This dissertation investigates whether and how gradability is manifested in the nominal domain, as well as the implications this could have for theories of the representation of gradability. It is... Show moreThis dissertation investigates whether and how gradability is manifested in the nominal domain, as well as the implications this could have for theories of the representation of gradability. It is shown that the various gradability diagnostics proposed in the literature not only yield different results, but that they do not actually work as could be expected. In case after case, other factors turn out to underlie the noted effects: epistemicity and evidentiality (cf. the epistemic verb seem and real-type adjectives), the expression of a value judgment (e.g. N of an N constructions), the delineation of salient sub-kinds identifiable by natural consequences (cf. internal such) and abstract size modification (e.g. when a size adjective like big modifies a noun denoting an instance of a property or a set of individuals defined in terms of such an abstract object). Our investigation leads to the unexpected conclusion that,there are no grammatical contexts in the nominal domain that are exclusively reserved for a particular class of nouns that could properly be called gradable. As a result, there is no motivation for postulating a degree structure in the syntactic representation of nouns. In addition, there are no expressions performing the type of semantic operations familiar from degree modification in the adjectival domain that would indicate the existence of a grammatically accessible gradable structure in the semantics of nouns at the lexical level. The tale of this dissertation is therefore a cautionary one: arguments to reduce gradability in the nominal and in the adjectival domain to the same phenomenon are misguided. This study shows the importance of a cross-categorial perspective for a better understanding of gradability. It is of interest to a general syntactic and semantic readership. Show less
From the second half of the eighteenth century onwards a knowledge of grammar served as an important marker of class in England. In order to enable their children to rise in society, middle-class... Show moreFrom the second half of the eighteenth century onwards a knowledge of grammar served as an important marker of class in England. In order to enable their children to rise in society, middle-class parents expected their sons and daughters to learn English grammar. Since England did not have an Academy which would produce an authoritative grammar, many individuals took it upon themselves to compose grammars, and the Baptist minister John Ash (1724?–1779) was one of them. Ash’s Grammatical Institutes (1760) was originally written for the author’s five-year-old daughter and was printed for the use of his schoolmaster friends. The grammar became available to a wide public in 1766 when it was published in London, as The Easiest Introduction to Dr. Lowth’s English Grammar. Unlike Robert Lowth, whose grammar was regarded as being too difficult for beginners, Ash fared much better in producing an elementary manual, and it consequently played an important role in the rise of the children’s grammar. Making extensive use of primary source materials such as grammars, letters, reviews and newspaper advertisements, this study contributes to existing scholarship in the field of eighteenth-century grammars and grammarians. It provides an in-depth study of Ash’s Grammatical Institutes and its influence on other popular grammars for children, such as those written by Lady Ellenor Fenn and the nineteenth-century female grammarians. Show less
This thesis deals with the tone accent opposition in the so-called “Rule B area” in Franconian. Rule B is known for its reversal of tonal melodies: in 1921, Adolf Bach published a description of... Show moreThis thesis deals with the tone accent opposition in the so-called “Rule B area” in Franconian. Rule B is known for its reversal of tonal melodies: in 1921, Adolf Bach published a description of the Arzbach accents, stating that the tonal melodies in Arzbach display a reversal of those in the rest of the area (Rule A). The study at hand not only provides crucial but as yet missing empirical data on Rule B but also suggests synchronic and diachronic typological analyses of the phenomenon. Newly gathered phonetic data from the Arzbach dialect show that the tone accents in Arzbach are reversed in declaration but not in interrogation, where they strongly resemble the Rule A contours. This important observation was unreported so far. On the basis of these findings, detailed synchronic autosegmental analyses for Arzbach and three other Franconian dialects show that we can understand the tone accent opposition as one of different foot structures for the two accents. The diachronic section of the thesis explores the origin of the semi-reversed tonal contours in Rule B. It argues that Rule B and Rule A developed out of a common predecessor but adapted in different ways to declaration melodies from non-accent dialects. Show less
The eighteenth century was a key period in the establishment of standard modern English. This period, referred to as the Late Modern English period, witnessed the publication of an unprecedented... Show moreThe eighteenth century was a key period in the establishment of standard modern English. This period, referred to as the Late Modern English period, witnessed the publication of an unprecedented number of normative works aiming to define ‘correct’ English. Joseph Priestley (1733–1804) is best known as a scientist and theologian, but his Rudiments of English Grammar, first published in 1761 is an important work in the wave of English normative grammars of the late eighteenth century. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, this book investigates Priestley’s role as a codifier of the English language. The author demonstrates that the influence of Priestley’s grammar on the language has been underestimated and merits re-evaluation. Priestley’s ideas on grammar are related to his broader philosophical thinking. It is shown that, although Priestley is usually seen as one of the few descriptive grammarians of the period, his grammar also contains decidedly prescriptive elements, and that his adherence to the force of usage should be qualified. In addition, Priestley’s usage is compared to the rules in his grammar using a corpus of Priestley’s personal correspondence, created for this study. Show less
My dissertation consists of three parts. Part I is an introduction to the Old Javanese-Sanskrit Śaiva text forming the main focus of the book, namely the Dharma Patañjala, which has been preserved... Show moreMy dissertation consists of three parts. Part I is an introduction to the Old Javanese-Sanskrit Śaiva text forming the main focus of the book, namely the Dharma Patañjala, which has been preserved on a palm-leaf codex unicus of West Javanese origin dating back to the 15th century AD. Part II presents a diplomatic edition with facsimile reproductions of the manuscript, as well as a critical edition with facing annotated translation. Part III is a systematic study focusing on the interpretation of doctrines taught in the Dharma Pātañjala in comparison with related Sanskrit scriptures from the Indian Subcontinent and Old Javanese texts from the Indonesian Archipelago.The Dharma Pātañjala documents an early tradition of speculative texts (Tattva), which was previously known to us only through two Old Javanese scriptures, namely the Vṛhaspatitattva and the Tattvajñāna. Its author, having adopted a Pātañjala form of yoga instead of the Śaiva variety that is common in other Old Javanese texts, elaborated a syncretic system and followed an hitherto unknown commentarial tradition to the Sanskrit Yogasūtrathat is related to that of the Bhāṣya. The text fills a gap in our knowledge of Śaiva theology in pre-Islamic Indonesia, but also casts light on the origin and development of Śaivism in the Indian Subcontinent. Show less
