In light of the observation made by Bowers (1991: 19) that Mandarin classifiers are phonetic realization of a functional head Nm, whose semantic function is to turn properties into propositional functions, it is postulated that classifiers in Nuosu Yi can also be identified as this type of predication operator (Pr). / The classifier in Nuosu Yi can appear in possessives. Its function is to link the possessor noun and possessed noun and form a possession relation between them. However, Pr in Nuosu Yi possessives may not always be realized as a CL. When a Nuosu Yi speaker does not want to specify the number of the possessed item, he will not use classifiers to link the possessor and the possessed noun. In this case, Pr has no phonetic realization. Based on this observation, we propose that classifiers in East Asian classifier languages are likely to be grammaticalized into Pr, but this grammaticalization path is not unitary. Besides classifiers, Pr may take on other forms such as possessive marker ge in Cantonese, possessive marker de in Mandarin, possessive marker a in Jingpo, and an empty possessive marker in Nuosu Yi. / The conclusion of this thesis is that possessive markers and relative markers are indeed of the same syntactic category Pr and they come into narrow syntax computation (from Numeration to LF) in the same manner. / The nature of predication within complex nominals is studied through examination of the syntax and semantics of possessive and relative constructions in Nuosu Yi. The proposed theory is also shown to be applicable to Mandarin, Cantonese, and Jingpo. / The whole picture of the complex nominal structure in Yi is further complicated by the cooccurrence of su and a classifier with a RC. In this case, su is analyzed as a D-element. The real predication operator is still the classifier. / When classifiers serve as RC markers in Nuosu Yi, we are able to tell the exact number of the relativized item. When a Nuosu Yi speaker does not want to specify the exact number of the relativized item, he will use the morpheme su. Semantically, it does not specify the number of the relativized noun, but it renders the relativized noun definite. We propose that this morpheme su is a definite article D, which plays a deciding role in encoding the definiteness of the whole complex nominal which contains a RC. The relative clause marker, in this case, is a phonetically null element. / Liu, Hongyong. / "November 2006." / Adviser: Yang Gu. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-08, Section: A, page: 3369. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 239-245). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

Orientador: Jairo Morais Nunes / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T13:32:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Veloso_BrendaSilva_D.pdf: 3336635 bytes, checksum: 8327f0262b785c4d9d4ab117c2389624 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Este estudo investiga aspectos morfossintáticos de construções classificadoras na Língua de Sinais Brasileira (LSB) no âmbito teórico da Morfologia Distribuída (Halle e Marantz 1993). A análise aqui apresentada defende que verbos de deslocamento e localização na LSB são raízes, e morfemas classificadores são marcas de concordância, que podem ser a eles anexadas. Mais especificamente, assume-se que há dois tipos de configurações de mãos classificadoras: um tipo que se refere diretamente a um argumento verbal e outro tipo que se refere indiretamente a um argumento verbal. O primeiro grupo forma sentenças intransitivas e o segundo é utilizado para formar estruturas transitivas. A análise das construções classificadoras da LSB corrobora os resultados de Quadros (1999) sobre a divisão dos verbos em dois grandes grupos, a saber, verbos com ou sem concordância. Além disso, demonstra-se que a LSB apresenta dois sistemas de concordância, um baseado na atribuição de locus a pontos do espaço de sinalização e outro baseado na combinação de configurações de mão classificadoras. Finalmente, propõe-se que sentenças copulativas e existenciais não exibem configurações classificadoras na LSB porque seus verbos são do tipo "sem concordância". / Abstract: Assuming the general framework of Distributed Morphology (Halle and Marantz 1993), this study examines morphosyntactic aspects of classifier constructions in Brazilian Sign Language (LSB). I argue that verbs of motion and location in LSB consist of a root and classifier morphemes, analyzed as agreement markers. More specifically, I show that there are two types of classifier handshapes, depending on whether it directly or indirectly refers to an entity. The first group is used in intransitive sentences and the second one is used in transitive structures. The analysis of the classifier constructions in LSB provides support for the claim that verbs in this language can be divided in two large groups, depending on the presence or absence of agreement (Quadros 1999). Moreover, it is shown that LSB presents two agreement systems, one based on assignment of locus in signing space and the other based on attachment of classifier handshapes. Finally, it is proposed that copular and existential sentences do not show classifier handshapes in LSB because their verbs are non-agreeing verbs. / Doutorado / Linguistica / Doutor em Linguística