Towards a Unified Treatment of Modality (abstract) Sumayya Racy, Ph.D. The primary claim of this thesis is that despite the numerous forms modality may take, both within and across languages, there are relatively few features, structures and operations which give rise to these numerous forms. For example, in English the modal notion of obligation may be expressed by a verb (He must go), but an adverb (He obligatorily goes), by an adjective (He is obliged), by a noun (He has an obligation), and even by a preposition (It's on him to go) or by no clear modal marker (He is to go). In other languages, we find still more ways in which modality may be expressed, such as through affixes (Garo), through evidentials (Tuyuca), through modal particles (Norwegian), and through mood (Latin). It is shown in this thesis that by adopting Cinque's (1999) hierarchy of functional projections, Distributed Morphology (Halle & Marantz 1993), the semantics of Kratzer (1991) and Hacquard (2006) and a limited feature set, we may account for many of these expressions of modality within a single unified framework. In particular, it is argued that modal roots are acategorial (accounting for the many parts of speech we find in modal expressions) and it is proposed that head movement and fusion may take place among modal functional heads (accounting for the fact that modality may be expressed through other categories like evidentiality). Along the way, several interesting facets of modality are pointed out, including the fact that modal nouns may only be used with unusual abilities, and the fact that in English intonation and ASL repeated movement we may find phonological correlates of epistimicity.

Coeur d'Alene, also known as Snchitsu'umshtsn, is a Southern Interior Salishan language no longer learned by children. Descriptive work on the language has been carried out since the early nineteenth-century (Tiet 1904 through 1909 in Boaz and Tiet 1930; Reichard 1927-29, 1938, 1939; Doak 1997); however, a formal account of the basic clause structure of this polysynthetic language has until now not been proposed. This thesis presents such a formal analysis within the Minimalist Program (Chomsky 1995, 1998, 2000, 2001a, 2001b; Lasnik 1999a, 1999b, 2000; among others), employing the tenets of Distributed Morphology (Halle and Marantz 1993; Harley and Noyer 1999; among others). Demonstrating that an analysis of person marking morphemes as bound pronouns (Jelinek 1984) is more "economical" in terms of Chomsky's (1995:367)Elementary Principles of Economy, the thesis goes on to account for the phenomena of lexical affixation (Carlson 1990; Kinkade 1998; Gerdts 2003; among others), in Coeur d'Alene as incorporation. Appealing to Hale and Keyser's (2002) theory of conflation as Head-movement (Harley 2004), an approach to incorporation is proposed which captures Chomsky's (1995) claim that head-movement is phonological while at the same time illustrating that lexical affixes in Coeur d'Alene serve as incorporated arguments. The thesis concludes with an articulation of the left periphery (material above vP here), based on the strict ordering of a series of mood, adverbial, model, and aspectual particles. It is shown that this articulation in Coeur d'Alene patterns with Cinque's (1999) proposed universal hierarchy of functional and adverbial heads. In this way, the basic clause structure of Coeur d'Alene is formally presented

Working within the morphosyntactic framework of Distributed Morphology (DM, Halle and Marantz 1993, 1994) within the Minimalist Program (Chomsky 1995), this dissertation proposes a new economy constraint on the grammar, MINIMIZE EXPONENCE, which selects the derivation that realizes all its interpretable features with the fewest morphemes. The purpose of this proposal is to capture the conflicting needs of the grammar to be both maximally contrastive and maximally efficient.I show that the constraint MINIMIZE EXPONENCE has a number of effects on analyses of morphosyntactic phenomena. I propose that, in order to satisfy MINIMIZE EXPONENCE, the roots in a derivation fuse with the functional heads projected above them, resulting in a simplex head that contains both a root and interpretable features. Following the tenets of DM, this head is now a target for the process of Vocabulary insertion. Since the target node contains both content and functional information, so too can Vocabulary Items (VIs) be specified for both types of information. This allows VIs such as eat and ate to compete with each other. This competition of forms linked to the same root allows for a new model of root allomorphy within the framework of DM. In this model of root allomorphy, following proposals by Pfau (2000), VIs that realize roots participate in competition in the same was as do VIs that realize abstract morphemes. Since root VIs are participating in competition and are specified for both content and formal features, the need for licensing through secondary exponence as proposed by Harley and Noyer (2000) is removed from the framework. Further, since eat and ate in this model are different VIs with different specifications that compete with each other for insertion, this model of root allomorphy also eliminates the need for readjustment rules as proposed by Halle and Marantz (1993, 1994) and elaborated on by Marantz (1997). This new model of root allomorphy allows for an account of the blocking of regular inflection in English nominal compounds (e.g. *rats-catcher), which was problematic for theorists working with DM, given the tenets of the framework.I also show that the fusion of roots and functional elements driven by MINIMIZE EXPONENCE allows for a new account of subcategorization. The model of subcategorization presented here falls out of the following facts: 1) arguments are introduced by functional heads; 2) those heads fuse with the root they are projected above, resulting in the node containing both the root and the features of the functional heads; 3) since the root now contains both the root and the formal features, the corresponding VI can be specified for both; 4) VIs that realize roots can also be specified for compatibility or incompatibility of the features of the functional heads that license argument structure. The result here is an underspecification model of subcategorization that predicts a number of behaviors of verbs with respect to their argument structure that it is difficult for a full specification model to account for. Those include polysemy (I ran the ball to Mary) and structural coercion (I thought the book to Mary).

Using information retrieval systems to gain access to documents in languages other than English is becoming an increasingly significant problem. Rules, theories, algorithms, and retrieval methods designed and developed for English and other morphologically similar languages may or may not apply in the linguistic environments of other languages. The problem is particularly acute in languages that differ radically from English on account of morphological rules. This thesis compares the effects of two indexing and retrieval techniques (stemming and root retrieval) on information retrieval in Arabic through an exploratory study of the handling of Arabic words by an English search engine. It also investigates how best to adapt existing English-language information retrieval systems for use with Arabic-language texts, and specifically to process words and their morphological variations. Search experiments, using 2000 Arabic documents and 40 Arabic search terms (nouns), were conducted with a Web search engine developed for English, AltaVista, to compare the performances of stemming and root retrieval and to investigate the possibility of adapting this engine for use with Arabic text. The results of the experiments show that more effective retrieval can be accomplished through stemming, and that it is possible to adapt the engine for use with Arabic without the need to develop root-retrieval features.

In this thesis, a comparative linguistic investigation of morphological deficits in two English-speaking and two Greek-speaking agrammatic aphasic patients is presented. Adopting the Strong Lexicalist Hypothesis, the study focuses on the subjects' ability to repeat, comprehend and produce nominal and verbal inflections. The hypotheses investigated concern the effects of language-specific features in agrammatic performance and the role of morphological principles in the two languages. Finally the implications of the data for linguistic theory are investigated. / The data show that language-specific features are crucial in determining aphasic performance. Principles of well-formedness of lexical items appear to remain unaffected. Morphological deficits are found to manifest themselves at different levels: the lexical and the postlexical. A Storage Hypothesis which reflects the word structure of complex lexical items in the brain is proposed. Finally, it is proposed that only through a Strong Lexicalist framework can one achieve uniform interpretations of morphological deficits in aphasia.

Introduction: Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has been a successful assisted reproductive technique for men with severe male-factor infertility. However, ICSI requires the subjective selection of normal looking sperm, which does not preclude the transmission of genetically abnormal sperm. Correlation between abnormal sperm morphology and chromosomal abnormalities has been suggested but not been conclusive and less is known about the connection between sperm morphology and DNA integrity. Sperm morphology will be evaluated on its ability to identify the level of chromosomal abnormalities or fragmented DNA in sperm. To further focus this investigation on sperm morphology, men with infertility isolated to abnormal sperm morphology (isolated teratozoopsermia) are examined. Materials and Methods: Sperm from isolated teratozoopsermic men (n=10) were analysed by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and terminal dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assays to determine the level of aneuploidy and DNA fragmentation, respectively. These results were also compared to that of sperm from control men (n=9) of proven fertility and normal seminal parameters. Results: Sperm from teratozoospermic men, compared to control men, had higher rates of total chromosomal abnormality (5.90±3.74% vs. 2.35±0.87%, P=0.0128), total aneuploidy (4.90±2.82% vs. 1.99±0.65%, P=0.0087), and chromosome 13 disomy (0.77±0.50% vs. 0.20±0.14%, P=0.0046). In control samples, incidence of tapered heads associated with supernumerary chromosomal abnormalities (rs=0.9747, P=0.0167). In teratozoospermic samples, incidence of amorphous heads associated to chromosome 13 disomy and sex chromosome aneuploidy (rs=0.6391, P= 0.0466; rs=0.8049, P=0.0050, respectively). Tail abnormalities were associated with chromosomal abnormalities (bent tail-disomy 13: rs=0.7939, P=0.0061; 2-tailed-disomy 13: rs=0.8193, P=0.0037; 2-tailed-supernumerary chromosomal abnormalities: rs=0.7534, P=0.0119). Levels of DNA fragmented sperm were higher in teratozoospermic men than control men (60.28±21.40% vs. 32.40±17.20%, P=0.0121). DNA fragmentation in sperm positively correlated with the incidence of sperm with bent necks in control samples (rs=0.8571, P=0.0238) and round headed sperm in teratozoospermic samples (rs=0.6727, P=0.0390). Conclusions: Sperm of isolated teratozoospermic men have elevated rates of chromosomal abnormalities and DNA fragmentation compared to that of fertile controls. Specific abnormal sperm morphology can be correlated wiht chromosomal abnormalities and level of DNA fragmentation in sperm and this may prove useful in sperm selection for ICSI when applied to isolated teratozoospermic patients.

This thesis provides an analysis of wh-questions in Nêhiyawêwin (Plains Cree). The study is done within the Principles and Parameters framework (Chomsky 1981, 1986, 1995). I argue that Nêhiyawêwin wh-words like awfna 'who' are not generated in argument position and do not undergo A-bar movement to Spec CP (Chapter 3). Rather, they are licensed as the predicate of a nominal clause, and respect the same syntactic constraints as other nominal clauses: they are strictly predicatê-initial; obey a referentiality hierarchy; and display agreement for number, animacy and obviation (chapter 4). I analyze Nêhiyawêwin nominal clauses as IP with a null Infl head in which the predicate fronts to Spec CP. The clausê-initial position of the wh-word is thus part of a more general process of predicatefronting. The nominal clause analysis of wh-words accounts for the absence of wh-movement per se in the language, as well as for the absence of wh in situ. However, based on their interpretive properties, wh-questions must contain an operator-variable chain. I argue that the operator-variable relation arises when the subject of the nominal clause links to an A-position in a subordinate clause. This occurs in one of two ways: by means of the kâ-complementizer or the ê-complementizer (Chapter 5). If the subordinate clause has kâ-, the resulting structure is a relative clause which restricts the reference of the subject. This yields a cleft construction: Who is it[sub i] that Mary likes t[sub i] ? If the subordinate clause has ê-, the clauses are conjoined, and null-operator movement in the subordinate clause forces an anaphoric relation between the wh-word and the A-position in the ê- clause: Who is he[sub i] & OP[sub i] Mary likes him[sub i]. Having shown how Nêhiyawêwin wh-words are associated with an operator-variable chain, I then consider the consequences of the proposed analysis (Chapter 6). A defining property of wh-chains is their sensitivity to island effects. Consistent with this, there is an argument/adjunct asymmetry in Nêhiyawêwin, which in turn bears on the question of where overt arguments are positioned in a polysynthetic language. I argue that complement clauses are basê-generated in an A-position, unlike overt DPs which are in an A'-position (adjoined to IP). This explains why long-distance extraction is possible from complement clauses, while extraction from adjunct clauses is ungrammatical. Another property of wh-chains is their sensitivity to Weak Crossover (WCO). WCO effects are absent in Nêhiyawêwin wh-questions. I argue that WCO may be avoided because there is no movement of a truly quantificational operator in the sense of Lasnik and Stowell (1991), but rather movement of a null operator. I then propose a Weakest Crossover analysis for the absence of WCO, following Demirdache (1997).

The goal of this thesis is to present an analysis of verbal plurality and adverbial quantification in Skwxwu7mesh (Squamish Salish). This thesis provides a detailed analysis of a phenomenon in Skwxwu7mesh that has never been explored: the effect of the auxiliary wa on predicates from various aspectual classes in both non-quantified and quantified sentences, wa has been described as a morpheme referring to a process that has duration either in the form of a single act or the regular performance of it (Kuipers 1967). Two central questions will be addressed in this thesis. Firstly, what is the function of the auxiliary wa in Skwxwu7mesh?. In other words, why is wa obligatorily present for certain interpretations of predicates and obligatorily absent for others; furthermore, what does wa do to a predicate to yield the various readings? Secondly, why is wa obligatory with adverbs of quantification? To answer these questions, this thesis proposes that wa is a pluractional marker that pluralizes the head of a predicate's event structure or the event type denoted by the predicate. Assuming Pustejovsky's (1991, 1995) event structure model representing the distinction between three primitive event types (states, processes, transitions), four aspectual classes are analyzed (activities , accomplishments , achievements and states) in both English and Skwxwu7mesh. This thesis argues that Skwxwu7mesh provides crucial evidence that all bare predicates (that is, predicates without wa) are telic, with the exception of individual-level predicates, wa causes a predicate to be atelic via pluralization; this atelicity is marked by continuous and/or habitual readings for the predicates of the various classes. As a consequence of these claims, this analysis suggests that activities and stage-level states are not primitives universally. This thesis argues that Kratzer's (1995) analysis of adverbs of quantification as unselective binders cannot account for Skwxwu7mesh; thus, adopting De Swart's (1993, 1995) event based approach to analyzing adverbial quantification, this thesis claims that Skwxwu7mesh provides crucial evidence that Q-adverbs quantify over events only. The evidence derives from the fact that the pluractional marker wa is obligatory with both stage-level stative predicates and individual-level predicates when they combine with a Q-adverb. The analysis presented in this thesis claims that wa is the source of the plurality of events over which a Q-adverb quantifies.

Downstream adjustment in stream channel morphology is examined in the context of stream channel confluences. Stream channel confluences represent areas of point specific increases in discharge, flow energy and potential erosion in a river system which will in turn affect the post-confluence downstream morphology. Analysis of 12 confluence junctions from southern Ontario streams, constituting 36 channel reaches in total, show an internally consistent hydraulic geometry relationship but with specific controls on channel morphology related to boundary conditions. Predictions of mainstem morphologies is possible using tributary attributes but reach specific channel confinement and material type add significant influence.

An ultra-high burnup metallic inert matrix nuclear fuel concept is being characterized and evaluated by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory based on a metal matrix fuel concept originally developed at the Bochvar Institute in Russia. The concept comprises a dispersion of uranium metal microspheres in a Zr-based alloy matrix that provides thermal bonding between the fuel particles and the cladding material. The objective of this study was to experimentally evaluate both the microstructural and thermophysical properties of Zr-Fe-Cu alloys. The experiments and analyses described were divided into three main parts, nominally based on the analysis methods used to examine the alloys. An Electron Probe Microanalyzer (EPMA) was used to characterize the metallurgical properties of the proposed matrix alloys. The groups of alloys were cast using a high temperature inert atmosphere furnace. The cast alloys showed the expected combination of phases with the exception of the ZrFe2 Laves phase which was predicted for the Zr-12Fe-15Cu1 alloy but was not detected. The Zr-12Fe-5Cu alloy consisted of a Zr solution phase dispersed in a matrix of two different intermetallic phases. The second alloy, Zr-12Fe-10Cu, did not produce a homogenous mixture and consisted of two distinct phase morphologies. The top half of the sample was Zr rich and contained Zr precipitates dispersed in a matrix of intermetallic compounds while the bottom half consisted solely of intermetallic compounds. The third alloy, Zr-12Fe-15Cu, was comprised of four different intermetallic phases three of which had the same apparent Zr_(2)(Fe,Cu) structure but had distinct phase morphologies based on the Backscatter Electron (BSE) images. Upon determining the phase morphologies of each of the fabricated alloys Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) were used to measure phase transformation and melting temperatures. Little difference was observed between the as-cast and annealed samples. The transitions shifted slightly to higher temperatures and the annealed Zr-12Fe-15Cu alloy only had two transitions compared to three seen in the as-cast samples. Slight changes were observed in the melting temperatures between the as-cast and annealed alloys. Zr-12Fe-5Cu had the largest melting temperature (886.3°C) while Zr-12Fe-10Cu had the smallest melting temperature (870°C). The third alloy, Zr-12Fe-15Cu, had a melting point just below that of Zr-12Fe-5Cu at 882.7°C. Light Flash Analysis (LFA) was implemented to determine the low temperature (20-260°C) thermal diffusivity values of each alloy. The as-cast measurements were more precise than the annealed samples, most likely the result of non-ideal sample integrity prior to loading. Each of the three alloys showed a linear increase in thermal diffusivity over the temperature range. Values for Zr-12Fe-5Cu ranged from 3.54 ± 0.06 mm2/s to 4.42 ± 0.10 mm^(2)/s. The Zr-12Fe-10Cu alloy had maximum and minimum values of 4.19 ± 0.22 mm^(2)/s and 3.17 ± 0.16 mm^(2)/s, respectively. Lastly, Zr-12Fe-15Cu had the largest thermal diffusivity ranging from 3.52 ± 0.15 mm^(2)/s at 20°C to 4.64 ± 0.16 mm_(2)/s at 260°C. Overall, the data from the LFA measurements showed that the Zr-Fe-Cu alloy system had similar diffusivity values compared to other common reactor materials.