Pronominal Forms Research Articles

Philippine Clitic Pronouns and the Lower Phase Edge

Pronominal paradigms in Philippine-type Austronesian languages show a robust and curious gap: in transitive clauses, pivot arguments and nonpivot agents may have bound pronominal forms, appearing as second-position clitics, but pronominal nonpivot themes must be full, free pronouns. This gap is instructive regarding the orga-nization of the lower phase edge. As cliticization involves a syntactic dependency between the host and argument position and all syntactic dependencies are constrained by phases, the gap is explained if pivots and nonpivot agents are specifiers of the phase head, making them the only DPs accessible for operations from outside of the lower phase.

Pseudo-ABA patterns in pronominal morphology

In this paper, I present an analysis of pseudo-ABA patterns of morphology found in pronominal forms. I argue that an analysis that assumes unrestricted phonologically null allomorphy or unrestricted impoverishment overgenerates, allowing all the logically possible patterns of syncretism to appear. An analysis that includes spanned portmanteau exponents generates all and only the attested patterns of syncretism. Pseudo-ABA patterns arise when the complete pronominal tree (the structure for the anaphor) is exponed by a spanned exponent for [a [d]] and an exponent for p. Spanned portmanteau exponents are compatible with an analysis in which a and d are cyclic nodes, and one in which they are not. However, the analysis in which a and d are cyclic nodes is incompatible with another morphological behaviour of pronominal forms, namely variable exponence. To provide a unified analysis of pseudo-ABA patterns and variable exponence, a and d cannot be cyclic nodes.

Pronominale demonstrativer: nye perspektiver fra norsk og svensk

This paper is concerned with pronominal demonstatives (referred to as psychologically distal demonstratives by Johannessen 2008a, b) in older Norwegian spoken language, and written Swedish from the 19th century and the present-day. We show that pronominal demonstratives can be attested in speakers born in different parts of Norway in the 19th century, and in Swedish texts from the same period. However, the pronominal forms do not seem to be used in precisely the same way in the two languages. In Swedish, han/hon ‘he/she’ do not seem to behave formally like demonstratives. Instead, we propose that they are syntactically reduced pronouns at the edge of the DP, above the position for demonstratives, and that they double features lower down in the noun phrase. In Norwegian, on the other hand, han/hun are used as demonstratives already in the 19th century, in the way described for present-day Norwegian by Johannessen (2008a, b).

Some spelling and language features of publicistic works by Povilas Višinskis

Povilas Višinskis was a significant figure of the Lithuanian culture, society, and politics at the end of the 19th c. and the beginning of the 20th c., an active advocate of the Lithuanian national movement, a member of the national revival organisation Varpas, and a supporter of the movement to regain the banned Latin characters for the Lithuanian language. His creative legacy includes various publicistic works, found in the press or published as separate booklets; that has yet received little attention. The paper analyses some characteristic spelling and language features of publicistic works by Višinskis.Concerning the spelling, a special focus should be on its promiscuity and randomness. The principles of spelling are mixed up, different word forms are used side by side in the same text, and often it is difficult to explain the reasons and consistency of a particular spelling. With this in mind, it is rather difficult to tell which language and spelling is authentic, and which is edited, proofread or corrected by editors. At the same time, it should be pointed out that such variation in spelling is common to Lithuanian writings of that time, reflecting a phase of the developmental process of the standard language at that time.What concerns the language of Višinskis’ publicistic works, it is characterised by the use of some Samogitian features, rather frequent retention of archaic morphological forms (dual number of nouns and verbs, supinum, athematic verbs, archaic pronominal forms) and cases of stem mixing of nouns. His vocabulary is full of dialecticisms, barbarisms, and semantic archaisms. His syntax contains a lot of non-Lithuanian, foreign constructions, especially those with prepositions.In conclusion, one could say that gradually Višinskis’ language and spelling became more homogeneous. In his latest publicistic works, this language and spelling uniformity becomes clear, while particular forms and constructions are used more consistently.

The effect of animacy on the elicited production of co-referential objects in brazilian portuguese

O objetivo desse estudo é verificar em que medida o traço de animacidade do antecedente é um fator que contribui na seleção de uma determinada forma para a realização do objeto direto correferencial no curso da aquisição do português brasileiro (PB). Adicionalmente, verifica-se em que medida restrições ao objeto nulo em contexto de ilha sintática, que se aplicam ao português europeu (PE), podem interferir nesse efeito, levando em conta a produção oral e escrita de adultos. Duas tarefas de produção eliciada foram utilizadas: resposta a perguntas-QU e cloze. Os resultados apontam para a relevância de animacidade, independentemente de idade, afetando não só o pronome tônico e o objeto nulo, como o DP completo. Restrições sintáticas ao objeto nulo não se impõem, no geral, no PB, embora possa haver resquícios dessas restrições em decorrência de escolarização.

Местоименные формы обращений в английском, русском и корейском языках

The study aims to compare the features of functioning of pronominal forms of address in languages with different structures. The research is novel in that it is the first to conduct a comparative-contrastive analysis of the English, Russian and Korean address pronouns, through which convergent and divergent features of the specified type of addressing are identified. As a result, it was found that English has one neutral pronoun used in all the registers of communication. The author has identified two pronouns in the Russian speech culture and four pronouns in the Korean one. The choice of an address pronoun is determined by pragmatic features of communication in the considered languages.

Reflexives, Reciprocals, and Intensifiers in Ewen: An Exercise in Tungusic Dialectology

Abstract The dialects of Ewen vary widely with respect to the forms and uses of reflexive, reciprocal, and intensifier pronouns derived from the stems meːn and bej. This paper establishes nine isoglosses based on the features of these pronominal forms and plots them on the dialectal map of Ewen. In a second step, comparative evidence from other Tungusic and some contact languages of Ewen is adduced in order to shed light on the diachronic developments underlying the current dialectal distrubtion of the forms in question. As a result, a number of tentative historical scenarios for the developments of reflexives and intensifiers both in Ewen and in Tungusic in general are suggested.

IMAGE-SCHEMATIC STRUCTURING OF REALITY IN POLITICAL SPEECHES ON THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK

The paper is concerned with analysis of Donald Trump and Angela Merkel’s speeches to their respective nations on the occasion of the COVID-19 outbreak. Within the integrated cognitive-critical approach to discourse analysis framework the paper focuses on the interplay between the cognitive mechanisms and discursive structures that make up meanings in a genre of political discourse. Assuming that specific actions and measures are to be communicated so as to deal with the threat presented by the coronavirus, analysis of the cognitive dimension of language use focuses on the underlying force (linguistically articulated by way of modal verbs) and containment image schemas considered as indicative of the ways the speakers conceive of the power vested in them. The political dimension analysis focuses on pronominal forms as discourse structures establishing relationships with addressees. The results point to D. Trump’s self-representation of the protector of nation unlike A. Merkel’s encouragement of solidarity empowered by knowledge-based joint actions and behaviour. 
 
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¿La reversión de un cambio lingüístico? Pasado y presente de la variación en las relativas oblicuas de lugar en español

The panchronic perspective adopted in this study shows an apparently contradictory outcome in a phenomenon of variation and change that has a long tradition in Spanish. The variationist analysis of several oral corpora representative of current Peninsular Spanish displays an apparent regression of the pronominal forms of the relative in locative sentences (‘la casa en la que vivo’ [the house in which I live]), in favour of the adverbial ones (‘la casa donde vivo’ [the house where I live]). This result contrasts with a movement in the opposite direction, previously found in the analysis of a historical corpus composed of texts of immediacy, between the sixteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries. However, this apparent reversal of the change contrasts with the constraints attested in the internal grammar and the extralinguistic context, which reveal a robust persistence over time, and, in addition, with the same direction of effect. To sum up, mainly due to some irregularities between the corpora analyzed, rather than the reversion of a linguistic change, what the panchronic analysis reveals is a remarkable stability of the variation over more than five centuries of history. This result sheds light on variation not leading to language change, and confirms the need to transcend the most superficial aspects in the study of change.

Del léxico a la deixis social: reflexiones sobre las formas de tratamiento en el ámbito de la traducción

Ao assumir a inexistência de uma sinonímia pura entre duas línguas naturais, nos indagamos sobre a abrangência desse postulado a unidades linguísticas que agregam informação gramatical, como é o caso de duas formas pronominais de segunda pessoa. A partir dessa consideração inicial, o presente artigo tem como objetivo refletir sobre os seguintes questionamentos: (i) quais significados podem ser verificados em dicionários monolíngues a respeito dos pronomes de tratamento singular do espanhol; (ii) que relações é possível estabelecer entre o significado léxico e a dêixis social vinculada pelas formas pronominais de segunda pessoa; e (iii) que impactos traz o fenômeno ao ofício da tradução. O debate substancialmente teórico aqui proposto se fundamenta tanto no campo da Linguística como no dos Estudos da Tradução recobrando teorias sobre dêixis social, cortesia verbal e postulados da Tradutologia.

Adapting a Picture Description Task for Grammatical Analysis in English–Spanish Bilingual Preschool Children

The purpose of this study was to assess the use of an adapted picture description task described by Eisenberg and Guo to explore the morphosyntactic error patterns of English–Spanish preschool simultaneous bilingual learners. Language samples were collected from 28 bilingual preschool children aged 3 to 5 years. Language samples were elicited in both English and Spanish using a series of pictures and elicitation questions/prompts. Twenty-one participants produced a language sample in only one language (16 in English and 5 in Spanish) and seven participants produced language samples in both languages. Language samples were analyzed for grammaticality and error types. There were a higher number of fragments, tense marker, and grammatical morphemes errors in English. In Spanish, the children demonstrated more argument structure and pronominal form errors than in English. The adapted picture description task demonstrated sensitivity to common errors in English and Spanish and shows promise for use with bilingual populations.

The Acquisition of English Anaphoric Expressions by Adult Chinese Speakers.

The present study has investigated the occurrence of the English anaphoric expressions, he/she, in L2 grammars. Adult Chinese learners of English were evaluated on whether they were able to provide a correct semantic interpretation of these pronouns when they appeared in complex sentences (subordinate + matrix) and correlative structures. Results have shown that L2 learners did not encounter any major difficulties in identifying the appropriate antecedents of these pronominal forms and were almost as accurate as English native speakers. This positive acquisition scenario clearly indicates that a correct reference production of English anaphors is attainable despite the visible differences between the two languages. Theoretically, it seems to support some form of Continuity in SLA; it is also consistent with the idea that internal interface phenomena are fully acquirable and are not subject to fossilization (Interface Theory, Sorace in Biling Lang Cogn 7:143-145, 2004; Linguist Approaches Biling 1:1-33, 2011). Furthermore, L2 structures partially present in L1 grammar are attainable without necessarily relying on learners' first language (contra Failed Functional Features Hypothesis, Hawkins and Chan in Second Lang Res 13:187-226, 1997). In fact, contrary to previous L2 studies, no visible L1 transfer effects were observed in the data.

T/V pronouns in global communication practices: The case of IKEA catalogues across linguacultures

In this paper we investigate how the second person pronominal T-form is translated in IKEA catalogues in a number of different languages. IKEA is renowned for using the T-form as a form of branding: it promotes this form even in those countries where it might not be perceived favourably. However, our examination of a sample of IKEA catalogues shows that there are frequent deviations from IKEA's T-policy. By examining translations of the T-form in IKEA catalogues, and language users' evaluations of the (in)appropriacy of these translations, we aim to integrate T/V pronominal research into the pragmatics of translation, by demonstrating that the study of the translation of seemingly ‘simple’ expressions, such as second person pronominal forms, can provide insight into an array of cross-cultural pragmatic differences. The study of translation in global communication is also relevant for research on the pragmatics of globalisation.

The syntax of Korean VP anaphora: an experimental investigation

The Korean VP anaphor (VPA) kuleha or kulay ‘do so’ has often been argued to involve ellipsis of an articulated VP structure, which is replaced with the surface form at PF (e.g., Cho in Lang Res 32:621–636, 1996; Ha in Korean J Linguist 35:471–487, 2010; Park in Linguist Res 32:693–718, 2015). In this paper, we present empirical data that does not support such a characterization, obtained from two experimental studies designed to diagnose the presence of “hidden” syntactic structure. In Experiment 1, building upon Kim and Han’s (in: Grosz, Patel-Grosz (eds) The impact of pronominal form on interpretation. Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin, pp 349–373, 2016) finding that quantificational binding of the Korean pronoun ku ‘he’ is subject to inter-speaker variation, we conducted a truth-value judgment task experiment to examine the (un)acceptability of sloppy identity interpretation in the VPA construction. If the VPA is indeed derived from the deletion of an articulated VP, and thus has an unpronounced internal structure to house ku, the distributions of the sloppy reading of ku and the quantificational binding of ku should be correlated across the sampled population; however, such a pattern was not found. In Experiment 2, we conducted a Likert scale rating experiment testing whether extraction out of the VPA site is possible. If the VPA is an instance of ellipsis, extraction from the VPA site should be possible since there would be a syntactic structure that hosts an extractable constituent. This prediction, however, was not confirmed. On the basis of these empirical findings, we argue that Korean VP anaphora are base-generated pro-forms (Bae and Kim in Stud Mod Gramm 70:49–71, 2012; Park in Stud Mod Gramm 72:41–66, 2013), and retrieve their semantic values from the context through interpretive rules (Hoji in Linguist Inq 29:127–152, 1998; Hoji, in: Barss (ed) Anaphora: a reference guide. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, pp 172–236, 2003), as in the case of pronominal resolution.

Possessive indexes in Assamese

This paper deals with a comprehensive description of a set of possessive indexes found in Assamese, a language spoken in the eastern part of India, by a majority of people living in the state of Assam. Genetically, this language belongs to the group of Indo-Aryan language family and shares a close affinity with Bengali and Oriya languages due to their common source of origin. The possessive indexes of the language are found to be suffixed to the possessed noun in possessive constructions (Possessive NPs)) in terms of the category of person. Cross-linguistically, it is not very uncommon to find this kind of markers in possessive NPs (Siewierska 2004). But what makes Assamese interesting in this respect is that the set of markers found in Assamese is not derived from pronominal forms as attested in many languages of the world. Furthermore, the existence of possessive markers is an unusual phenomenon in Assamese in that it is neither common in NIA languages nor in South Asian languages (Paudyal 2008). Apart from a few geographically distant languages of Indo-Aryan origin, these markers are not available in any other Indo-Aryan languages which are close to Assamese, either geographically or genetically. Thus, this paper focuses on four aspects: a comprehensive description of the markers as stated above, a survey of the markers in other Indo-Aryan languages, the historical origin of the markers, and the origin of the system of marking.

The characteristics and the communicative function of pronouns (Western and Eastern European languages)

Grammatical and syntactic characteristics of pronouns are mainly considered based on the material of French grammatical system, which implemented the analytical tendencies of the Latin language in the course of evolution. It has been established that the major opposition in the pronominal system, that is the opposition of the 1st and 2nd person forms to the 3rd person forms, is an important factor in the communicative function of pronouns. In the substitutive function, pronominal forms are distinguished by the presence of an antecedent: substitutes of the 3rd person as well as personal pronouns that are the substitutes of the 1st and 2nd person. It has been revealed that personal pronouns are independent and do not require the preliminary use of the substituted form. The syntactic function of pronouns as an indicator differentiating a simple/complex sentence has been noted. The communicative function of a pronoun has been particularly pointed out. Thus, the forms ‘read, reads’ in the context of indicating the grammatical person, could represent the sender/recipient/subject of communication, in this way implementing the function of the communicative role of the person in the speaking process. The results of the research allow to state that a pronoun, forming a complex system with oppositions of forms based on different principles, acts as a significant element of the communication process.

The Syntax of Dagbani personal pronouns: an analysis

Cross-linguistically, personal pronouns are noted as being deficient in relation to some morphosyntactic and phonological properties. Some striking asymmetries have been identified between strong and weak personal pronouns in relation to modification, coordination/conjunction, whether they have a semantic referent, and can encode focus. This study explores the personal pronominal system of Dagbani along Cardinaletti and Starke’s (1994) typology and observed asymmetries. Using insights from published literature on Dagbani pronouns as well as my understanding as a native speaker, I argue that, unlike personal pronouns in Romance/Germanic languages, Dagbani personal pronouns can be modified by quantifiers, can be coordinated, and can occur in conjunction constructions, as well as encode topic and focus as salient semantic discourse properties. Furthermore, the pre/post verbal distinctions among nonemphatic pronominal forms in Dagbani still hold, even as these occur in coordinated and modified constructions, due to structural constraints imposed on them by coordinating conjuctions and quantifiers.

A alternância entre nós e a gente e a concordância verbal no cinema brasileiro: uma análise por géneros fílmicos

Abstract – It is common knowledge and prescribed in all normative Portuguese grammars that the verb must agree in number and person with its subject, whether the latter is superposed or postponed to the verb. The lack of agreement between subject and verb ( concordância verbal variavel) is seen by users with a scholastic education as being wrong and linked to the poorest social strata, that is, with a low or zero level of education. However, cases of lack of agreement are not uncommon in informal speech of users with medium or high levels of education. This dichotomy between linguistic norms and orality, and its perception by the Brazilian population (i.e. lack of agreement as a sign of a lower educational and social level) can be verified also in the artistic reproduction, namely in the filmic dialogues of Brazilian national cinema, where verbal agreement variation is used to typify characters with little or no education. This paper will attempt to analyse how this linguistic phenomenon is interpreted by film discourse, i.e. a reproduction of orality. First, the linguistic issue will be presented, that is, the agreement and the lack of it in some registers of Brazilian Portuguese, and a brief presentation of the type of data on which this research was conducted (filmic dialogues from Brazilian films). Then, cases of variable verbal agreement (hereafter CVV) of the first plural person (hence 1PP) will be presented. In this perspective, the analysis of the alternation of use between two pronominal forms in subject function for the 1PP will be considered as a possible cause for the variation of verbal agreement between verb and subject with the 1PP. The approach adopted in this research brings together the variational studies and tools of Corpora Linguistics in an attempt to offer a critical view of the linguistic choices involved in film production.

Uso variável de nós e a gente em jornais publicados na Cidade de Goiás

As pesquisas sociolinguísticas (LOPES, 1998, 2003a, 2003b, 2004, 2007 e outras) têm demonstrado que a forma pronominal a gente está implementada no Português Brasileiro (doravante PB), figurando como alternativa ao pronome nós. Ao tratar dessa temática, o presente artigo apresenta parte de uma pesquisa mais ampla acerca da variação dos pronomes-sujeito nós e a gente em um corpus escrito da Cidade de Goiás-GO. Para esta pesquisa, julgou-se pertinente investigar quando a forma pronominal inovadora começou a ser utilizada pelos vilaboenses (gentílico aos nativos da cidade). Para tanto, optou-se por realizar busca de textos antigos na cidade, publicados em jornais e periódicos, desde a sua fundação, até meados da transferência da capital para Goiânia. Dessa maneira, observados os períodos, almeja-se ainda verificar em quais gêneros textuais a forma esteve mais presente e se a variante nós era mais recorrente. A pesquisa está calcada nos estudos da Teoria Variacionista de base laboviana (LABOV, 1978, 2008; WEINER; LABOV, 1983; WEINREICH; LABOV; HERZOG, 2006) e nas pesquisas sobre gramaticalização clássica, a fim de investigar a variação pronominal de primeira pessoa do plural no Português Brasileiro (CASTILHO, 1997, 2016; LOPES, 1998, 2003a, 2003b, 2004; VIANNA; LOPES, 2015, dentre outros), A análise dos dados aponta para ocorrências da forma a gente (figurando como pronome-sujeito substituto de nós) nos anos 1800, na comunidade vilaboense, em contextos menos formais. Por outro lado, a forma nós prevalece nos contextos mais formais.

Narrative Appraisal as a Linguistic Approach to Evaluation in Text: The Case of Pronouns

Unlike modern narrative, which often goes into great detail in order to develop characters and themes, the narrator in the Old Testament is reticent, and the narrative is typically terse. There are many ambiguous passages involving actions of dubious propriety, resulting in readers being uncertain how to assess characters and draw ideological conclusions from their actions. It is too easy for modern readers to filter interpretive decisions through their presuppositions and values. Appraisal theory, an area of systemic functional linguistics, acts not to eliminate but to constrain the subjectivity of the interpreter and increase the transparency of the process by looking for specific linguistic signals in the text that can be presented as evidence. These instantiations are drawn mainly from the interpersonal metafunction, but also involve the textual and ideational metafunctions. J.R. Martin and P.R.R. White developed a system network through which text is processed in order to identify evaluative language; however, their work is based primarily on contemporary English texts of a rhetorical nature, such as political speeches and reviews. This article presents a modified system network, the “Narrative Appraisal Method,” adapted for Hebrew narrative texts. It operates not only at the level of the clause but also at higher levels of discourse. It takes into consideration the characteristics of narrative and the point of view of the evaluator. The article provides specific examples of the results the methodology yields from the book of Judges, focusing on situations in which pronominal forms play a relevant role.