-worlds semantics. It develops a truthmaker semantics for attitude reports and deontic modals based on an ontology of attitudinal and modal objects and on a semantic function of clauses as predicates of such objects. The semantics is applied to factive verbs and response-stance verbs as well as to cases of modal concord. The paper also presents new motivations for ‘object-based truthmaker semantics’ from intensional transitive verbs such asneed, look for, own, andbuyand gives an outline of their semantics based on a further development of truthmaker semantics.