L’analyse syntaxique consiste à prédire la représentation syntaxique de phrases en langue naturelle sous la forme d’arbres syntaxiques. Cette tâche pose des problèmes particuliers pour les langues non-configurationnelles ou qui ont une morphologie flexionnelle plus riche que celle de l’anglais. En particulier, ces langues manifestent une dispersion lexicale problématique, des variations d’ordre des mots plus fréquentes et nécessitent de prendre en compte la structure interne des mots-formes pour permettre une analyse syntaxique de qualité satisfaisante. Dans cette thèse, nous nous plaçons dans le cadre de l’analyse syntaxique robuste en constituants par transitions. Dans un premier temps, nous étudions comment intégrer l’analyse morphologique à l’analyse syntaxique, à l’aide d’une architecture de réseaux de neurones basée sur l’apprentissage multitâches. Dans un second temps, nous proposons un système de transitions qui permet de prédire des structures générées par des grammaires légèrement sensibles au contexte telles que les LCFRS. Enfin, nous étudions la question de la lexicalisation de l’analyse syntaxique. Les analyseurs syntaxiques en constituants lexicalisés font l’hypothèse que les constituants s’organisent autour d’une tête lexicale et que la modélisation des relations bilexicales est cruciale pour désambiguïser. Nous proposons un système de transition non lexicalisé pour l’analyse en constituants discontinus et un modèle de scorage basé sur les frontières de constituants et montrons que ce système, plus simple que des systèmes lexicalisés, obtient de meilleurs résultats que ces derniers. / Syntactic parsing consists in assigning syntactic trees to sentences in natural language. Syntactic parsing of non-configurational languages, or languages with a rich inflectional morphology, raises specific problems. These languages suffer more from lexical data sparsity and exhibit word order variation phenomena more frequently. For these languages, exploiting information about the internal structure of word forms is crucial for accurate parsing. This dissertation investigates transition-based methods for robust discontinuous constituency parsing. First of all, we propose a multitask learning neural architecture that performs joint parsing and morphological analysis. Then, we introduce a new transition system that is able to predict discontinuous constituency trees, i.e.\ syntactic structures that can be seen as derivations of mildly context-sensitive grammars, such as LCFRS. Finally, we investigate the question of lexicalization in syntactic parsing. Some syntactic parsers are based on the hypothesis that constituent are organized around a lexical head and that modelling bilexical dependencies is essential to solve ambiguities. We introduce an unlexicalized transition system for discontinuous constituency parsing and a scoring model based on constituent boundaries. The resulting parser is simpler than lexicalized parser and achieves better results in both discontinuous and projective constituency parsing.

This thesis concerns a dilemma of multi-lingual web applications. The document describes some general solutions while suggesting such applications, however first of all it is aimed for information system VUT and its enlargement for translation administration. The text contains structural description of this system and instruments used during its development, but especially it defines system requirements of programming engineers and translators, describes and evaluates new language versions solution and there are possibilities of contingent extensions considered at the conclusion of my thesis.

Recent reports suggest that over half of the world's population regularly uses two or more languages (or dialects) in their daily lives. The U.S. Census Bureau reports 21.6% of the population communicates in a language other than English within their homes. Thus, it is essential to methodically investigate how language processing and learning vary between monolingual and bilingual individuals. To date, research on the effects of bilingualism on language processing has been inconsistent or conflicting. The present study was designed to empirically examine if bilingual speakers differ in language processing and comprehension compared to their monolingual counterparts. It was hypothesized that the bilingual switching process would impact language processing as measured by accuracy and reaction time (RT). A sample of 60 participants was used and consisted of 15 monolingual English speakers and 45 bilingual Spanish, French, and Arabic speakers. All participants completed a series of language decision tasks consisting of 44 congruent and incongruent sentences presented randomly and sequentially. Results showed that participants were more accurate in detecting incongruent than congruent sentences. Similarly, participants also responded faster to incongruent than congruent sentences. In addition, results also showed that participants had higher accuracy scores when the sentences were presented sequentially than randomly and responded faster when sentences were presented randomly than sequentially. Interestingly, results also showed a significant interaction between congruency and presentation mode on participants' accuracy scores. Tests of simple effects indicated that for the sequentially presented sentences, there was a significant difference between congruent and incongruent sentences. Similarly, for the congruent sentences, there was a significant difference between the sequentially and randomly presented sentences. Furthermore, our results also showed a significant interaction between congruency and presentation mode on participants' reaction time scores. Tests of simple effects indicated that participants had faster reaction time scores in the congruent sentences when they were presented randomly than sequentially. A series of General Linear Models (GLM) was conducted to examine the effects of language tested, congruency, and presentation mode on participants' accuracy scores. Results also showed a marginally significant interaction between congruency and language tested on accuracy and reaction time scores. Tests of simple effects indicated that only the Arabic speakers had significantly higher accuracy scores on concurrent than incongruent sentences. None of the other language groups had significant differences between congruent and incongruent accuracy scores for the other language groups. Finally, there was a significant interaction between congruency and language tested on participants' reaction time scores. Results showed that for the congruent sentences, French speakers had significantly faster reaction times than Spanish speakers and English speakers had significantly faster reaction times than Spanish speakers. However, English speakers had significantly faster reaction time scores for incongruent sentences than Arabic speakers. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and future research directions are presented.

This paper analyzes the functions of stylistic figures in the Russian newspaper text. Material was from the texts of different genres, published in the Central Newspapers of Russia. We analyze anaphora, syntactic parallelism, parcelling. Different logical and expressive function of the mentioned figures. We identify and describe the semantic and stylistic varieties of each figure. / Работа посвящена анализу функционирования стилистических фигур в русском газетном тексте. Материалом послужили тексты разных жанров, опубликованные в центральных газетах России. Анализируются фигуры анафора, синтаксический параллелизм, парцелляция. Различаются логическая и экспрессивная функция названных фигур. Выделены и описаны семантико-стилистические разновидности каждой из них.

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Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Ontluikende geletterdheid is waarskynlik die belangrik:ste tema wat in hierdie proefskrif behandel word. Die doelbewuste skepping van ouderdomsrelevante geleenthede vir die kleuter om op 'n informele wyse blootstelling en deelname aan luister- praat-, lees- en skryfvaardighede te ervaar, dien as vertrekpunt. Vroee ontwikkeling van geletterdheidsvaardigbede, as komponent van kognitiewe ontwikkeling by die kleuter, bet geblyk noodsaaklik te wees- nie net ten aansien van skoolgereedheid nie, maar ook ten opsigte van sy uiteindelike selfverwesenliking. Die oogmerk strek dus verder as die afiigting van die kleuter tot 'n toereikende vaardigbeidsvlak ten einde skoolgereed te kan wees. In teenstelling met die lank bestaande beleid in Suid-Afiika, wat bepaal bet dat voorskoolse onderwys byna uitsluitlik die onderrig van perseptuele vaardigbede moes bebels, word 'n alternatiewe benadering m hierdie proefskrif aangedui. Hulpverlening met geletterdheidsontwikkeling as doelwit behels waarskynlik 'n meer omvattende scenario ten einde die beboeftes van die affektief-, kognitief-, sosiaalwordende kind aan te spreek. Ontsluiting van 'n nuwe wereld van kennis waardeur nonne, boudings en vaardighede aangeleer word, bet 'n direkte invloed op die kwaliteit van sy totale lewe. By uitnemendbeid skep uitkomsgerigte onderwys die geleentbeid om reeds op voorskoolse vlak, geletterdbeidsvaardigbede op 'n informele wyse aan te leer. Die mite dat primere skole aileen die voorreg beskore is om leerders te leer lees en skryf, word krities in hierdie studie bevraagteken. Die klemverskuiwing is reeds sigbaar in die nuut-aangekondigde onderwysbeleid naamlik dat die leerprogram Geletterdheid minstens sowat 40% van die daaglikse onderrigprogram in die grondslagfase moet geniet. Die wyse waarop geletterdheidsvaardighede aangeleer kan word, word indiepte bespreek. Eweneens word belangrike prosesse waardeur die ontwikkeling van 'n fonologiese-, semantiese- en sintaktiese bewussyn, aan die orde gestel. Die aanleer van geletterdheidsvaardighede blyk nie alleen noodsaaklik te wees vir die ontwikkeling van lewensvaardighede nie dit bewerkstellig toegang tot en die begryping en belewing van die werklikheid wat die mens omring. / Emergent literacy is probably the most important theme addressed in this thesis. The purpose is to create age related opportunities for the pre-school child to experience exposure and participation in listening-, vocal-, reading- and writing abilities on an informal basis which serves as a point of departure. Early awareness of literacy abilities as a component of cognitive development of the pre-school child has proved to be essential - not only in respect of school readiness, but also with regard to ultimate selfactualisation. The aim therefore goes beyond the mere training of the pre-school child to an adequate level of competence to be well prepared for formal schooling. Contrary to the well established policy in South Africa which determined that pre-school education should be limited to the exclusive teaching of perceptual abilities, an alternative approach has been considered in this thesis. Assistance with a view to literacy development probably encompasses a more inclusive scenario in order to address the requirements of the emotional, cognitive and social developing pre-school child. Exposure to a new world of knowledge through which norms, attitudes and abilities are acquired, has a direct influence on the quality of his total life. Outcomes based education provides an excellent opportunity to acquire already at pre-school level, literacy skills on an informal basis. The myth that only primary schools have been allotted the privilege to teach learners to read and write, is being critically questioned in this study. The change in emphasis is already evident in the recently announced education policy, namely that the daily learning programme Literacy must include at least 400/o of the foundation programme phase. The manner in which literacy skills can be acquired are discussed in depth. Simultaneously Literacy must include at least 400/o of the foundation programme phase. The manner in which literacy skills can be acquired are discussed in depth. Simultaneously important processes affecting the development of a phonological, semantic and syntactic cognition are discussed. The acquisition of literacy skills appears not only to be important to the development of life skills - it accomplishes access to and the comprehension of as well as the perception of the reality surrounding man. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Sielkundige Opvoedkunde)

Human infants have been shown to have an innate capacity to acquire their mother tongue. In recent decades, the advent of the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique has made it feasible to explore the neural basis underlying language acquisition and processing in children, even in newborn infants (for reviews, see Kuhl & Rivera-Gaxiola, 2008; Kuhl, 2010) . Spontaneous low-frequency (< 0.1 Hz) fluctuations (LFFs) in the resting brain have been shown to be physiologically meaningful in the seminal study (Biswal et al., 1995) . Compared to task-based fMRI, resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) has some unique advantages in neuroimaging research, especially in obtaining data from pediatric and clinical populations. Moreover, it enables us to characterize the functional organization of the brain in a systematic manner in the absence of explicit tasks. Among brain systems, the language network has been well investigated by analyzing LFFs in the resting brain. This thesis attempts to investigate the functional connectivity within the language network in typically developing preschool children and the covariation of this connectivity with children’s language development by using the rs-fMRI technique. The first study (see Chapter 2.1; Xiao et al., 2016a) revealed connectivity differences in language-related regions between 5-year-olds and adults, and demonstrated distinct correlation patterns between functional connections within the language network and sentence comprehension performance in children. The results showed a left fronto-temporal connection for processing syntactically more complex sentences, suggesting that this connection is already in place at age 5 when it is needed for complex sentence comprehension, even though the whole functional network is still immature. In the second study (see Chapter 2.2; Xiao et al., 2016b), sentence comprehension performance and rs-fMRI data were obtained from a cohort of children at age 5 and a one-year follow-up. This study examined the changes in functional connectivity in the developing brain and their relation to the development of language abilities. The findings showed that the development of intrinsic functional connectivity in preschool children over the course of one year is clearly observable and individual differences in this development are related to the advancement in sentence comprehension ability with age. In summary, the present thesis provides new insights into the relationship between intrinsic functional connectivity in the brain and language processing, as well as between the changes in intrinsic functional connectivity and concurrent language development in preschool children. Moreover, it allows for a better understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying language processing and the advancement of language abilities in the developing brain.

This study develops a new approach to agreement variation in Standard Arabic (SA) and Rural Jordanian Arabic (RJA) based on the Probe-Goal framework of Chomsky (2000, 2001). The key patterns investigated are the variation in fullness of agreement in the SV and VS word orders, the relationship between agreement and clitic doubling, and the patterning of agreement with conjoined subjects. The thesis argues for a connection between agreement, clitic doubling, and word order. Full agreement on T (in person, number, and gender) causes the subject to move to [Spec, TP], deriving SV order. However, partial agreement on T (lacking person) creates only a partial copy of the subject in [Spec, TP]. This partial copy is realized as a pronominal clitic in some contexts (giving CLsVS word order) and as null pro in other contexts (giving VS word order). This approach enables a unified account of various differences in the patterning of agreement in SA and RJA. Turning to the more complex case of agreement with conjoined subjects, both varieties exhibit full resolved agreement with preverbal conjoined subjects. With postverbal conjoined subjects, however, there is variation: SA allows only partial agreement with the first conjunct while RJA allows partial agreement either with the first conjunct or with the entire conjoined phrase, depending on the features and the order of the conjoined nominals. The Probe-Goal framework augmented with Multiple Agree and the Continuity condition (Nevins 2007, 2011) will be employed to account for the choice between these two options in RJA. The more general theoretical conclusion is that the variation in agreement patterns is constrained by the internal hierarchical structure of φ-features on the probe. I propose that the probe has the same hierarchical structure as a pronoun (i.e. a DP). This proposal makes predictions about the range of possible variation in the features that are active in agreement and connects to broader issues such as the Pronominal Argument Hypothesis (Jelinek 1984) and the diachronic relationship between pronouns and agreement markers. / May 2017