Grammatical Categories Research Articles

Prenominal Adverbs, or Apparent Selectional Violations in Coordination

Abstract A robust generalization about coordinate structures is that X and Y may be conjoined in position P if and only if each of X and Y alone may occur in P. In particular, different grammatical categories (e.g., the NP a Republican and the AdjP proud of it) may be coordinated in a position that allows for either (e.g., Pat is [a Republican and proud of it]; Sag et al. 1985). Apparent violations of this generalization are sometimes taken as evidence for an asymmetric structure of coordination, where a single conjunct determines categorial features of the coordinate structure. Bruening and Al Khalaf 2020 and Bruening 2023 posit that one such violation involves coordination of AdvPs and AdjPs in prenominal positions that apparently do not allow for AdvPs alone; e.g., The [Once and Future] King (a book title) is grammatical, while the once king alone is claimed either to be ungrammatical or to involve a hypothetical compound once king that only a minority of English speakers accept. On the basis of rich attested data and acceptability judgment experiments, we demonstrate that adverbs such as once, now, soon, and twice combine with nouns in regular syntax, rather than via hypothetical compound forming processes. Hence, constructions exemplified by The Once and Future King do not violate the discussed generalization and do not provide an argument against the symmetric nature of coordination.

Possession in Categorization across Language and Category

Abstract Menon & Pancheva (2014) conjecture that the roots of all property concepts (words expressing the semantic content of adjectives in English; Dixon 1982, Thompson 1989), independent of syntactic category, have an abstract mass noun semantics in the spirit of Francez & Koontz-Garboden (2015, 2017). According to this conjecture, variation in the morphosemantics of categorization masks this underlying universality, leading to superficial variation in the morphosyntax of predication within this class of words. Supporting this line of analysis, we show that morphologically transparent behavior of nouns, verbs and adjectives in Ulwa, Wá·šiw, and English reveals that despite variation in category, property concepts in these languages receive a unified analysis on the view that mass-denoting roots are categorized by nominalizing, verbalizing, and adjectivizing heads, respectively, that introduce a possessive semantics.

Error Analysis on the Written English of Students in Grade 8 at Orr's Hill Vivekananda College, Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

This study attempts to identify and analyze “The errors in the written sentences produced by the students in grade 8 of Orr’s Hill Vivekananda School, Trincomalee”. The study begins with a systematic review of the concepts and theories concerning Error Analysis, which sets the platform for the theoretical base. Subsequently, the Error Analysis focuses on finding the syntactical errors under the selected grammatical categories while searching for the possible reasons causing errors. Eventually, the researcher suggests some of the complications involved in language learning and language teaching process. Understanding grammatical rules and applying them in sentences without making mistakes is what the teachers expect from the students in the school. However, it does not happen in the way it is expected. In other words, making grammatical errors can be assumed to be part and parcel of the language learning process. There are many linguistic aspects governing this learning process. Therefore, this research examines the type of errors the students make and why they make such errors in their writing. This dissertation is an eye-opener for teachers, with as they should understand the root causes of errors while attempting to find treatment for them. It is paramount that with teachers approach error corrections based on the student’s linguistic competence and their affective factors embedded with different socio-ethnic backgrounds. This error analysis has been undertaken with to with raise awareness among the teaching staff and help students produce better writing with fewer or no grammatical mistakes.

Средства выражения итеративной неоднократности с семантикой «цикличность» в произведении «Темные аллеи» И. А. Бунина

The aim of the research is to identify the specifics of the functioning of iterative repetition with the semantics of cyclicity in the individual style of I. A. Bunin. The article considers iterative repetition as a functional grammatical category that constitutes the functional-semantic field of aspectuality; details the ways of expressing iterative repetition in a literary text at the lexical, morphological and syntactic levels; creates a semantic model of iterative repetition with the meaning of cyclicity in the work ‘Dark Alleys’ by I. A. Bunin. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time the category of iteration is considered in I. A. Bunin’s work from the point of view of the functional approach. The iterative meaning is studied taking into account not only the paradigmatics, but also the syntagmatics of verb forms. As a result, it has been found that the category of iterative repetition in the work of I. A. Bunin is presented as a complex and branched system of multi-level linguistic means. It has been revealed that the category of iterative repetition as an expressive means is actively used in Bunin’s texts when describing everyday habits, lifestyle and activities of characters. It has also been determined that the semantic meaning of iterativity is combined with other components of the functional-semantic field of aspectuality: duration, phase and statality.

Possession and syntactic categories: An argument from Äiwoo

AbstractThis paper argues that possession is syntactically category-flexible. While it is clear that in many languages possession is mostly grounded in and operates in the nominal extended projection (Szabolcsi 1983; Kayne 1993), I show that this cannot be universal. The empirical part of this article is a case study of Äiwoo, which I argue has an inherently verbal counterpart of English ’s, an abstract transitive verb I label poss. This verb can be used by itself to form clausal possession: ‘I poss this boat’ ≈ ‘this boat is mine.’ Possessed DPs also contain the verb poss: the object of this verb is extracted, forming a relative clause. Informally, ‘my boat’ really is ‘the boati"Equation missing"’ ≈ ‘the boat that is mine.’ Given this, Äiwoo simply lacks true nominal possessives. The theoretical consequence is that possession can be mapped onto different syntactic categories in different languages. This is a welcome result, as it makes the syntax-semantics mapping as flexible as it needs to be: if possession is just a tool to assert that a certain relation holds between two entities, nothing in our theory of grammar predicts that such a notion should only be limited to a specific syntactic category.

Turkish EFL learners’ knowledge, perception, and production of suprafixes as part of lexical competence

Vocabulary and grammar are essential to language proficiency (Richards, 2015). Some word families and grammatical categories can only be distinguished by prosodic properties such as suprafixes. In English, specific noun/adjective-verb pairs, sometimes called disyllabic words, receive primary stress on different syllables. Typically, nouns receive trochaic stress, while verbs receive iambic stress. Research shows that suprafixes are difficult for language learners from diverse linguistic and prosodic backgrounds. Given the scarcity of research in specific contexts (e.g., Turkish EFL), this study explored Turkish EFL learners’ suprafixational knowledge, perception, and production. Participants were B1-level preparatory school students of a prominent state university. Data were collected through a test of knowledge (n=110), a test of perception (n=80), and a test of production (n=50). Results showed poor knowledge, perception, and production of suprafixes among Turkish EFL learners. Minor variations in suprafixational competence were observed in males and females. Additionally, different noun-verb pairs posed a challenge for both genders. The results were discussed, and recommendations for future research were made. The study concludes that Turkish EFL learners must receive suprasegmental training focusing on suprafixes.

Lexical field theory: Key concepts and contemporary approaches

ABSTRACT The article aims to discuss the ideas and principles of Trier’s theory of lexical field and to demonstrate how the concept of field can be fruitfully employed outside of the domain of lexicology. The first part of the article deals with Trier’s main idea that no lexical-semantic element can be considered outside of its systemic relations: a given element (word) can be ascribed a certain significance only depending on the place it occupies in some system called a lexical field (Wortfeld). The second part of the article demonstrates how the field principle can be applied to the analysis of grammatical categories using the ‘functional-semantic field’ approach and the analysis of communicative behaviour using the ‘communicative-pragmatic field’ approach. The former helps to reveal and systematize sets of language elements of a specific language with respect to the coding of a certain categorial function. The latter makes it possible to summarize different possibilities for the realization of speech behaviour patterns and to rank them according to the degree of their usage frequency. These two cases prove that the field concept can be used to solve issues that are deemed unsolvable if one applies the framework of the traditional level-oriented linguistic analysis.

Model of Comparative Analysis of the Structure and Semantics of Causal Constructions in Multi-Structural Languages

This article explores the application of constructive grammar, a linguistic approach that integrates cognitive, syntactic, and semantic frameworks to analyse causative constructions in English and Russian languages. Constructive grammar interprets not only the form and content of linguistic components but also the structure itself, which influences and imposes constraints on these components. The study considers the methodological evolution from traditional syntactic theories to cognitive models, particularly the influence of Ch. Fillmore’s work. By focusing on causative constructions, specifically analytical causatives like "The police made him confess," the research draws upon the theories of V.P. Nedyalkov, G.G. Silnitsky, and A.A. Kholodovich, among others, to provide a comparative analysis of causative structures in different languages. Cognitive and generative grammar perspectives, including R. King's spatial metaphor and L. Talmy’s force dynamics, are integrated to establish a comprehensive framework for understanding the universal and language-specific properties of causative expressions. The findings highlight the importance of the cognitive interpretation of syntactic structures, the role of energy transfer between agents and patients, and the diverse semantic types of causative situations. The study concludes by suggesting future research directions in the syntactic classification and formal expression of causative components.

The Use of English Relative Clauses by Indonesian Authors: A Case Study in Business, Engineering, and Science Journal Articles

The ability to effectively use relative clauses is pivotal in English journal articles, as it allows authors the flexibility to modify various noun phrases within sentences to convey clearer and more precise writing. This research explores the strategies employed by Indonesian authors from three distinct disciplines - business, engineering, and science. To accomplish this, we analyzed thirty papers published in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Makara Journal of Science, and Gadjahmada International Journal of Business. In total, 1453 relative clauses were collected and analyzed. A cross-classification analysis was performed to examine the distribution of relative clauses. The findings of the study indicate a preference among Indonesian writers to use non-reduced relative clauses, specifically those that serve as restrictive modifiers for objects. We also observe that the past participle is employed with greater frequency than the present participle. The results reveal that Indonesian authors prefer non-reduced relative clauses over reduced ones, opt for restrictive clauses over non-restrictive ones, and consistently favor relativizing the subject (S-form) in their relative clauses over the object (O-form). Our results also show that the choice of relative clauses is subject-specific, influenced by the distinct communicative requirements and preferences within each field. Our examination of relative clauses has provided insights into the syntactic choices, including their reduction status, restrictiveness, the use of participles, connectors, and the syntactic category modified by the clause.

Trends in Mutual Transpositions of Lexical and Grammatical Noun Categories in Russian Language

This study addresses the gap in understanding the lexico-grammatical-structural types of nouns, particularly how lexico-semantic variants gain new connotations during transposition. Drawing upon Babaytseva’s theory of transitivity phenomena and building on Mel’chuk’s text semantic theory, we identify the schemes and mechanisms of transposition relations concerning the lexical and grammatical categories of modern Russian nouns, by analyzing transposition phenomena and their semantic mechanisms in 660 Russian nouns with indefinite denotation and lexical and grammatical status. The research details all possible immigration transpositions of the lexical and grammatical categories of nouns at the minimal context level and their mechanisms. Findings reveal that approximately 27% of the examined nouns carry connotative meanings, encompassing functional-stylistic, cultural-ethnic, and emotional-evaluative facets. Additionally, the transposition of nouns can occur within or between categories. The principal mechanisms of transposition at the syntagmatic level include metaphors and metonymy. Transpositions at the lexical and semantic categories of nouns coincide with several phenomena: changes in the numerical paradigm, phraseologization, connotation, and the unveiling of the noun’s stylistic potential.

Challenges and Strategies for Acquiring Adjectives

ABSTRACTChildren acquiring language must learn a variety of words mapping on to different kinds of concepts. Typically, word learning accounts focus on how children strategically acquire words for entities (nouns) and events (verbs). Often underrepresented are word for properties (adjectives). While adjectives, like verbs, may trail behind many nouns in early production, and may not always be required to refer or express truth‐conditional meaning, they are essential for distinguishing among entities and events in the world, and communicating clearly in disciplines such as language arts and science. Moreover, nearly every language has the grammatical category of adjectives. It is therefore critical to know what challenges children face in acquiring adjectives, and what supports their acquisition. Here, I outline three main aspects that, together, render the process of learning adjectives both vexing and linguistically intriguing. First, there is cross‐linguistic variation in how languages around the world treat words for properties. Second, the syntactic position of adjectives varies across and within languages, and is often correlated with subtle differences in meaning. Third, within the category of adjectives, a wide range of meanings may be encoded. I review findings across these areas that document children's successes and challenges with these aspects of adjective distribution and meaning. To counter these challenges, I end by covering three effective and empirically documented strategies for adjective learning, which rely on attending to key information in both the linguistic and extralinguistic context. I close with a brief discussion of prospects for future research on this topic.

Metaphor in grammatical works of linguists

The object of the research is metaphorical nominations in scientific linguistic discourse. The purpose of the study is to systematically describe the structural and semantic features of metaphors in grammatical works. The identification of expressive linguistic units in scientific texts is important for a comprehensive study of the relationship between rational and emotional in strict speech styles. The appeal to this topic is dictated by the need to find ways to present complex theoretical material in university syntax teaching. The article considers metaphors-words, metaphors-phrases and metaphors-predicative units characterizing transitional phenomena in the grammar of the Russian language. Metaphorical designations in the description of the desemanticized verbal components of analytical constructions and verbal connectives are highlighted. Metaphors characterizing other grammatical phenomena are analyzed. The role of verbal metaphors in the description of constitutive features of sentences of different types is established. The features of substantive and adjectival metaphors in grammatical works are noted. It is shown that the expanded metaphors demonstrate the multidimensional nature of syntactic categories. It is concluded that verbal and substantive metaphors convey the desire of linguists to present the grammatical system as dynamic, actively developing. The use of metaphorical names makes it possible to present grammatical theory in a more accessible way, to draw attention to interesting linguistic facts.

Tu sijè magnète. Hesse ha ite: some morphosyntactic characteristics of the verb in Ortonese compared with Italian

Introduction: The verb is one of the most complex grammatical categories, especially when the language in question is not official. This is the case with Ortonese, an Adriatic variant of Abruzzese spoken in Ortona (CH). The aim of this article is to provide a preliminary detailed analysis of the verb in Ortonese, starting with a morphosyntactic description compared to Italian. Methodology: The analysis begins by dividing Ortonese verbs into four main conjugations. Several relevant linguistic phenomena are examined, such as the transitivization of intransitive verbs, the presence of the prepositional accusative in verbs like "sendì" (to hear), which is absent in Italian, and the transformation of transitive and intransitive verbs into reflexive forms. Additionally, differences between "esse" (to be) and "sctè" (to stay), and between "avè" (to have) and "tenè" (to hold) are analyzed. Results: The core of the research is the analysis of all the tenses of the indicative mood in modern Ortonese. Simple tenses, such as the present and future, as well as compound tenses, like the future perfect, the present perfect, and the past perfect, are examined. The study also includes some irregular verbs and pays particular attention to the complexity of auxiliary selection, which in Ortonese, unlike Italian, depends not on the type of verb but on the subject's person. Discussion: The Ortonese verbal system exhibits a number of unique characteristics compared to standard Italian, particularly in terms of auxiliary selection and the formation of reflexive verbs. Some phenomena, such as the prepositional accusative and the distinction between "esse" and "sctè", reflect a structural complexity that warrants further investigation and highlights the linguistic richness of Abruzzese dialects. Conclusions: This study represents a first step towards a deeper understanding of the Ortonese verbal system. The morphosyntactic analysis compared to Italian reveals linguistic peculiarities that distinguish Ortonese as a dialectal variety of great interest to linguistics.

How to Express Boredom via Intonation in Kurdish with Special Reference to English

The present study examines the contribution of intonation to the vocal expressions of boredom in utterances. It begins by providing a theoretical overview of the role intonation plays in conveying emotions or attitudes. Further, it outlines the tonetic aspects, pitch characteristics, and other prosodic factors that participate in conveying boredom in English depending on the literature available. The study then turns to analysing sixteen tone groups taken from four Kurdish films and recorded materials of everyday spoken Kurdish. It tests and underscores the tonetic aspects and pitch characteristics of these chosen tone groups used for the expression of boredom, relying on six parameters, namely the syntactic category, the height of the pre-head, the height of the head, the tone used, the pitch range, and the key. The role of all these intonation factors is investigated. Special reference is also made to other factors such as loudness, speed of speaking, and paralinguistic features. The work shows that the cues used to convey boredom vary, although pitch and pitch variation become dominant and central. Among all the intonation cues used to express boredom, pitch range, and tone are the most relevant and useful cues.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenges and Opportunities in Translation : An African Experience

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution has become a reality in today’s world and its importance for linguistics was recognized very early. Despite its unprecedent surge and integration into various academic fields including language teaching and translation, surprisingly, little work has been done by scholars in advancing discussions on the profound impact of the AI on the diversity of widely available languages in both developed and developing world. Africa is linguistically diverse continent with about one third of the world’s languages that are vastly underrepresented in the global digital data pool. AI translation machine is supported in only 25 languages out of over 2000 languages in the continent. The paper deploys homomorphism model of AI theory to interrogate the natural language data drawn the African languages to present the current and future challenges, opportunities and potential for developing AI algorithms that could fit neatly into the translation of the African languages. Most of the discussions in the paper focuses on the seven patterns of the AI, the usage and implementation of AI algorithms in the translation science. The research findings show some of the complexities of the African languages in which their syntactic categories have multiple corresponding semantic objects. Unlike English, the findings also reveal that syntactic operation in the African languages do not always have one corresponding semantic operation as postulated by the homomorphism model of AI theory. the study contributes to scholarly literature by stressing the limits and opportunities that relate to using AI in translation science and supplying input from NLP algorithms practitioners to expand the AI applicability operation in the translation science.

The Contrast of Common and Genitive Cases: The Case of Albanian and English Language

Case is a grammatical category which shows the noun’s relationship to other parts of speech or its function in the sentence. Albanian standard language has five cases and they are: Common case, genitive, dative, accusative and ablative case and English nouns today have only a two-case system: the unmarked common case (book, teacher, boy) and the marked genitive case (book’s, teacher’s, boy’s). In Albanian the possessive cases can be with the definite article i, e, të and së, so between English language and Albanian it is the contrast because English has two forms of possessive and usually used after the noun e.g. Mary’s book, Time’s house, students’, worker’s children’s women’s; This is Arta’s jacket; This is my mother’s jacket. This is the dog’s food. If a plural noun does not end in /s/, add /s/, women’s, men’s, children’s etc. The common case doesn’t have any contrast between Albanian and English, but the genitive in Albanian has some definite article that usually use before the noun as i emrit (name’s), i leximit (read’s), e vajzës (girl’s). In this paper we will studies the contrast of the Alb. and Eng. cases.

On relative word length and transposed-word effects.

It is harder to decide that a sequence of words is ungrammatical when the ungrammaticality is created by transposing two words in a correct sentence (e.g., he wants green these apples), and it is harder to judge that two ungrammatical word sequences are different when the difference is created by transposing two words (e.g., green want these he apples-green these want he apples). In two experiments, we manipulated the relative length of the transposed words such that these words were either the same length (e.g., then you see can it) or different lengths (e.g., then you create can it). The same-length and different-length conditions were matched for syntactic category and word frequency. In Experiment 1 (speeded grammatical decision) we found no evidence for a modulation of transposed-word effects as a function of the relative length of the transposed words. We surmised that this might be due to top-down constraints being the main driving force behind the effects found in the grammatical decision task. However, this was also the case in Experiment 2 (same-different matching with ungrammatical sequences of words) where syntactic constraints were minimized. Given that skilled readers can read sentences composed of words of the same length, our results confirm that word length information alone is not used to encode the order of words in a sequence of words, and especially concerning the order of adjacent words in foveal/parafoveal vision. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

ДИДАКТИКАЛЫК ОЮНДАР АРКЫЛУУ ФУНКЦИОНАЛДЫК ГРАММАТИКАНЫН НЕГИЗИНДЕ КЫРГЫЗ ТИЛИНИН ТААНДЫК КАТЕГОРИЯСЫН ӨЗДӨШТҮРҮҮ (Окутуу орус тилинде жүргүзүлгөн мектептердин башталгыч класстарынын мисалында)

The article discusses the methods of assimilation of the category of belonging in the Kyrgyz language among primary school students with the Russian language of instruction. The main focus is on the use of functional grammar and didactic games as effective tools for the formation and consolidation of knowledge. The research is based on the analysis of pedagogical experience and the use of didactic games, which contribute to a deeper and more stable assimilation of grammatical categories. Various types of games and their classification are presented, methodological approaches to their implementation in the educational process are described. The article emphasizes the importance of integrating game methods into learning, as they activate children's cognitive activity, increase interest in learning the Kyrgyz language and contribute to a better understanding and application of grammatical rules in practice. The results obtained demonstrate that the use of didactic games within the framework of functional grammar significantly improves the process of assimilation of the category of belonging. This is confirmed by experimental data and positive feedback from teachers and students. The article is intended for teachers, methodologists and anyone interested in teaching Kyrgyz in primary schools with Russian as the language of instruction.

Optionality and paradigmaticity

Abstract Zooming in from the grand-scale descriptions of the Mainland Southeast Asian convergence area, this paper focuses on Htanaw, an Austroasiatic language in Myanmar’s Shan State. Close contact with Burmese/Intha, Pa’O, and Shan led to a restructuring of Htanaw, exemplified here by the verb phrase, which exhibits an intriguing mixture of (isolating) Austroasiatic and (morphologically complex) Tibeto-Burman features. The Htanaw VP is internally complex with optional bound morphemes expressing grammatical and semantic categories. Based on original fieldwork data and available published material, this study presents the dynamics of the Htanaw verb phrase patterns and puts them in an areal typological perspective.

Disentangling the roles of age and knowledge in early language acquisition: A fine-grained analysis of the vocabularies of infant and child language learners

The words that children learn change over time in predictable ways. The first words that infants acquire are generally ones that are both frequent and highly imageable. Older infants also learn words that are more abstract and some that are less common. It is unclear whether this pattern is attributable to maturational factors (i.e., younger children lack sufficiently developed cognitive faculties needed to learn abstract words) or linguistic factors (i.e., younger children lack sufficient knowledge of their language to use grammatical or contextual cues needed to figure out the meaning of more abstract words). The present study explores this question by comparing vocabulary acquisition in 53 preschool-aged children (M = 51 months, range = 30–76 months) who were adopted from China and Eastern Europe after two and half years of age and 53 vocabulary-matched infant controls born and raised in English speaking families in North America (M = 24 months, range = 16–33 months). Vocabulary was assessed using the MB-CDI Words and Sentences form, word frequency was estimated from the CHILDES database, and imageability was measured using adult ratings of how easily words could be pictured mentally. Both groups were more likely to know words that were both highly frequent and imageable (resulting in an over-additive interaction). Knowledge of a word was also independently affected by the syntactic category that it belongs to. Adopted preschoolers’ vocabulary was slightly less affected by imageability. These findings were replicated in a comparison with a larger sample of vocabulary-matched controls drawn from the MB-CDI norming study (M = 22 months, range = 16–30 months; 33 girls). These results suggest that the patterns of acquisition in children’s early vocabulary are primarily driven by the accrual of linguistic knowledge, but that vocabulary may also be affected by differences in early life experiences or conceptual knowledge.