Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study investigates the nature of Xitsonga deverbatives that are derived from three types of syntactic verbs, namely intransitive verbs, monotranstive verbs and ditransitive verbs .The aim is to determine the classes in which nominalisation occurs as well as to determine the semantic features which occur with these deverbatives in various noun classes. The three types of verbs are further distinguished into agentive verbs and non-agentive verbs. The deverbatives that are examined in this study are arranged in terms of Levin (1993)’s semantic classification of verbs. The focus of this study is on the verbs without derivational suffixes. However, few deverbatives with derived verbal forms have been included. The nominal morphology of Xitsonga is also examined in this study The study is conducted within the framework of four assumptions in morphology and lexical semantics, namely lexeme-based theory, X-bar syntax, lexical semantic properties of verb classes advanced by Levin (1993), and the Generative Lexicon theory advanced by Pustejovsky (1995), specifically the assumption about the meta-entry for a lexeme. The study illustrates that nominalisation in Xitsonga, in particular, and in African Languages in general occurs through the affixation of the class prefix and the nominal suffix onto the verb stem. The study found that the deverbal nominals occur in a similar morphological structure to that of nonderived nouns. It was also demonstrated that Xitsonga deverbatives may be classified in terms of Busa’s view of distinguishing between stage-level nominals and individual-level nominals. The study has established that nominalisation in Xitsonga is a phenomenon that occurs in classes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 14 with both agentive and non-agentive verbs as verb stems. It however, found that the most productive classes are 1, 3,5,7,and 14. The study demonstrated that class 1 deverbatives refer strictly to humans, while deverbatives in other classes refer to various things. The data examined in this study revealed that in general, Xitsonga deverbatives exhibit the following semantic features across various noun classes: [Actor], [Experiencer], [Theme], [Patient] [Result], [Event], [Act], [State], [Artifact], [Instrument]. [Excessive act], [Excessive state], [Place], [Expert], [Excessive actor], [Excessive experiencer], [Excessive theme], and [Excessive patient]. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die studie ondersoek die aard van deverbatiewe naamwoorde in Xitsonga wat afgelei word vanaf drie soorte werkwoorde, naamlik, intransitiewe, enkel-transitiewe en dubbel-transitiewe werkwoorde. Die doelstelling van die studie is om te bepaal in watter naamwoordklasse nominalisering kan voorkom, en wat die semantiese kenmerke is van die deverbatiewe wat in die verskillende naamwoordklasse voorkom. Die drie tipes werkwoordklasse word voorts onderskei in terme van agentiewe en nieagentiewe werkwoorde. Die deverbatiewe naamwoorde wat in die studie ondersoek word, word verder onderskei volgens die klassifikasie van semantiese werkwoordklasse van Levin (1993). Die studie fokus op naamwoorde afgelei van werkwoorde sonder afleidingsagtervoegsels. Nietemin is enkele werkwoordvorme met afleidings-agtervoegsels ingesluit. Die studie ondersoek ook die naamwoordmorfologie van Xitsonga. Die studie is onderneem binne die raamwerk van vier breë weergawes van morfologie, sintaksis en leksikale semantiek, naamlik morfeem-lekseem gebaseerde teorie, X-balk sintaksis, Levin (1993) se semantiese werkwoordklas klassefikasie, en Generatiewe Leksikon Teorie van Pustejovsky (1995), in die besonder die aanname van die meta-inskrywing vir die lekseem. Die studie bevestig dat nominalisering in Xitsonga, soos in die Afrikatale in die algemeen, manifesteer deur die affiksering van 'n prefiks en 'n suffiks aan die werkwoordstam waarvandaan die naamwoord afgelei word. Die studie het bevind dat afgeleide naamwoorde in 'n soortgelyke morfologiese struktuur voorkom as nie-afgeleide naamwoorde in Xitsonga. Daar is ook bevind dat Xitsonga deverbatiewe geklassifiseer kan word in terme van Busa se onderskeid tussen fase-vlak en individuele-vlak nominate. Die studie het bevind dat nominalisering in Xitsonga voorkom in klasse 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 en 14, afgelei van sowel agentiewe as nie-agentiewe werkwoord stamme. Daar is bevind dat die mees produktiewe klasse, klas 1, 3, 5, 7 en 14 is. Die studie het voorts aangetoon dat klas 1 deverbatiewe slegs mensverwysing het, terwyl die deverbatiewe in ander klasse na 'n verskeidenheid semantiese entiteite verwys. Volgens die data wat ondersoek is, volg dit dat Xitsonga deverbatiewe in die algemeen, die volgende semantiese kenmerke vertoon oor die verskillende naamwoordklasse: [Akteur], [Ervaarder], [Tema], [Pasiënt], [Resultaat], [Gebeurtenis], [Aksie], [Toestand], [Artifak], [Instrument], [Oordrewe aksie], [Plek], [Ekspert], [Oordrewe akteur], [Oordrewe ervaarder], [Oordrewe tema] en [Oordrewe pasiënt]. / NKOMISO: Dyondzo leyi yi kambisisa xivumbeko xa mavitimpfelelo ya Xitsonga lama ya pfelelaka ya suka eka tinxaka tinharhu ta maendli ma le ka vulongoloxamarito, ku nga, maendli yo pfumala xiendliwa, maendli ya xiendliwa xin’we, na maendli ya swiendliwa swimbirhi. Xikongomelo i ku lava ku kumisisa mitlawa ya maviti leyi pfumelelaka mpfelelo wa maviti ku humelela ni ku kumisisa swihlawulekisi swa tinhlamuselo leswi kumekaka eka mavitimpfelelo eka mitlawa yo hambanahambana. Tinxaka tinharhu ta maendli ti tlhela ti hambanyisiwa ku ya hi maendli ya nghingiriko ni maendli yo pfumala nghingiriko. Mavitimpfelelo lama kambisisiwaka eka dyondzo leyi ma longoloxiwa hi ku ya hi maavelo ya maendli ya Levin (1993). Mhakankulu leyi dyondzo leyi yi langutanaka na yona yi le ka maendli mo pfumala swilandzi swa mpfelelo. Hambiswiritano, mavitimpfelelo ma nga ri mangani lama nga na swilandzi swa mpfelelo ma katsiwile eka dyondzo leyi. Mofoloji ya Xitsonga ya kambisisiwa na yona eka dyondzo leyi. Dyondzo leyi yi endliwa hi ku landza endlelo leri katsaka mavonelo ma mune eka mofoloji ni le ka semantiki, ku nga Lexeme -based theory, X – bar syntax, lexical semantics properties of verb classes leyi tumbuluxeke hi Levin (1993), na Generative Lexicon theory leyi tumbuluxeke hi Pustejovsky (1995), ku kongomisiwa ngopfu eka meta-entry ya rito.Dyondzo leyi yi kombisa leswaku mpfelelo wa maviti eka Xitsonga, hi ku kongomisa, na le ka tindzimi ta Xintima hi ku angarhela, wu va kona hikokwalaho ka ku lungeleriwa ka xirhangi xa ntlawa na xilandzi xa riendli eka nsinya wa riendli. Dyondzo leyi yi kumile leswaku mavitimpfelolo ma tirhisa xifaniso xa murhi xo fana na xa maviti mo ka ma nga ri ma mpfelelo. Ku tlhele ku kombisiwa leswaku mavitimpfelelo ya Xitsonga ma nga aviwa hi ku landza vonelo ra Busa (1996) ro hambanyisa exikarhi ka mavitipfelelo lama thyiwaka munhu hi ku landza mhaka leyi humelelaka hi nkarhi wolowo ni lama ya thyiwaka munhu hi ku ya hi mhaka leyi fambelanisiwaka na munhu wa kona, hambi a nga ri ku yi endleni hi nkarhi wolowo. Dyondzo leyi yi kumile leswaku mpfelelo wa maviti eka Xitsonga I mhaka leyi humelelaka eka mitlawa ya maviti ya 1,3,4,6,7,8,9, and 14 eka maendli ya nghingiriko ni yo pfumala nghingiriko. Hambiswiritano, ku kumekile leswaku mitlawa leyi mpfelelo wu humelelaka ngopfu eka yona I ya 1,3,5,7, and 14. Dyondzo leyi yi kombisile leswaku mavitimpfelelo ma le ka ntlawa wa 1 ma kongomisa eka vanhu, loko mavitimpfelelo ma le ka mitlawa yin’wana ma kongomisa eka swilo swo hambanahambana.Vuxokoxoko lebyi kamberiweke eka dyondzo leyi byi paluxile leswaku hi ku angarhela mavitimpfelelo ma humesa swihlawulekisi leswi landzelaka swa tinhlamuselo eka mitlawa ya maviti yo hambanahambana: [Muendli], [Mutokoti], [Nkongomelo], [Mutwisiwa ku vava], [Mbuyelo], [Xiendleko], [Nghingiriko], [Xiyimo], [Ximakiwa], [Xitirho], [Nghingiriko wo tlurisa], [Xiyimo xo tlurisa], [Ndhawu], [N’wavuswikoti], [[Muendli wo tlurisa], [Mutokoti wo tlurisa], [Nkongomelo wo tlurisa], na [Mutwisiwa ku vava wo tlurisa].

El propósito general de esta tesis es demostrar que el denominado aspecto léxico o aktionsart es una propiedad transcategorial, que implica rasgos que pueden asociarse a las raíces léxicas en el SD independientemente de procesos de derivación. Tal es el caso de los nombres eventivos no deverbales en español (fiesta, accidente), objeto principal de análisis del trabajo. La propuesta se enmarca en el modelo de la Morfología Distribuida (Embick & Halle, en prensa) e incluye los siguientes aspectos: una formulación más flexible de la relación entre estructura argumental y eventiva (contra Grimshaw (1990); una explicación de la obligatoriedad de argumento interno con nominalizaciones eventivas en términos de la presencia de v en su estructura funcional (Alexiadou, 2001); la identificación de efectos sintácticos derivados de la eventividad de nombres no deverbales como guerra, dentro y fuera del SD, explicados en términos de una estructura funcional que incluye rasgos o proyecciones específicas; la identificación de clases aspectuales de nombres no deverbales en la línea de Vendler (1967); una explicación de la polisemia en nombres eventivos no deverbales en términos de las características de la estructura funcional que domina la raíz léxica (Borer, 2005); un análisis de los efectos de la presencia de más de un núcleo funcional eventivo en las formas derivadas (llegada, accidentarse) y los núcleos complejos (hacer huelga, dar (una) clase). / The general purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate that the so-called lexical aspect or aktionsart is a transcategorial property, involving features that may be associated to lexical roots in the DP in the absence of any derivation process. This is the case of non-deverbal event nouns in Spanish (fiesta, ‘party’; accidente, ‘accident’), our main object of analysis. Our proposal is based on the Distributed Morphology framework (Embick & Halle, to appear) and includes the following topics: a more flexible statement of the relation between argument and event structure (against Grimshaw (1990); an explanation of the obligatoriness of internal argument expression with process nominalizations in terms of the presence of v in its functional structure (Alexiadou, 2001); the identification of syntactic effects derived from the eventive nature of non-deverbal nouns such as guerra (‘war’), inside and outside the DP, accounted for in terms of a functional structure which includes specific features or projections; the identification of aspectual classes of non-deverbal event nouns à la Vendler (1967); an explanation of polysemy in non-deverbal event nouns in terms of the properties of the functional structure dominating the lexical root (Borer, 2005); an analysis of the effects of the presence of more than one eventive functional head in derived forms (llegada, ‘arrival’; accidentarse, ‘to have an accident’) and complex heads (hacer huelga, ‘to go on strike’; dar (una) clase, ‘to teach (a class)’).

[pt] O objetivo deste estudo é contrastar as línguas portuguesa e inglesa no que diz respeito às nominalizações gerundivas e aos derivados nominais, uma vez que as gerundivas só ocorrem morfologicamente no inglês e têm grande previsibilidade semântica enquanto os derivados nominais apresentam variedade semântica, assim sendo de pouca previsibilidade (Chomsky, 1970). Com este objetivo foram selecionados dois livros escritos originalmente no inglês, de cada um dos quais aleatoriamente tomou-se um capítulo para servir de corpus para a investigação. A análise do corpus nos levou às seguintes conclusões: (a) no português, a equivalência para as gerundivas de ação do inglês é fundamentalmente o Infinitivo nominal; (b) para os nominais de ação, a equivalência é um substantivo deverbal; (c) diversas estruturas verbais são possíveis como equivalência no português para as gerundivas factuais; e (d) ao contrário do que se previa, também os derivados nominais apresentam grande previsibilidade de interpretação, configurando-se uma situação de polissemia sistemática. / [en] The goal of this study is to investigate English and Portuguese with regard to gerundive nominalizations and derived nominals. Gerundive Nominalizations only occur in English and are regular and semantically predictable, while derived nominals are not regular and have a great range of semantic interpretations, therefore little predictability (Chomsky, 1970). In order to proceed to the contrastive study we selected two books originally written in English, from each of which a chapter was randomly taken to serve as a corpus for the analysis. Our analysis led to the following conclusions: (a) In Portuguese, the nominal infinitive is systematically used for the action gerundive structures of English; (b) for the action nominal, the Portuguese correspondence is a deverbal noun; (c) there are different verbal structures to represent factual gerundives in Portuguese; and (d) as an unexpected result, derived nominal do have semantic predictability, situation which could be considered as one of systematic polysemy.

[pt] Este estudo tem como objetivo investigar a função coesiva desempenhada pelas nominalizações em redações de alunos do terceiro ano do Ensino Médio. Para tanto, esta pesquisa baseia-se nos pressupostos da Linguística Sistêmico- Funcional, que compreende a língua como um sistema sociossemiótico em função dos contextos situacionais e culturais em que ela é utilizada (Halliday, 1994). O estudo das nominalizações é também relacionado ao fenômeno da metáfora gramatical ideacional, uma das características da escrita acadêmica (Simon- Vandenbergen et al, 2003, Banks, 2003). O corpus de estudo consiste em 45 redações de instituições de três segmentos escolares – federal, estadual e particular – e perfaz um total aproximado de 9800 palavras. A análise foi conduzida em duas etapas: uma quantitativa, com apoio de ferramentas computacionais (Scott, 2004), em que se buscou a frequência de uso das nominalizações nos textos analisados, assim como a variação desse uso entre os textos das diferentes escolas; e outra qualitativa, que teve por objetivo descrever os tipos de elos coesivos estabelecidos pelas formas nominalizadas nas redações selecionadas para esta pesquisa. Os resultados mostram que os alunos usam as nominalizações como elemento coesivo e que há considerável variação desse uso em função das diferentes escolas em que esses textos foram produzidos, fazendo com que os textos apresentem diferentes níveis de adequação ao contexto escolar. Mais especificamente, através da análise dos resultados pode-se identificar e classificar diferentes tipos de elos coesivos constituídos pelas nominalizações, os quais apresentam alguns padrões de realização distintos dos já revelados por estudos anteriores sobre a coesão (Halliday e Hasan, 1989, Fávero, 1991, Koch, 1993), incluindo a realização de laços coesivos entre nominalizações como núcleo de um sintagma nominal e outros sintagmas de maior complexidade lexical e semântica. A partir desses resultados, espera-se que este estudo não só contribua para uma descrição mais apurada de alguns padrões de uso da língua portuguesa, mas também para o ensino da escrita no contexto escolar, já que também são brevemente discutidas neste trabalho algumas implicações pedagógicas quanto à função coesiva das nominalizações, as quais podem levar a uma maior conscientização sobre os padrões linguísticos e textuais considerados como adequados especialmente aos gêneros do contexto pedagógico. / [en] The objective of this study is to investigate the cohesive function of nominalizations in the written production of secondary school students. For this purpose, this research is based on theoretical assumptions from Systemic- Functional Linguistics, which considers language as a socio-semiotic system, related to the situational and cultural contexts in which language is used (Halliday, 1994). The study of nominalizations can also be associated to the phenomenon of ideational grammatical metaphor, which is viewed as one of the characteristics of academic writing (Vandenbergen-Simon et al, 2003, Banks, 2003). The corpus of study consists of 45 essays of three educational institutions - federal, state and private – totalizing approximately 9800 words. The analysis was conducted in two stages: a quantitative corpus-based approach, with the support of computational tools (Scott, 2004), to calculate the frequency of nominalizations in the analyzed texts, as well as their variation of use in the texts from different schools; and a qualitative approach, which aimed at the description of the types of cohesive ties established by nominalized forms in the selected essays. Results show that students use nominalizations as a cohesive element and there is considerable variation concerning this use, according to the different schools where texts were produced. This variation makes student texts present different levels of appropriateness to the school context. More specifically, through data analysis, it was possible to identify and classify different types of cohesive ties, constituted by nominalizations, which present linguistic patterns that differ from those that were previously revealed in other cohesion studies (Halliday and Hasan, 1989, Fávero, 1991 Koch, 1993), including the realization of cohesive ties between nominalizations as the head of a noun phrase and other phrases that are lexically and semantically more complex. In addition, this study is expected to contribute not only to a more accurate description of nominalizations, but also to the teaching of writing at school level, since it briefly discusses some pedagogical implications of the cohesive function of this linguistic feature, which can lead to a greater awareness of textual standards considered adequate to genres in several pedagogical contexts.

[pt] Esta tese visa propor uma delimitação ontológica entre eventos, fatos e estados de coisas, a partir de uma ontologia realista/platonista, e relacionar a ontologia lógica à linguagem em uso, a partir da análise da referência a essas entidades. Eventos, fatos e estados de coisas têm estado presentes na discussão analítica desde os tempos de Frege; no entanto, a discussão ainda continua. Eventos têm sido reduzidos a objetos, a fatos e a estados de coisas; fatos têm sido reduzidos a estados de coisas e a proposições; estados de coisas e fatos têm sido considerados como a mesma entidade, e assim por diante. Essas três entidades estão associadas à linguagem desde os tempos de Russell (1918). Os fatos eram relacionados às afirmações verdadeiras, sendo compreendidos como as entidades às quais apontavam essas afirmações. Os eventos eram relacionados com as sentenças de ação. De acordo com Davidson (1981a), temos sentenças de ação porque há eventos no mundo. Embora esta tese vise relacionar a ontologia à linguagem em uso, ela as desvincula num primeiro momento; por isso define a ontologia independentemente da linguagem. Propõe que a diferença entre eventos, fatos e estados de coisas é que os primeiros são concretos e os últimos, abstratos, entre outras características. Uma vez definida a ontologia, a relacionamos, a partir da referência, com a linguagem em uso. Analisamos se é possível referir a essas entidades a partir da análise de certas construções linguísticas, e vemos se é possível estabelecer tal relação a partir dessa análise. / [en] This thesis proposes an ontological delimitation between events, facts and states of affairs. It does so from a Platonist/realist perspective. It also relates the logic ontology to language use through the analysis of reference to these entities. Events, facts, and states of affairs have been present in the discussion of analytical philosophy from the times of Frege. However, the discussion still continues, and nothing has been defined. Events have been reduced to objects, facts and states of affairs. Facts have been reduced to states of affairs and propositions. States of affairs and facts have been considered as the same entity by some authors, and so forth. These three entities have been associated to language since the times of Russell (1918). Facts were related to true statements, and were understood as entities to which those statements pointed. Events were related to action sentences. According to Davidson (1981a), we have action sentences because there are events in the world. Though this thesis relates ontology to language, it defines ontology independent of language use. That is, ontology is defined without taking language use into account. It proposes that the difference between events, facts, and states of affairs is that the first are concrete, and the last abstract. Among other characteristics. Once we define the ontology, we relate it to language use through reference. We analyze whether it s possible to refer to events, facts, and states of affairs, because we understand that it is through reference that we may establish the relationship between ontology and linguistics.

Uppsatsens syfte är att kartlägga vilka lässtrategier som uppgifter i matematiska läroböcker kräver av eleverna för att de ska kunna skapa förståelse för uppgiften. Kartläggningen kommer ske i en svensk kontext med utgångspunkt i tre olika läromedel, ett från mellanstadiet, ett från högstadiet och ett från gymnasiet. De delar som i tidigare forskning visat kunna påverka elevernas läsförståelse och därmed kommer undersökas djupare är modaliteten bild, matematiska symboler samt språk med fokus på nominaliseringar. Metoden är uppdelad i tre delar, en för varje modalitet, trots detta liknar de varandra men de har olika utgångspunkter. I alla tre delar räknas belägg av de olika modaliteterna och det undersöks vilka typer av kopplingar som finns mellan dem i texten. Resultatet visar att användningen av bilder och symboler varierar mycket mellan olika delkapitel medan det är svårare att dra en liknande slutsats gällande nominaliseringar. Användningen varierar också mellan läromedlen. Slutsatserna av uppsatsen är att det framförallt krävs två tydliga lässtrategier, en där eleverna ser till texten och uppgifterna i sin helhet eftersom alla delar påverkar förståelsen, och en där eleverna har en strategi som passar dem själva för att förstå nominaliseringarna som kan vara svårförstådda. / The purpose of the essay is to examine which reading strategies mathematical textbooks demand of students for them to understand the tasks. The survey will be done in a Swedish perspective and take point from three different textbooks, one from middle school, one from high school and one from upper secondary high school. Previous research has shown three areas that can impact students’ ability to understand mathematical texts: nominalizations, pictures, and mathematical symbols. These three areas are the ones going to be examined in this essay. The method of the survey is divided in to three different parts since there are three different areas that are going to be examined. Despite this the methods are similar to each other. All three areas are examined by counting the amount of the occurrence. All three areas are also examined by investigating what kind of connections that exists in the text. The result shows that the occurrence of pictures and symbols differs between different chapters, but it cannot be seen in nominalizations. The usage of the different modalities also differs between the textbooks. The conclusion of the essay is that students’ need two kind of reading strategies, the first one is that they need to understand that all parts create the meaning of a text and the second one is that they need to create their own strategy to deal with nominalizations that can be difficult to understand.

Teil I dieser Arbeit untersucht Effekte einer semantischen Eigenschaft von syntaktisch transitiven Prädikaten auf die Satzverarbeitung: den Grad der Affiziertheit, den solch ein Prädikat für eines seiner Argumente impliziert, also das Ausmaß in dem ein Teilnehmer eine Zustandsveränderung während des ausgedrückten Ereignisses erfährt. Drei Experimente (zu Akzeptabilitätsurteilen, Lesezeiten & ereigniskorrelierten Potentialen [EKP]) überprüften den Einfluss von Affiziertheit auf die lexikalisch-semantische Verarbeitung des Prädikats und die Integration folgender Argument-Nominalphrasen (NPn) beim Satzlesen. Um den Effekt von Affiziertheit auf Verarbeitungsprozesse beim Argumentlinking zu maximieren, machten die Experimente Gebrauch von deverbalen, eventiven, deutschen -ung-Nominalisierungen, die von Verben mit verschiedenem Affiziertheitsgrad abgeleitet sind. Hierbei wurde der Einfluss der Affiziertheit ausgenutzt, folgende Objekts- oder Subjektsgenitive als Argument zu lizensieren. Während sich keine klaren Effekte bei der Verarbeitung der Nominalisierungen ergaben, zeigten die Ergebnisse zur Integration der Genitiv-NPn eine spezifische Interaktion zwischen dem Grad der Affiziertheit und der Akzeptabilität, einen Objekts- bzw. Subjektsgenitiv zu verwirklichen. Dieser Befund wurde von übereinstimmenden Lesezeiten- und EKP-Interaktionseffekten begleitet. Die EKP-Ergebnisse legen eine zentrale Rolle von zwei späten Positivierungen bei der Integration der Genitivargumente nahe. Diese Befunde werden im Kontext theoretischer Modelle von abgestufter Affiziertheit und von Satzverarbeitungsmodellen diskutiert, mit Fokus auf der möglichen Rolle der Prototypikalität von Argumenten und Unterschieden zwischen prädikatsinduzierter und argumentinhärenter semantischer Argumentprominenz. Teil II stellt zwei Softwarepakete für die statistische Umgebung R vor, die Schnittstellen für die zur Analyse der EKP-Daten verwendeten WFMM Software (Morris & Carroll, 2006) bieten. / Part I of this thesis investigates the effects of a semantic feature of syntactically transitive predicates on online sentence processing: the degree of affectedness such a predicate implies for one of its arguments, taken to indicate the extent to which an event participant undergoes a change of state during the event expressed. Three experiments (using acceptability judgements, reading times & event-related potentials [ERPs]) probed the effects of affectedness on the processing of the predicate and on the integration of following argument noun phrases (NPs), thus assessing the impact of affectedness on lexical-semantic processing and its influence on processes related to online argument linking. Maximising the effects of affectedness on linking-related processes, the experiments used German -ung nominalisations derived from verbs implying different degrees of affectedness, exploiting a paradigm involving the linking of either object or subject genitive argument NPs to deverbal, eventive nominalisations. While no clear effects of affectedness emerged for the processing of the nominalisations, results related to the integration of genitive NPs revealed a specific interaction between the degree of affectedness and the acceptability of realising either object or subject genitives. This pattern was accompanied by consistent reading time and ERP interaction effects. ERP results suggest a prominent role of two late positivities with different spatial foci in the integration of the genitive arguments. These findings are discussed in the context of theoretical models of graded affectedness and sentence processing models, considering possible roles of argument prototypicality and differences between predicate-induced and argument-inherent semantic argument prominence. Part II introduces two software packages for the statistical platform R, offering interfaces for the WFMM software (Morris & Carroll, 2006) used for the analysis of the ERP data in part I.

[pt] As denominadas construções tough (tough constructions - TCs), como John is easy to please, apresentam o formato superficial [SD COPULA Adj VInf], tendo como característica distintiva o fato de que o SD (sintagma determinante), sujeito do predicado, é interpretado como objeto lógico do verbo no infinitivo. Muitos estudos teóricos examinaram a sintaxe dessa estrutura e as relações semânticas tecidas a partir dela, mas até o momento nenhuma teoria explica de forma satisfatória as TCs e estruturas relacionadas, com objeto lacunado, como pretty predicates, gapped degree phrases e ready predicates. Os objetivos desta dissertação são: (a) discutir, à luz dos dados, as diferentes propostas teóricas para TCs e construções relacionadas, buscando sistematizar nosso conhecimento atual sobre a gramática dessas construções em inglês e em algumas línguas românicas, como o francês, o espanhol, e o romeno; (b) apresentar uma nova abordagem teórica, construída a partir da negação das premissas adotadas em estudos anteriores, sugerindo que, em TCs e estruturas relacionadas, a formação do predicado envolva nominalização e adjunção de projeções máximas, resultando em estruturas simétricas. Na análise proposta, o elo semântico entre o sujeito sintático do predicado e o objeto lógico do verbo no infinitivo se realiza na Forma Lógica, em função da estrutura argumental do verbo nominalizado e da categoria do adjetivo concatenado simetricamente. A modelagem teórica apresentada permite unificar TCs, pretty predicates, gapped degree phrases e ready predicates, propondo que essas construções compartilham os processos de nominalização e de adjunção de projeções máximas, diferenciando-se nas relações semânticas entre seus elementos. Permite também uma explicação mais adequada para o comportamento de for phrases e para o fato de que apenas as TCs (e algumas gapped degree phrases) aparecem em posição prenominal, com uso atributivo. / [en] Superficially, tough constructions (TCs) like John is easy to please present the format [DP COPULA A VINF], but their distinctive characteristic is that the subject DP is interpreted as the logical object of the verb in the infinitive. Many theoretical studies have examined the syntactic structure of TCs and the semantic relations supported by that structure, but to date no theory provides a good explanatory description for TCs and related object-gap constructions like pretty predicates, gapped degree phrases, and ready predicates. The objectives of this thesis are (a) to discuss, in light of the data, the different theoretical proposals on TCs and related constructions, providing a systematic overview of current knowledge on the grammar of these constructions in English and a number of Romance languages, such as French, Spanish and Romanian, and (b) to present a new theoretical approach, starting from a contrarian position on the premises adopted in earlier studies. Under the proposed analysis, formation of the predicate in TCs and related constructions involves nominalization of the verb in the infinitive and adjunction of maximal projections, resulting in a symmetrical structure. In this symmetrical structure, the semantic link between syntactic subject and logical object is established at Logical Form, in function of the nominalized verb s argument structure and the category of the concatenated adjective. The theoretical model presented in this thesis unifies TCs, pretty predicates, gapped degree phrases and ready predicates, suggesting that these constructions share the processes of nominalization and adjunction of maximal projections, and differ in the semantic relationships between their elements. It also offers a principled explanation for the behavior of for-phrases in these object-gap constructions and for the fact that only TCs (and some gapped degree phrases) appear prenominally, in attributive use.

[pt] O objetivo deste trabalho é identificar processos verbais nominalizados e analisar suas funções na produção textual de alunos do Ensino Médio, considerando-se o uso de nominalizações do ponto de vista da oração como mensagem, que se organiza em torno do sistema de Tema e Rema. A pesquisa baseia-se na teoria sistêmico-funcional (Halliday, 1994, Halliday e Matthiessen, 2004) para o estudo da metáfora gramatical através da identificação de formas metafóricas que apresentam variação léxico-gramatical na expressão de um dado significado e são consideradas como mais elaboradas do que as formas congruentes. Essas transformações na estrutura lingüística têm início a partir da adolescência e variam em função de contextos que demandam novos usos da língua. Para analisar o uso de formas nominalizadas na escrita escolar, cinquenta textos dissertativo-argumentativos em língua portuguesa, produzidos por alunos da terceira série do Ensino Médio, foram coletados em uma escola pública e uma particular. Além disso, os participantes da pesquisa responderam a um questionário socioeducacional cujos resultados foram quantificados visando a evidenciar fatores individuais e/ou sociais que pudessem estar relacionados à sua produção textual. A análise qualitativa identificou o uso de nominalizações (Basilio, 2003) com diferentes funções discursivas. Em relação à estrutura temática, observou-se que as nominalizações estabelecem relações lógicas e favorecem o fluxo das informações no texto. A comparação entre textos evidenciou uma variação no uso da linguagem metafórica nos diferentes contextos educacionais. A partir desses resultados, propõe-se a conscientização de alunos e professores quanto aos efeitos textuais e discursivos que certos mecanismos linguísticos podem criar, visando evitar a produção de textos pouco proficientes para a finalidade a que se propõem. / [en] The aim of this study is to identify nominalized verbal processes and analyze their functions in the written production of secondary school students. These nominalizations are examined in clauses viewed as messages, which are organized according to the Theme and Rheme system. The research is based on systemic-functional theory (Halliday, 1994, Halliday e Matthiessen, 2004) for the study of grammatical metaphor through the identification of metaphorical constructions which present lexico-grammatical variation in the expression of meaning, being therefore considered as more complex than congruent forms. These transformations within linguistic structures start to appear in early adolescence, varying according to new contexts that require specific uses of the language. In order to study the use of nominalized forms in school writing, fifty argumentative essays in Portuguese were collected among 12th grade students from public and private secondary schools. Research participants also answered a socioeducational questionnaire that generated quantitative data so that social and/or individual features could be associated with students textual production. Qualitative analysis led into the identification of nominalizations (Basilio, 2003) with different discursive functions. Concerning the thematic structure, it was observed that nominalizations establish logical relations and help develop the flow of information in texts. A comparison between texts pointed out variation in metaphorical language use in different school contexts. These results indicate that it is important to make students and teachers aware of the textual and discursive effects that some linguistic mechanisms can produce, and based on this knowledge possibly avoid the production of texts that are not adequate to their intended purpose.

[pt] Este trabalho investiga as acepções do prefixo des em substantivos de ação no Português Brasileiro por meio de uma abordagem da língua em uso e focaliza a importância do contexto para o reconhecimento do sentido que está sendo ativado pelo afixo. Inicialmente, são apresentadas as principais contribuições da Tradição Gramatical Normativa e da Teoria da Linguística Gerativa para a análise do referido prefixo. Posteriormente, são detalhadas as bases teóricas que compõem este trabalho, que se fundamentam nos pressupostos da Linguística Cognitiva, paradigma de investigação dos estudos da linguagem que enfatiza a importância do sentido em uma perspectiva não-objetivista e da investigação da língua em uso. O corpus utilizado nesta pesquisa foi constituído a partir do mega-corpus eletrônico NILC da Universidade de São Paulo do campus de São Carlos. Os resultados da análise de dados revelam que a acepção do afixo des- na língua em uso é altamente influenciada pelo contexto, de maneira que é possível uma mesma palavra possuir sentidos diferentes, conforme esteja em diferentes situações de uso. / [en] This dissertation investigates the meanings of the prefix des in action nouns in Brazilian Portuguese through an approach to the language in use and focuses on the importance of context for the recognition of the meaning being activated by the affix. Initially, the main contributions of the Normative Grammatical Tradition and the Theory of Generative Linguistics to the analysis of the referred prefix are presented. Subsequently, the theoretical bases that make up this work are detailed, which are based on the assumptions of Cognitive Linguistics, a research paradigm of language studies that emphasizes the importance of meaning in a non-objectivist perspective and the investigation of the language in use. The corpus used in this research was constituted from the electronic mega-corpus NILC of the University of São Paulo developed on the São Carlos campus. The results of the data analysis reveal that the meaning of the affix des- in the language in use is highly influenced by the context, therefore it is possible for the same word to have different meanings, depending on whether it is in different situations of use.