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 The Derivational Nature of External Possession(2013-01-28) Sun, Jisung; Sun, JisungPublication “Mixed Predicates” are, in fact, Atom Predicates(2013-01-28) Hosoi, Hironobu; 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 A Unified Approach to Korean Causal Connective -nikka(2013-01-28) Park, Yugyeong; 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 On PP Left-branch Extraction in Japanese(2013-01-28) Takahashi, Masahiko; Funakoshi, Kenshi; 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 Adjunction, Phases, and Complex Predicates in Japanese(2013-01-28) Takahashi, Masahiko; 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 Explaining the Final Vowel Mismatch in Zulu Reduplication(2013-01-28) Cook, Toni; 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 Case Drop from Fragment Answers in Korean(2013-01-28) Yoon, Junghyoe; Kitagawa, Yoshihisa; Yoon, Junghyoe; Kitagawa, YoshihisaPublication Signaling and Simulations in Sociolinguistics(2013-01-28) Mühlenbernd, Roland; Quinley, Jason; 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 ‘A Pleasant Three Days in Philadelphia’: Arguments for a Pseudopartitive Analysis(2013-01-28) Keenan, Caitlin; Keenan, CaitlinPhrases like 'a pleasant three days', which take the obligatory form Article + Adjective + (Plural) Numeral + (Plural) Noun (AANN), present a problem for English nominal syntax. Typically, the English indefinite article A(N) is incompatible with either numerals or plural nouns; however, in AANN phrases, this co-occurrence is obligatory. This problem has remained largely unaddressed in the literature. In this paper, I account for the AANN construction by associating it with the pseudopartitive. I propose that there is covert functional structure between the article and the numeral in AANN, and that this functional apparatus corresponds to the Measure Phrase structure found in pseudopartitives: in other words, the noun phrase 'a pleasant three days' is underlying equivalant to 'a pleasant PERIOD of three days'. After providing a brief descriptive account of the properties of AANN in terms of distribution, agreement, and selectional restrictions, I motivate an AANN--pseudopartitive connection by relating the identified properties of AANN to known properties of the pseudopartitive as discussed in Keizer (2007). I then introduce a syntactic structure for the pseudopartitive which is modified from Stickney (2010), and show that the proposed structure can account for all the noted idiosyncrasies of the AANN construction, including the obligatory A-A-N-N order, the co-occurrence of the indefinite article and plural numeral, the obligatoriness of the adjective, and the semantic behavior of the AANN construction.Publication The Pragmatics of Direct Object Fronting in Historical English(2013-01-28) Stevens, Jon; Light, Caitlin; Stevens, Jon; Light, CaitlinSpeyer (2008) finds an overall decline in the rate of topicalization in historical English, which we refer to pre-theoretically as direct object fronting. He attributes it to two separate phenomena: 1) the early loss of unaccented pronominal and demonstrative fronting, and 2) a gradient decline in the use of accented, contrastive fronting due to prosodic well-formedness conditions imposed by the loss of the V2 constraint. In this paper we present a prima facie problem with Speyer's account. While personal pronouns exhibit the expected behavior, the rate at which demonstrative pronouns front is more stable. We propose that, contrary to expectation, unaccented demonstratives in Old English behaved syntactically as if they were contrastive. The reason for this lies in a special information-structural function for demonstrative pronouns across Germanic, for which our corpus study provides independent evidence. Specifically, demonstratives in Germanic tend to refer anaphorically to elements whose meanings, like the meanings of contrastive elements, are not in every possible answer to the Question Under Discussion (see Roberts 1996, Buring 2003 and Schwarz to appear).