This dissertation investigates some points of the interaction of syntax and semantics in the framework of generative grammar. The possible interpretations of indefinite noun phrases are examined within the Kamp/Heim framework, and the representations of these interpretations are related to the syntactic representations by means of an intermediary level of Logical Form, as posited in the government-binding theory of syntax. The first three chapters investigate the relationship between syntactic representations and noun phrase interpretations through the workings of a simple procedure which derives logical representations by dividing the syntactic tree into two parts, which correspond to two parts of the logical representations (the Restrictive Clause and the Nuclear Scope), focusing initially on the interpretation of bare plural subjects. In Chapter 3, an extension of this account to other types of indefinite noun phrases shows that indefinites are found to have three types of interpretations (contrary to the original Kamp/Heim theory, which treats indefinites uniformly) which can be distinguished by whether or not they have quantificational force, and whether or not they undergo the syntactic rule of quantifier raising. Chapter 4 investigates the relationship between the interpretation of a "picture" noun phrase objects, and the possibility of extraction out of the noun phrase. Extraction is found to depend upon the availability of a non-quantificational, or cardinal, interpretation of the noun phrase. The availability of this interpretation itself depends on a number of factors, including the type of noun phrase, and also the verb which takes the noun phrase as its object. This interaction of semantic interpretation with syntactic movement leads to a re-examination of the so-called "island constraints." A representational constraint on extraction from noun phrases which allows both the S-structure and LF levels of syntactic representation to be taken into account is proposed.

Generic noun phrases are noun phrases that have been said to pick out a class of individuals or a species. Syntactically, they can be definite or indefinite, singular or plural. My dissertation is concerned with the representation of generic NPs. One topic I discuss is the semantics of bare plurals. I argue, contra Carlson (1977), that bare plurals are ambiguous. The indefinite interpretation can be accounted for by a Heim (1982)/Kamp (1981) treatment of indefinite NPs as variables that receive their quantificational force from other quantifiers in the sentence. If there is no adverb of quantification or other quantifier that can bind the indefinite, it gets existential force. I also propose that there is a sentential generic operator, similar to the adverbs usually and generally that binds indefinites in its scope, and bare plurals may be bound by such an operator. This accounts for the generic interpretation of a bare plural with an individual-level predicate. A number of issues are raised by such a theory, for example, the treatment of aspect, anaphoric processes and the difference between definite and indefinite generic noun phrases. I also give an analysis of NPs that contain common nouns such as kind, sort, and type. Such NPs act according to the established tests of definiteness as if they were indefinite even when they contain a definite determiner. I show that the indefinite behavior of 'kind' NPs is a result of a structural ambiguity in the NP. NPs containing kind, unlike kind-denoting bare plurals, may denote plural (sets of) kinds. Link (1983) has shown that plural entities can be part of the domain of individuals, if the domain is given the structure of a lattice. I attempt to unify such a theory of plurals with a theory of generic noun phrases.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-105). / The main goal of this study was to determine the extent to which (some of) Chambers' (1998) "Eight Rules of Dialect Acquisition", also discussed by Surek-Clark (1998) in her study of Brazilian Portuguese speakers, apply to Mozambique Portuguese learners and if sociolinguistic factors such as age, education, residence and sex, play a significant role in allophonic distribution and sociolinguistic variation in Portuguese in Mozambique, taking into account community-based patterns of use. The data used in this study is part of Panorama of Oral Portuguese of Maputo "PPOM - Panorama do Português Oral do Maputo", a linguistic survey comprised of individual interviews and group interviews carried out in 1997 in region of the City of Maputo and its surroundings undertaken by Christopher Stroud and Perpétua Gonçalves (1997).

Includes bibliographical references.

Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 357-373). / The study demonstrates for the first time the probable genetic unity of the KHOE, JU and UJ -T AA groups of southern African Khoesan, by means of the first full-scale application of a conventional comparative approach. It is shown in the first stage that there are repeated cross-SAK resemblances in the morphology of those verbs most frequently enlisted for grammatical purposes in the context of multi-verb constructions; and that these languages furthermore display multiple similarities 'horizontally' across their specifier systems. where the resemblances are often also visible 'vertically', i.e. down the lists of possible exponents. These structural affinities are sufficiently thoroughgoing to warrant a working surmise that the SAK languages might be genetically related. In the second stage, cross-SAK comparative material from various sources is presented in the form of arrays. The tabulations reveal a range of repeating alternations involving the basic positional click types, with some associated patternings of the possible click 'accompaniments'. The fact that the alternations are iterated and do not necessarily involve identities makes it more likely, when combined with the weight of the structural evidence, that the items in the comparative series are inherited than borrowed.

Bibliography: leaves 268-282.

Bibliography leaves 240-258.

Abstract not available

abstract: This dissertation thoroughly explores two of the most common Najdi Arabic discourse markers among Twitter Najdi Arabic users, namely elzibda ‘lit. the gist’ and min jid ‘lit. for real.’ Qualitatively, the dissertation scrutinizes the various pragmatic, textual, interpersonal, and cognitive functions of NA (Najdi Arabic) discourse markers and the sociolinguistic factors that appear to have an effect on the use of NA discourse markers. Quantitively, the dissertation examines the syntactic positions NA discourse markers occupy, the items NA discourse markers collocate with across various contexts, as well as the frequency of occurrence of NA discourse markers. The results show that NA discourse markers have numerous pragmatic functions, including textual, interpersonal, and cognitive. The NA discourse marker elzibda is more productive than min jid since it shows almost double the number of pragmatic functions. The NA discourse markers share a number of textual and interpersonal functions. Nevertheless, the NA discourse marker elzibda only exhibits cognitive functions. Interestingly, the NA discourse marker elzibda shows more textual functions than min jid whereas min jid shows more interpersonal functions than elzibda. The NA discourse markers collocate with various syntactic categories across different positions. Syntactically, the NA discourse marker elzibda and min jid occur predominately in the initial position. Nevertheless, the NA discourse marker elzibda and min jid occupy medial, final, and alone positions. The NA discourse marker min jid considers the alone position as one of the landing sites while this position is quite rare for elzibda. Sociolinguistically, the use of the NA discourse marker elzibda and min jid is highly associated with NA Twitter users with a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) Degree. Female and male NA Twitter users employ the NA discourse markers elzibda and min jid in varying degrees of frequencies. For instance, female NA Twitter users employ the NA discourse marker min jid almost twice the times of male NA Twitter users. Female and male NA Twitter users also show different pragmatic functions in certain instances. For instance, female NA Twitter users employ the NA discourse marker elzibda for realization while male NA Twitter users employ elzibda as a clarification device. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Linguistics and Applied Linguistics 2020

This study investigates the out-of-school multilingual literacy practices of four Grade Seven learners aged between 13 and 14 years at Lehlohonolo Primary School (henceforth LPS) in Gugulethu, Cape Town. They come from lower-income Sesotho speaking households and live in residential areas where isiXhosa is the predominant language of interaction. LPS is one of only two primary schools in the area that cater for these Sesotho speaking learners. The Language of Learning and Teaching is Sesotho from Grade R to Three, and then changes to English from Grade Four onwards for all subjects besides Sesotho. Located within the broader New Literacy Studies framework, this study approaches literacy as a historically and socially situated practice. It examines the learners‟ exposure and engagements with formal and informal texts by identifying the diverse communicative resources they have access to, and employ in, especially, out-of-school contexts. One central aim is to specify the roles of the various languages with a particular focus on Sesotho. Using an ethnographic approach, data was gathered primarily through observations and conversations. This was complemented by the photographic documentation of literacy artefacts and semi-structured interviews with the learners, their teachers, caregivers and other household members. To gain a better understanding of their multilingual repertoires and communication networks, the learners were asked to participate in language portrait and social network communication exercises. The core research question that informs the study is: What communicative resources do participants use in different out-of-school literacy events? The study‟s main findings are as follows: (a) the learners have unique language and literacy histories with varying degrees of digital access and competence in Sesotho, English and isiXhosa; (b) standard varieties of Sesotho and English are used for academic purposes; (c) the scarcity of Sesotho literacy is highlighted by the dominant English and isiXhosa literacy practices in out-of-school contexts, including online spaces and (d) Sesotho is used in spoken interactions at home and does not feature in leisure reading and writing.