MAAS / MER Mathivha Centre for Languages Arts and Culture

Much recent attention has been devoted to the semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic properties of phrasal verbs--those two-part lexical items like "put on" and "tighten up", along with suggestions regarding effective methods of teaching them to non-native speakers. According to Cornell (1985), phrasal verbs, "have been 'discovered' as an important component in curricula for English as a Foreign Language" (p. 1). However, it is very possible that they have become objects of current research primarily because of their complexity: their polysemy, their idiomaticity, their syntactic restraints, a complexity that means covering phrasal verbs in an ESL/EFL course can be a time-consuming process.

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This thesis presents a study of a construction which I refer to as Verb-Stranding VP Ellipsis. The construction is studied here, specifically, in two distinct senses. First, in chapter two, diagnostics are proposed by which the VP Ellipsis ("VPE") construction can be identified—irrespective of whether the main verb involved is null or overt. It is proposed that these diagnostics can be used to rule out the possibility that the data at issue are cases of other types of null anaphora, such as null arguments, Stripping, Gapping, and Null Complement Anaphora. It emerges from this section of the thesis that Modern Hebrew, Modern Irish, and Swahili have V-Stranding VPE data which form a natural class with English's Aux-Stranding VPE, while Japanese, Korean, Italian, and Spanish do not. The second focus is the question of how V-Stranding VPE should be generated. Chapters 3 and 4 argue in favor of an analysis involving PF Deletion of a VP out of which the main verb has raised, and against an LF Copying treatment. These arguments, in part, involve the Verbal Identity Requirement on VP Ellipsis, a novel generalization involving strict identity in root and derivational morphology between the antecedent- and target clause main Vs of the construction. Within the previously known requirement that elided phrases express semantically Given information, I argue that this generalization results from the fact that the head of an elided phrase must itself express Given information—whether or not the head surfaces as phonologically null. / Dans cette étude, on considère en detail une construction que j'appelle « L'élision d'une expression verbale sans l'élision du verbe principal » (anglais « V-Stranding VP Ellipsis »). Cette construction est étudiée ici, spécifiquement, dans deux sens distincts. Dans le chapitre 2, on propose des diagnostics grace auxquels on peut identifier la construction « élision d'une expression verbale » (« EEV », anglais « VP Ellipsis »), que le verbe principal dans l'expression verbale soit manifeste ou élidé. On soutient que ces diagnostics peuvent être utilisés pour éliminer la possibilité que les données pertinentes soient des exemples d'autres types d'anaphore nulle, tels que argument du verbe nul, le « Stripping », le « Gapping », et le « Null Complement Anaphora ». Ainsi, on propose dans cette section que l'EEV sans l'élision du verbe dans les grammaires de l'hebreu, de l'irlaindais et du swahili forme une classe naturelle avec l'EEV avec l'élision du verbe en anglais. On soutient aussi que cette construction n'existent pas en japonais, en coréen, en espagnol, ou en italienne. Ensuite, on considère la question de comment génerer les exemples d'EEV sans l'élision du verbe. Dans les chapitres 3 et 4, on propose une analyse qui utilise la suppression d'une expression verbale au niveau de la Forme Phonologique (« la suppression FP », anglais « PF Deletion ») aprês le placement du verbe principal a une position en dehors de l'expression verbale, et on presente une explication de la raison pour laquelle une analyse qui utilise des copies de la Forme Logique (« copie FL », anglais « LF Copying ») n'est pas viable. Ceci implique, en partie, la Condition d'Identite Verbale, une généralisation proposé ici pour la premiêre fois, impliquant une identité stricte de la racine et dans la morphologie dérivationnelle entre les verbes principaux des propositions antécedentes et des propositions ciblés. Dans le cadre de la condition connue selon laquelle les syntagmes élidés expriment une information sémantique donnée (anglais « Given »), j e soutiens que la condition d'identité verbale resulte du fait que la tete d'un syntagme élidé doit elle-meme exprimer l'information donnée sémantiquement—que la téte soit phonologiquement manifeste ou nulle.

In the Japanese language, there are various modal elements, which mark speakers' subjective attitudes toward propositions. One of the most common modals is the noda predicate, which possesses the dual function of either asserting the truth of the position or relaying the speaker's desire for information sharing. Japanese Native Speakers (JNSs) use noda frequently in conversation; however, Japanese Language Learners (JLLs) often face difficulty in learning noda because of its wide variety in function and use. To determine the nature of noda use, this study examines conversational data from role-plays and a case study of two JLLs. The main aims of this thesis are 1) to review research on noda and to provide a cohesive and concise explanation of its functions and 2) to examine the use and acquisition of noda by JLLs. Following Noda's (1997) categorization, noda can be divided broadly into two types: scope and mood. Noda of scope exhibits the speaker's assertion that the proposition is true, while noda of mood marks the speaker's strong desire for information to be shared by speaker and hearer. This study proposes a framework with which to understand the functions of noda, and classifies information which is speaker-oriented (+ Speaker/- Hearer knowledge), hearer-oriented (-Speaker/+ Hearer), and shared (+ Speaker/+ Hearer). JLLs first tend to use noda with speaker-oriented information, and later acquire functions related to hearer-oriented and shared information. In the study of role-plays, JLLs with higher oral proficiency levels as rated by the ACTFL-OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) used a higher frequency of noda. Both the JLLs and JNSs used noda primarily to provide and seek explanations. The intermediate-level JLLs underused noda in providing supplemental explanations. Other uses of noda in the role-plays included emphasizing information, seeking validity, and back-channeling. The two JLLs in the case study did not notice the use of noda during conversations with the JNS, but began to use noda more frequently during practice conversations upon receiving explicit instructions on the use of noda. While the post-test did not demonstrate increased use of noda due to the limited time of this study, there are clear indications for pedagogy. First, because the functions of noda are varied and numerous, Japanese language textbooks and classrooms should not be limited in providing only the 'explanation' function of noda. Second, the frequent use of noda in Japanese conversation suggests that it should be an area of focus in oral practice. Finally, JLLs need to develop skills in both comprehension and production of noda to improve their Japanese discourse.

This thesis investigates the question of how the arguments of a given verb are linked to positions in a phrase structure. Through a study of passives, psych verbs, and ditransitive verbs in Japanese, it provides empirical support for the hypothesis that arguments having particular thematic roles are associated with particular syntactic positions systematically. / Chapter 2 deals with passives, in particular, two types of passive constructions, direct and indirect passives. Following some previous works, it is argued that the subject of a direct passive is generated in the same position as an object of the corresponding active verb, having the same thematic role, whereas the subject of an indirect passive is projected as an argument of a separate predicate. Several pieces of evidence for this hypothesis which are not given in the literature are provided here. / Chapter 3 is concerned with psych verbs, focusing on those that participate in a causative alternation. It is proposed that causative counterparts of these verbs can have two different structures that are parallel to the two types of passives discussed in Chapter 2. The subject of one type is generated in the same position as the object of the noncausative counterpart, having the same thematic role, whereas the subject of the other type is projected as an argument of a separate predicate. / Chapter 4 takes up ditransitive verbs, specifically, those that have inchoative counterparts, which do not project the subject of the ditransitive construction. There are two types of such verbs: one promotes the accusative argument of the ditransitive construction, rather than the dative one, to the subject of the inchoative counterpart, while the other chooses the dative argument over the accusative one for the subject of the inchoative counterpart. It is argued that this reflects the difference in the base-generated position of the dative argument between the two types of verbs. Moreover, the dative arguments of the two are distinguished in terms of thematic role. / This research is meant to contribute toward having a further understanding of how the participants of an event are expressed in grammatical forms.

"The Verb Phrase in Kihema" investigates a wide range of three different constructions, which have all been termed 'Grammatical Function Changing Processes' (GFCP), by Linguists, using data from Kihema (a Bantu language spoken in the northeastern district of Ituru). It focuses on those GFCPs, namely the causative, the applicative and the passive. On the one hand, Kihema causative constructions are the result of extending the verb by means of a derivational affix. This process has an impact on the argument structure of the verb. On the other hand, Kihema applicative constructions are the outcome of moving the preposition out of a prepositional phrase and incorporating it in the verb that governs it. Lastly, Kihema passive constructions result from the base verb losing its ability to assign accusative case and its failure to assign an external thematic role. Consequently, in passives, the former direct object moves to the syntactic subject position, where it receives nominative case. The thematic subject can only be realized inside a prepositional phrase. In these constructions, the verb bears morphemes such as -is- (for causatives), -ir- (for applicatives), and -w- (for passives). Causative and applicative morphemes have the ability to turn an intransitive verb into a transitive verb and a transitive verb into a ditransitive verb. The study provides data of different objects that appear with the verb in the Kihema verb phrase. It examines the syntactic properties exhibited by those objects. As a result, Kihema is classified as a 'symmetrical' language, since all postverbal objects in causative and applicative constructions exhibit direct object properties. However, the basic object in locative applicatives has some restrictions. In this research, I analyze causatives, applicatives and passives in Kihema within the framework of the Principles-and-Parameters theory (Chomsky, 1981; 1986a, 1986b) in particular, the following two theories have proven useful in my study: (i) Baker's (1988) analysis of causatives in terms of verb incorporation and his treatment of applicatives as preposition incorporation and (ii) Jaeggli's (1986) and Baker, Johnson and Roberts' (1989) theories of the passive. My study shows how these theories account for the three Kihema Grammatical Function Changing Processes. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

The purpose of this research was to analyze the status of the English auxiliary system in the verb phrases of the writing of a selected group of sixth grade children to determine whether there would be measurable differences between the incorporation and comprehension of verb phrase expansions of children taught generative-transformational theory and those taught traditional theory.The research was designed to answer four questions relevant to the effects of the experimental treatment on the writing productivity of the subjects in the study. I collected writing samples from the subjects for pre-test and post-test evaluation. The first 100 verb forms collected from the subjects' pre-test and post-test writing were analyzed for changes in the subjects' use of expanded verb forms. The purpose of this analysis was to determine if the experimental subjects utilized fewer simple verb forms and more expanded verb forms in their post-test sampling.The sampling consisted of fifteen Caucasians and six Blacks in each group for a total of forty-two subjects. The subjects were students attending the Henry Barnard School which serves as the laboratory setting for Rhode Island College. The groups were equalized in terms of I.Q. and language achievement. While I collected the post-test data, the experimental subjects studied generative-transformational methods of verb phrase expansions and the control subjects studied traditional methods of verb phrase expansions.The data were analyzed by means of a two-way factorial analysis which computed the statistical differences for the experimental (Black-Caucasian)/control (Black-Caucasian), pre-test, post-test variables. In order to determine statistically significant differences for the groups, t-scores and f-scores were analyzed. The following conclusions were drawn from the statistical findings.Although none of the statistical summaries were significant at the .05 level, the experimental subjects showed more gains in their use of expanded verb forms in their posttest writing than the control group showed. Among the experimental subjects who made gains in their use of expanded verb forms, the Black population made the greatest gains. The most complex verb forms did not appear in the post-test sampling of either group. These complex forms seemed to be beyond the written linguistic productivity of sixth-grade children.

<p>This essay deals with the issue of readability, the term <em>readability</em> referring to what it is that makes a reader perceive a text as difficult or easy. Some factors are related to the reader but there are also those which depend on the text as such, one such factor being style which is the one that will be focused on in this essay.</p><p>The investigation is based on the analysis and comparison of a complete version and an abridged version of Charlotte Brontë’s <em>Jane Eyre, </em>and the questions to be investigated are whether the author of the abridged version has succeeded in making it less complicated, and<em> </em>if he or she has done so by considering stylistic features said to be affecting readability.</p><p>Further, this essay is divided into four chapters. The first chapter contains the background for the analysis and is divided into 4 parts dealing with the following aspects: the definition of readability, early research on readability, later research on readability, and difficult and easy language. Chapter two describes the limitations made and the method used for the analysis which involves looking at the noun phrase, the verb phrase, and the clause. Chapter three gives a detailed description of the corpus investigated. Moving on to chapter four, this is where the results of the investigation are presented. This is done by dividing it into four different subchapters, each of them dealing with issues related to the different areas described in the method. Each of the subchapters then begins with the presentation of the results for each edition which is then followed by a comparative discussion. The essay ends with a conclusion part where conclusions regarding the four areas presented in the analysis are made along with the answering of research questions.</p>