This dissertation examines word order variation in the Koine Greek of the New Testament Greek in a variety of domains: declarative clauses, questions and relative clauses. In particular, I examine... Show moreThis dissertation examines word order variation in the Koine Greek of the New Testament Greek in a variety of domains: declarative clauses, questions and relative clauses. In particular, I examine the way in which word order corresponds to information structure. It is argued that although New Testament Greek shows a variety of possible permutations of the sentence elements subject (S), verb (V) and object (O), in declarative clauses, questions and relative clauses, the word order is not free. Rather, it is partly governed by phrase structure and partly by information structural considerations such as Topic and Focus. This is manifested in all of the domains investigated. I argue that the basic word order is best described as VSO with an SVO alternative basic word order. Marked clauses, such as SOV, OVS, OSV and also some SVO clauses involve topicalization or focus movement of the arguments. This thesis is of interest to syntacticians who are interested in word order and the syntax-pragmatics interface as well as to historical linguistics and classics scholars. Show less
In most languages, focus (i.e. highlighting information) is marked by modifying the melody of the sentence. But how is focus marked in a Chinese dialect with eight different citation tones and a... Show moreIn most languages, focus (i.e. highlighting information) is marked by modifying the melody of the sentence. But how is focus marked in a Chinese dialect with eight different citation tones and a complex tonal phonology?This thesis investigates the connection between tonal realization and tone change (tone sandhi) in Wenzhou Chinese, and whether and how such a connection is conditioned by prosodic structure and focus marking. Experiments were conducted with young speakers of Wenzhou Chinese, whose speech was acoustically analyzed so as to investigate the application domain of tone sandhi and the influence of focus thereon, the tonal realization on the word and phrase level and its interaction with focus, the pre-planning of sentential pitch, as well as the realization of referents with different information statuses. The experimental findings suggest that the application, but not the implementation, of tone sandhi is independent of focus, and that focus and prosodic structure have similar but independent effects on the realization of lexical tones. It is also shown that pitch scaling is sensitive to syntactic structure and complexity, and that the marking of givenness, broad focus, and narrow focus leads to discrete levels along the same acoustic parameters. These findings are of interest to researchers working on lexical tone, prosodic structure, and how information structure categories such as focus affect tonal realization and prosodic phrasing. Show less
This thesis is a sample-based typological study of formal and semantic patterns in terms for a selection of referring ("nominal") meanings. Languages differ considerably in that in some,... Show moreThis thesis is a sample-based typological study of formal and semantic patterns in terms for a selection of referring ("nominal") meanings. Languages differ considerably in that in some, unanalyzable, monomorphemic terms dominate in the lexicon while in others analyzable items formed by language-specific means of word-formation (which one this is is a typological variable in itself) abound. The thesis attempts to establish the variation and limits in this variable and to explain why languages vary. Another major concern are semantic associations found in analyzable items as well as in the conflation of several meanings into one lexical item, both from an areal as well as a universal point of view. Show less
There are around 7,000 different languages. The unique orthographic characteristics of different languages can help us to gain insight into the seemingly simple process of transforming written... Show moreThere are around 7,000 different languages. The unique orthographic characteristics of different languages can help us to gain insight into the seemingly simple process of transforming written script to spoken words (i.e., reading aloud). In this thesis, using behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) measures the time course of reading (aloud) was investigated in first, second, and cross-language situations. Overall, target words (e.g., CARPET) were read aloud faster when preceded by phonologically (e.g., kettle) but not orthographically onset-related primes (e.g., circus). However, this pattern was absent during silent reading and reading in Persian where words are printed without vowels. EEG data revealed both orthographic and phonological activation about 150 milliseconds after target presentation for all situations and languages. These results suggest that reading starts with same processes __ whether silent or aloud or in different scripts. Additionally, even if we have an accent in a second language, the phonological code is activated similarly as for a native speaker. To conclude, this thesis favors computational models assuming early conversion of orthography-to-phonology. However, with approximately half of the world__s population being bilingual and the results presented in this thesis, it is important that computational models of reading processes extend their horizon. Show less
The goal of this project is to investigate new possibilities of employing interactive technologies in the delivery of treatment for patients with Motor Speech Disorders (MSD). Specifically, the... Show moreThe goal of this project is to investigate new possibilities of employing interactive technologies in the delivery of treatment for patients with Motor Speech Disorders (MSD). Specifically, the project explores how computer-based tools can refine current methodologies, when considering the three main phases in the delivery of MSD treatment: (1) the preparation of treatment programs, (2) the practicing of speech motor skills, (3) the autonomous management of communication outside the clinic. In addressing each of these steps, a concrete technological solution to an identified problem is proposed, developed and evaluated. Show less
This dissertation provides a novel perspective on the interaction between quantifier scope and ellipsis. It presents a detailed investigation of the scopal interaction between English negative... Show moreThis dissertation provides a novel perspective on the interaction between quantifier scope and ellipsis. It presents a detailed investigation of the scopal interaction between English negative indefinites, modals, and quantified phrases in ellipsis. One of the crucial observations is that a negative indefinite in object position cannot scope out of a verbal ellipsis site, while Quantifier Raising (QR) of a quantificational object can escape a verbal ellipsis site. This dissertation presents a unified account of this state of affairs in the context of multidominance. It is argued that both English negative indefinites and quantificational determiners decompose into two independent elements. Their formation is the result of a morphological process, Fusion Under Adjacency. The locality/adjacency required for fusion is established under remerge (multidominance), in combination with cyclic Spell-Out/linearization. The main claim of this dissertation is that the PF-process of ellipsis can block this morphological process. It is proposed that the timing of Fusion Under Adjacency and (derivational) ellipsis plays a crucial role: Fusion Under Adjacency has to take place before the ellipsis licensor is merged. The lack of a blocking effect of ellipsis in QR is accounted for by the fact that QR always has a landing site below the ellipsis licensor. In addition to providing an account for the scopal behavior of quantificational elements under ellipsis, this dissertation also sheds new light on the syntax-to-PF mapping. It contributes to our understanding of how multidominant phrase markers are transferred to PF for (non-)pronunciation in a cyclic model of the grammar. This study is of relevance to scholars interested in the nature of ellipsis and quantifier scope, and the syntax-PF connection, as well as to a general syntactic readership. Show less
From Prominence to Obscurity focuses on the Darumashū (Bodhidharma school), a little known but important agent in the formative history of Zen in Japan. In the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries... Show moreFrom Prominence to Obscurity focuses on the Darumashū (Bodhidharma school), a little known but important agent in the formative history of Zen in Japan. In the late twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Darumashū – established by the monk Dainichi Nōnin (fl. 1189) – was considered representative of the Zen school, one of the budding movements in the Buddhist landscape of medieval Japan. Later the Darumashū was to disappear, marginalized and absorbed by competing claimants to Zen orthodoxy that would affirm themselves. Besides examining scattered references to Nōnin and his lineage, the dissertation considers relics and other objects that were venerated at the now vanished Darumashū temple Sambōji. In addition, the dissertation provides analyses and annotated translations of three long-neglected doctrinal treatises that emerged from the Darumashū itself, entitled Jōtōshōgakuron, Kenshōjōbutsugi and Hōmon taikō. Furthermore, it traces criticisms of the Darumashū in the writings of Eisai (1141-1215), Dōgen (1200-1215) and the Shingon monk Raiyu (1226-1304). Show less
This thesis discusses the development in Proto–Indo–European, Latin and Romance of a word–formation pattern which the most adequate terminology in use dubs ‘verbal government compounds with a... Show moreThis thesis discusses the development in Proto–Indo–European, Latin and Romance of a word–formation pattern which the most adequate terminology in use dubs ‘verbal government compounds with a governing first member’; I use the shorthand ‘pickpocket compounds’. The first member of such compounds derives from a verb, while the second mostly represents its direct object: thus English pickpocket. Most English examples are functionally agent–nouns, referring to the agent of the implied verbal act. Nevertheless, they lack a suffix indicating this. By contrast, the more prolific type of compound agent–noun, represented by truck–driver, has the deverbal member second and carries an agentive suffix, ‑er. Pickpocket compounds are attested in early strata of Greek and Indo–Iranian and in medieval strata of Germanic, Slavic and Romance. Latin has around a dozen examples. The scholarly debate, continued in this thesis, has been centred round two issues: (1) the morphological make–up of the type and (2) its historical origin. (1) is preliminarily assessed in chapter 2, reviewing the basics of nominal composition and providing an account of the fundamental difference between pickpocket and truckdriver compounds. It contains a cursory discussion of Homeric Greek, Indo–Iranian and Germanic representatives. This comparative perspective on the morphology of the type is continued in chapters 3–5 on Latin and Romance. An important conclusion, and an answer to one of the most–discussed questions in the debate, is that these compounds cannot be considered univerbated imperative clauses. (2) is likewise assessed preliminarily in chapter 2, offering an outline of the history of the Greek and Indo–Aryan material. Taking the history of the Latin/Romance material up for revision, chapters 3–5 conclude that Latin offers no evidence in support of a Proto–Indo–European type. The Romance type may have an origin in Latin; however, the theoretical considerations laid out in Chapter 2 suggest that given the relevant typological conditions, new compositional types may arise spontaneously. Finally, the medieval Germanic and Slavic types result from Romance adstrate and have no bearing on Proto–Indo–European; see the summary discussion in 6.3. Show less
Shanghai is a city in flux. In recent years, workers and machines have frantically destroyed large parts of the city to build a new one. But the mental maps and personal memories of its citizens... Show moreShanghai is a city in flux. In recent years, workers and machines have frantically destroyed large parts of the city to build a new one. But the mental maps and personal memories of its citizens are not as easily erased. Hence a skyscraper designed to meet the growing demand for office property may symbolize the city’s booming economy to some, while to others the sight of this very building may bring back childhood memories of the old neighborhood it replaced, becoming a symbol of lost youth and vanishing ways of life. It is precisely through literary imaginings that the citizens’ experience of Shanghai’s transformation is revealed: the city of feeling rising out of the city of fact. Show less
