This thesis examines the various approaches which have been taken to investigate the concrete/abstract word distinction both in normal subjects and in patients who, as a result of brain damage, have an impairment of lexical semantic representations. The nature of the definition task as a tool for assessing the semantic representations of concrete and abstract terms was examined. It was found that definitions for abstract words differed from those of concrete words only in style, not in semantic content. The metalinguistic demands of the definition task therefore make it inappropriate for assessing the semantic representations of concrete and abstract terms in patients with any form of language impairment. The performance of four patients with semantic impairments was examined using a variety of tasks designed to assess concrete and abstract word comprehension. While some of the data can be accommodated within the framework of several theories, no single theory can adequately account for the patterns of performance in all four patients. An alternative model of semantic memory is therefore proposed in which concreteness and frequency interact at the semantic level. Jones' Ease of Predication Hypothesis, which states that the difference between concrete and abstract terms can be explained in terms of disproportionate numbers of underlying semantic features (or "predicates") was also investigated. It was found that the ease of predication variable does not accurately reflect either predicate or feature distributions, and is simply another index of concreteness. As such, the validity of this concept as the basis of theories of semantic representation should be questioned. Models based on the assumption of a "richer" semantic representation for concrete words (e.g.: Plaut & Shallice, 1993) are therefore undermined by these data. The possibility that concrete and abstract concepts can be accessed from their most salient predicates and/or features was examined in a series of semantic priming experiments. It was concluded that it is not possible to prime either concrete or abstract concepts from their constituent parts. Significant facilitation only occurred for items in which the prime and target were synonymous and therefore map onto concepts which share almost identical semantic representations. In summary, it is apparent that no current theory of semantic representation can adequately account for the range of findings with regard to the concrete/abstract word distinction. The most plausible account is some form of distributed connectionist model. However, such models are based on unsubstantiated assumptions about the nature of abstract word representations in the semantic network. Alternative proposals are therefore discussed.

This thesis extends a previous pilot study with children who stutter (CWS) to include children with specific language impairment (CSLI). The current study examines lexical-semantic organization in these two clinical populations in hopes of comparing and contrasting behavioral profiles. The study employed a list-recall task to assess the lexical-semantic organization of 9 CWS, 5 CSLI, and 20 typically developing children matched for age and vocabulary. Similar to previous investigations, our child participants demonstrated the well-documented list position effects. With regard to recall accuracy, by-participant analyses revealed significant differences between CSLI and their age-matched peers; however, they did not reveal significant differences between the CWS and either of their control groups nor between the CSLI and CWS groups. Further, inspection of error distribution suggested significant differences in the number and types of errors the CSLI and control groups produced. The prevalence of unrelated and previous list errors in CSLI suggest that deficits in inhibitory processes as well as perseveration may have affected their performance. Areas of overlap and divergence in the profiles of CWS and CSLI indicate continuity in the degree of lexical-semantic weakness as well as differences in lexical retrieval and executive functions among CSLI and CWS. / text

No description available.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the applicability and suitability of the syntactic decomposition approach to account for the causative and anticausative alternation in Kikongo (Kizombo) in terms of the structural nodes of Voice, vCAUS and Root as posited in this approach to (anti-)causativity (see Alexiadou 2010). In addition, the aspectual approach postulated by Vendler (1957) and further developed by Verkuyl (1972) and Smith (1997) is invoked for the reason that the two alternants in the causative and anticausative alternation in Kikongo (Kizombo) are associated with aspectual verb class differences. Research on the causative and anticausative alternation has long been the focus of extensive work in typological and theoretical linguistics. Two central issues revolve around the debate: first the properties of meaning that determine the alternation and the derivational relationship between the alternants, and second, the relation between the causative alternation and other transitivity alternations, e.g. passives and middles. This dissertation demonstrates that there is a wide range of acceptability judgments associated with anticausative uses of Kizombo in externally and internally caused change of state and change of location/position verbs. The verb root is the element of meaning that allows the Kizombo verbs to alternate irrespective of their verb classes, including agentive verb roots. All the causative variants of externally caused verbs are morphologically unmarked, but all the anticausative variants are morphologically marked. However, all the internally caused change of state verbs are morphologically unmarked. Both the causative and anticausative variants of change of location/position verbs are morphologically unmarked. The anticausative and passive sentences can license an external causer through an implicit argument. While the passive verb sentences can be modified by by-agent, purpose clause and agent-oriented phrases, the anticausative sentences can be modified by instrument, natural force, agent-oriented and by-self phrases. The acceptability of modifiers with anticausatives and passives presupposes a presence of a causer in both constructions. The causative form of change of location/position verbs is syntactically intransitive (i.e. in the locative-subject alternation), but its anticausative variant acquires a transitive-like form. Thus, the concept of causative is related to cause and effect of the argument participating in the process. The study considers competing approaches concerning the derivational direction of the causative and anticausative alternation. Given the data in Kizombo, it is argued that the syntactic decomposition approach is the most appropriate to account for the example sentences in the causative and anticausative constructions. The transitive approach could probably deal with the externally caused change of state verbs, as discussed in chapter 6, but would face a challenge relating to the change of location/position verbs because none of the variants is morphologically marked. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie het die toepaslikheid en geskiktheid van die benadering tot sintaktiese ontleding ondersoek ten einde rekenskap te gee van die kousatiewe en antikousatiewe wisseling in Kikongo (Kizombo) ten opsigte van die strukturele vertakpunte van Voice, vCAUS en Root soos in hierdie benadering tot (anti-)kousatiwiteit gestel (sien Alexiadou 2010). Daarbenewens is die aspektiese benadering soos voorgestaan deur Vendler (1957) en verder ontwikkel deur Verkuyl (1972) en Smith (1997) gebruik omdat die twee alternante in die kousatiewe en antikousatiewe wisseling in Kikongo (Kizombo) met aspektiese verskille in werkwoordklasse geassosieer word. Navorsing oor die kousatiewe en antikousatiewe wisseling is reeds lank die fokus van omvangryke werk in tipologiese en teoretiese linguistiek. Twee sentrale kwessies word by die debat betrek: eerstens die eienskappe van betekenis wat die wisseling en die afleidende verband tussen die alternante bepaal, en tweedens, die verhouding tussen die kousatiewe wisseling en ander transitiwiteitswisselinge, bv. passief- en middelkonstruksies. Hierdie verhandeling toon dat daar ʼn wye reeks aanvaarbaarheidsuitsprake is wat met antikousatiewe gebruik van Kizombo by verandering van toestand en verandering van plasing/posisie van werkwoorde wat ekstern en intern veroorsaak word, geassosieer word. Die werkwoordwortel is die betekeniselement wat dit vir die Kizombo-werkwoorde moontlik maak om te wissel ongeag hulle werkwoordklasse, met inbegrip van agenswerkwoordwortels. Al die kousatiewe variante van ekstern veroorsaakte werkwoorde is morfologies ongemerk, maar al die antikousatiewe variante is morfologies gemerk. Al die intern veroorsaakte verandering van toestandswerkwoorde is morfologies ongemerk. Beide die kousatiewe en antikousatiewe variante van verandering van plasing/posisie van werkwoorde is morfologies ongemerk. Die antikousatiewe en passiewe sinne kan ʼn eksterne doener deur ʼn implisiete argument toelaat. Terwyl die sinne met passiewe werkwoorde gewysig kan word deur deur-agent, doel-sinsdeel en agent-georiënteerde frases, kan die antikousatiewe sinne gewysig word deur instrument-, natuurlike krag-, agent-georiënteerde en deur-self-frases. Die aanvaarbaarheid van modifiseerders met antikousatiewe en passiewes voorveronderstel ʼn aanwesigheid van ʼn doener in albei konstruksies. Die kousatiewe vorm van verandering van plasing/posisiewerkwoorde is sintakties onoorganklik (m.a.w. in die lokatief–onderwerp-wisseling), maar die antikousatiewe variant daarvan verkry ʼn oorganklik-agtige vorm. Die begrip van kousatief hou dus verband met oorsaak en gevolg van die argument wat aan die proses deelneem. Die studie neem kompeterende benaderings met betrekking tot die afleidende rigting van die kousatiewe en antikousatiewe wisseling in ag. Gegewe die data in Kizombo, word aangevoer dat die benadering van sintaktiese ontleding die geskikste is om rekenskap te gee van die voorbeeldsinne in die kousatiewe en antikousatiewe konstruksies. Die oorganklike benadering sou waarskynlik aan die ekstern veroorsaakte verandering van toestandswerkwoorde, soos in hoofstuk 6 bespreek, aandag kon skenk maar sou voor ʼn uitdaging met betrekking tot die verandering van plasing/posisiewerkwoorde te staan kom aangesien geeneen van die variante morfologies gemerk is nie.

Esta dissertação tem por objetivo descrever o léxico da Língua Portuguesa falada por universitários de Maputo, Moçambique. Sob um viés sincrônico, o método de coleta de dados agrega pressupostos teóricos da Geolinguística e da Sociolinguística variacionista, cujo produto é um Questionário Semântico-Lexical QSL, de modelo onomasiológico, dividido por campos semânticos. As bases teóricas da Geolinguística são fornecidas por Brandão (1991), e as da Sociolinguística são embasadas em Tarallo (2004). O aparato cultural e histórico de Maputo é delimitado pelas considerações de Firmino (2006), Gonçalves (1995), e Mondlane (1995). O público alvo para aplicação do inquérito é constituído de sujeitos que estejam cursando ou tenham concluído o ensino superior, identificados como público universitário, com, no mínimo, 10 anos de vida escolar, divididos equitativamente em homens e mulheres de três faixas etárias (18 a 29 anos; 30 a 44 anos; 45 anos ou mais). A partir desta pesquisa será possível identificar peculiaridades intrínsecas ao processo de formação do léxico dos universitários de Maputo, contribuindo, assim, para a descrição e estudo do português falado em Moçambique. / This dissertation aims to describe the lexicon of Portuguese spoken by university students in Maputo, Mozambique. Under a synchronic bias, the method of data collection combines theoretical principles of Geolinguistics and variational Sociolinguistics, whose product is a Lexical-Semantic Questionnaire - QSL, onomasiological model, divided by semantic fields. The theoretical basis of Geolinguistics are provided by Brandão (1991), and of Sociolinguistics are based on Tarallo (2004). The cultural and historic apparatus of Maputo is delimited by considerations of Firmin (2006), Gill (1995), and Mondlane (1995). The target audience for the survey consists of persons who are completing or have completed higher education, identified as a university students, with at least 10 years of school life, divided equally in men and women, in three age groups (18 to 29 years, 30 to 44 years, 45 years or older). From this research can be identified peculiarities inherent to the formation of the lexicon of students in Maputo, thus contributing to the study and description of the Portuguese spoken in Mozambique.

Thesis (M. A. (African Languages)) --University of Limpopo, 2001 / This study explores the lexical semantic representation of break verbs in Xitsonga. Chapter One is the introduction of this study. It describes the statement of the problem. The main aim of this study is described which m bnef is to investigate the form, struc e and interpretation of break verbs in Xitsonga. The significance of this study, which is to highlight the semantic value of break verbs in Xitsonga is discussed. The methodology, lite rature review as well as the theta - theory and its properties have been examined. Chapter Two explores the predicate argument structure. The difference between two lexical representations, which are lexical-syntactic and lexical­ semantic representations was investigated. A brief definition of break verbs as well as the six categories of the verbs of change of state have also been discussed. This chapter also analyses the lexical features of break verbs. Various sub - classes of external arguments and of internal argument are observed. Chapter Three presents the lexical - semantic representation of break verbs where focus is on argument structure, event structure, qualia structure and lexical inheritance structure. Chapter Four deals with the syntactic alternation and selection restriction of break verbs. The difference between transitive and intransitive alterna tions was also highlighted. This chapter also explores some of the different types of verbal alternations, such as ' instrument subject alternation', ' locative alternation' and the ' with/ against alternation' . Chapter Five gives the main conclusion of this study.

This report investigated the various types of memory intrusion errors of adults with language learning disability (LLD) in comparison to age- and gender-matched typically developing (TD) adults using lists that are specifically designed to induce memory intrusions adapted from Roediger and McDermott (1995) and modified by Watson et al. (2001; 2003). The 28 participants between the ages of 18:9 - 24:3 listened to pre-recorded lists of twelve words that converged on a critical lure either semantically, phonologically, or dually with a hybrid list. This report tested the hypotheses that 1) hybrid lists would be more likely to induce memory intrusions of the critical lure than either semantic or phonological lists for each group; 2) adults with LLD would demonstrate more intrusion errors than their TD counterparts; 3) the error profiles of the LLD and TD groups should be largely similar; however, the adults with LLD might show deficits in extracting the semantic gist of word lists in light of such patterns in children with specific language impairment (Sheng & McGregor, 2010a). Results showed that the hybrid lists induced the greatest number of critical lure intrusions producing a super-additive effect. Contrary to our hypothesis, the LLD group did not produce more memory intrusions than the TD group. The fact that the two groups performed similarly on all standardized measures suggests that the participants with LLD may have outgrown their disability. Results also revealed that interference and intrusions increased when there was an increase in phonological similarity among words for both groups. Lastly, our preliminary evidence suggests that adults with LLD are not as efficient as their TD counterparts at extracting the gist of semantically-related words. The inclusion of a greater number of participants may provide stronger support for the hypothesis that lexical-semantic organization is less efficient in young adults with LLD. / text

This study used an item-based approach to explore the full range of lexical-semantic (word frequency and imageability) and sublexical characteristics (regularity and consistency) of stimulus items. Oral reading and spelling-to-dictation data from 72 adults with acquired alexia/agraphia due to stroke or progressive aphasia were analyzed to determine unique influences of lexical-semantic and sublexical variables on performance. Multiple regression analyses were performed for each etiology and lesion group (i.e., perisylvian stoke, extrasylvian stroke, perisylvian atrophy, and extrasylvian atrophy). As expected, word frequency had a significant influence on reading and spelling performance in almost all contexts. Of particular interest was the consistent finding that written language performance associated with left perisylvian damage was moderated primarily by lexical-semantic features of stimuli (frequency and imageability), whereas performance by those with left extrasylvian damage was strongly influenced by sublexical features of sound-spelling regularity and, to a lesser extent, consistency.

Esta dissertação tem por objetivo descrever o léxico da Língua Portuguesa falada por universitários de Maputo, Moçambique. Sob um viés sincrônico, o método de coleta de dados agrega pressupostos teóricos da Geolinguística e da Sociolinguística variacionista, cujo produto é um Questionário Semântico-Lexical QSL, de modelo onomasiológico, dividido por campos semânticos. As bases teóricas da Geolinguística são fornecidas por Brandão (1991), e as da Sociolinguística são embasadas em Tarallo (2004). O aparato cultural e histórico de Maputo é delimitado pelas considerações de Firmino (2006), Gonçalves (1995), e Mondlane (1995). O público alvo para aplicação do inquérito é constituído de sujeitos que estejam cursando ou tenham concluído o ensino superior, identificados como público universitário, com, no mínimo, 10 anos de vida escolar, divididos equitativamente em homens e mulheres de três faixas etárias (18 a 29 anos; 30 a 44 anos; 45 anos ou mais). A partir desta pesquisa será possível identificar peculiaridades intrínsecas ao processo de formação do léxico dos universitários de Maputo, contribuindo, assim, para a descrição e estudo do português falado em Moçambique. / This dissertation aims to describe the lexicon of Portuguese spoken by university students in Maputo, Mozambique. Under a synchronic bias, the method of data collection combines theoretical principles of Geolinguistics and variational Sociolinguistics, whose product is a Lexical-Semantic Questionnaire - QSL, onomasiological model, divided by semantic fields. The theoretical basis of Geolinguistics are provided by Brandão (1991), and of Sociolinguistics are based on Tarallo (2004). The cultural and historic apparatus of Maputo is delimited by considerations of Firmin (2006), Gill (1995), and Mondlane (1995). The target audience for the survey consists of persons who are completing or have completed higher education, identified as a university students, with at least 10 years of school life, divided equally in men and women, in three age groups (18 to 29 years, 30 to 44 years, 45 years or older). From this research can be identified peculiarities inherent to the formation of the lexicon of students in Maputo, thus contributing to the study and description of the Portuguese spoken in Mozambique.

No description available.