Structure Of Relative Clauses Research Articles

Intransparent-Gap Relatives in Japanese

Abstract In the present article, we describe what we call Intransparent-Gap Relatives (IGRs) in Japanese. In IGRs, a gap is located within the relative clause, and the head noun appears outside the relative clause. Unlike the standard head-external relatives, the gap in IGRs is not transparently associated with the head noun, but they are mediated through a metonymic relation. We propose a formal account of IGRs in terms of incremental parsing in Dynamic Syntax: an IGR string is processed in a left-to-right manner, and a semantic structure is progressively built up. This account unifies the standard head-external relatives and IGRs, relegating their differences to the ways in which the head noun is parsed and construed against the relative clause structure. Confirmation of this analysis comes from cross-constructional and cross-linguistic considerations. First, the analysis predicts that a metonymic reading is available in relatives but not in other rightward-displacement constructions, such as clefts and postposing. Second, the analysis suggests that IGRs are possible in languages such as Japanese and Korean, where the relative clause is processed before the head noun, but not in languages such as English and French, where the head noun is processed before the relative clause.

Bound Noun Pa in Korean

This paper addresses the syntatic aspect of a bound noun pa in Korean. Woo (2006) extensively discusses the bound noun pa in terms of syntax, semantics, and grammaticalization. Woo (2006) argues that there are two different syntactic structures of pa: a relative-clause structure with an ellipsis operation and a noun-complement-clause structure. However, the two structures appear to have empirical problems. Unlike normal relative clauses, pa cannot be separated into two different clauses, and the elided parts cannot have full pronunciation. The problem of the noun complement clause is that pa cannot be modified by adjectives. Given that pa can be replaced by a bound noun kes in general (Woo 2006), we may assume Kim’s (2016) N-to-n movement of kes. However, we find a difference between pa and kes in terms of an adjectival modification pattern. In this paper, I argue that pa directly merges in small n, and it takes an NP complement which is headed by a null noun. This analysis has more explanatory power than Woo (2006) in that it accounts for the related phenomena seamlessly, and its grammaticalized nature is directly reflected in the structure.

Determiner spreading in Rukiga

AbstractDeterminer spreading, the phenomenon whereby adnominal modifiers carry an ‘additional’ determiner, has been studied extensively for a variety of languages, most notably Greek, Semitic, and Scandinavian languages. Interestingly, the same phenomenon occurs in the Bantu language Rukiga. We show how the Rukiga augment is parallel to the Greek determiner in the context of modification, and how it triggers a restrictive reading when present on a larger class of modifiers than familiar so far: relative clauses, adjectives, possessives, and certain quantifiers. Considering its morphosyntactic and interpretational properties, we propose that the variation in the presence versus absence of the augment on modifiers is due to different underlying structures, applying an analysis of determiner spreading in terms of a reduced relative clause structure.

Focussing and Levelling in the Auckland Voices Project

Levelling and focussing are well-documented processes, central to the emergence of new dialects, including to the emergence of New Zealand English as a distinct variety in the last hundred and fifty years. We draw on recent recordings from three areas in Auckland to examine the extent to which levelling and focussing continue to be relevant today. Most work on NZ English as a new dialect has concentrated on phonology; we extend the analysis to syntax. We consider the structure of relative clauses used in communities which have very different demographic profiles and histories of immigration. We find evidence that levelling and focussing continue to underpin the development of post-colonial English in New Zealand. Our data suggests that speakers draw on linguistically motivated solutions to the choice among variants when focussing occurs.

The interplay between syntactic and non-syntactic structure in language production

Speakers frequently reuse earlier encountered structures. A long-standing view in language production research is that this structural priming is driven by the persistence of abstract syntax, independent from unordered, conceptual representations. However, evidence has been building that non-syntactic information can also influence structural choice. Here we examined whether and how the syntactic priming of relative clause structures might interact with the priming of the conceptual category order of adjectives in noun phrase production. Study 1 found that speakers are more likely to produce relative clause structures (spotted bow that’s green) after having heard relative clause structures (striped lock that’s blue) as opposed to an alternative structure (striped blue lock), and they also tended to repeat the conceptual order of the prime, with more pattern-first orders after pattern-first primes than after color-first primes. Critically, we found larger syntactic priming when the conceptual order of the prime persisted more in the target and larger conceptual order priming when the syntactic structure of the prime persisted more in the target. Studies 2 and 3 found that conceptual category order priming can be enhanced by adjective overlap as well as noun overlap between prime and target, whereas syntactic priming can only be enhanced by noun overlap. These results supported the interactive priming account: Although the syntactic structure and the conceptual order are represented at different levels and hence can be activated independently, the link between them is also primed, which enhances priming at both levels.

WEYand the structure of relative clauses in Nigerian Pidgin English

AbstractA comprehensive corpus-driven account of the internal structure, meaning and interpretation of relative clauses in Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) is missing in the literature. Relativisation, including its process, strategies, constraints, structural patterning, meaning and interpretation, is an important syntactic structure in any language, and therefore is crucial to our understanding of the extent to which syntactic and semantic structures in NPE differ from standard varieties of English. Relying on corpus material extracted from a popular web media outlet BBC News Pidgin, the study shows that user/speakers of NPE are cognitively enabled and creative in varying relative clauses along simple and complex choices and that structural and semantic complexities operative in the relativisation process in NPE are not too different from standard Englishes. Unlike in standard English where relativiserswhoandwhichclearly relate to the animacy of the relativised NP, relativiser representingwey, which can be classified as a prototype for relativisersweh,wen, andwia, does not clearly make such distinction. Also, it is shown thatweyembodies the syntactic and semantic properties of these other relativisers, a phenomenon classified asrelativiser reduction.

The nature and frequency of relative clauses in the language children hear and the language children read: A developmental cross-corpus analysis of English complex grammar.

As written language contains more complex syntax than spoken language, exposure to written language provides opportunities for children to experience language input different from everyday speech. We investigated the distribution and nature of relative clauses in three large developmental corpora: one of child-directed speech (targeted at pre-schoolers) and two of text written for children - namely, picture books targeted at pre-schoolers for shared reading and children's own reading books. Relative clauses were more common in both types of book language. Within text, relative clause usage increased with intended age, and was more frequent in nonfiction than fiction. The types of relative clause structures in text co-occurred with specific lexical properties, such as noun animacy and pronoun use. Book language provides unique access to grammar not easily encountered in speech. This has implications for the distributional lexical-syntactic features and associated discourse functions that children experience and, from this, consequences for language development.

ARGUMENT BAR MOVEMENT IN RELATIVE CLAUSES PRODUCED BY BIPA STUDENTS: AN ANALYSIS OF NOAM CHOMSKY’S GENERATIVE TRANSFORMATION

This study was intended to describe (1) the characteristics of the argument bar movement in relative clauses, (2) the characteristics of the relative clause structure, and (3) the suitability of the relative clause structure produced by BIPA students. This research was a qualitative descriptive case study. This research data were relative clauses sourced from BIPA students' speeches at the beginner and intermediate levels at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang. The data collection method used was the listening method with tapping, recording, note-taking, and hidden fishing techniques. Data analysis was carried out by identifying the predication-argument relationship with theta theory, identifying the deep structure and surface structure, analyzing movement objectives, movement traces, and movement consequences by utilizing the subjacency condition theory. The results showed that the characteristics of the argument bar movement in the relative clauses generated by 92% of BIPA students were in the form of short movements and did not exceed one bounding node. Based on the Indonesian language rules, most of the relative clauses produced by BIPA students were appropriate (75%). It shows that BIPA students have fully understood the relative clause structure.

Complex variability and difficulty processing Yoruba relativisers and the relative clause

The nature of the form, function, meaning and interpretation of relativisers and relative clause structures in Yoruba language is clearly missing in the mainstream literature showing how we map meaning from form and function. This article provides the initial comprehensive outline of the relativisers in Yoruba, the complex mechanism involved in mapping meaning and function from various forms of relativisers in the language. The article then goes on to show that there is an asymmetrical relation between the different variants of the Yoruba relativisers and the internal structure, meaning and interpretation of the ensuing relative clauses. The article thus provides a catalogue of the variability of underlying uses, alternation and combinatory patterning of certain relativisers such as ti, to, ta, eyi and eleyii, including how such issues relate to the development of a varying degree of difficulty accessing and processing the relative clauses. Among other things. the article shows a diverse way of accounting for the variability in the relativiser/relative clause, arguing that the relativiser and relative clauses in Yoruba cannot be processed as those in English. It is argued that relativisers and relative clauses are more pragmatic than semantic, and inherently context-dependent, together with strong relations to intuition for disambiguation and accessibility.

TYPOLOGICAL VARIATION IN RELATIVE CLAUSES

According to Foley and Hall (2003), relative clauses are subordinate clauses that refer to the noun of the main clause, identifying it, or adding extra information. This research aims to illustrate how languages vary in the relativization strategies they utilize. It also explains the effects of relative clause structure on L2 acquisition and problems for ESL/EFL students. Now let me start with the characteristics of English Relative Clauses first and then gradually explain the other languages’ relative clauses.

Raising and matching in Pharasiot Greek relative clauses: A diachronic reconstruction

This paper studies the structure and origin of prenominal and postnominal restrictive relative clauses in Pharasiot Greek. Though both patterns are finite and introduced by the invariant complementizer tu, they differ in two important respects. First, corpus data reveal that prenominal relatives are older than their postnominal counterparts. Second, in the present-day language only prenominal relatives involve a matching derivation, whereas postnominal ones behave like Head-raising structures. Turning to diachrony, we suggest that prenominal relatives came into being through morphological fusion of a determiner t- with an invariant complementizer u. This process entailed a reduction of functional structure in the left periphery of the relative clause, to the effect that the landing site for a raising Head was suppressed, leaving a matching derivation as the only option. Postnominal relatives are analyzed as borrowed from Standard Modern Greek. Our analysis corroborates the idea that both raising and matching derivations for relatives must be acknowledged, sometimes even within a single language.

Linguistic syncopation: Meter-syntax alignment affects sentence comprehension and sensorimotor synchronization

The hierarchical organization of speech rhythm into meter putatively confers cognitive affordances for perception, memory, and motor coordination. Meter also aligns with phrasal structure in systematic ways. In this paper, we show that this alignment affects the robustness of syntactic comprehension and discuss possible underlying mechanisms. In two experiments, we manipulated meter-syntax alignment while sentences with relative clause structures were either read as text (experiment 1, n = 40) or listened to as speech (experiment 2, n = 40). In experiment 2, we also measured the stability with which participants could tap in time with the metrical accents in the sentences they were comprehending. In addition to making more mistakes, sensorimotor synchronization was disrupted when syntactic cues clashed with the metrical context. We suggest that this reflects a tight coordination of top-down linguistic knowledge with the sensorimotor system to optimize comprehension.

A Study of types and core constituents of Acehnese relative clauses

This research aims to determine and explain the types and the core constituents of Acehnese relative clauses which so far have not been thoroughly discussed. To collect data for this study, a direct elicitation technique is used, and the data is then analyzed through a qualitative descriptive technique. The results showed that the relative clauses in Acehnese were clauses embedded as modifiers of noun phrases. Similar to the relative clauses’ theory proposed by experts in the Acehnese, there are five types of relative clauses: relativization of subject, relativization of predicate, relativization of object, relativization of possessive, and relativization of noun. Relative clauses in Acehnese are formed by connecting core nouns and relative clauses through the connecting word ‘nyang’, except for the relative clause of the predicate element through the ellipsis of the predicate element. The basic structure of the Acehnese relative clauses is the arrangement of the main constituents preceding (postnominal) the relative clauses. The constituents that described the relative clauses could form words or phrases depending on the reference to the meaning of the relative clauses. In the Acehnese, the following elements do not exist: (1) relative clauses that can be reduced by adverbials such as in English, (2) relative pronouns as in German and relative particles such as in Chinese Mandarin; and (3) the attachment of relative suffixes to verbs as in Korean.

Japanese embedded questions are nominal: Evidence from quantificational variability effect

AbstractThe exhaustivity of an embedded interrogative sentence can be altered by the presence of an adverb in the matrix clause. This phenomenon, known as Quantificational Variability Effect (QVE), manifests itself in a peculiar way in Japanese. A QVE-inducing adverb can take the form of a numeral classifier that agrees with the embedded Wh-phrase. While a QVE-inducing numeral classifier appears to be associated with an embedded wh-phrase, it is not clear how such an association can be established. I argue that Japanese embedded questions are implicitly nominalized in the fashion similar to the internally-headed relative clause construction, and that the nominalized embedded questions are treated as concealed questions. The proposed analysis gives a very simple account for the puzzling QVE construction, as the floated quantifier structure with a concealed-question-denoting NP is commonplace. The paper examines a variety of phenomena, such as doubly headed relative clause structure and selectional restrictions on QVE, which support the nominal structure of Japanese embedded questions.

Construction of Relative Clause in Indonesian Language

Researchers are interested in the study of the syntactic typology of language. There is one problem in this research, namely how the types of constituents and the structure of Indonesian relative clauses. Words/phrases greatly affect the presence of relative clauses as constituent extension or explanation clauses. The constituents explained by the relative clauses certainly have a relationship that is in accordance with the meaning of the constituents. This study used descriptive qualitative method. The data source used is native Indonesian speakers. The data of this study are sentences containing relative Indonesian clauses. Data collection techniques used in this study are collaboration techniques with informants and questionnaire techniques. Data analysis method used is the method of sharing with lingual units. The analysis technique of this research uses x-bar theory analysis technique which produces a word/phrase structure into a tree diagram of the whole sentence/clause. The conclusion of the results of this study is the type of constituents that can be expanded with relative clauses. As well as the patterns produced by the construction. The results of this study are expected to update previous research relating to the relative clauses of the Indonesian language.

A probe into discourse structure of english relative clauses of Iranian EFL learners’ reading and writing performance: Centering theory in focus

The purpose of this study was to explore the function of English restrictive and non-restrictive relative clauses in discourse cohesion and also intended to examine the possible differences between...

Language history attenuates syntactic prediction in L1 processing

An eye-tracking experiment in the Visual World Paradigm was conducted to examine the effects of language history on the predictive parsing of sentences containing relative clauses in the first-learned language of fluent bilingual adults. We compared heritage speakers of Spanish (HSs)—who had spent most of their lives immersed in an English-dominant society—to Spanish–English late bilinguals (LBs), who did not begin immersion in an English-dominant society until adulthood. Consistent with studies of monolinguals, the LBs demonstrated a subject/object relative clause processing asymmetry, i.e. a processing advantage during subject relative clauses and a processing disadvantage during object relative clauses. This suggests that the LBs actively predicted the syntactic structure of subject relative clauses, consistent with the active filler hypothesis. The HSs, on the other hand, did not exhibit this processing asymmetry, suggesting less active prediction. We conclude, therefore, that decreased exposure to the first-learned language causes less active prediction in first-language processing, which causes both disadvantages, and interestingly, advantages, in processing speed.

Agreement Mismatch in Partitive Relatives

Agreement Mismatch in Partitive Relatives

How to be Brief: Children’s and Adults’ Application of Grice’s Brevity Maxim in Production

The brevity maxim of Gricean pragmatics states that unnecessary prolixity should be avoided. We report a case in which 5-year-old children’s performance conforms better to Grice’s maxim than adults’ behavior. Our data come from a semi-spontaneous German relative clause production study that we carried out with 5- and 7-year-old children as well as adults. In particular, we focus on the pragmatics of the passive predicates that were produced. These constituted about a third of both child and adult productions in items that targeted an object relative clause structure. Since the expression of the agent is syntactically optional with passive predicates, the brevity maxim predicts that the agent should only be expressed when it is informative. We compare two conditions to test this prediction: one where the agent is informative and one where it is not. We find that 5-year-old children display significantly greater sensitivity to the brevity maxim than adults do. In two follow-up studies, we show that adults’ violations of brevity cannot be explained by priming of by-phrases expressing the agent and that there is an effect of age within children as well.

An Examination of Relative Clauses in Argumentative Essays Written by EFL Learners

Syntactic complexity has received a great deal of attention in the literature on second language writing. Relative clauses, which function as a kind of noun phrase post-modifier, are among those structures that are believed to increase the complexity of academic prose. This grammatical structure can pose difficulties for EFL writers even at higher levels of proficiency, and it is therefore important to determine the frequency and accuracy with which relative clauses are used by L2 learners; understanding learners’ strengths and weaknesses in using these structures can inform the process of their instruction in the writing classroom. This paper reports on a corpus-based comparison of relative clauses in a number of argumentative essays written by native and nonnative speakers of English. To this end, 30 argumentative essays were randomly selected from the Persian sub-corpus of the ICLE and the essays were analyzed with respect to the relative clauses found in them. The results were then compared to a comparable corpus of essays by native speakers. Different dimensions regarding the structure of relative clauses were investigated. The type of relative clause (restrictive/non-restrictive), the relativizer (adverbial/pronoun), the gap (subject/non-subject), and head nouns (both animate and non-animate) in our two sets of data were manually identified and coded. The Findings revealed that Iranian EFL writers tend to use a greater number of relative clauses compared to their native-speaker counterparts.