The purpose of this study is to examine what contemporary corpora can reveal about the use of the two adjectives evil and wicked. These two synonyms have been analysed using corpus linguistics in order to acquire results about the differences between them regarding frequency of use, as well as their collocating nouns. The results have also been analysed with a focus on gender perspectives. The study has a quantitative as well as a qualitative approach. The material investigated for this study consists of a corpus called The Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). The definitions of the two adjectives have also been searched within a few of the greater dictionaries. The findings reveal that the word evil is used to a greater extent by speakers and writers in different contexts in comparison to its synonym wicked. There are also significant differences between male and female nouns in adjective and noun collocations. The adjective evil is more frequently used to address male nouns, whereas its synonym wicked is more widely used as an attribute to female nouns. The differences are aligned with common gender stereotypes presented in previous studies and support the results regarding gender approaches in adjective and noun collocations.

本篇論文論證在漢語中動詞以及文獻中所認定的形容詞(putative adjectives)之間的區分是非必要的。本文探討了文獻中區分和辨別漢語形容詞詞類的各項準則，並論證這些準則並無法全面性解釋所有傳統上被視為是形容詞的詞彙，也因此使得漢語語法更加複雜和歧異。文獻中所認定的形容詞在句法上並未呈現出形容詞的特性；相反地，它們無論是從時貌標記來看或就範疇功能(categorial function)等方面而論都與動詞一致。因此，把文獻中所認定的形容詞與動詞歸於一類將可維持漢語語法的簡單性。 此外，我們認為Chomsky (1965)以兩個正負號特徵(±N, ±V)所界定出的四個詞類(名詞、動詞、形容詞以及介係詞)並不是普遍性的(universal)；意即，並非所有語言都需要同時擁有這四個詞類。功能語言學派的看法亦同，他們認為語言中最少只需要兩個詞類來執行語言功能，即動詞與名詞，因此只有這兩個詞類具有普遍性，而另兩個詞類的語意功能可藉由它們來執行。對此，我們引用了缺乏形容詞(如：韓語(cf. Kim 2002a, 2002b))及介係詞(如：賽德克語(cf. Huang 1998))語言的語料來佐證只有動詞與名詞具有普遍性的看法。最後，本文採用Bhat (1994)在觀察跨語言間形容詞詞類的行為表現後所提出的形容詞鑑定標準，來證明漢語中並沒有一個獨立的形容詞詞類。 / This thesis argues that the verb-adjective distinction in Mandarin Chinese is unnecessary. The criteria for identifying a distinct adjectival category have been proposed by many linguists, e.g., Zhu (1982), Yin (2003), Huang et al (2008); however, they fail to accommodate all putative adjectives as a category. A distinct adjective category requires stipulations to account for the verb-adjective distinction and thus complicates the grammar. Descriptively, putative adjectives in Mandarin Chinese do not exhibit adjectival characteristics; rather, they are unmarked predicates and thus behave similarly as verbs in terms of aspectual marking, N’-ellipsis, and reduplication. Putative adjectives should thus be conflated with verbs to maintain the simplicity of the grammar. From a typological perspective, some languages have been argued to lack adjectives (e.g., Korean (cf. Kim 2002)) and others, prepositions (e.g., Seediq (cf. Huang 1998)). Therefore, Chomsky’s (1965) four categories defined by two universal feature specifications [±N] and [±V] do not seem to be ubiquitous. Functionalist linguists also assert that only Noun and Verb are universal, for they represent the elementary and central concepts at two extremes of the world while Adjective and Preposition may not be syntactically realized and their semantic concepts are thus associated with either Noun or Verb. Finally, Chinese putative adjectives are further examined with the cross-linguistic criteria proposed in Bhat (1994). The only logical conclusion is that Mandarin Chinese does not distinguish adjectives as a distinct category.

The emotive connotations of diminutives in English are a source of controversy among scholars, while the Slavic languages of Polish and Russian are considered ‘diminutive-rich’ with diminutives that convey diverse nuances. Thus, the translation of diminutives between English and Slavic languages has either been portrayed as difficult or has been ignored altogether. However, an analysis of Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and several of its translations into Polish and Russian shows that English has many diminutives, some of which are ‘untranslatable’, while many diminutives can be easily translated. Yet, the strong emphasis on diminutives in Polish and Russian produces diminutives in the translations that do not appear in the original text and are not typical of English. What becomes evident is that the obstacles in translating various diminutive constructions provoke the question: What are the semantic-pragmatic differences between English and Polish/Russian diminutives and how do these differences affect translation? / Graduate / 0679 / 0593 / 0314 / dlockyer@alumni.ubc.ca

Este trabalho apresenta uma análise semântica dos verbos e adjetivos do Guarani Paraguaio baseada nos pressupostos da Semântica Formal. Mais especificamente, este trabalho se propõe a analisar a interação de verbos e adjetivos com um morfema de grau da língua, a partícula . São analisados neste trabalho adjetivos, verbos e construções causativas com verbos deadjetivais a partir de suas possíveis leituras com o morfema . Demonstra-se aqui que o morfema funciona como um modificador da relação de predicação entre o adjetivo ou o evento e um argumento nominal. Essa relação está dada em termos de uma estrutura de graus, de acordo com a semântica escalar proposta por Kennedy (1999b) e Kennedy & McNally (2005). Essas teorias partem do pressuposto de que adjetivos mapeiam entidades em graus de estruturas abstratas de uma propriedade, as escalas, e por isso adjetivo contém uma variável de grau d em sua entrada lexical. Essa variável é quantificada através de um morfema de grau. Proponho aqui que além do modificador que satura a variável de grau dada no seu léxico, o adjetivo também pode receber um modificador de grau quando houver uma escala de quantidade, dada composicionalmente de acordo com o modelo de Bochnak (2010). Nesse sentido, não atuaria sobre a variável de grau dada pelo léxico do adjetivo, mas sobre uma escala de quantidade construída na sintaxe. Em relação a verbos, modificaria a relação de mapeamento do evento sobre entidades, medido por uma estrutura de graus. Uma das vantagens desta proposta é que isso permitiria que adjetivos fossem modificados simultaneamente por e outros modificadores de grau que atuam sobre a escala de intensidade de adjetivos, o que de fato ocorre na língua. Para sustentar minha hipótese de análise, apresento alguns dados do Guarani Paraguaio em que o morfema co-ocorre com outros intensificadores de grau. Em relação aos verbos deadjetivais, mostrarei que estes não possuem uma leitura atélica como os verbos deadjetivais do Inglês e do Português Brasileiro. Isso serve de evidência para concluir que não modifica a escala de propriedade dada pelo adjetivo formador do verbo, mas que atua no mapeamento do evento na estrutura de graus dada por seu argumento nominal. Em suma, este trabalho mostra que opera sempre sobre escalas de quantidade e nunca sobre a variável de grau do léxico de verbos e adjetivos. / This dissertation presents a semantic analysis of verbs and adjectives Paraguayan Guarani based on the assumptions of Formal Semantics. More precisely, this study aims to analyze the interaction of verbs and adjectives with the particle , a degree morpheme of the language studied here. In this dissertation, I analyze adjectives, verbs and causative constructions with deadjectival verbs and the possible readings of the modification of towards these predicates. It is shown here that the morpheme acts as a modifier of the relationship between the adjective or the event and a nominal argument. This relation is described in terms of a degree structure, according to the semantic of scales proposed by Kennedy (1999b) and Kennedy & McNally (2005). This theory is based on the assumption that adjectives map entities onto degrees of abstract structures of properties - the scales and, for this, adjectives have a degree argument in their lexical entry. The degree variable is saturated by a degree morpheme. I propose here that besides the modifier that saturates the degree variable of the lexicon, the adjective can also be modified by another degree modifier that operates on a quantity scale, which is compositionally given, according to Bochnak (2010). In this sense, does not saturate the degree variable given by the lexicon of the adjective or the verb, but it applies to a quantity scale that is built in syntax. Regarding verbs, modifies the mapping of the event onto entities, which is measured by a degree structure. One of the advantages of this account is that it allows that and other degree intensifiers modify adjectives simultaneously. And it actually happens in Guaraní. In order to support my analysis, I present some data of Paraguayan Guaraní that illustrate how combines to other degree modifiers. I also show that deadjectival verbs cannot have an atelic reading similar to Brazilian Portuguese and English deadjectival verbs. This is used as an evidence to point out that does not modify the property scale of the verb introduced by the adjective, but it only acts on the mapping of the event onto the degree structure of its nominal argument. In conclusion, this work shows that always operates on quantity scales and never on the degree variable of the lexicon of verbs and adjectives.

Este trabalho é um estudo sobre os adjetivos denominais, deadjetivais e deverbais formados com os sufixos –oso, –udo e – ento. Diante do fato de que esses sufixos são concorrentes e considerando que a descrição das propriedades desses afixos nos respectivos verbetes dicionarísticos pode ser aperfeiçoada; procuramos, neste trabalho, investigar quais são os critérios de ordem categorial e/ou semântica que justificam a construção desses adjetivos na língua portuguesa, a fim de contribuir com a descrição lexicográfica proposta pelos dicionários Aurélio (2006) e Houaiss (2006). Para tanto, assume-se o ponto de vista teórico de Rio-Torto (1998) e de Correia (2004), que adotam em suas análises os pressupostos teóricos do modelo SILEX, proposto originalmente por Corbin em 1987. Trata-se, portanto, de pesquisa com enfoque metalexicográfico, uma vez que, a partir do objeto ‘dicionário’, refletimos e procuramos estabelecer critérios formais e/ou semânticos que sejam capazes de contribuir com a redação de verbetes afixais. Nossos resultados revelam que há um maior número de entradas lexicais de adjetivos denominais nas obras lexicográficas examinadas e que a determinação dos traços semânticos das bases, dos afixos e das palavras construídas são dados que certamente podem enriquecer a redação dos verbetes de –oso, –udo e –ento. / This paper is a study on the denominal, deverbative and deadjectival adjectives formed by -oso, -udo and -ento suffix affixing. Given the fact that these adjectives are contestants, and considering that the properties description of these affixes, in their respective dictionary entries, can be improved, we seek to investigate the categorical and/or semantics criteria to justify these adjectives construction in Portuguese, in order to contribute to the lexicographical description proposed by Aurélio (2006) and Houaiss (2006) dictionaries. To this end, we adopted Torto (1998) and Correia (2004) theoretical points of view, who adopt in their analysis the SILEX theoretical model, originally proposed by Corbin in 1987. It is therefore, a metalexicography focused research, from the ‘dictionary’ object one; we reflect and seek to establish formal and/or semantics criteria that are able to contribute with affix entries writing. Our results show that there is a greater number of lexical entries of denominal adjectives in the examined lexicographical works and that the determination of semantics features bases, affixes and build words, are data that certainly can enrich -oso, -udo, and – ento entries writing.

Este trabalho apresenta uma análise semântica dos verbos e adjetivos do Guarani Paraguaio baseada nos pressupostos da Semântica Formal. Mais especificamente, este trabalho se propõe a analisar a interação de verbos e adjetivos com um morfema de grau da língua, a partícula . São analisados neste trabalho adjetivos, verbos e construções causativas com verbos deadjetivais a partir de suas possíveis leituras com o morfema . Demonstra-se aqui que o morfema funciona como um modificador da relação de predicação entre o adjetivo ou o evento e um argumento nominal. Essa relação está dada em termos de uma estrutura de graus, de acordo com a semântica escalar proposta por Kennedy (1999b) e Kennedy & McNally (2005). Essas teorias partem do pressuposto de que adjetivos mapeiam entidades em graus de estruturas abstratas de uma propriedade, as escalas, e por isso adjetivo contém uma variável de grau d em sua entrada lexical. Essa variável é quantificada através de um morfema de grau. Proponho aqui que além do modificador que satura a variável de grau dada no seu léxico, o adjetivo também pode receber um modificador de grau quando houver uma escala de quantidade, dada composicionalmente de acordo com o modelo de Bochnak (2010). Nesse sentido, não atuaria sobre a variável de grau dada pelo léxico do adjetivo, mas sobre uma escala de quantidade construída na sintaxe. Em relação a verbos, modificaria a relação de mapeamento do evento sobre entidades, medido por uma estrutura de graus. Uma das vantagens desta proposta é que isso permitiria que adjetivos fossem modificados simultaneamente por e outros modificadores de grau que atuam sobre a escala de intensidade de adjetivos, o que de fato ocorre na língua. Para sustentar minha hipótese de análise, apresento alguns dados do Guarani Paraguaio em que o morfema co-ocorre com outros intensificadores de grau. Em relação aos verbos deadjetivais, mostrarei que estes não possuem uma leitura atélica como os verbos deadjetivais do Inglês e do Português Brasileiro. Isso serve de evidência para concluir que não modifica a escala de propriedade dada pelo adjetivo formador do verbo, mas que atua no mapeamento do evento na estrutura de graus dada por seu argumento nominal. Em suma, este trabalho mostra que opera sempre sobre escalas de quantidade e nunca sobre a variável de grau do léxico de verbos e adjetivos. / This dissertation presents a semantic analysis of verbs and adjectives Paraguayan Guarani based on the assumptions of Formal Semantics. More precisely, this study aims to analyze the interaction of verbs and adjectives with the particle , a degree morpheme of the language studied here. In this dissertation, I analyze adjectives, verbs and causative constructions with deadjectival verbs and the possible readings of the modification of towards these predicates. It is shown here that the morpheme acts as a modifier of the relationship between the adjective or the event and a nominal argument. This relation is described in terms of a degree structure, according to the semantic of scales proposed by Kennedy (1999b) and Kennedy & McNally (2005). This theory is based on the assumption that adjectives map entities onto degrees of abstract structures of properties - the scales and, for this, adjectives have a degree argument in their lexical entry. The degree variable is saturated by a degree morpheme. I propose here that besides the modifier that saturates the degree variable of the lexicon, the adjective can also be modified by another degree modifier that operates on a quantity scale, which is compositionally given, according to Bochnak (2010). In this sense, does not saturate the degree variable given by the lexicon of the adjective or the verb, but it applies to a quantity scale that is built in syntax. Regarding verbs, modifies the mapping of the event onto entities, which is measured by a degree structure. One of the advantages of this account is that it allows that and other degree intensifiers modify adjectives simultaneously. And it actually happens in Guaraní. In order to support my analysis, I present some data of Paraguayan Guaraní that illustrate how combines to other degree modifiers. I also show that deadjectival verbs cannot have an atelic reading similar to Brazilian Portuguese and English deadjectival verbs. This is used as an evidence to point out that does not modify the property scale of the verb introduced by the adjective, but it only acts on the mapping of the event onto the degree structure of its nominal argument. In conclusion, this work shows that always operates on quantity scales and never on the degree variable of the lexicon of verbs and adjectives.

The purpose of this study is to give a thorough and detailed account and analysis of the semantics of twelve Swedish dimensional adjectives: hög ‘high/tall', låg ‘low', bred ‘broad/wide', smal ‘narrow/thin', vid ‘broad', trång ‘narrow', tjock ‘thick', tunn ‘thin', djup ‘deep', grund ‘narrow', lång ‘long' and kort ‘short'. Focus has been placed on their spatial, non-metaphorical sense. The study was written within the framework of cognitive linguistics, where lexical definitions may be given in terms of prototypical and peripheral uses. Four sources of data have been considered: a corpus, consisting of contemporary fiction, an elicitation test, designed for the purpose, dictionary articles on the pertinent adjectives, and the author's own linguistic intuition as a native speaker. The methodology has involved categorisation of combinations of adjective and noun, based upon three major themes: orientation, function, and shape. In order to determine prototypical uses, precedence has been given to the outcome of the elicitation test over the corpus search. For both sources, frequency has played an important part. The ranking of senses as stated in the dictionary articles has also been considered. The results indicate that the dimensional adjectives differ quite markedly from each other, as opposed to a structural view where the adjectives traditionally have been regarded as forming a neat patchwork. Adjectives overlap each other for some uses (högt gräs ‘high grass', långt gräs ‘long grass' and even djupt gräs ‘deep grass'), while there are also situations in which no dimensional adjective can describe an object. Furthermore, adjectives forming pairs, such as djup – grund ‘deep – shallow', do not exhibit full antonymy, despite the fact that dimensional adjectives are traditionally cited as examples par excellence concerning antonymy.

This thesis investigates the developpment of gender agreement in determiners and adjectives in the spontaneous speech of L2 French by five groups of Swedish learners: beginners at the university, secondary school students, university students, teacher candidates and PhD students. Different types of determiners are examined, such as definite and the indefinite articles. Adjectival agreement is studied in different positions in relation to the noun, such as the attributive anteposition, the attributive postposition and the predicative position. The aim is to identify the developmental sequence of gender agreement through a longitudinal study of learners at different levels of acquisition. The analysis is based on spoken language, i.e. 81 interviews belonging to the InterFra-corpus, Stockholm University. Our data also includes 8 oral productions from a control group of native speakers. The study is in three parts: one for the agreement between determiners and nouns, another for the agreement between adjectives and nouns and, finally, a study considering agreement between all three items within the noun phrase, i.e. determiner, noun and adjective (Det-N-Adj). A sequence of acquisition for gender agreement on determiners and adjectives is proposed based on the productions of four learner groups and compared to the six developmental stages suggested by Bartning and Schlyter (2004). Results have showed that there is an acquisition order of gender agreement in different parts of the nominal phrase, according to the type of determiner and the positions of the adjective. A qualitative analysis has shown a random use of gender agreement on determiners and some nouns are used with both genders on the determiner. Also, the type-token ratio is very low at the beginning of the acquisition, which partly explains the high accuracy rate (100 %). The study considering agreement between all three constituents within the noun phrase revealed that advanced learners have higher accuracy rate for gender agreement on adjectives within the noun phrase with the presence of a determiner that marks gender distinction (i.e. a non-elided, singular determiner). Results also showed that the feminine form of the adjectives remains difficult at higher acquisitional levels.

The morphology (noun and adjective) of the Laurynas Bortkevičius book „Kiales krizaus...“ (1819) Summary “Kiales krizaus…”, written by Laurynas Bortkevicius, was published in 1819 in Vilnius. It, as well as many other works of authors from Eastern Lithuania, is a religious book containing fourteen scenes of the stations of the Cross or Calvary. There are prayers, canticles and the descriptions of the stations of the Cross in it. The major part of the book is translated from Latin. “Kiales krizaus…” is written in the Eastern language script variant. There is huge variety of phonetic, morphological, syntactic peculiarities and archaic forms of the Eastern Aukštaičiai dialect in it. This book enables us to acquire more knowledge of the specific Eastern script of the beginning of 19th century. It also helps to understand the peculiarities of its grammatical structures, the situation of the Eastern dialects and the changes of the nouns and adjectives forms during the process of the language standardization. After the thorough analysis of nouns and adjectives made on this religious publication, the conclusions can be drawn as follows: 1. The book is written in the eastern Aukštaičiai dialect. However phonetic, morphological and lexical peculiarities as well as peculiarities of spelling are not consecutively used in the authors publication. 2. It is obvious that the majority of nouns and adjectives has sustained many Eastern Aukštaičiai peculiarities, e. g.: apłunkima, darzi... [to full text]

Lietuvių šnekamosios kalbos deminutyvai dažniausiai padaromi iš daiktavardžio, kiek rečiau iš būdvardžio ir labai retai iš skaitvardžio. Daiktavardžių ir būdvardžių deminutyvai dažniausiai padaromi prie daiktavardžio / būdvardžio pridėjus bendras – tiek daiktavardžiams, tiek būdvardžiams būdingas - priesagas. Skaitvardžių deminutyvai yra išvedami iš trijų šaknų (milijon-, tūktant-, šimt-) pamatinių žodžių su trimis dažniausiomis šnekamosios kalbos deminutyvinėmis priesagomis ( -ėlis, -ė; -elis, -ė, -(i)ukas, -ė). Mažybiniai maloniniai žodžiai yra vartojami skirtingomis darybos reikšmėmis. Priklausomai nuo to, ką norima išreikšti, su tuo pačiu ar skirtingu afiksu sudaryti vediniai, šnekamojoje kalboje dažniausiai žymi mažumą ir (arba) teigiamą / neigiamą vertinimą. Deminutyvai yra viena ryškiausių šnekamosios kalbos ekspresyvinimo, priemonių, parodančių kalbėtojo santykį su įvardijamu objektų, atskleidžiančių sinonimiškumą, kalbėtojo charakterio savitumą. / In the Lithuanian colloquial language, diminutives are mostly made from nouns, less frequently from adjectives, and rarely from numeral. Diminutives of nouns and adjectives are offen formed from common suffixes. Diminutives of numerals are made from three roots – šimt-, tūkstant-, milijon- and three mostly used suffixes -elis, -ėlis, -(i)ukas. Diminutives are suffixal derivatives and they are used in different meanings of formation. In accordance with to what you want to express using the same or diferent affix, diminutives of colloquial language usually denotes smallness and (or) positive/negative evaluation. Diminutive is one of the most distinct means of expressiveness, which shows the relation between the speaker and named object, reveals synonymy and individuality of speakers character.