Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brandeis University, 1989. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [241]-247).

Thesis (MA (General Linguistics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / This study focuses on the internal structure of the CP in Afrikaans. Rizzi’s (1997) Split-CP Hypothesis serves as the starting-point; however, careful consideration is also given to the more recent proposals of Beninca’ and Poletto (2004). The aim of the study is to determine whether the proposals of Rizzi (1997) and Beninca’ and Poletto (2004) provide an adequate framework for the description of the CP-domain in Afrikaans. The study is presented within the theoretical framework of Minimalist Syntax. Specific adaptations to the Split-CP Hypothesis are suggested throughout the course of the discussion in an attempt to make the Split-CP Hypothesis compatible with the facts of Afrikaans. Finally, attention is also given to three problematic issues in Afrikaans that require further investigation.

Thesis (MA (General Linguistics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study deals with syntactic aspects of expletive daar (“there”) and dit (“it”) constructions in Afrikaans. Previous analyses of these constructions have mostly been of a non-formalistic nature (e.g. Barnes 1984; Donaldson 1993; Du Plessis 1977; Ponelis 1979, 1993). The present study investigates the properties of Afrikaans expletive constructions within the broad theoretical framework of Minimalist Syntax. Four recent minimalist analyses of expletive constructions in English, Dutch and German are set out, namely those proposed by Bowers (2002), Felser and Rupp (2001), Richards and Biberauer (2005), and Radford (2009). Against this background, an analysis is proposed of transitive, non-passive unaccusative, passive unaccusative, and unergative expletive constructions in Afrikaans. Throughout, the focus is on whether the devices available within Minimalist Syntax, and specifically the Expletive Conditions proposed by Radford (2009), provide an adequate framework in which the relevant facts of Afrikaans can be described and explained. Where required, modifications to the devices in question are proposed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie handel oor sintaktiese aspekte van ekspletiewe daar- en dit-konstruksies in Afrikaans. Vorige analises van dié konstruksies was grootliks nie-formalisties van aard (bv. Barnes 1984; Donaldson 1993; Du Plessis 1977; Ponelis 1979, 1993). Die huidige studie ondersoek die eienskappe van Afrikaanse ekspletiewe konstruksies binne die breë teoretiese raamwerk van Minimalistiese Sintaksis. Vier onlangse minimalistiese analises van ekspletiewe konstruksies in Engels, Nederlands en Duits word uiteengesit, naamlik dié wat voorgestel is deur Bowers (2002), Felser en Rupp (2001), Richards en Biberauer (2005), en Radford (2009). Teen hierdie agtergrond word ’n analise voorgestel van transitiewe, nie-passiewe onakkusatiewe, passiewe onakkusatiewe, en onergatiewe ekspletiewe konstruksies in Afrikaans. Die fokus is deurgaans op die vraag of die meganismes wat beskikbaar is binne Minimalistiese Sintaksis, en spesifiek die drie Ekspletiewe Voorwaardes wat voorgestel word deur Radford (2009), ’n toereikende raamwerk bied waarbinne die tersaaklike feite van Afrikaans beskryf en verklaar kan word. Waar nodig, word aanpassings aan die betrokke meganismes voorgestel.

Orientador: Rosana do Carmo Novaes Pinto / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem, / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T13:48:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Kleppa_Lou-Ann_D.pdf: 12084543 bytes, checksum: 1e300902cc79348dede7cd9bdbf89d2d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Esta tese situa-se na área de Neurolingüística, buscando dialogar com a área da Aquisição de Linguagem. Seu ponto de partida é a hipótese do espelho invertido, proposta por Roman Jakobson ([1956] 1971), que prevê que os primeiros elementos lingüísticos adquiridos por uma criança serão os últimos sujeitos à dissolução na fala do sujeito afásico. O objeto de estudo desta pesquisa é a preposição ligada a verbos na fala de uma criança (R) em processo de aquisição de linguagem e de dois sujeitos afásicos com agramatismo (MS e OJ) em processo de reconstrução de linguagem. Não se tem notícia de outros estudos que tomem a preposição como ponto de articulação para o contraste da fala de crianças e sujeitos afásicos. Foram examinados dados longitudinais, dialógicos e de fala espontânea de R, MS e OJ e dados dialógicos dos sujeitos afásicos, coletados em situações experimentais. Estes dados, de naturezas diferentes, foram examinados separadamente, para que fosse possível contrastar o funcionamento da preposição (i) na fala da criança versus dos sujeitos afásicos quando envolvidos numa mesma situação dialógica: a conversa informal; (ii) e na fala dos sujeitos afásicos em diferentes situações dialógicas: conversa informal versus situações experimentais. Os resultados obtidos indicam que a classificação das preposições mais adequada é a proposta pela Hipótese da Gramaticalização, já adotada em Kleppa (2005a) para dispor as preposições num continuum de diferentes graus de gramaticalização. Assim, questões de freqüência, distribuição, forma e sentido da preposição determinam seu uso na fala da criança e dos sujeitos afásicos. Os resultados também indicam que a diferença de uso de preposições na fala da criança versus sujeitos afásicos, e dos sujeitos afásicos em conversas espontâneas versus situações experimentais é quantitativa, não qualitativa. Contudo, a maior diferença encontrada diz respeito ao estatuto de sujeito falante da criança e do sujeito afásico. A partir da análise de dados podemos dizer que a criança e os sujeitos afásicos movimentam-se na mesma língua, mas estabelecem diferentes (e incomparáveis) relações com ela. No âmbito da Neurolingüística, a Teoria da Adaptação orienta esta pesquisa, ao passo que no âmbito da Aquisição de Linguagem, a teorização de De Lemos ilumina algumas questões pontuais. Davidson, com seu estudo sobre malapropismos, apresenta uma visão interessante do ato comunicativo/ interpretativo e assim chegamos a diferentes concepções de língua, falante e fala daquelas adotadas nos estudos correntes sobre preposições, fala de criança ou afásico. / Abstract: This thesis was developed within the field of Neurolinguistics and aims some possible dialogue with the field of Language Acquisition. The starting point for this study is the inverted mirror hypothesis, posed by Roman Jakobson ([1956] 1971), predicting that the first linguistic elements acquired by the child will be the last ones dissolved in the speech of aphasic speakers. The object of this study is the preposition linked to verbs in the speech of one child (R) in the process of language acquisition and two agrammatic speakers (MS and OJ) in the process of language reconstruction. As far as we know, there are no other studies taking the preposition as an articulation point for the contrast between child and aphasic speech. Longitudinal, dialogical data were examined from both the child and the aphasic speakers: R provides spontaneous speech data, while MS and OJ provide as well spontaneous as elicited speech. These data, different by nature, were examined separately in order to allow the contrast of prepositions functioning (i) in the speech of the child versus the speech of agrammatic speakers when involved in the same dialogical context: informal conversation; (ii) and in the speech of agrammatic subjects in different conversational situations: informal conversation versus experimental situations. The results obtained indicate that the best classification of prepositions is the one offered by the Grammaticalization Hypothesis, arraying them in a synchronic continuum of different degrees of grammaticalization, as was done in Kleppa (2005a). Thus, issues concerning frequency, distribution, form and meaning of the prepositions determine their use in the speech of children and agrammatic subjects. Our results also indicate that the differences between the use of prepositions in child and aphasic speech in informal conversations are quantitative, not qualitative. The greatest difference, however, is related to the position of the speaker towards (his) language. The analysis shows that both the child and the aphasic speakers move within their language according to the possibilities given by the language, but the relations they establish with this language are not comparable. Within Neurolinguistics, the Adaptation Theory guides this research, while the theory developed by De Lemos comes to illuminate some specific points of debate concerning language acquisition. Davidson, with his study on malapropisms, presents an alternative view of the communicative/ interpretive act, and thus we reach different conceptions of language, speaker and speech from those assumed in current studies about prepositions, child and agrammatic speech. / Doutorado / Doutor em Linguística

Orientador: Wilmar da Rocha D'Angelis / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T18:48:44Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Souza_ErickMarceloLimade_M.pdf: 3918712 bytes, checksum: fcaf8a508391f3fb2888b49be1e919ca (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Este trabalho é um estudo tanto descritivo quanto comparativo do que consideramos duas variantes da mesma língua, conhecidas como Baniwa do Içana e Kuripako, pertencentes à família Aruak. Aqui, se faz uma análise linguística da relação entre ambas as variantes, pautada em parte do seu componente linguístico, isto é, o sistema fonológico, com vistas a colaborar para uma definição da classificação dialetal. Sua base teórica linguística é fundamentada nas ideias estruturalistas europeias da Escola de Praga. Neste trabalho, há uma discussão da variação dialetal deste ramo da família Aruak, um breve histórico dos estudos sobre esse ramo da família e uma descrição da fonologia da língua. Esta pesquisa é, assim, uma tentativa de discutir tanto questões da Fonologia quanto da Sociolingüística, com ênfase nos aspectos fonético-fonológicos como um dos requisitos para as discussões sobre variação dialetal / Abstract: This work is both a descriptive and comparative analysis, of what we consider two variants of the same language, known as Baniwa of Içana and Kuripako, which belong to the Arawakan family. Here there is a linguistic analysis of the relationship between both variants based in part of its linguistic component, it means, the phonologic system, in order to colaborate to a definition of the dialectical classification. Its linguistic theoretical basis is grounded on the structuralist ideas from the School of Prague. In this work, there is a discussion about the dialectical variation of this branch of the Arawakan Family, a brief history of the studies on the branch of this family and a description of the phonology of the language. This research is thus an attempt to discuss issues related to the Phonology and Sociolinguistics as well, with emphasis on the phonetic and phonological aspects as one of the requirements for the discussions about dialectical variation / Mestrado / Linguistica / Mestre em Linguística

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Thesis (Ph.D. (English Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2019 / The aims of the study were to compare connector use and verb phrase use between two achievement groups. The achievement groups comprised the Highs, students whose essays were highly rated (124 essays; word length 59702), and the Lows, students whose essays were rated poorly (126 essays; word length 60524). The analytical frameworks for the analysis of appropriate use were taken from Biber, Johansson, Leech, Conrad and Finegan (1999).The analytical frameworks for inappropriate use were designed by the researcher. Connectors comprised circumstance adverbials, linking adverbials, co-ordinators and relativisers. Verb phrase uses comprised all the categories described in Biber, et al. (1999). The analysis entailed counting number of occurrences per use for each achievement group and determining whether difference in use was significant or not by undertaking Log Likelihood calculations using Paul Rayson’s Log Likelihood calculator available online. These also indicate the relative frequency of each use. The results for appropriate connector use revealed that although no significant differences occurred with respect to connector categories, highly/significant differences did occur with regard to specific forms. Regarding inappropriate connector use, results showed that differences between the two achievement groups were overall highly significant, with a substantially higher occurrence of inappropriate uses in the Lows compared to the Highs. The results for appropriate verb phrase use revealed highly/significant differences between the Highs and Lows for several verb phrase categories, such as modal auxiliary use and Perfect Aspect. The results for inappropriate verb phrase use, as was the case for inappropriate connector use, showed highly significant differences between the two achievement groups, with the Lows having a much higher incidence of inappropriate uses than the Highs. The study finally considers the pedagogical implications arising from the results and makes suggestions for course design relating to writing instruction.

This data study concentrates on the past tense marking in the interlanguage (IL) of Chinese speakers of English. Following the assumptions of Hawkins & Lizska, (2003), it is assumed that unlike native speakers of English, Chinese speakers of English have a higher level of optionality within the past tense marking of their grammars. It is claimed that the primary reason for this occurrence is the lack of the functional feature T(ense) [+/-past] in Mandarin Chinese. If a particular functional feature is missing in a learner's L1 grammar, it is thought that it will be absent in one's L2 grammar as well. Three advanced Chinese speakers of English were tested on the past tense marking in their IL production. Both spontaneous oral and reading speech were used for this data analysis.

Thesis. 1975. Ph.D.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Foreign Literatures and Linguistics. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 454-462. / Ph.D.

Thesis (M.A. ( Translation and Linguistics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2013 / The aim of this dissertation is to examine the impact of phonetics and phonology on the Xitsonga orthography. It looks at the history of Xitsonga orthography and the developments from the missionaries’ era in the 1800s until 2013. The study also examines the contribution made by the Tsonga Language Board, the Tsonga Language Committee and Pan South African Language Board (PanSALB) in the development of Xitsonga orthography. In addition, the study focuses on the Xitsonga speech sound types and the way they are spelled by the speakers. On the other hand, there are speakers who adhere to the standard orthography whereas on the other hand there are speakers who prefer to use speech sounds according to their respective dialects. The challenges which Xitsonga speakers face on a daily basis have been outlined and what can be done to resolve them. It is suggested that more Xitsonga dictionaries should be written and published and PanSALB should ensure that booklets that deal with Xitsonga spelling rules must be distributed as widely as possible