Markedness Theory Research Articles

Language Universals, Markedness Theory, and Natural Phonetic Processes

Language Universals, Markedness Theory, and Natural Phonetic Processes

Constraints on the acquisition of semantic knowledge

In this article we explore the issue of domain-specificity in language learning. the point to be argued here is that although language acquisition requires substantial domainintensive knowledge, some of the mechanisms used in concept acquisition can be seen as special cases of more general learning strategies; that is, domain-independent strategies operating within domain-dependent constraints. We present a computational model of concept 2cquisition making use of these strategies, operating within a model of lexical organization, called Constraint Semantics. This is a rich lexical semantics embedded within a “markedness theory,” constraining how semantic functions relate to one another. Constraint semantics is a restrictive calculus limiting the search space of possible word meanings for the language leaner. This, in effect, acts as a set of wellformedness conditions, defining the constraints for what possible logical decompositions a word might contain. the general approach taken here is based on the supposition that predicates from the perceptual domain are the primitives for more abstract relations. We then describe an implementation of this model, TULLY, which mirrors the stages of lexical acquisition for children. Examples are given showing how hierarchical structure for concepts is acquired, as well as the development of polysemy relations for verbs.

The Present Status of Markedness Theory: A Reply to Scheffler

H. Scheffler's discussion of markedness particularly in relation to kinship terms is essentially an attack on the present author's work in this area. His statement that this work is superseded is refuted by reference to the proceedings of a recent conference on the subject in which it plays a central role. It is shown, moreover, that Scheffler did not understand that classical marking theory involves a cluster of logically independent attributes which pattern across languages in a way that indicates that the unmarked category is preferred to its marked opposite in a systematic fashion.

Structure Dependence in Grammar Formation

Structure Dependence in Grammar Formation

Morpheme order in a lexeme/morpheme-based morphology

This paper argues that contemporary morphological theories are undermined by the concept of the linguistic sign, the morpheme or the word, which forms the basis of these theories. Instead of the sign, grammars operate on two distinct and definitionally incompatible basic units, the lexeme, which is a linguistic sign, and the (grammatical) morpheme, which is not. Grammars must contain autonomous lexical and morphological components in order to have sufficient power to explain the independence of the sets of conditions on lexical, syntactic and morphological rules. Such a model can be properly constrained to prevent these components from operating in disregard of each other by (a) discrete definitions of ‘lexeme’ and ‘morpheme’; (b) one specific principle constraining features added to underlying lexical bases by abstract (phonology-free) lexical derivations, and (c) an independently motivated markedness theory. This model also maps morphology onto abstract lexical and syntactic derivates in the proper order, accounting for what Baker has recently called the ‘Mirror Principle’ plus the exceptions to it.

The Selective Use of Specific Exemplars in Second‐Language Performance: The Case of The Dative Alternation*

This study examined the selective use of two give structures [NP NP] and [NP PP] in two (translation and judgment) tasks by Japanese college students within a framework of transfer and markedness. The results of the translation task showed that in dealing with prototypical cases of dative give, the students used the two structures with equal frequency, while the [NP PP] was strongly favored with cases deviating from the prototype. In the acceptability‐judgment task, we were concerned with the type of constraints on dative alternation. Three constraints were discussed in this paper: discourse, semantic, and perceptual. The students in this study were more sensitive to the perceptual than to the discourse constraint, which was subtler and more opaque than the semantic one from the students' point of view. This study favors a theory of sealer markedness over a theory of binary markedness as far as acceptability judgments about give sentences are concerned.

Markedness Theory and Error Evaluation: An Experimental Study

Markedness Theory and Error Evaluation: An Experimental Study

THE ROLE OF CORE GRAMMAR IN PIDGIN DEVELOPMENT

Traditionally, researchers in the field of pidgin and Creole languages have supported the simplification theory which regards a pidgin as a simplified version of the colonizers language. This paper examines the process of pidgin development within the context of Government and Binding theory as proposed by Chomsky (1981). Empirical evidence given in this paper from Capeverdean creole (and others) indicates that the linguistic phenomenon generally labelled pidginization, creolization, decreolization, etc. can be explained as follows. The contact of various languages may produce a new experience which subsequently fixes the parameters of Universal Grammar, providing a pidgin core grammar. This core is guided by a preference of structure imposed by the markedness theory allowing the learnability condition to operate. The resultant core grammar can later incorporate a marked periphery. The addition of this marked periphery is what had been viewed in the past as creolization. If one of the donor languages is characterized by structures which meet the learnability criterion, the incorporation of the marked periphery will be targeted toward that language. The directionality of the pidgin periphery may then be predicted. However, if none of the languages meets the learnability condition, the pidgin periphery may develop independently of the peripheries of the donor languages.

On the naturalness of stop consonant voicing

A long recognized problem for linguistic theory has been to explain why certain sounds, sound oppositions, and sound sequences are statistically preferred over others among languages of the world. The formal theory of markedness, developed by Trubetzkoy and Jakobson in the early 1930's, and extended by Chomsky and Halle (1968), represents an attempt to deal with this problem. It is at least implicit in that theory that sounds are rare when (and because) they are marked, and common when (and because) they are not. Whether sounds are marked or unmarked depends – in the latter version of the theory, particularly – upon the ‘intrinsic content’ of acoustic and articulatory features which define them. There was, however, no substantive attempt among early proponents of the theory to show what it was about the content of particular features and feature combinations that caused them to be marked, and others not.

MARKEDNESS CONSIDERATIONS IN THE ACQUISITION OF CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

Two experiments were conducted which were designed to assess adult 1.2 learners’ production and comprehension of English conditional sentences. The analyses provided lend support to the explanatory power of markedness theory in explaining 1.2 acquisition. Different relative orders of difficulty emerged in the production and comprehension, respectively, of three conditional types, suggesting that form and function may be acquired at different times in the 1.2 acquisition of syntax. Of real, unreal, and past unreal conditions, the real conditions were the easiest to produce but the most difficult to comprehend. These relative orders of difficulty and other developmental differences that emerged between proficiency levels are explained in terms of the nature of the distinctive features assigned indifferent domains of grammar Learners’ responses to markedness values in the interacting contexts of morphology. syntax, semantics, presupposition, and discourse provide a more accurate picture of the acquisition process.

The internal structure of phonological elements: a theory of charm and government

In this article we have two primary objectives: (1) to elaborate in some detail a theory of phonological representations embedded within a parametric framework, and (2) to apply this theory to a particular vowel system which displays some rather interesting properties. This work is a continuation of a collaboration on a programme of research on phonological theory begun in 1982 (cf. Vergnaud 1982; Kaye & Vergnaud 1984; Kaye et al. 1984, 1985, in preparation).This programme incorporates the view that phonology is to be regarded as a system of universal principles defining the class of human phonological systems. These principles underdetermine given phonologies in certain specific areas. A complete phonological system consists, then, of these principles along with sets of parameter values. Taken together, the principles and language-specific parameter settings give a complete characterisation of the phonological system under study. In this model, a phonological system contains no rule component. The observed phonological phenomena result from a combination of the general principles governing phonological representations and structures and the parameter values in operation in the particular language. We view this line of research as a continuation of the development of a theory of markedness (cf. Chomsky & Halle 1968 (SPE); Kean 1975, 1979). At the moment of writing, this view of phonology remains a long-term objective of our research programme. However, an increasing number of phonological processes which were formerly considered to be manifestations of rules are now successfully derivable from the principles of Universal Phonology (UP) (cf. Kaye & Lowenstamm 1984, to appear).

DATIVE ALTERNATION AND THE ANALYSIS OF DATA: A REPLY TO MAZURKEWICH1

This paper is a commentary on Mazurkewich's article on dative alternation and second language acquisition (1984). It suggests that there are a number of weaknesses in the article as regards (a) examples purporting to illustrate the workings of dative alternation, (b) choice of subjects in the experiment and the elicitation format used, and, most importantly, (c) the presentation and statistical treatment of the data. These weaknesses, it is argued, do not permit Mazurkewich to claim that her theory of markedness will also predict which dative structure ([NP PP] or [NP NP]) will be easier to acquire by second language learners.

Syntactic Markedness and Language Acquisition

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the role played by linguistic universals in second language acquisition. Research reported here focuses on the acquisition of dative structures and dative questions in a passive context in English by French and Inuit (Eskimo) students. Data were also elicited from native English-speaking students to serve as the norm. The data are interpreted within the theory of markedness and core grammar, as well as Case theory. The results of the testing, showing that unmarked forms are acquired before marked ones, are consistent with the predictions made by the theory of markedness and the property of adjacency which is crucial for Case assignment.

Theory of Markedness in Generative Grammar: Proceedings of the 1979 GLOW Conference

Theory of Markedness in Generative Grammar: Proceedings of the 1979 GLOW Conference

THE ACQUISITION OF THE DATIVE ALTERNATION BY SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS AND LINGUISTIC THEORY

The research discussed in this paper attempts to demonstrate that evidence based on the acquisition of dative structures in English by second language learners provides support for a theory of markedness. Within this theory, it is claimed that unmarked structures, which are postulated to be part of core grammar, will be acquired before marked structures, which are considered to be peripheral rules of the core grammar. Using a test that elicited intuitive judgements, we obtained data from native French‐speaking and Inuktitut‐speaking (Eskimo) students as well as native English‐speaking students whose judgements were used as the norm. Dative structures in which the dative noun phrase appears either in a prepositional phrase or as the first noun phrase of a double object construction were tested. Within the framework of markedness we assume, it is argued that the former represents the unmarked structure whereas the latter is the marked one. The results we obtained show that the unmarked structures were acquired first as predicted and the marked structures followed. The theoretical implications of markedness regarding learnability of the complement structures of alternating and nonalternating dative verbs are discussed.

Markedness Theory and the Syntax of Definiteness in Sorbian and German

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image sizeAbstractDans les dialectes sorabes contemporains, l’emploi d’un article, notamment de l’article défini, montre une interférence évidente issue de l’allemand. En sorabe, les formes du pronom démonstratif t ó n ont assumé la fonction de l’article défini, tandis que les formes de l’adjectif numéral jedyn/jaden servent la fonction de l’article indéfini. Malgré le contact si long entre les dialectes sorabes et allemands, le sorabe a résisté à l’intégration complète de l’article. En effet, le caractère multifonctionnel de l’article en allemand a entraîné en sorabe une série d’options dont les unes ont été grammaticalisées, tandis que les autres sont restées en dehors du système syntaxique comme variations facultatives ou stylistiques.Dans ce travail, nous nous limiterons à une analyse contrastive de l’emploi de l’article défini dans deux dialectes sorabes (Wochozy et Radwor) et dans les dialectes allemands en Lusace. Cette analyse nous amène à la conclusion que la résistance du sorabe à l’intégration de l’article défini peut s’expliquer par les singularités du système de détermination en sorabe aussi bien que par le caractère marqué de l’article en allemand pour les locuteurs sorabes bilingues.

The negotiation of identities in conversation: a theory of markedness and code choice

Article The negotiation of identities in conversation: a theory of markedness and code choice was published on January 1, 1983 in the journal International Journal of the Sociology of Language (volume 1983, issue 44).

MARKEDNESS IN SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION1

Second language acquisition research to date has applied markedness concepts largely to L1‐L2 transfer, and this work is briefly summarized. Yet there is a neglected potential for such application to ongoing L2 developmental research as well. As an illustration of this, the data from three different studies are reanalyzed in order to show that an otherwise unexplained order of acquisition can be accounted for from a markedness perspective. There is still a need, however, for looking beyond the distributional characteristics of the exponents of formal syntax if a greater understanding of the acquisition of more complex language is to be achieved. Of prime interest, therefore, is the extent to which we can apply markedness theory to discourse, and a framework for viewing discourse from a markedness perspective is suggested.

The transparency principle: What it is and why it doesn't work

Lightfoot has recently attempted to clarify the relationship between a theory of grammar and a theory of diachronic (syntactic) change. The theory of grammar is to be seen within the context of a theory of markedness and a so-called Transparency Principle, which define the level of tolerable opacity and degree of exceptionality or derivational complexity. When a grammar approaches the limit, some kind of therapeutic re-analysis will be necessary to eliminate the offending complexity. Lightfoot explains such re-analyses in terms of the Transparency Principle, which manifests itself in diachronic change to predict the point at which radical restructuring takes place. The ontological status of the Transparency Principle within the theory of grammar and its role in diachronic change are crucial in evaluating the nature and kinds of claims made for it. Lightfoot has described the Transparency Principle as an independent metagrammatical principle restricting the grammatical component, which is entirely consistent with the autonomy thesis. The latter stipulates that syntactic rules operate independently of considerations of meaning and use and do not have access to any form of semantic information. It is ultimately the irresolute conflict between the status of the Transparency Principle as an independent metagrammatical principle and its therapeutic role as a functionalist mechanism making languages more transparent, which renders the Transparency Principle vacuous as an explanation of syntactic change.

Markedness of Features in the Articulatory Substitutions of Children

This study concerns an analysis of articulatory substitutions of 801 students using markedness theory and a distinctive feature model (Singh & Singh, 1976). The 556 male and 245 female students ranged in age from 3--7 years and were diagnosed as evidencing an articulatory disorder or a linguistic delay. Significantly more feature substitutions moved from marked to unmarked values than from unmarked to marked values (p less than .05, binomial distribution). The study proposed a hierarchy of distinctive features in terms of markedness rather than in terms of features per se. The applications of articulatory and acoustic data to phonological theory and the implications of the findings to speech treatment are discussed.