Previous accounts of preverbal subjects in Spanish and European Portuguese (EP) in the literature have debated the syntactic position of these elements. According to some analyses, preverbal subjects are canonical arguments appearing in an A-position (e.g. Goodall 2001, 2002; Suñer 2003 for Spanish; Duarte 1997; Costa 2004 for EP). Other analyses propose that preverbal subjects are non-arguments appearing in a left-peripheral - perhaps CLLD - A'-position (e.g. Uribe-Etxebarria 1990, 1995; Ordóñez & Treviño 1999 for Spanish; Barbosa 1996, 2000 for EP). Although Galician is an ideal language for insight on this debate due to linguistic ties with EP and political ties with Spain, Gupton (2006) obtained inconclusive results regarding the status of preverbal subjects in Galician. As the literature on Galician lacks descriptions of preferred word orders according to discourse context, I collected quantitative and qualitative experimental data to describe the syntax-information structure interface in Galician. The vast majority of speakers of this minority language are Spanish-Galician bilinguals with (self-reported) high levels of competency in both languages. This is of relevance because a variety of bilinguals, including heritage speakers, attrited L1 speakers, and those who have been claimed to have incompletely acquired the heritage language have been shown to exhibit instability and optionality at the linguistic interfaces, in particular at the syntax-discourse pragmatics interface (e.g. Hulk & Müller 2000; Sorace 2005 among numerous others), which is the subject of investigation in this dissertation. The data collected indicate a marked preference for SVO in a wide variety of discourse contexts, a preference that differs from those claimed to apply in similar contexts in Spanish (e.g. Ordóñez 1997, Zubizarreta 1998, Casielles 2004). Assuming that the presence of clitics implies the projection of f (Raposo & Uriagereka 2005) and the extension of the preverbal field into the left periphery, the cliticization data gathered for Galician in main clauses, subordinate clauses and recomplementation contexts suggest a number of preverbal positions in which preverbal subjects, affective phrases, and Topic elements may appear, one of which I suggest is Spec, DoubledFceP, following Martín-González (2002), but with proposed modifications. The data also suggest necessary modifications for López's (2009) syntax-information structure interface proposal in Romance, which suggests a reduced, syncretic left-peripheral position (Spec, FinP) in which CLLD Topics, wh- elements, and Fronted Focus elements appear and are assigned [+c] (contrastive) by the Pragmatics module. Within the preverbal architecture I propose, preverbal subjects and other left-peripheral elements coincide, but in a variety of syntactic positions. Therefore, for pragmatic feature assignment to successfully assign [+c], Pragmatics must distinguish between preverbal subjects and other left-peripheral phrases.

It has long been theorized that, after the so-called critical period has passed, acquiring language becomes a more difficult enterprise. While general differences between adult second language (L2) learners and normally developed child (L1) acquirers have been more or less empirically established, a strand of recent L2 accounts have focused on the specific locus of these differences. The main goal of this dissertation project is to test the predictions of one such account: Clahsen and Felser's Shallow Structure Hypothesis (SSH; Clahsen & Felser 2006a, 2006b). The SSH places emphasis on the empirical testing of native/non-native language processing asymmetries, which are argued to be due to less detailed L2 grammatical representations. This dissertation tests the predictions of the SSH using a long-distance dependency: Clitic Left Dislocation (CLLD) in L2 Spanish. The study includes on-line and an off-line tasks, which were completed by a control group of native speakers of Spanish and an experimental group constituted by L2 learners of Spanish whose first language was English. In view of the well-known fact that L2 learning outcomes vary widely across individuals, a secondary goal of this dissertation project is to determine whether variability in individual learning abilities, such as inhibitory control and statistical learning predicts variability in L2 learning. Part of L2 learning involves detecting the probabilistic patterns of a language (Saffran, Aslin, & Newport, 1996), such that individuals who are better pattern learners may be better able to learn the structural regularities of the L2 input. Results were analyzed in order to determine whether the predictions of the SSH could account for the patterns present in the data. These results suggest that although the acquisition of long-distance dependencies is a protracted process, both intermediate and advanced L2 learners of Spanish could anticipate (predict) a syntactic element based in previously occurring cues. Thus, these results fail to support the predictions of the SSH. In terms of individual differences, overall, neither statistical learning nor inhibitory control appear to modulate the on-line processing of this particular long-distance dependency in Spanish.

The study of clitic clusters and the restrictions that surface when two or more clitics are combined have long intrigued linguists and, as such, clitic phenomena are at the core of an ever-growing body of research in linguistic theory. However, three aspects remain largely unexplored when it comes to clitic cluster constraints, namely the evolution of these restrictions through time, the perception and processing of different clitic combinations, both acceptable and unacceptable, by native speakers and the acquisition of such combinations by non-native speakers. This dissertation, which focuses on 1st and 2nd person clitic clusters in Spanish, aims to shed new light on clitic phenomena with a new analysis and new data from all these perspectives. Specifically, I study the effects that case and marked features have on Spanish clitic combinations, both synchronically and diachronically. In addition, I explore the effects of clitic combination restrictions in language processing and analyze the learnability issues derived from such restrictions in three groups of speakers of Spanish as a second language whose L1s are English, French and Romanian, respectively. At a particular level, this dissertation is a study of clitic cluster constraints from different perspectives, both traditional and new, namely linguistic theory, diachrony, language processing and language acquisition. At a general level, it constitutes an attempt to explore the ways in which linguistic theory can guide applied research and, conversely, the ways in which experimental data may contribute to linguistic theory.

This study applies Chomsky's Barriers version of government binding theory to subject clitic pronouns and subject-verb agreement processes in Somali. It is proposed that Somali has a contrast between strong and weak subject-verb agreement, indicated as AGR$ sb{ rm S}$ and AGR$ sb{ rm W}$ respectively. SCL is possible iff AGR = AGR$ sb{ rm S}.$ SCL is obligatory if subject is pro, the null pronominal. SCL is excluded in case of short subject extraction, which is only possible from the domain of AGR$ sb{ rm W}.$ The prohibition against short subject extraction from the domain of AGR$ sb{ rm S}$ is attributed to Principle B of Aoun's generalized binding theory. Long subject extraction from the domain of AGR$ sb{ rm S}$ is possible if an intermediate trace in (NP,CP) deletes before binding theory. The analysis is extended to subject extraction in Italian, including the Trentino dialect, and Modern Irish.

Disertacijoje tiriami ir aprašomi senosios lietuvių kalbos klitiniai įvardžiai (formos m(i), t(i)), pateikiamas išsamus jų sąvadas. Remiantis surinkta medžiaga, įvertinamos klitinių įvardžių linksnių reikšmės, apibrėžiama šių formų pozicija sakinyje ir pozicija žodžio, prie kurio šlyja klitinis įvardis, atžvilgiu, apžvelgiama klitinių įvardžių raida, jų vartosenos pokyčiai. Teorinėje darbo dalyje aptariami tipologiniai klitikų parametrai ir tyrimai, taip pat veiksmažodiniai ir antrosios pozicijos klitikai, kelių kalbų klitinių įvardžių sistemų raida — tarpinė padėtis tarp veiksmažodinių ir antrosios pozicijos klitikų. Nustatomi lietuvių kalbos senųjų raštų pirmojo ir antrojo asmens klitinių įvardžių pozicijos sakinyje tipai. Tiriamojoje darbo dalyje chronologiškai ir pagal atskirus autorius išsamiai analizuojama lietuvių XVI—XVIII a. raštų klitinių įvardžių vartosena. Nemažai duomenų apie klitinių įvardžių raidą, vartosenos pokyčius teikiama remiantis to paties teksto ar tekstų rinkinio skirtingų laikotarpių leidimais. Be kitų disertacijos išvadų, pastebėta, kad senosios lietuvių kalbos klitinių įvardžių raida yra tipologiškai artima slavų kalboms. Panašiai kaip jose, lietuvių kalbos senuosiuose raštuose klitiniai įvardžiai rodo stiprią tendenciją eiti greta veiksmažodžio lyčių, nors yra atvejų, kuriuos galima vertinti ir kaip atitinkančius archajišką Wackernagelio poziciją. / The dissertation investigates and describes the pronominal clitics of the Old Lithuanian (forms m(i), t(i)). It also provides a detailed inventory of these forms. On the basis of the collected material, declensional meanings of pronominal clitics are evaluated, the position of the forms in a sentence is defined as well as their position in respect of the word to which the pronominal clitic is adjacent. An overview of the evolution of pronominal clitics and the changes of their usage is adduced. The theoretical part of the paper discusses the typological parameters and researches of clitics, as well as the verbal and the second position clitics, and the evolution of multi-language systems of pronominal clitics – an intermediate position between the verbal and the second position clitics. The types of the positions in a sentence of the first and the second person pronominal clitics in the Old Lithuanian are determined. The investigative part of the thesis adduces the usage of the patterns of pronominal clitics in the Lithuanian texts of the 16th-18th centuries, analyzed in detail, in chronological order and according to individual authors. A lot of information about the evolution of the pronominal clitics and the changes of their usage is given on the basis of the editions of different periods of the same text or a set of texts. Among the other conclusions of the thesis, it is noted that the evolution of the pronominal clitics of the Old Lithuanian is typologically similar to... [to full text]

The dissertation investigates and describes the pronominal clitics of the Old Lithuanian (forms m(i), t(i)). It also provides a detailed inventory of these forms. On the basis of the collected material, declensional meanings of pronominal clitics are evaluated, the position of the forms in a sentence is defined as well as their position in respect of the word to which the pronominal clitic is adjacent. An overview of the evolution of pronominal clitics and the changes of their usage is adduced. The theoretical part of the paper discusses the typological parameters and researches of clitics, as well as the verbal and the second position clitics, and the evolution of multi-language systems of pronominal clitics – an intermediate position between the verbal and the second position clitics. The types of the positions in a sentence of the first and the second person pronominal clitics in the Old Lithuanian are determined. The investigative part of the thesis adduces the usage of the patterns of pronominal clitics in the Lithuanian texts of the 16th-18th centuries, analyzed in detail, in chronological order and according to individual authors. A lot of information about the evolution of the pronominal clitics and the changes of their usage is given on the basis of the editions of different periods of the same text or a set of texts. Among the other conclusions of the thesis, it is noted that the evolution of the pronominal clitics of the Old Lithuanian is typologically similar to... [to full text] / Disertacijoje tiriami ir aprašomi senosios lietuvių kalbos klitiniai įvardžiai (formos m(i), t(i)), pateikiamas išsamus jų sąvadas. Remiantis surinkta medžiaga, įvertinamos klitinių įvardžių linksnių reikšmės, apibrėžiama šių formų pozicija sakinyje ir pozicija žodžio, prie kurio šlyja klitinis įvardis, atžvilgiu, apžvelgiama klitinių įvardžių raida, jų vartosenos pokyčiai. Teorinėje darbo dalyje aptariami tipologiniai klitikų parametrai ir tyrimai, taip pat veiksmažodiniai ir antrosios pozicijos klitikai, kelių kalbų klitinių įvardžių sistemų raida — tarpinė padėtis tarp veiksmažodinių ir antrosios pozicijos klitikų. Nustatomi lietuvių kalbos senųjų raštų pirmojo ir antrojo asmens klitinių įvardžių pozicijos sakinyje tipai. Tiriamojoje darbo dalyje chronologiškai ir pagal atskirus autorius išsamiai analizuojama lietuvių XVI—XVIII a. raštų klitinių įvardžių vartosena. Nemažai duomenų apie klitinių įvardžių raidą, vartosenos pokyčius teikiama remiantis to paties teksto ar tekstų rinkinio skirtingų laikotarpių leidimais. Be kitų disertacijos išvadų, pastebėta, kad senosios lietuvių kalbos klitinių įvardžių raida yra tipologiškai artima slavų kalboms. Panašiai kaip jose, lietuvių kalbos senuosiuose raštuose klitiniai įvardžiai rodo stiprią tendenciją eiti greta veiksmažodžio lyčių, nors yra atvejų, kuriuos galima vertinti ir kaip atitinkančius archajišką Wackernagelio poziciją.

Abstract: This dissertation investigates the syntax and also some aspects of the morphology of Tharifith Berber (such as, the inflectional classes of nouns and the Construct State) within the Distributed Morphology framework (Halle & Marantz 1993, et al.). One of its main objectives is to demonstrate how morphology could be brought within the range of syntax. This view becomes apparent when inflectional morphemes which project in the syntax are also used to derive words. Contrary to what has always been reported, that Berber is an unquestionable VSO language, I show that Tharifith has now shifted to a Topic-Initial configurational system. This claim is based on two pieces of evidence: (1) the SVO order is preferred over VSO, (2) when the object is a clitic both the verb and the clitic are required to be in the initial position of the clause. I propose an account arguing that the two alternations instantiate a Topic-fronting phenomenon, which requires the initial position of the clause to be filled with Topic. Of interest to word order is another property displayed by some WH- complex clauses which require Verb-First. A careful analysis of the structure of these clauses reveals that this is an instantiation of V-to-C movement, also known as the verb second phenomenon (V2). While the movement to the initial position in the main clause is argued to be motivated by Topic, I show that V2 is motivated by the feature Focus which needs to be checked in C. Due to the fact that this operation is sensitive to the phonological property of the complementiser, I make the claim that discourse features, at least in Berber, should be generated at PF. Despite the fact that the subject, object and dative clitics are often grouped under the ‘clitic – banner,’ I show that the first set displays the properties of agreement markers on the verb while the other two sets are claimed to be argument XPs. The approach takes an in-depth theoretical approach to the study of clitics. In a framework where syntax operates on purely formal features, and taking on board the view that clitics as arguments have the formal features required by the computation identical to the ones found with lexical NPs, it is argued that any other distinction between the two sets of arguments is made post-syntactically. Argument structure is then claimed to follow from a fairly small number of principles which govern their syntactic system. The study discusses the movement of clitics at length, and argues it to be phonological. Crucial to the analysis is the fact that this movement operation is not only dependent on the phonological property of clitics but is also dependent on the property of functional elements that host them. Evidence is provided which shows that only functional categories that are phonologically dependent can be hosts. I then conclude that cliticisation is in fact an attraction by the host, a process which occurs during the mapping of the syntactic output to phonology. I further argue that this type of PF merger which is claimed to generate the placement of clitics is constrained by an adjacency relation. Additional support to the claim that morphology should be subject to syntactic principles is found with valency. I show that the system, in many respects, treats the structure of verbs and clauses along the same line. Furthermore, the meaning which is traditionally claimed to be inherent to words is shown from the verbal system to follow from the syntactic structure the verbs project.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2012-05-11Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:34:45Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 amaral_tt_me_arafcl.pdf: 1978487 bytes, checksum: cb80de6a279f1b8acef6032d257c265a (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O objetivo principal desta pesquisa é estudar o direcionamento da adjunção de clíticos fonológicos no Português Arcaico (daqui em diante PA), a partir das Cantigas de Santa Maria de Afonso X, o rei Sábio, a fim de se chegar à determinação do direcionamento da cliticização e a pistas da formação de constituintes prosódicos. Trata-se de averiguar a possibilidade de se considerar o grupo clítico como constituinte prosódico relevante no PA. Para comprovar tal possibilidade três fatores foram considerados: as pistas que vêm da música, as que vêm da estrutura poética e o processo de sândi. Como a origem e a evolução dos fenômenos prosódicos do Português ainda são, em grande parte, um dos pontos mais inexplorados da história da nossa língua, a descrição dos fenômenos prosódicos e de sua relação com os processos segmentais de um período passado desta língua (no caso, o PA) constitui uma contribuição importante no sentido de elucidar mais completamente a história da Língua Portuguesa. A metodologia deste trabalho baseia-se no mapeamento dos pronomes oblíquos e reflexivos clíticos. Desta forma, a pesquisa visa uma análise quantitativa e qualitativa dos dados, uma vez que, a partir da quantificação da ocorrência desses pronomes e do seu posicionamento, é possível chegar a afirmações quanto à formação de constituintes prosódicos superiores. As conclusões a que chegamos estão baseadas em fundamentos que levam em consideração aspectos rítmicos das cantigas. Os resultados obtidos através das investigações realizadas acerca da possibilidade de os clíticos do PA assumirem proeminência poética e musical apontam para a consideração da tonicidade do clítico no nível lexical, no momento histórico investigado. Desta forma, o clítico só poderia ser adjungido a um constituinte prosódico que preservasse... / This research aims to study the direction of clitic pronoun adjunction in Archaic Portuguese (AP) (13th century), analyzing the texts of the reminiscent religious medieval cantigas (420 Cantigas de Santa Maria, compiled by Alfonso X, the Wise). The objective is to determine the cliticization direction, in order to find clues to the formation of superior prosodic units. This study intends to show the possibility of the clitic group be considered a relevant prosodic constituent for AP. To prove this possibility we have considered three factors: the metrics of the verses, the music and the sandhi phenomena. As the origin and the evolution of Portuguese prosodic phenomena are one of the most unexplored points of our linguistic history, the description of prosodic phenomena and its relation to segmental processes in a past period of the language represents an important contribution in the sense of enlightening specific points of Portuguese history. The methodology is based on mapping all unstressed pronouns in the cantigas. The analysis is quantitative and qualitative; departing from the quantification of the occurrence of accusative, dative and reflexive pronouns and its positioning, the purpose is to find clues on the formation of superior prosodic constituents. Our considerations are based on rhythmic aspects of the cantigas. Based on the metrics and on the music we could verify that the clitics could have poetic and musical prominence, so we could suggest their tonicity in a lexical level, in that period of time. In this way, clitics only could be attached to a prosodic constituent that preserved the word tonicity in the lexical level, in other words, the clitic group. Concerning sandhi phenomena, we could conclude that, despite the fact that clitcs in the cantigas are unstressed, they behaved as independent prosodic... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Orientador: Gladis Massini-Cagliari / Banca: Daniel Soares da Costa / Banca: Flaviane Romani Fernandes Svartman / Resumo: O objetivo principal desta pesquisa é estudar o direcionamento da adjunção de clíticos fonológicos no Português Arcaico (daqui em diante PA), a partir das Cantigas de Santa Maria de Afonso X, o rei Sábio, a fim de se chegar à determinação do direcionamento da cliticização e a pistas da formação de constituintes prosódicos. Trata-se de averiguar a possibilidade de se considerar o grupo clítico como constituinte prosódico relevante no PA. Para comprovar tal possibilidade três fatores foram considerados: as pistas que vêm da música, as que vêm da estrutura poética e o processo de sândi. Como a origem e a evolução dos fenômenos prosódicos do Português ainda são, em grande parte, um dos pontos mais inexplorados da história da nossa língua, a descrição dos fenômenos prosódicos e de sua relação com os processos segmentais de um período passado desta língua (no caso, o PA) constitui uma contribuição importante no sentido de elucidar mais completamente a história da Língua Portuguesa. A metodologia deste trabalho baseia-se no mapeamento dos pronomes oblíquos e reflexivos clíticos. Desta forma, a pesquisa visa uma análise quantitativa e qualitativa dos dados, uma vez que, a partir da quantificação da ocorrência desses pronomes e do seu posicionamento, é possível chegar a afirmações quanto à formação de constituintes prosódicos superiores. As conclusões a que chegamos estão baseadas em fundamentos que levam em consideração aspectos rítmicos das cantigas. Os resultados obtidos através das investigações realizadas acerca da possibilidade de os clíticos do PA assumirem proeminência poética e musical apontam para a consideração da tonicidade do clítico no nível lexical, no momento histórico investigado. Desta forma, o clítico só poderia ser adjungido a um constituinte prosódico que preservasse... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This research aims to study the direction of clitic pronoun adjunction in Archaic Portuguese (AP) (13th century), analyzing the texts of the reminiscent religious medieval cantigas (420 Cantigas de Santa Maria, compiled by Alfonso X, the Wise). The objective is to determine the cliticization direction, in order to find clues to the formation of superior prosodic units. This study intends to show the possibility of the clitic group be considered a relevant prosodic constituent for AP. To prove this possibility we have considered three factors: the metrics of the verses, the music and the sandhi phenomena. As the origin and the evolution of Portuguese prosodic phenomena are one of the most unexplored points of our linguistic history, the description of prosodic phenomena and its relation to segmental processes in a past period of the language represents an important contribution in the sense of enlightening specific points of Portuguese history. The methodology is based on mapping all unstressed pronouns in the cantigas. The analysis is quantitative and qualitative; departing from the quantification of the occurrence of accusative, dative and reflexive pronouns and its positioning, the purpose is to find clues on the formation of superior prosodic constituents. Our considerations are based on rhythmic aspects of the cantigas. Based on the metrics and on the music we could verify that the clitics could have poetic and musical prominence, so we could suggest their tonicity in a lexical level, in that period of time. In this way, clitics only could be attached to a prosodic constituent that preserved the word tonicity in the lexical level, in other words, the clitic group. Concerning sandhi phenomena, we could conclude that, despite the fact that clitcs in the cantigas are unstressed, they behaved as independent prosodic... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

A investigação interdisciplinar proposta neste trabalho envolve uma análise linguística e social das práticas jesuíticas após a restauração da Companhia de Jesus quando a Igreja Católica passou a produzir uma memória apologética da ação da Ordem, reverberando uma ideologia civilizatória cujo personagem principal é o Pe. José de Anchieta. No século XIX, a Companhia retomou seu projeto pedagógico, investindo na criação de seminários e colégios, entre os quais se destaca o Colégio São Luís, fundado em Itu, cujos religiosos, responsáveis pela educação de setores católicos das elites paulistas, protagonizaram a oposição ao crescente laicismo republicano e ao Protestantismo que começava a se expandir na região devido à imigração norteamericana. Os discursos e panegíricos pronunciados na primeira década do século XX por ocasião das festividades do Colégio captam a voz jesuítica e um conjunto de representações de valores religiosos que, ao lado dos textos de jornais, articulam as ideias e polêmicas que circulavam naquele momento. Como objeto de estudo, destacamos a repetição de estruturas linguísticas, assumindo a hipótese de que há uma relação entre repetição de estruturas e reiteração de tópicas. Destacamos ainda a questão da colocação pronominal, verificando se a padronização linguística adotada pelo grupo segue o modelo do Português Europeu ou se atende o modelo brasileiro de português culto. Nesse sentido, este trabalho procurará evidenciar: Qual o imaginário jesuítico que se pretendia fixar para os ouvintes? Que bens culturais, sociais e simbólicos os jesuítas procuravam transmitir pela via educacional, com a criação do Colégio São Luís, voltado para os filhos da elite ituense? Quais meios linguísticos foram utilizados para a transmissão desses bens? / This interdisciplinary research aims to investigate the linguistics and social practices of the Jesuits after the restoration when the congregation produced an apologetic memory of their actions, reverberating a civilizing ideology whose main character is Fr. José de Anchieta. In the nineteenth century, the Society of Jesus resumed its pedagogical project, investing in the foundation of Seminaries and Schools, among which stands out the São Luís School, founded in Itu. The Jesuits were responsible for the education of Catholic sectors of the São Paulo elites, in the context of growing secularism and Protestantism that came with the North American immigrants. The Graduation Speeches and Panegyrics pronounced in the early years of the twentieth century by occasion of the School festivities capture the \"Jesuitical voice\" and other set of religious values representations that, in articulation with the Newspaper Texts, show the controversial ideas circulating at that time. This research highlights as a literary device, the repetition of structures, inferring the connection between repeating structures and topic reiteration. It also highlights the clitic position, in order to understand whether the model used is the Brazilian Portuguese or the European Portuguese. In this sense, this research will seek to answer the questions: What is the Jesuit imaginary spread for the audience? What are the cultural, social and symbolic assets transferred in their texts? What are the linguistic tools used to convey their ideas?