Proceedings of the 36th Annual Penn Linguistics Colloquium
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01/28/2013
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Now showing 1 - 10 of 31
Publication Adjunction, Phases, and Complex Predicates in Japanese(2013-01-28) Takahashi, MasahikoI provide a unified account of a constraint on adjunction observed in three complex predicate constructions in Japanese: (i) restructuring motion verb constructions, (ii) light verb constructions, (iii) infinitives with wasure- ‘forget’. It is shown that adjunction (i.e. adverbial modification, adjectival modification, and quantifier raising) in the lower projections are impossible in these constructions. To account for the constraint on adjunction, I propose that (i) lexical verbs (Vs) are phase heads and (ii) adjunction within verbal and nominal domains is constrained by Case.Publication The Derivational Nature of External Possession(2013-01-28) Sun, JisungPublication A Unified Approach to Korean Causal Connective -nikka(2013-01-28) Park, YugyeongThis paper explores the semantic-pragmatic functions of the Korean causal connective –nikka. It has been widely observed that because-clauses are ambiguous depending on the level of causation: propositional, epistemic, and speech-act level causations. (e.g. Sweetser 1990) Many researchers argue that Korean also has three level causations and the two Korean causal connectives, -nikka and –ese ‘because’, are used in different levels of causation: while the usage of –ese is restricted to a propositional level causation, -nikka can be used in epistemic or speech-act level causations, as well as propositional level causations. I argue, departing from previous analyses, that the three different levels of causation do not exist in Korean. Alternatively, I propose that a nikka-clause always targets a propositional argument. Under this point of view, it is assumed that a nikka-clause takes a mood marked phrase: [ϕ-nikka [Mood(φ)]. On the basis of this structure, I argue that the various function of the nikka-clause results from the different types of mood in the main clause.Publication “Mixed Predicates” are, in fact, Atom Predicates(2013-01-28) Hosoi, HironobuIn this paper, I examine the traditional distinction among distributive predicates, mixed predi- cates, and collective predicates, focusing on mixed predicates and collective predicates. Under the traditional three-way distinction of predicates, a mixed predicate can be both a collective predicate and a distributive predicate because a plural noun in a mixed-predicate sentence is ambiguous be- tween a distributive reading and a collective reading. In this paper, adopting Winter’s (2002) analysis of set/atom predicates, I argue that mixed predicates are atomic predicates, whereas col- lective predicates are set predicates in Japanese. Support for my proposal comes from distributive and collective readings in the Japanese Floating Quantifier Construction (henceforth, JFQC). When a verb composes with a classifier to denote a set of sets in the JFQC, there is a sharp contrast between the mixed-predicate JFQC and the collective-predicate JFQC, which is problem- atic for Link 1983 and Landman 1989. When a verb composes with a classifier to denote a set of sets in the JFQC, a mixed predicate, which is an atom predicate, can have only a distributive read- ing, whereas a collective predicate, which is a set predicate, can have both a distributive reading and a collective reading. In my analysis, this difference can be reduced to the properties of an atom predicate and a set predicate, as proposed by Winter (2002).Publication On PP Left-branch Extraction in Japanese(2013-01-28) Takahashi, Masahiko; Funakoshi, KenshiThis paper provides an analysis of hitherto unnoticed data concerning left-branch extraction of PPs (PP LBE) in Japanese. While (leftward) LBE of nominals (NP LBE) is impossible in Japanese (see Kato 2007 and Nomura and Hirotsu 2005, among others), PP LBE is in fact allowed. The proposed analysis crucially relies on a specific definition of phases and Watanabe’s (2010) suggestion that the so-called genitive marker –no in fact has a dual status. It is also suggested that PP LBE is an instance of overt Wh-movement (cf. Takahashi 1993, 1994).Publication Case Drop from Fragment Answers in Korean(2013-01-28) Yoon, Junghyoe; Kitagawa, YoshihisaPublication Explaining the Final Vowel Mismatch in Zulu Reduplication(2013-01-28) Cook, ToniIn many analyses of Bantu reduplication, one puzzling aspect is the absence of correspondence between the final vowel (FV) of the reduplicant (RED) and the FV of the base. In Zulu, the default FV for a verb is the -a found throughout Bantu, but certain forms, such as the recent past and subjunctive, take an FV of -e, and a final -i is correlated with negation, all of which are barred from appearing on RED. This systematic mismatch between the RED and base is difficult to account for within Optimal Theory, where it is necessary to formulate constraints that penalize including ‚Äúinflectional‚Äù material in RED, or have different rankings for RED-Base Faith constraints for root material (high-ranked) vs. non-root material (low-ranked). In Distributed Morphology, the absence of correspondence between the FV of RED and the FV of the base follows straightforwardly from the nature of the derivation, as the FV -a is taken to be an intermediate spell-out of the v (verbalizing) head that attaches to an acategorical root. In the RED+base verb complex as a whole, this -a gets overwritten as the verb moves up to higher syntactic projections (such as mood, aspect, and negation), but at this point, RED is no longer accessible as a privileged constituent, and its -a FV cannot be targeted.Publication Signaling and Simulations in Sociolinguistics(2013-01-28) Mühlenbernd, Roland; Quinley, JasonAlong with game theory, the emerging science of networks has given us a framework for analyzing social systems plausible to both intuition and implementation. As an interaction structure in computer simulation models, social networks provide a way to envision phenomena like information spread, dialect formation, and language change in a more robust way. In this sense a multitude of sociolinguistic issues are potential 'objects of study' for a) being delineated with methods from game theory and/or network theory and b) being analyzed by simulations of multi-agent interactions, with the goal of exploring the interplay between social factors and linguistic usage. In this sense we i) consider network structure as an important social variable; ii) depict the usage of computer simulations as an appropriate, valid, and powerful technique to analyze sociolinguistic issues; and iii) put a premium on game theory as a method for adequately modeling communicative behavior, with the conclusion that network theory & game theory in simulation models represents a powerful combination for the analysis of sociolinguistic phenomena. This makes it a crucial supplement towards enhancing current sociolinguistic experimentation and theories.Publication Parasitic semantics (or why Swedish can’t lexicalize middle voice constructions)(2013-01-28) Fábregas, Antonio; Putnam, MichaelIn this squib we explore a strictly derivational explanation for the differences in possible middle voice constructions in Norwegian and Swedish. Whereas Norwegian allows by its lexical s-passive construction as well as a complex adjectival construction to stand in for middle semantics, only the latter option is available in Swedish. We argue that this contrast lies in the lexicalization of formal syntactico-semantic features and advance the claim that the failure to lexicalize all features in a derivational results in structures uninterpretable to the external interfaces (i.e., Exhaustive Lexicalization).Publication When You Can and Can’t See Double: Revisiting Focus Doubling in ASL(2013-01-28) Shimamura, Koji; Tieu, Lyn ShanIn this paper, we examine the emphatic focus doubling construction in American Sign Language (ASL) and Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), in which one element of the sentence appears in its base-generated position within the sentence and one copy appears in sentence-final position. We review the existing focus doubling data in the literature, as well as a previous syntactic analysis of the construction that we think is the best available option on the market (Nunes and Quadros 2005). Diverging minimally from this analysis however, we propose that movement of the focused element proceed not to the head of an emphatic focus projection, but rather through the specifier of that projection; this modification nicely precludes the need for excorporation and c-command out of a dominating non-terminal node. We then examine an asymmetry between focus doubling in Libras vs. ASL, namely that doubling is permitted in indirect questions in the former but not the latter, an asymmetry not addressed by Nunes and Quadros. We suggest that there is a ban on multiple instances of focus-driven movement in ASL, and briefly discuss how a striking parallel with restrictions on multiple foci in Modern Greek may ultimately hold the answer to resolving the asymmetry, at the same time raising interesting questions about the way that information structure maps onto phonology and syntax in different languages.