Hypertexts are special. Every text segment has to be written in such a way that it can be read independently. This is necessary because the text segments are not presented in a single standardised... Show moreHypertexts are special. Every text segment has to be written in such a way that it can be read independently. This is necessary because the text segments are not presented in a single standardised sequence. Instead, they are mutually connected through hyperlinks. The actual order of the segments only arises in the process of reading. In this setting, the hyperlinks do not only connect text parts, but also play a role with respect to the content. The word that is marked as a hyperlink predicts the content of the linked text segment. Looking at hypertexts from a text linguistic point of view shows that you can build a new hypertext with text segments from different existing hypertexts. The reader would not even notice that these segments actually belong to different texts. Apparently, the text itself cannot mark its own borders. In a network-like environment, this is the task of the paratext, e.g. layout, title or menu. This dissertation focuses on the question how text and paratext contribute to the way that text in a network-like environment is clearly bordered and at the same time can easily be linked to other texts. Looking at hypertexts from a text linguistic point of view shows that you can build a new hypertext with various text segments from different existing hypertexts. The reader would not even notice that these segments actually belong to different texts. Apparently, the text itself cannot mark its own borders. In a network-like environment, this is the task of the paratext, e.g. layout, title or menu. If you click on a hyperlink, the layout for example tells you immediately if you are still reading the same hypertext. This dissertation focuses on the question how text and paratext contribute to the way that text in a network-like environment is clearly bordered and at the same time can easily be linked to other texts. Show less
This dissertation presents a grammar of Khwarshi, a Nakh-Daghestanian language. The grammar is based on material collected by the author during fieldwork. The dissertation gives an overview of the... Show moreThis dissertation presents a grammar of Khwarshi, a Nakh-Daghestanian language. The grammar is based on material collected by the author during fieldwork. The dissertation gives an overview of the main aspects of the phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language. At the phonological level, a description of the system of vowels and consonants is given as well as of the secondary articulations: nasalization, palatalization, and pharyngealization. Khwarshi has several interesting morphological features including an elaborate system of up to 43 spatial cases, five noun genders which mark agreement between the Absolutive noun phrase and the verb, adjective, adverb, or postposition with the help of the gender affixes. Khwarshi is an ergative language with basic SOV word order and widespread use of non-finite verb forms. In the chapter on syntax, the main types of subordinate clauses such as relative, complement, and adverbial clauses are treated. Show less
This thesis investigates the syntax of object marking in Sambaa and the Bantu languages in general, with particular focus on Swahili and Haya, as points of comparison. Object marking is approached... Show moreThis thesis investigates the syntax of object marking in Sambaa and the Bantu languages in general, with particular focus on Swahili and Haya, as points of comparison. Object marking is approached from the perspective of Minimalist syntax. The central claim is that object marking in Sambaa and related languages can be analysed as Agree (in the sense of Chomsky 2000, 2001), with certain modifications. These modifications have implications for the Agree mechanism in general. Object marking is discussed in the context of a range of syntactic environments: simple affirmative clauses, wh-questions, relative clauses and coordination structures. Based on this broad set of data, it is shown that Bantu languages cannot, as has been proposed, be divided into two types, namely those with object agreement and those with pronominal object marking (Bresnan and Mchombo 1987; Byarushengo et al. 1976, 1977 and Baker 2007). Rather, the Agree analysis can account for the object markings patterns in all languages examined. It is further shown that Bonet’s (1991, 1994) Person Case Constraint (PCC) holds for Bantu. The data discussed strongly support Bonet’s distinction between a “weak” and a “strong” PCC, as the languages discussed obey the weak but not the strong version of the PCC. Moreover, the PCC is shown to apply not only to object marking but to all ditransitive constructions in Bantu. This thesis is of relevance to syntacticians interested in agreement, object marking and the interaction of verbs and objects more generally, and to linguists interested in Bantu syntax, and in particular Sambaa, Swahili and Haya. Show less
This work discusses the typology of the middle, the causative and the passive marking systems of Ethiopian Afro-Asiatic languages. The discussion of these verbal derivations started from detail... Show moreThis work discusses the typology of the middle, the causative and the passive marking systems of Ethiopian Afro-Asiatic languages. The discussion of these verbal derivations started from detail description of the Causative derivation of the representative languages: Oromo, Amharic and Shakkinoono representing Cushitic, Semitic and Omotic languages of Ethiopia respectively. Oromo, Amharic and Shakkinoono have their own causative markings, causative structures and causative meanings. The causative discussion of the representative languages is followed by the causative discussion of Ethiopian Afro-Asiatic languages where variations and similarities of the causative verb derivations, argument structures and meanings of the causatives are shown. The second half of the work deals with the middle and the passive verbal derivations. The middle and the passive verbal derivation of Oromo are given different chapters since Oromo has separate middle and passive markings. But, in Amharic the middle and the passive are treated in one chapter since the middle marking is the same as the passive marking. In fact in this language there are ambiguous structures which could be treated either as a passive or as a middle. Similarly, in Shakkinoono the discussion of the passive and the middle verbal derivations are not given a separate chapters because the passive marking is often used as a middle marking. Finally, concluding chapters of the middle and the passive are given. Show less
This dissertation provides a comprehensive overview of the grammar of Bantawa, a Kiranti (Rai) language spoken in Eastern Nepal. Bantawa is an SOV language featuring rich verbal morphology. In... Show moreThis dissertation provides a comprehensive overview of the grammar of Bantawa, a Kiranti (Rai) language spoken in Eastern Nepal. Bantawa is an SOV language featuring rich verbal morphology. In Bantawa we find both ergative and accusative alignment patterns in verbal affix agreement, and an ergative / absolutive pattern of case marking. The grammar treats the syntax of all major syntactical constructions, including the highly productive verb compounding process, embedding of converbial and finite clauses, nominalisations and evidentiality. The semantics of nominalisations and the aspectual nuances of verbal compounds are discussed in detail. An annotated text corpus, comprehensive paradigm tables and a glossary complete the grammar. Show less
The aim of this study is to specify the strategic function of stance adverbs when qualifying a standpoint in an argumentative discussion. Stance adverbs are words like __clearly__, __obviously__, _... Show moreThe aim of this study is to specify the strategic function of stance adverbs when qualifying a standpoint in an argumentative discussion. Stance adverbs are words like __clearly__, __obviously__, __perhaps__, __technically__, __frankly__, and __fortunately__. They have been extensively studied in the fields of semantics and syntax as well as pragmatics and discourse analysis. However, they have not specifically been studied with an interest in their effect on the progress of an argumentative discussion when they are used to qualify the standpoint. In this study a specific argumentative perspective is adopted, according to which the strategic function of stance adverbs is described with respect to the burden of proof that an arguer incurs when advancing a standpoint. In this view, an arguer chooses a particular way to qualify the standpoint in an attempt to successfully meet his obligation to defend the standpoint at the end of the argumentative discussion. The proposed theoretical account provides a basis for assessing whether the use of a stance adverb to qualify a standpoint observes the standards that should be followed for a reasonable resolution of a difference of opinion. Show less
This study examines the mutual intelligibility between all 225 pairs of 15 Chinese dialects, in two main branches, i.e., six Mandarin dialects and nine non-Mandarin (Southern) dialects. The... Show moreThis study examines the mutual intelligibility between all 225 pairs of 15 Chinese dialects, in two main branches, i.e., six Mandarin dialects and nine non-Mandarin (Southern) dialects. The dialects (often distinct languages by western standards) differ in the richness of their lexical tone inventories, ranging between four (in most Mandarin dialects) to as many as nine (in Guangzhou/Cantonese). Judgment (how well do listeners think they understand the speaker?) and functional (how well do speakers actually understand the speaker?) intelligibility tests were used. A methodological question was whether (fast and efficient) judgment testing may serve as a viable substitute for (laborious) functional intelligibility testing. Dialect fragments were also monotonized in order to estimate the importance of pitch variation for intelligibility in tone languages. Also, a large number of objective linguistic distance measures were collected, either copied from the literature or computed by the author on existing language resources. A systematic attempt is made to determine how well the judgment and functional intelligibility scores can be predicted from each other and from (combinations of) objective linguistics distance measures. Mutual intelligibility testing affords a single dimension along which the degree of difference between language varieties can be expressed. The hypothesis is tested that the agglomeration trees generated from mutual intelligibility scores correlate strongly with linguistic taxonomies expressing family relationships among languages and dialects. This study should be of interest to linguists, more specifically dialectologists, dialectometrists and phoneticians. Show less
This thesis investigates doubling and agreement in Romance and Germanic nominal constituents. In Swedish, Norwegian, and Faroese, the definite article is doubled in case an adjective modifies the... Show moreThis thesis investigates doubling and agreement in Romance and Germanic nominal constituents. In Swedish, Norwegian, and Faroese, the definite article is doubled in case an adjective modifies the noun. This doubling is known as double definiteness. This thesis proposes that double definiteness is the result of an intriguing interaction between syntax and morphology. The absence of double definiteness in other Germanic languages is attributed to morphological variation. The thesis mainly, however, deals with the distinction between strong and weak adjectival inflection in Germanic and its absence in the Romance. This thesis proposes that agreement on attributive adjectives is always licensed indirectly, through the help of a mediating element. In the case of Germanic weak adjectival inflection, this mediating element is partially deactivated for independent reasons. In the case of Germanic strong adjectival inflection as well as Romance adjectival inflection, this mediating element is however always fully active. On the theoretical level, this thesis proposes that the syntactic configuration in which agreement can occur is best defined in terms of dominance. It is argued that a definition in terms of dominance is both theoretically simpler as well as empirically more adequate than a definition in terms of c-command. Show less
This thesis investigates the grammar of Makhuwa-Enahara, a Bantu language spoken in the north of Mozambique. The information structure is an influential factor in this language, determining the... Show moreThis thesis investigates the grammar of Makhuwa-Enahara, a Bantu language spoken in the north of Mozambique. The information structure is an influential factor in this language, determining the word order and the use of special conjugations known as conjoint and disjoint verb forms. The thesis consists of two parts. The first part is a grammatical description of the language, covering the basic properties in the phonology, prosody and morphology of the nominal and verbal domain, as well as an overview of the conjugational system. The chapter also examines some syntactic issues, such as relativisation and non-verbal predication. The second part is concerned with the question how syntax and information structure interact in Makhuwa-Enahara. The elements in a sentence are positioned before or after the verb on the basis of their information structure. Elements in the preverbal domain are interpreted as more accessible, functioning as topics. The disjoint verb and elements in the postverbal domain form the comment. The element immediately following the conjoint verb form is interpreted not just as new information, but as exclusive, meaning that the proposition holds for that referent and not for (some) other referents. These data can be accounted for if insights from syntax and information structure are combined. Two such approaches are discussed: a cartographic model and an interface model. Two interface rules are proposed to account for the interpretation of word order and the conjoint and disjoint verb forms in Makhuwa-Enahara. Show less
The Dutch prefix ge- in historical perspective gives first of all a general account of the development of the word formation processes involving ge- in which special attention is paid to the... Show moreThe Dutch prefix ge- in historical perspective gives first of all a general account of the development of the word formation processes involving ge- in which special attention is paid to the participial ge-. The main point of the book is a comprehensive analysis of the ‘ge-+verb stem’ derivation of the type geblaf. The diachrony of these ge-derivations, which are very productive in modern Dutch has hardly been investigated up to now. The research focuses on the development of this type of ge-derivation in the period 1200-1900. Three different sources are used: contemporary grammars, dictionaries and a digital text corpus composed for this purpose. This varied approach provides a clear picture of the development of this ge-derivation in the history of Dutch and of the factors which have played an important role therein. Show less
Simulating human language understanding on the computer is a great challenge. A way to approach it is to represent natural language meanings in logic, and to use logical provers to determine what... Show moreSimulating human language understanding on the computer is a great challenge. A way to approach it is to represent natural language meanings in logic, and to use logical provers to determine what does and does not follow from a text. What logic is best to use and how natural language meanings are best represented in it are far from trivial questions. This thesis focuses on semantic representation in deep parsing. It describes the Delilah parser and generator for Dutch, which computes semantic representations for sentences, discussing several issues and proposing some further improvements to the system. A style of logical form is developed that is optimized for inference in mainly two ways. One is the implementation of event semantics for verbs and nominalizations and with underlying states for intersective adjectives and their corresponding abstract nouns. This makes many entailments follow straightforwardly. The second is the introduction of Flat Logical Form, as an alternative to first-order logic representations. In Flat Logical Form, crucial information on quantification, monotonicity, and embedding is annotated locally on the variables of the formula, where it does not complicate the formula's structure. Both moves make the representations rich in information and at the same time easy to process for purposes of automated reasoning. Such automated reasoning with access to detailed semantic information is expected to contribute to the retrieval of free narrative text. Show less
The relation between prosodic realization, syntactic structure, interpretation and focus has caused much debate in the literature. This thesis aims at contributing to our understanding of the... Show moreThe relation between prosodic realization, syntactic structure, interpretation and focus has caused much debate in the literature. This thesis aims at contributing to our understanding of the semantic and prosodic properties of object foci in Greek, employing theoretical and experimental tools. The main research question is: do preverbal object foci in Greek differ from their postverbal counterparts?. In the first part of the thesis, Greek preverbal object foci are compared to their postverbal counterparts with respect to exhaustivity, contrast and discourse topichood. For this purpose, a number of tests are applied to the Greek data. On the basis of the results of the tests, it is argued that preverbal and postverbal object foci do not differ with respect to exhaustivity and contrast. It is also argued that the two differ with respect to discourse topichood. It is shown that Greek preverbal object foci are actually fronted dis course topics. In the second part of the thesis, a production and two perception experiments were carried out to investigate the phonetic properties of preverbal and postverbal object foci in Greek. Moreover, a production and a perception experiment were carried out to investigate the phonetic realization of contrast in Greek. Show less
Cortázar, Maradona en een paar lastige woordjes Het gebruik van de Spaanse voornaamwoorden le en lo kan een taalleerder tot wanhoop drijven, maar zelfs taalkundigen krijgen er niet echt grip op. Al... Show moreCortázar, Maradona en een paar lastige woordjes Het gebruik van de Spaanse voornaamwoorden le en lo kan een taalleerder tot wanhoop drijven, maar zelfs taalkundigen krijgen er niet echt grip op. Al meer dan vijftig jaar wordt er onderzoek gedaan naar het gebruik van deze woordjes. Zo wordt er bijvoorbeeld beweerd dat de vorm le de voorkeur geniet in zinnen waarin de beleefdheidsvorm gebruikt wordt. Voor mijn boek heb ik oudere studies overgedaan, maar dan met gebruik van moderne methodologie. In eerste instantie ga ik na of deze studies technisch goed in elkaar zaten, daarna neem ik het gebruik van le en lo in een aantal teksten (van romans van Cortázar tot de autobiografie van Diego Maradona) onder de loep en tot slot beschrijf ik een grootschalig on-line experiment dat ik in Buenos Aires heb uitgevoerd. De uitkomst van mijn studie is vernietigend: de resultaten van eerdere studies sneuvelen veelal onder statistische toetsing en noch in het tekstonderzoek noch in het experiment blijken factoren zoals beleefdheid enige invloed van betekenis te hebben. Waarom Maradona soms lo en soms le zegt, kan ik niet verklaren, maar mijn studie suggereert dat de verklaring in elk geval niet in één bepaalde factor te vinden is. Show less
This book presents the first comprehensive study of Dime, an endangered Omotic language spoken by about 5400 speakers in south-west Ethiopia. The study presents analysis of the phonology,... Show moreThis book presents the first comprehensive study of Dime, an endangered Omotic language spoken by about 5400 speakers in south-west Ethiopia. The study presents analysis of the phonology, morphology and syntax of the language as well as a sample of ten texts and an extensive word list. The author identifies a number of interesting comparative and typological phenomena. These include a series of uvular and velar fricatives which have not been reported in related languages. Dime has a two-way grammatical gender distinction and a special plural-agreement, both manifested on modifying categories. Rather than inflecting the same base pronoun-forms for various cases, as is common in other Omotic languages, Dime uses distinct subject pronoun sets that are formally different from object, dative and other pronoun types. Phrasal word-order is flexible; there is also a degree of flexibility in marking grammatical morphemes such as number, definiteness and case which may be marked either on the head noun or on the modifier or on both. Sentence-type distinction between interrogative and declarative clauses is partly expressed through morpheme reduction on the verb. That is, in the declarative, person-agreement morphemes are obligatory whereas these must be dropped in the interrogative. These and a number of other issues discussed in the study make the work interesting for specialists on Omotic and Afroasiatic studies as well as to general linguists interested in language typology. Show less
This study analyses the prehistory of a northeastern Siberian population, the Sakha (Yakuts), from both a linguistic and a molecular-genetic perspective. The Sakha, who are a Turkic-speaking group... Show moreThis study analyses the prehistory of a northeastern Siberian population, the Sakha (Yakuts), from both a linguistic and a molecular-genetic perspective. The Sakha, who are a Turkic-speaking group of cattle- and horse-breeders, migrated to the Lena river from an area further to the south several hundred years ago. This investigation elucidates the extent to which the Sakha interacted with the indigenous populations of the territory that they migrated to, both from the perspective of language contact and from the perspective of genetic admixture. The results show that the Sakha were in contact with two different groups during their history: with speakers of a Mongolic language and with speakers of Evenki. The contact with the Mongolic-speaking group took place during the period of the Mongol Empire, when the Sakha introduced a large number of Mongolic substance copies into their language. In contrast, the contact with the Evenks led to the introduction of a number of schematic copies, but only a relatively small amount of substance copies from Evenki into Sakha. The nature of the copies from Evenki implies that the Sakha were dominantly bilingual in Evenki; surprisingly, however, there is no genetic evidence for the shift of entire Evenk communities to the Sakha language and identity. One explanation for the discrepancy between the linguistic and the genetic results is that the schematic copies entered the language through frequent social interaction of Evenks and Sakha during the initial period after the migration, when the Sakha were few in number. This is an interdisciplinary study that combines both molecular anthropological as well as linguistic methods to elucidate the prehistoric contacts undergone by a northeastern Siberian group of cattle and horse pastoralists Show less
This work contains the first comprehensive description of Abui, a language of the Trans New Guinea family spoken approximately by 16,000 speakers in the central part of the Alor Island in Eastern... Show moreThis work contains the first comprehensive description of Abui, a language of the Trans New Guinea family spoken approximately by 16,000 speakers in the central part of the Alor Island in Eastern Indonesia. The description focuses on the northern dialect of Abui as spoken in the village Takalelang. This study is based on primary data collected by the author on Alor. With Pantar island, Alor Island is the western-most area where Papuan languages are spoken. Abui syntax is characterized by rigid head-final word order. The language presents a number of typologically interesting features such as semantic alignment. Characteristic for Abui is the extensive use of generic verbs. Generic verbs appear as parts of complex verbs or in serial verb constructions. This grammar covers the phonology, morphology and basic syntax of Abui. The appendix contains several Abui texts and word lists. Not being written against any particular theoretical background, this book is of interest to scholars of both Papuan and Austronesian languages, as well as linguistic typology. Show less
This dissertation deals with Mualang, an Ibanic (Malayic-Dayak) language spoken in the interior of western Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia. Given the relatively large number of speakers ... Show moreThis dissertation deals with Mualang, an Ibanic (Malayic-Dayak) language spoken in the interior of western Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia. Given the relatively large number of speakers (approximately 40,000 people), and due to its fairly isolated geography and some well-maintained socio-cultural traditions, the study of the language considerably broadens our knowledge of the Ibanic language family and the Malayic language group in general. Western Borneo has been posited as a possible homeland-candidate of Proto Malayic speakers. Therefore, linguistic contributions about inland languages in areas such as that of the Mualang language and people will provide Austronesian linguists with more information regarding this issue. This study presents a descriptive account of the grammar of Mualang covering the major features of its sound system, word and sentence structure as well as text grammar topics. The description results from a combination of textual analysis, elicitation and participant observation. The grammar is supplemented by wordlists and an extensive collection of glossed and translated texts. Show less
English has become the language of international communication. As a result of this development, we are now confronted with a bewildering variety of ‘Englishes’, spoken with non-native accents.... Show moreEnglish has become the language of international communication. As a result of this development, we are now confronted with a bewildering variety of ‘Englishes’, spoken with non-native accents. Research determining how intelligible non-native speakers of varying native-language backgrounds are to each other and to native speakers of English has only just started to receive attention. This thesis investigated to what extent Chinese, Dutch and American speakers of English are mutually intelligible. Intelligibility of vowels, simplex consonants and consonant clusters was tested in meaningless sound sequences, as well as in words in meaningless and meaningful short sentences. Speakers (one male, one female per language background) were selected so as to be optimally representative of their peer groups, which were made up of young academic users of English. Intelligibility was tested for all nine combinations of speaker and listener backgrounds. Results show that Chinese-accented English is less intelligible overall than Dutch-accented English, which is less intelligible than American English. Generally, the native-language background of the speaker was less important for the intelligibility than the background of the listener. Also, the results reveal a clear and consistent so-called interlanguage speech intelligibility benefit: speakers of English – whether foreign or native – are more intelligible to listeners with whom they share the native-language background than to listeners with a different native language. Show less
Aspect and subjectivity in modal constructions This thesis investigates the interaction of aspect and subjectivity in modal constructions. In the linguistic literature dealing with the connection... Show moreAspect and subjectivity in modal constructions This thesis investigates the interaction of aspect and subjectivity in modal constructions. In the linguistic literature dealing with the connection between aspect and modality, a link has often been observed between imperfective aspect and modal readings. However, as is shown in this study, both aspect prominent languages, such as Slavic languages, and tense prominent languages, such as Germanic languages, present exceptions to this hypothesized rule, since perfective aspect can appear with modal readings in both types of languages. The following two questions concerning the interaction between aspect and modality are discussed in this thesis: (1) Can the hypothesis about a link between imperfective aspect and modality be confirmed or rejected? (2) Is imperfective aspect attracted to more ‘subjective’ modal readings? The data which are the focus of the thesis comprise modal infinitive constructions in Russian, German and Dutch, imperative constructions in Russian and Dutch, and modal uses of tenses in Russian and Serbian. In order to compare the interaction of aspect and subjectivity in modal constructions, the data are classified according to a parameter of modality. For that purpose, the semantic map approach to modality proposed by Van der Auwera & Plungian (1998) is used. The notion of subjectivity adopted in the thesis is based on the definition of Langacker (1985). The thesis proposes three tests for determining degrees of subjectivity in modal uses of the different constructions. The tests relate to the following factors: (1) The nature of the modal source; (2) The role of the modal target participant; (3) The nature of the subject. The book shows that modal meanings can actually be expressed with both imperfectives and perfectives, both in aspect and in tense prominent languages. However, modal readings that are more subjective do most often correlate with imperfective aspect. Show less
The main topic of the book is the nature of inner aspect of the Verb Phrase, and the relation between the decompositional and the quantificational approaches to this problem. Decompositional... Show moreThe main topic of the book is the nature of inner aspect of the Verb Phrase, and the relation between the decompositional and the quantificational approaches to this problem. Decompositional approaches analyze eventualities into simpler components, organized by some kind of structure. In this view, an eventuality is telic if, in decomposition, it can be shown to involve a result component (also referred to as the culmination or termination component, or as the telos). Quantificational approaches see telicity as a property of the predicate of an eventuality, usually described as boundedness, lack of the subinterval property, or a specified quantity. The major advantage of the decompositional approaches is that they directly match the syntax-semantics interface of the VP with the conceptual image of an eventuality. Quantificational approaches blur the picture in this respect, because they involve effects like distributive readings, which are not a typical interpretational component of the VP domain. On the other hand, the major advantage of the quantificational approaches is that they assign similar or identical properties to (the predicates of) eventualities and nominal expressions. This enables them to capture the phenomenon of incremental themes (participants that appear to measure out the eventuality in which they take part), by relating the predicates of eventualities and those of their arguments. The dissertation presents a new approach, which not only combines the two approaches above, but also shows how they are directly mutually related, and how some quantificational properties can be derived from the domain of decomposition. Show less
