Prototypical Verbs Research Articles

Exploring the Development of Progressive Construction in Chinese and Japanese EFL Writing: A Usage‐Based Approach

AbstractThis study investigates the developmental trajectory of progressive construction among Chinese and Japanese EFL learners through a usage‐based approach. A total of 600 written essays, produced by EFL learners from China and Japan with proficiency levels ranging from elementary to upper‐intermediate, were analyzed. The findings reveal that advanced EFL learners, irrespective of their L1 backgrounds, exhibit higher productivity in using progressive constructions, aligning more closely with native English speakers. Moreover, the results support the aspect hypothesis, as activity verbs are predominantly marked with progressive across all learner groups. As for the development of progressive construction, less prototypical verb types in progressives increase proportionally with proficiency levels in the top 10 contingencies. However, discrepancies in proportions among Chinese and Japanese EFL learners underscore the need for a further examination of the intricate patterns of non‐prototypical form‐meaning associations across L1 backgrounds. The present study bears significance in shedding light on the acquisition of tense‐aspect morphology influenced by L1 transfer and learner proficiency.

Beyond dynasties and binary alternations: a diachronic corpus study of four-way variability in Chinese theme-recipient constructions

AbstractDespite the vast body of literature on the historical development of the theme-recipient alternation (also known as the “dative” alternation) in Chinese, most studies that have been conducted so far are limited to philological recounts of the binary choice between the prepositional dative and the ditransitive dative across dynasties, which usually spanned centuries. Against this backdrop, we conduct a state-of-the-art variationist analysis of the four variants, utilizing a large and richly annotated diachronic dataset based on a corpus of Chinese texts (1300s–1900s). Using conditional inference trees and conditional random forest analysis, we demonstrate that end-weight effects are the most stable linguistic constraint on variation, while definiteness and animacy of the theme constituent tend to be more fluid. Supplementary distinctive collexeme analysis reveals a strong collostructional interplay between verbs and the variants, including changes involving the prototypical verb of GIVING 给gĕi.

Image-schema-based-instruction enhanced L2 construction learning with the optimal balance between attention to form and meaning

Abstract This study investigated the effectiveness of L2 instruction on the learning of English caused-motion constructions (e.g., Jane put the balls into the box, Harry swam Peter to the beach). Korean EFL high school students (N = 156) were randomly assigned to three instructional conditions and one control group. While the metalanguage group relied on explicit uses of grammar jargon, the input flood group read narrative stories in which the instances of a prototypical verb were presented with higher frequency than other verbs. The image-schema group, which adopted a balanced approach to form and meaning attention, studied the core meaning of the target construction. Mixed-effects logistic regressions on Korean-to-English translation tests revealed that the image-schema group was most effective in terms of learnability and generalizability. The benefits of image-schema-based instruction were attributed to simultaneous attention to form and meaning, which might lead to deeper processing. Image-schema-based-instruction is discussed as a viable alternative for L2 construction learning.

Étude des prédicats nominaux dans le lexique de la perception visuelle

In this paper, I analyse the noun forms derived from the prototypical verbs of visual perception, see and look. The descriptors used to process verbal polysemy must prepare the correspondence between verb classes and noun classes. This involves indicating whether perception verbs have nouns as associated forms. I also show that if the predicates and arguments are fundamental for the interpretation of the sentence, the actualizers are fundamental for its grammaticalization. The actualization will condition the reading of the nominal predicate. I show how this actualization will allow us to elaborate classes of predicates and thus to renew the approaches of polysemy.

How do translators select among competing (near-)synonyms in translation?

Abstract This article investigates how translators choose between multiple competing onomasiological variants to express (verbal) inchoativity in English-to-Dutch translations. Using a corpus-based multifactorial research design, we measure the impact of three well-known socio-cognitive mechanisms on the actual choice, namely the complexity principle, risk aversion, and cognate exposure. We apply the behavioural profile method, which allows us to operationalise these three explanatory mechanisms via ID-tags, and we then use conditional random forest modelling to determine the impact of each mechanism on the choice between four competing verbs of inchoativity. The results of our analyses show that the complexity principle plays a clear role in translated texts, as there is a significant preference for the active construction and for prototypical verbs in passive constructions. Genre-specific risk-averse behaviour as well as cognate avoidance were not observed.

한국인 중국어 학습자를 위한 把구문의 효과적인 교수·학습 연구-구문문법의 활용을 기반으로

The purpose of this study is to discuss the effective pedagogy for teaching Chinese Ba construction for Korean learners. Chinese Ba construction is used in several limited situations both syntactically and semantically as a so-called ‘disposal construction. Many Korean learners often make error sentences, and even advanced learners make errors as well, since Ba construction sometimes behave like a Korean object construction, so learners are confused easily. In order to help Korean learners acquire the exact meaning and correct usage of Chinese Ba construction, this study compares the difference between Korean object construction and Chinese Ba construction. As an effective teaching method, construction grammar approach is used, which points out the importance of scene, network, and prototypical verb in foreign language education. The pedagogy and materials presented in detail in this paper can be used in actual Chinese classes, and also the discussion in this paper will support the result of the previous studies with a new teaching and learning target, namely Korean learners of Chinese.

Morphosyntactic Structures of Existential, Possessive and Locative Constructions in Amharic

This paper lays out the morphosyntactic structures of existential, locative and possessive constructions in Amharic. Amharic belongs to South Ethio-Semitic language subfamily. It is natively spoken in the Amhara region and used as the first and the second language for some urban dwellers in the country. It is a working language for the Federal Government of Ethiopia. It serves the same in Gambella, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ and Benishangul-Gumuz regional states. The Amharic existential, possessive and locative constructions are characterized by using the same existential verb stem all-‘exist’. The verb is defective in its derivation and conjugation. Unlike the prototypical verbs of the language, the existential verb uses a different verb for imperfective and past verb forms. Unlike the regular verbs of the language, the existential verb, which is perfective in form, conveys present tense. It has been observed that indefinite nominals appear as the E (Existent) in existentials and possessives, whereas definite ones appear in locatives. The morphosyntactic features of existentials and locatives are the same in every aspect except the use of definiteness of the E (Existent). The possessives differ from the two constructions in word order and morphological structure of the verb.

Factors contributing to prefixation of biaspectual verbs in Croatian

One of the distinctive features of Slavic verbs is their aspectual morphology: typically each finite and non-finite form of a verb has a constant aspectual value: either perfective (PFV) or imperfective (IPFV). Nevertheless, in all Slavic languages, besides these prototypical verbs with only one assigned aspectual value, there are also verbs with underspecified aspectual value, usually called biaspectual verbs (BVs).As argued in the literature, on the sentence level such verbs have the potential to express both aspectual values, PFV and IPFV, without any further aspectual affixation. However, some scholars assert that the intended aspectual value of such verbs can rarely be unambiguously signaled. To resolve the ambiguous aspectual value, native speakers often provide additional context signals or derive a new aspectually defined verb to indicate the intended aspectual value. The latter possibility has been addressed in numerous papers, but mainly with the goal of detecting the (most common) prefixes used in this process.This study aimed to examine the patterns behind BV prefixation in Croatian. In order to detect factors with a statistically significant impact on prefixation of BVs in Croatian, a random stratified sample of 237 Croatian BVs (BVs of Slavic origin and biaspectual borrowings) was compiled. The data regarding the existence of perfective derivatives were extracted from three different corpora of contemporary Croatian and one subcorpus: the Croatian National Corpus, the Croatian Language Repository, and the Croatian Web Corpus and its subcorpus Forum, and afterwards analyzed using R software with the help of the lme4 package.The results obtained with the generalized linear mixed model revealed five factors statistically significant for prefixation of BVs in Croatian, which can be attributed to the lexical (semantical), morphological and sociolinguistic domains.

Constructional associations trump lexical associations in processing valency coercion

Abstract The paper investigates the interaction of lexical and constructional meaning in valency coercion processing, and the effect of (in)compatibility between verb and construction for its successful resolution (Perek, Florent & Martin Hilpert. 2014. Constructional tolerance: Cross-linguistic differences in the acceptability of non-conventional uses of constructions. Constructions and Frames 6(2). 266–304; Yoon, Soyeon. 2019. Coercion and language change: A usage-based approach. Linguistic Research 36(1). 111–139). We present an online experiment on valency coercion (the first one on Italian), by means of a semantic priming protocol inspired by Johnson, Matt A. & Adele E. Goldberg. 2013. Evidence for automatic accessing of constructional meaning: Jabberwocky sentences prime associated verbs. Language & Cognitive Processes 28(10). 1439–1452. We test priming effects with a lexical decision task which presents different target verbs preceded by coercion instances of four Italian argument structure constructions, which serve as primes. Three types of verbs serve as target: lexical associate (LA), construction associate (CA), and unrelated (U) verbs. LAs are semantically similar to the main verb of the prime sentence, whereas CAs are prototypical verbs associated to the prime construction. U verbs serve as a mean of comparison for the two categories of interest. Results confirm that processing of valency coercion requires an integration of both lexical and constructional semantics. Moreover, compatibility is also found to influence coercion resolution. Specifically, constructional priming is primary and independent from compatibility. A secondary priming effect for LA verbs is also found, which suggests a contribution of lexical semantics in coercion resolution – especially for low-compatibility coercion coinages.

A abstratização de evidenciais no português brasileiro, no espanhol dominicano e no italiano

This article presents the result of an investigation on the development of more abstracted microconstructions based on predicative lexical evidential structured with the prototypical dicendi verb. Three Romance languages ​​were contrasted: Brazilian Portuguese (BP) ( dizer ), Spanish (ESP) ( decir ) and Italian (IT) ( dire ). The evidential semantic domain concerns the source of the enunciated knowledge (Aikhenvald 2004; Casseb-Galvao 2001) and its coding can occur by lexical and/or procedural elements. The main hypothesis involves the recognition that across languages more prototypical lexical uses originate processes of constructional changes of abstract evidentials, with grammatical or discursive meanings, as [ diski ], in PB, ( decir ), in ESP and si dice che , in IT.

Indexation of modalation levels of finite verbs in peripheral zone of introductory-modal units

The object of this research is the linguistic mechanism of modalation in Russian language that produces lexical-semantic expressions of subjective modality of expression, and more extensively – of the text. Modalation is understood as a special type of functional and functional-semantic transposition of linguistic units from different parts of speech and inter-part-of-speech semantic-syntactic classification of introductory-modal words and expressions. The subject of this research is the levels of correspondence of differential signs of linguistic unit (verb), explicating in typical context a certain level of separation from the initial class (A) and convergence with the derivative class (B), deferential signs of prototypical (nuclear) representatives of class A and class B. Methodological framework contains the research of Russian and foreign author on the theory of parts of speech and syncretism in grammatical structure of a language. For determination of gradual form of modalation of the finite forms of verbs, the study applies oppositional method that allows describing on the scale of transitivity the different stages of their functional and functional-semantic transposition into the introductory-modal units. The index number calculation of correspondence of modalates to prototypical (nuclear) verbs and introductory-modal words and expressions is conducted using the indexing method. The scientific novelty is defined by the fact that this work is firs to carry out indexing of correspondence of the peripheral deverbative modalates (“it is said”) to prototypical finite verbs (“are saying”) and prototypical devebative introductory-modal units (“perhaps”). As a result, it is established that in periphery zone of introductory-modal words and expressions, the modalate “it is said” shows 72% congruence (similarities and differences) with nuclear finite verbs (“are saying”) and 54% to nuclear deverbative introductory-modal words (“it seems”, “perhaps”).

КОГНИТИВНЫЙ ПОТЕНЦИАЛ ГЛАГОЛОВ РЕЧИ (на материале латинского языка)

Тhe article aims to identify and compare the specific cognitive potential of prototypical verbs dicere, loqui, fari in the Latin language of the classical period, to determine its origins. Objects of analysis are semantic variants of the verbs and their derivatives. The research methods include semantic, cognitive, etymological analysis. The cognitive potential of a word family is determined by the etymological semantics of the base word. In the dicere word family, the semantics of speaking is secondary and develops in interaction with the etymological meaning ‘to show’. In some of the subfamilies, this meaning is implemented exclusively; members of these subfamilies represent social realities of the legal sphere. In the word family, there are many derivatives with mental or voluntary components of semantics dominating. The loqui word family stems from the base with the meaning ‘to make a sound’. It is dominated by derivatives with the meaning of speaking, speech is primarily revealed as a means of interpersonal contact. The etymological semantics of the verb fari combines the semantics of speaking with the idea of transpersonal nature of speech. As a result, some derivatives characterize speech as a process, others are concentrated in the cognitive sphere of the cult. The former direction is supported by secondary cognitive spheres associated with the unofficial use of speech (‘Rumor’, ‘Folklore’), the latter direction generates secondary cognitive spheres in which speech is interpreted as a means of communication between a person and higher powers (‘Fate’) or the state (‘Law’). The word families in question have areas of cognitive intersection: ‘Eloquence’ in loqui and fari (actualization of the semantics of speaking), ‘Speech as a means of regulating social relations’ in dicere and fari (actualization of voluntary components of semantics and the idea of transpersonal nature of speech).

VERBS OF SPEAKING IN SERBIAN AND ENGLISH PROVERBS

The aim of this paper is to perform a corpus analysis of verbs of speaking in 63 English and 60 Serbian proverbs in order to reveal the effect of their linguistic properties in signalling different metaphorical meanings of proverbs in the cognitive theoretical framework. The results reveal that prototypical verbs of speaking appear in approximately half of the sample of proverbs while the semantic markedness of verbs is achieved mostly lexically, although expectedly more so in the English language. The two languages also differ in the synonymy of these expressions and their metaphorical mapping. We propose three types of proverbs depending on the degree of abstraction of the speech act, in accordance with the generic is specific scheme, which we consider vital for the interpretation of proverbs.

Functional Role of Frequency in Word-Formation Processes: A System Theoretical Approach

ABSTRACTThree experimental models are reported in which verb-formation processes are used to investigate the effect of frequency on language structure. The first model examined the impact of frequency on length of a language unit. Only the smoothed data for the prototypical verb formation confirmed the hypothesis. The second model tested the dependency of frequency on the depth of a word-formation structure. Good-fitting results were found for all main verb-formation structures. The third model aimed to study the influence of frequency on productivity (number of derivatives). The results of smoothing data showed that the more frequently a unit is used, the more derivatives it has. The outcomes allow clarifying some aspects of functioning of frequency in the synergetic mechanisms of language. In particular, it was shown that the observed frequency oscillation could be considered as a dialogue between the system and its environment.

Muttering Contempt and Smiling Appreciation: Disentangling the History of the Reaction Object Construction in English

ABSTRACTStructures such as “she muttered contempt” or “she smiled appreciation” have been referred to as Reaction Object Constructions (ROCs), and consist of a normally intransitive verb followed by an object that conveys an emotion, such that the whole construction can be paraphrased as “express an emotion by V-ing”. Although ROCs have been discussed recently in relation to Present Day English, from a historical perspective they have received very little attention, mentioned only in passing in historical reference grammars. This paper explores aspects of the history of ROCs, drawing on data from the Oxford English Dictionary and the Corpus of Late Modern English Texts, version 3.0. The findings show that, similarly to other processes of transitivisation such as the way-construction, ROCs have been in use since the fifteenth century, expanding to more verbs over the course of the Late Modern English period. More specifically, the data suggests that the construction was established mainly in the nineteenth century, a period in which those verbs attested in the construction became quite fashionable in novels. Findings are also subjected to a collexeme analysis, revealing the prototypical verbs of the construction during this period.

A Partitioned Chi-square Analysis of Variation in Spanish Clitic Doubling: The Case of dar ‘give’

ABSTRACTIn Spanish ditransitive clauses with Dative Clitic Doubling (DClD), the goal may be doubled by a dative clitic pronoun. Applying a chi-square decomposition analysis to examples with the prototypical ditransitive verb dar “give”, from a corpus of journalistic language characteristic of River Plate Spanish, I show that DClD is disfavoured when the theme is a bare noun, and also that the distinction between bare and non-bare themes is more statistically significant than the distinction between definite and indefinite themes. The relational effect of definiteness on DClD in clauses with the verb dar is accounted for by extending Hopper and Thompson’s (1980) Transitivity Hypothesis to clauses with three arguments.

Acquisition of English verb transitivity by native speakers of Japanese

This study is concerned with native Japanese speakers’ acquisition of English lexical causativity. In Japanese, a large number of verbs, including those not participating in the causative alternation in English (e.g., kieru/kesu “disappear/be disappeared” and todoku/todokeru “deliver/be delivered”), are lexically causative, in addition to the prototypical causative verbs such as aku/akeru “open” and ugoku/ugokasu “move”. This asymmetric relationship forms a gap between the L1 and L2 and will cause overgeneralization errors in the L2 utterances. In this study, 44 native speakers of English and 60 Japanese ESL learners participated in the grammaticality judgment tasks in a series of experiments. The data show that the negative transfer exists in the inherently-directed motion verbs and verbs of disappearance, but it is conditioned by the frequency of verbs. The existence of frequency effect on verbs in the asymmetric relationship indicates that certain classes of verbs must be learned from the input.

The inflected/non-inflected infinitive alternation in Portuguese adverbial clauses. A corpus analysis

This paper investigates the alternation between the Portuguese inflected and uninflected infinitive in adverbial contexts on the basis of extensive corpus analyses and from a cognitive-functional perspective. We propose a multifactorial analysis of several variables that could influence the choice between both infinitives. These variables are inscribed within three underlying principles proposed in former literature: higher autonomy of the infinitival clause, lower infinitival subject accessibility and stronger verbality of the infinitive would lead to an increased use of the inflected form. Both a classification tree and a logistic regression analysis offer converging evidence for the validity of autonomy and subject accessibility: infinitival clauses are more prone to the use of an inflected infinitive when they show more semantic–syntactic autonomy and when their subject is less accessible. As for the verbality principle, we found a difference between morphosyntactic and semantic verbality: infinitives that have explicit morphosyntactic marks of their verbal status are indeed more easily inflected. However, contrary to expectations, infinitives that are semantically less prototypical verbs (states and less dynamic verbs), are more easily inflected. We interpret these findings in terms of the “Differential Infinitive Marking” (analogous to differential object/subject marking) and clausality: the inflected infinitive marks the clausal nature of the infinitive construction.

Osvojovanie slovesnej lexiky v ranej ontogenéze reči / Werbs Acquisition in Early Childhood

AbstractThe main aim of the study is to introduce a new method which has not been applied in the Slovak study of child language so far, and to answer 4 main research questions: (1) What is the development of understanding and production of verbs in early lexical development of Slovak-speaking children? (2) Are there any differences in verbs understanding and production between Slovak-speaking girls and boys? (3) What is the linguistic picture of the world given by incipient verbal lexicon of Slovak-speaking children? (4) Is there any difference between the linguistic picture of the world of Slovak-speaking girls and boys? The method is based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the lexical part of the Slovak version of CDI 1 Test of communicative abilities TEKOS 1: Words and gestures with 44 verbs in the part “actions and states”. Parents were asked to fill in the checklist and choose from three options: i) child understands and speaks, ii) understands, iii) does not understand The research sample consists of 323 girls and 330 boys in their age from 8 to 16 months. The results show the unanimous developmental trajectory in verbs acquisition in both, girls and boys. The differences shown in production in favor of girls in last two months are not statistically significant. The linguistic picture of the world is cognitively and semantically gender-universal, concentrated on corporeal concepts connected with social concept. The prototypical verbs in first 16 months of the age of the children are jesť (to eat) and dať (to give)

Noch einmal: Partikelverbkonstruktionen

Abstract Using the much debated German particle verb construction as an example, some basic questions of Construction Grammar are investigated: constructional meanings, compositionality of meaning, the role of lexical verb bases, morphological and/or syntactal analysis. It is argued that the traditional mode of presentation in historical-comparative grammar (as practiced by Neogrammarians like Hermann Paul) is “constructional” in spirit and mirrors empirical concern for constructional change and constructional meaning. Prototypical verb particles are analyzed within a pattern of grammaticalization and lexicalization of adverbial relators stemming from deictic “imperatives” comparable with English elements like Down!, Up!, Away!, Out!. These elements are the sources for the evolution of prepositions and copredicative adverbials used to build patterns of “phrasal verbs” and particle constructions.