Techn. Universiẗat, Habil.-Schr., 2002--Berlin.

This is a study of the so-called Light Verb Construction (LVC) in Japanese, which consists of the verb suru ‘do’ and the accusative-marked verbal noun, as exemplified in (1). (1) a. Taroo ga Tokyo ni ryokoo o suru. NOM to travel ACC do ‘Taroo travels to Tokyo.’ b. Taroo ga eigo no benkyoo o suru. NOM English GEN study ACC do ‘Taroo studies English.' c. Taroo ga murabito ni ookami ga kuru to keikoku o suru NOM villagers to wolf NOM come COMP warning ACC do ‘Taroo warns the villagers that the wolf will come.' Since Grimshaw and Mester's (1988) seminal work, there have been unresolved debates on the role of suru, whether suru in such forms as in (1) functions as a light verb or not. An observational generalization is that the thematic array of a clause faithfully reflects the argument structure of the VN which heads the accusative phrase. Hence, from the viewpoint of argument structure, suru may be ‘light' in the sense that it makes no thematic contribution to the VN-o suru formation. This suru may hence be different from the regular use of suru as a two-place ACTIVITY predicate, as shown in (2). (2) a. Taroo ga gorufu o suru. NOM golf ACC do ‘Taroo plays golf.' b. Taroo ga tenisu o suru. NOM tennis ACC do ‘Taroo plays tennis.' c. Taroo ga kaimono o suru. MOM shopping ACC do ‘Taroo does a shopping.' The oft-cited differences between the so-called light suru construction and the heavy suru construction are two-fold. First, in the light suru construction, the arguments of the VN may be 'promoted' into a clausal domain. Judging from the verbal case marking, the arguments of the VN are treated as if they are those of suru. Second, the light suru construction may exhibit the so-called ‘frozen phenomena'. The observational generalization is that when there is no overt argument in the accusative phrase domain, this accusative phrase becomes ‘frozen' in the sense that it cannot tolerate syntactic processes, such as scrambling and adverbial insertion . The majority of previous studies examine the ‘weight' of suru either to support or to refute the idea that suru can function as a light verb. In other words, these previous studies attempt to disambiguate the VN-o suru formation relying solely on the lexical property of suru. The contention of this study is that the above approach is problematic. This study argues that the ambiguity does not stem from the ‘weight' of suru but from the thematic properties of the VN which heads the accusative phrase, primarily, whether it is headed by a thematic or non-thematic VN. Another contention of this study is that the ambiguity can be resolved under the assumption that there is only one type of suru: a two-place predicate which licenses Agent and EVENT. In this sense, this study will argue against the idea that suru functions as a light verb and will argue that the characterization of VN-o sum formation arises not from the dichotic distinction of suru but from the dichotic distinction of its accusative phrase. / Graduate

by Chan Mable. / Thesis submitted in 1997. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 120-124). / Abstract also in Chinese. / Chapter Chapter1 --- Second Language Acquisition Research: Background to the Present Study / Chapter 1.1 --- Introduction / Chapter 1.2 --- Rationale for the Present Study / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Structures and Properties of Middles and Unaccusative Verbs in English / Chapter 1.2.1.1 --- Derivation of Middles / Chapter 1.2.1.2 --- Derivation of Unaccusative Verb Structures / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Common Properties Shared by Middles and Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 1.2.3 --- SLA Studies on L2 Acquisition of Middles and Unaccusative Verb Structures / Chapter 1.3 --- Research Issues / Chapter Chapter2 --- Theoretical Issues / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction / Chapter 2.2 --- Why Is It Difficult to Acquire Middles and Unaccusative Verbs? / Chapter 2.2.1 --- "Common Properties shared by Passives, Middles and Unaccusatives" / Chapter 2.2.2 --- "The Differences between Passives, Middles and Unaccusatives" / Chapter 2.3 --- A Comparison of the Middles and Unaccusative Verbs in L1 and L2 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- The issue of L1 Transfer / Chapter 2.3.2 --- Middles in Cantonese / Chapter 2.3.3 --- Unaccusative Verbs in Cantonese / Chapter 2.4 --- Predictions of Difficulties posed by both structures / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Middles / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter Chapter3 --- Methodology and Results / Chapter 3.1 --- Experiment / Chapter 3.2 --- Subjects / Chapter 3.3 --- Procedures / Chapter 3.4 --- Rationale of the Tasks / Chapter 3.4.1 --- The Grammaticality Judgment Task / Chapter 3.4.2 --- Picture Description Task / Chapter 3.5 --- Scoring Method / Chapter 3.6 --- Results of the Picture Description Task / Chapter 3.7 --- Results of the Grammaticality Judgment Task / Chapter 3.8 --- Diagnostics of Middle Constructions and Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 3.9 --- Prompting Effect / Chapter Chapter4 --- Discussion and Conclusion / Chapter 4.1 --- Research Issues Revisited / Chapter 4.2 --- Acquisition Problem with the Middle Construction / Chapter 4.3 --- Acquisition Problem with Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.3.1 --- Paired Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.3.2 --- Unpaired Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.4 --- Do L2 Learners have Knowledge of Middle Constructions and Unaccusative Verbs? / Chapter 4.5 --- Developmental Patterns of L2 Learners in Acquiring English Middle Constructions and Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.6 --- Is there L1 Transfer? / Chapter 4.7 --- How to Account for the Difficulties Posed by Middle Constructions and Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.7.1 --- Acquisition of Unaccusative Verbs / Chapter 4.7.2 --- Acquisition of the Middle Constructions / Chapter 4.8 --- Incompleteness' and 'Divergence' in Second Language Acquisition / Chapter 4.9 --- Conclusion / References / Appendix I / Appendix II

No description available.

Thesis (M. A. (African Languages) --University of Limpopo,2005 / The study aimsat finding out thecategorical status of copulatives in Northern Sotho. This will be achieved by examining the morphosemantic features of various copulatives. From a morphological perspective, thestudy focuses on the following types ofcopulative verbs: ke, se, ba, le, na, and COP. The study argues that the foresaid copulatives are not particles but are fully-fledged verbs. As far as the semantic nature of the copulatives is concerned, the study discovered a variety of meanings associated with copulatives, such as the following: the identifying, descriptive,locational and associative. Lastly, the study contends that any research on the copulative in Northern Sotho should be a morphosemantic one, as previous studies focused on one and neglected the other.

Thesis (Ph.D. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The aims of the study were to compare connector use and verb phrase use between two achievement groups. The achievement groups comprised the Highs, students whose essays were highly rated (124 essays; word length 59702), and the Lows, students whose essays were rated poorly (126 essays; word length 60524). The analytical frameworks for the analysis of appropriate use were taken from Biber, Johansson, Leech, Conrad and Finegan (1999).The analytical frameworks for inappropriate use were designed by the researcher. Connectors comprised circumstance adverbials, linking adverbials, co-ordinators and relativisers. Verb phrase uses comprised all the categories described in Biber, et al. (1999). The analysis entailed counting number of occurrences per use for each achievement group and determining whether difference in use was significant or not by undertaking Log Likelihood calculations using Paul Rayson’s Log Likelihood calculator available online. These also indicate the relative frequency of each use. The results for appropriate connector use revealed that although no significant differences occurred with respect to connector categories, highly/significant differences did occur with regard to specific forms. Regarding inappropriate connector use, results showed that differences between the two achievement groups were overall highly significant, with a substantially higher occurrence of inappropriate uses in the Lows compared to the Highs. The results for appropriate verb phrase use revealed highly/significant differences between the Highs and Lows for several verb phrase categories, such as modal auxiliary use and Perfect Aspect. The results for inappropriate verb phrase use, as was the case for inappropriate connector use, showed highly significant differences between the two achievement groups, with the Lows having a much higher incidence of inappropriate uses than the Highs. The study finally considers the pedagogical implications arising from the results and makes suggestions for course design relating to writing instruction.

Thesis (M.A.)--Stellenbosch University, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores the interpretation and syntax of construction that realize reflexivity in Tshiven~a. Chapter One: deals with the introduction of the study. The binding theory in its general principles and definitions will be analyzed. Chapter Two: deals with the interpretation of reflexive di-verb " constructions. In this chapter various verb types with ~i- will be given. (i) Mono-transitive verbs (ii) Di-transitive verbs. Chapter Three: deals with the derived verb that is applicative, causative and passive. The appearing of ~i- verbs with derived verbs will be examined. Chapter Four: deals with ~i- verbs followed by the reflexive emphasizer -~e.The interpretation of prepositional phrases (PP) with the reflexive meaning will be considered and the applicability of binding theory to these phrases will be explored. Chapter Five: deals with the findings, recommendations and conclusion of the study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die interpretasie en sintaksis van die konstruksie wat die refleksief in Tshivenda moontlik maak. Hoofstuk een bevat die inleiding van die studie. Veral die algemene beginsels en definisie van die bindingsteorie word bekyk. Hoofstuk twee handeloor die interpretasie van konstruksies met die refleksiewe fji-werkwoord. In hierdie hoofstuk word verskeie werkwoord kategorieë met fji- behandel waaronder enkeloorganklike en dubbeloorganklike werkwoorde. Hoofstuk drie handeloor die afgeleide werkwoorde nl. die applikatief, kousatief en passief. Die voorkoms van die refleksiewe fji- met hierdie afgeleide werkwoorde word ondersoek. Hoofstuk VIer handeloor fji- werkwoorde gevolg deur die refleksiewe beklemtoner -ne. Die interpretasie van preposisionele frases met 'n refleksiewe betekenis word oorweeg en die toepasbaarheid van die bindingsteorie op hierdie frases word ondersoek. Hoofstuk vyf handeloor die bevindinge, aanbevelings en konklusie van die studie.

published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

One of the most striking features of Saramaccan syntax is the almost categorically finite status of its sentential complements and serial verbs. In fact, a study of these constituents in the language is to primarily observe how characteristics of finite sentential structures are beginning to be lost in certain instances. The first three chapters are largely preliminary in nature. Chapter I briefly introduces Saramaccan, discusses the Government and Binding grammatical model and outlines why it is superior to competing approaches. This chapter also defines many of the pertinent concepts needed for the analyses. Chapter II looks at tense, modality and aspect markers and determines when a +Tense value is possible for a clause. In this context, we find that the complements of perception verbs are finite. The remainder of Chapter II and all of Chapter III determine the dislocation patterns and identifying parameters of various categories. The next three chapters investigate serial structures. In Chapter IV, it is found among other things that complementizer-like fu (from for) and taa 'say, that' are main verbs. Chapter V analyzes the Instrumental, Benefactive and Dative serials. We conclude that the Instrumental and Benefactive are contained within finite clauses, while the Dative serial verb is either an infinitive or has been deleted. Finally in Chapter VI, the many serials discussed exhibit a wide range of features which lead us to believe that some are fully finite, others are infinitives, and one has reanalyzed to another category. It is claimed in the last chapter, based on the evidence, that there is really no difference between sentential complements and serial structures; both are or were finite clauses. In addition, based on the nature of serials reported in the literature for West African languages, Saramaccan appears to be significantly different. This leads to the conclusion that serials spontaneously emerged in Saramaccan during the creolization process rather than being a continuation of such structures from West African languages.

At the stage in the development of generative -transformational grammar when the primary emphasis of research was on the syntactic analysis of sentences, morphology was largely ignored, and the lexicon was simply viewed as an unstructured list of lexical items. However, Chomsky's Lexicalist Hypothesis brought about a renewed interest in word formation, and it is now clear that "the lexicon has a rich, internal structure. In this thesis we will apply the Lexicalist Hypothesis to Japanese, a non -Indo- European, agglutinative language. The analysis presented will be referred to as the "lexical analysis." Two major theoretical issues face the lexical analysis of Japanese. First, it attempts to provide an alternative framework to the transformational analysis that has dominated Japanese linguistics for the past fifteen years. With emphasis on sentences instead of words, the transformational analysis, in a sense, "deagglutinizes" morphologically complex verbs made up of a verb stem and one or more bound morphemes, e.g., V-sase-rare-ta-gat-ta 'V-cause-passive-want-appear- past'. A complex underlying structure is postulated for a sentence with such a verb, with each of the morphemes acting as "higher" verbs in the structure. In the transformational analysis, the fact that the morphemes combine to form a word seems almost incidental. The lexical analysis starts with the assumption that a complex verb comprises a single word that is formed in the lexicon. This forces us to look at Japanese in a different light, as a language with fairly simple phrase structure, and virtually no transformations (if any), but with a rich, highly structured lexicon. This view is closer to the original intuition that Japanese is an agglutinative language. The second theoretical issue concerns the theory of the lexicon. The Lexicalist Hypothesis has been worked out mainly for English, a nonagglutinative language. Since a primary concern of the Hypothesis is with words, it makes sense to test it using a language such as Japanese that has rich and varied word formation processes. The lexical analysis of Japanese draws from major works on the lexicon in English, but because of the highly agglutinating nature of Japanese, we find it necessary to reject, alter, and extend various aspects of lexical analysis of English. The goal of the lexical analysis is to define organizations within the Japanese lexicon. Two types of organizations the lexical analysis focuses on are (a) content and ordering of rules that apply within the domain of the lexicon, and (b) arrangement of verbs, both simple (i.e., verb stem) and complex, listed in the lexicon. Regarding (a), word formation rules akin to those proposed by Aronoff bear the responsibility of forming complex verbs in Japanese; and "redundancy rules" assign rule- governed, i.e., "regular," case arrays to the NPs in the subcategorization feature of verbs. Idiosyncratic case marking is either attributed to a particular lexical item -- verb -specific case marking --or assigned by a rule with a limited scope (Marked-Case Specification Rule). As for (b), the lexicon imposes an organization on all listed verbs by providing slots within "paradigmatic structures." Verb stems automatically receive a slot, and thus they are the most basic verbs, while complex verbs formed by word formation rules can only enter an appropriate slot if the slot is not already occupied by a more basic lexical item, usually a verb stem. If a complex verb can occupy a slot, it receives a lexical entry and becomes part of the permanent lexicon. These verbs undergo lexical processes such as semantic drift and nominalization commonly attributed to the basic verb stems. It is hoped that the lexical analysis of Japanese presented in this thesis will be a model for other agglutinative languages. As a way of illustrating this possibility, Turkish, Mitla Zapotec, and Navajo are briéfly considered in light of the lexical analysis of Japanese. While all of these languages share virtually the same components within the lexicon, a slight difference in the arrangement of the components leads to the difference in the morphological characterization among the languages.