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La présente thèse analyse la décomposition sous-événementielle et l'interprétation aspectuelle des événements, en se focalisant sur les prédicats dérivés du basque, tels que dantzatu “danser” du nom dantza 'danse', amets egin 'rêver' du nom amets “rêve”, etxeratu 'revenir à la maiso' de etxera “à la maison” ou amatu “devenir mère” de ama “mère”. La thèse est centrée sur la configuration syntaxique représentant la structure événementielle des prédicats et la lexicalisation de ces configurations par des mots réels. J'admets que les prédicats se décomposent en composants plus basiques (par exemple, Levin and Rappaport Hovav 1995), et que cette décomposition est syntaxiquement représentée (Hale and Keyser 1993). Dans cette vue, les événements exprimés par les prédicats sont formés de sous-événements, qui peuvent être aussi bien des processus que des états (Harley 1995 2005, Cuervo 2003, Folli & Harley 2005, Ramchand 2008) et de compléments rhématiques (Ramchand 2008). Les rhèmes sont des compléments qui mesurent et décrivent les sous-événements dont ils sont les compléments. Ils peuvent être de différents types: des PPs, des DPs quantifiés, et même des radicaux non catégorisés. Partant de Harley (2005), je propose une ontologie des radicaux qui les classifie selon qu'ils nomment un Evénement, une Chose ou une Propriété. Les radicaux qui dénomment des Evénements et des Choses sont les compléments de sous-événements de type processus; tandis que les radicaux qui dénomment des Propriétés sont les compléments des états. A l'intérieur de chaque classe, les propriétés des mesures associées aux radicaux comme [+/-croissant], [+/- limite minimale] et [+/- limite maximale] déterminent les propriétés aspectuelles de l'événement tout entier, à savoir, s'il est ponctuel ou duratif, s'il est télique ou atélique. La thèse examine également les interactions entre l'interprétation aspectuelle interne des prédicats (aktionsart), et l'aspect externe (Smith 1997 [1991]). Cette relation est analysée en tenant compte de la catégorie lexicale à la base du prédicat et des différentes configurations de réalisation des prédicats en basque. / This dissertation analyses the subeventive decomposition and aspectual interpretation of events, paying special attention to derived predicates in Basque, like dantzatu ‘to dance’ from dantza ‘dance’, amets egin ‘to dream’ from amets ‘dream’, etxeratu ‘to go home’ from etxe-ra ‘to home’ and amatu ‘to become a mother’ from ama ‘mother’. The discussion is mainly concerned with the syntactic configuration that represents the predicates’ event structure and the lexicalization of these configurations by means of actual words. In this dissertation, it is assumed that predicates can be decomposed into more basic components (e.g. Levin & Rappaport Hovav 1995) and that this decomposition is syntactically represented (Hale & Keyser 1993). To be more precise, in the analysis made in this dissertation, it is assumed that the events conveyed by predicates consist of smaller subevents (Harley 1995 2005, Cuervo 2003, Folli & Harley 2005, Ramchand 2008) (which can be either processes or states) and Rheme objects (Ramchand 2008a). Rhemes are complements which describe and measure the particular subevent they are complementing. They can be of different types: PPs, quanticized DPs and even a-categorial Roots. Building on Harley (2005), I propose an ontology of Roots which classifies different types of Roots depending on whether they name an Event, a Thing or a Property. Event and Thing naming Roots are the complements of the process subevent, whereas Property naming Roots are the complements of states. Within each class, properties of the measure associated to each Root like [±incremental], [±lower bound] and [±upper bound] are going to determine the aspectual properties of the entire event, i.e. whether it is durative or punctual, and telic or atelic. Additionally, this dissertation considers the interaction of the aspectual interpretation of the predicates (commented in the previous paragraph) with viewpoint aspect (Smith 1997 [1991]). This relation is going to be analyzed in combination with the lexical category and the different configurations in which a predicate can surface in Basque.

This thesis explores the properties of adjectives and adverbs in Inuit (Eskimo-Aleut), with focus on the Inuktitut dialect group. While the literature on Eskimoan languages has claimed that they lack these categories, I present syntactic evidence for two classes of adjectives, one verb-like and another strictly attributive, as well as a class of adverbs. These categories are then employed to diagnose more general properties of the language including headedness, word-formation, adjunct licensing, and semantic composition. In the first half of Chapter 2 I demonstrate that verb-like adjectives can be differentiated from verbs insofar as only the former are compatible with a particular copular construction involving modals. Similarly, verb-like adjectives can combine with a negative marker that is incompatible with genuine verbs. This contrast is further corroborated by an inflectional distinction between verb-like adjectives and verbs in the Siglitun dialect. A second class of strictly-attributive adjectives is argued for on the basis of stacking, variable order, optionality, and compositionality. The second half of the chapter examines semantic restrictions on membership in the strictly-attributive class whereby only adjectives with subsective and privative denotations are attested. These restrictions are explained by the proposal that Inuit lacks a rule of Predicate Modification, with the result that only adjectives with semantic types capable of composing with nouns via Functional Application can compose directly with nominals. Furthermore, to explain why this restriction does not extend to verb-like adjectives it is proposed that when these modify nominals, they are adjoined DP appositives and compose via Potts’s (2005) rule of Conventional Implicature Application. In Chapter 3 I argue for a class of adverbs, presenting evidence including degree modification, variable ordering, speaker-oriented meanings, and the ability to modify additional categories. Finally, data from adverb ordering is used to compare syntactically oriented and semantically oriented approaches to adjunct licensing and verbal-complex formation. I present arguments in favour of a right-headed analysis of Inuit in which the relative position of adverbs inside polysynthetic verbal-complexes is primarily determined by semantics, supporting Ernst (2002), contra cartographic approaches such as Cinque (1999).

This dissertation is an application of the framework of Distributed Morphology to the morphosyntax of Chemehuevi, an endangered Southern Numic language of the Uto-Aztecan family. Following one of the central claims of DM, I argue that word formation in Chemehuevi happens in the syntax and provide evidence for this claim from the formation of lexical categories, as well as from the morphosyntax of the Chemehuevi causative verbs. I frame my discussion of lexical categories around the Root Hypothesis (Marantz 1997, Arad 2005), a notion that there are no underived nouns, verbs, or adjectives in the grammar, but roots that receive interpretation and assignment to a `part of speech' depending on their functional environment. I show that Chemehuevi nouns and verbs are formed when roots are incorporated into nominal or verbal functional heads, many of which are overtly represented in the language. I also demonstrate that there is no distinct class of adjectives in Chemehuevi, and that roots with adjectival meanings are derived into stative verbs or nominalizations, depending on their function.My discussion of predication in Chemehuevi centers around the previously unexplained distribution of the enclitic copula -uk, which under my analysis is viewed as an overt realization of a functional head Pred (based on Baker 2003), which is obligatory in the formation of nominal and adjectival, but not verbal predicates.Another major theme of the dissertation is the notion that word-formation from roots differs from word-formation from derived words, known as the Low vs. High Attachment Hypothesis (Marantz 2000, Travis 2000, etc.). This approach explains the differences between compositional and non-compositional word formation by the distance between the root and functional head(s) attached to it. On the basis of Chemehuevi causatives, I show that causative heads attached directly to the root derive words that exhibit morphophonological and semantic idiosyncrasies, such as allomorphy and availability of idiomatic meanings, while high attachment heads derive words that are fully compositional. This locality constraint on interpretation of roots is explained in terms of phase theory, and I present evidence from Chemehuevi showing that what constitutes a phase may be subject to parametric variation.Each chapter of the dissertation contains a section for non-linguistic audience where I provide a summary of the main points in non-theoretical terms and connect them to practical applications for the purposes of language learning and revitalization.

This thesis explores the properties of adjectives and adverbs in Inuit (Eskimo-Aleut), with focus on the Inuktitut dialect group. While the literature on Eskimoan languages has claimed that they lack these categories, I present syntactic evidence for two classes of adjectives, one verb-like and another strictly attributive, as well as a class of adverbs. These categories are then employed to diagnose more general properties of the language including headedness, word-formation, adjunct licensing, and semantic composition. In the first half of Chapter 2 I demonstrate that verb-like adjectives can be differentiated from verbs insofar as only the former are compatible with a particular copular construction involving modals. Similarly, verb-like adjectives can combine with a negative marker that is incompatible with genuine verbs. This contrast is further corroborated by an inflectional distinction between verb-like adjectives and verbs in the Siglitun dialect. A second class of strictly-attributive adjectives is argued for on the basis of stacking, variable order, optionality, and compositionality. The second half of the chapter examines semantic restrictions on membership in the strictly-attributive class whereby only adjectives with subsective and privative denotations are attested. These restrictions are explained by the proposal that Inuit lacks a rule of Predicate Modification, with the result that only adjectives with semantic types capable of composing with nouns via Functional Application can compose directly with nominals. Furthermore, to explain why this restriction does not extend to verb-like adjectives it is proposed that when these modify nominals, they are adjoined DP appositives and compose via Potts’s (2005) rule of Conventional Implicature Application. In Chapter 3 I argue for a class of adverbs, presenting evidence including degree modification, variable ordering, speaker-oriented meanings, and the ability to modify additional categories. Finally, data from adverb ordering is used to compare syntactically oriented and semantically oriented approaches to adjunct licensing and verbal-complex formation. I present arguments in favour of a right-headed analysis of Inuit in which the relative position of adverbs inside polysynthetic verbal-complexes is primarily determined by semantics, supporting Ernst (2002), contra cartographic approaches such as Cinque (1999).

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.

Drawing data from a variety of sources, this thesis compares functional evidence regarding lexical categories from a number of Salish and Wakashan languages, as well as from the Michif language. It then applies Prototype Theory to examine the structure of the lexicons of these languages. They are described in terms of prototype categories that overlap to varying extents, with each category and each area of overlap defined by a central set of prototypical features. A high degree of gradience appears to exist between categories in Salish and Wakashan languages, with no clear boundary between categories or areas of overlap, indicating that lexical categories in these languages, rather than being clearly demarcated, are instead fuzzy categories with very little distinguishing them. Categories in Michif, on the other hand, exhibit far less overlap. This variation is compared to variation in conceptual categories across languages, and challenges the notions of the universality of clearly demarcated lexical categories and the existence of separately stored language module in the human mind. In spite of the variation in lexical category demarcation observed across the languages studied, it is possible to demarcate the categories of Noun and Verb to at least some extent in all languages, as well as a category of Adjective in some languages. This supports the proposed universality of the categories of Noun and Verb, as well as the implicational universals proposed in the Amsterdam Model of Parts of Speech (Hengeveld 1992a, b). It is also possible to identify a number of defining characteristics for each lexical category that appear to hold across languages. Since similar characteristics can be identified across languages for all categories, but the categories themselves display varying degrees of overlap in individual languages, this research supports the proposal that language universals, rather than consisting of structures, rules, and categories that are identical in all languages, are rather collections of prototypical characteristics for grammatical categories that are similar across languages (Croft 2000).

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-10-11T12:07:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 carolinagarciadecarvalhosilva.pdf: 963240 bytes, checksum: 73b376e7be1b22197666cbad3e5ccb77 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-10-11T15:58:23Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 carolinagarciadecarvalhosilva.pdf: 963240 bytes, checksum: 73b376e7be1b22197666cbad3e5ccb77 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-10-11T15:58:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 carolinagarciadecarvalhosilva.pdf: 963240 bytes, checksum: 73b376e7be1b22197666cbad3e5ccb77 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-07-03 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Este estudo tem como objetivo investigar a influência de fronteiras de sintagmas fonológicos () na identificação das categorias lexicais no PB. Parte-se da idéia de que as categorias lexicais são identificadas a partir da estrutura sintática (BAKER, 2003). Esta, por sua vez, é mapeada pela estrutura prosódica. Assim, a hipótese de trabalho adotada é a de que a estrutura prosódica, ao restringir o processamento sintático, permite a identificação das categorias lexicais de termos ambíguos. Assume-se como perspectiva teórica a integração entre o Programa Minimalista (CHOMSKY, 1995; 1999) e o modelo do Bootstrapping Fonológico (MORGAN e DEMUTH, 1996; CHRISTOPHE et al., 1997), nos termos de Corrêa (2006), assim como com um modelo de processamento (Modelo Integrado da Competência Linguística, MICL: Corrêa e Augusto, 2006). Toma-se ainda a Fonologia Prosódica (NESPOR e VOGEL, 1986) que sustenta que as unidades fonológicas são organizadas hierarquicamente e que há uma relação, ainda que não obrigatória, entre constituintes prosódicos e sintáticos. Foram desenvolvidas duas atividades experimentais, tendo como base os estudos de Millotte et al. (2007) no francês, a fim de verificar como a sensibilidade às pistas prosódicas pode restringir o processamento sintático de sentenças, e consequentemente permitir a identificação das categorias lexicais Adjetivo e Verbo. Ambos os experimentos utilizaram sentenças com palavras ambíguas na condição Verbo – [a menina] [LIMPA...] – e na condição Adjetivo – [a menina LIMPA]. No Experimento 1, buscou-se verificar diferenças acústicas entre as duas condições nas fronteiras de sintagma fonológico. Mediramse os valores da duração, da frequência fundamental e da intensidade nos finais das fronteiras prosódicas. A análise destes valores revelou que: (i) há diferenças prosódicas que sinalizam a existência de fronteira de sintagma fonológico; (ii) as categorias lexicais N, V e Adj têm comportamentos distintos na estrutura prosódica. O Experimento 2 testou se, dependendo apenas do contexto prosódico, os participantes seriam capazes de identificar as categorias sintáticas dos elementos ambíguos. Os resultados encontrados sustentam a hipótese de que as pistas prosódicas existentes nas fronteiras de sintagma fonológico auxiliam na restrição do processamento sintático e na identificação das categorias lexicais. / This study investigates the influence of phonological phrase boundaries () on the identification of lexical categories in Brazilian Portuguese. The start point assumption is that lexical categories are identified based on the syntactic structure (BAKER, 2003). On the other hand, the syntactic structure is mapped by the prosodic structure. Thus, the working hypothesis adopted is that, since the prosodic structure constrains the syntactic structure, it allows, in consequence, the identification of lexical categories of ambiguous terms. We assume the integration between the Minimalist Program (CHOMSKY, 1995; 1999) and the Phonological Bootstrapping Model (MORGAN and DEMUTH, 1996; CHRISTOPHE et al., 1997), in terms of Corrêa (2006), as well as a Processing Model (Integrated Model of Linguistic Competence, MICL: CORRÊA and AUGUSTO, 2006). We also assume the Prosodic Phonology (NESPOR and VOGEL, 1986) which argues that the phonological units are hierarchically organized and that there is a relation between the prosodic e the syntactic constituents, even though that relation may not be obligatory. Based on the studies of Millotte et al. (2007) in French, two experimental activities were devolved in order to verify how the sensibility to prosodic cues may constrain the syntactic processing of sentences and allow the identification of lexical categories ADJ and V. Both experiments used sentences containing ambiguous words in the condition Verb – [a menina] [LIMPA...] (the girl CLEANS) – and in the condition Adjective – [a menina LIMPA] (the CLEAN girl). In Experiment 1, we tried to verify the acoustic differences between the two conditions in the phonological phrase boundaries. We measured the values of duration, fundamental frequency and intensity at the end of the prosodic boundaries. The analysis of those values revealed that (i) there are prosodic differences that signalize the existence of phonological phrase boundaries; (ii) the lexical categories N, V and ADJ have different behaviors in the prosodic structure. The Experiment 2 tested if, depending exclusively on the prosodic context, the participants were capable of identifying the syntactic categories of the ambiguous elements. The results support the hypothesis that prosodic cues present on the phonological phrase boundaries help constraining the syntactic processing and, in consequence, the identification of the lexical categories.

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Thesis (M.A. (Translation Studies and Linguistics)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The prime goal of this study is to explore, form and analyse the semantic content of compound words in Sepedi. The study used the qualitative method. Data were collected using participant observations from various written sources and it was analysed through Content Analysis. The Theory of Construction Morphology was tested on endocentric, exocentric, and copulative compound words to locate the headedness of Sepedi compound words. The study revealed that the head of compound words can be located on the nominal prefix, left-hand side, right-hand side, on both nominal prefixes and it can be determined outside of the compound word for metaphoric exocentric nominal compounds. Furthermore, because of the role noun class prefixes play on determining the head of compound words, the study found that Sepedi compound words are nominals. The formation of Sepedi compound words involves the combination of different word aspects such as objects concords, deverbatives, verbal roots, stems, suffixal endings, and lexical categories such as nouns, Adjectives, and verbs. The resultant compound word of these combinations always results in a compound noun. It was recommended that future researchers should investigate the semantic content of exocentric compound words in African languages, especially the Sepedi language. The study further highlighted that there is still a need for a study that looks at the influences of nominal prefixes on the headedness of compound words in Sepedi. Furthermore, the study recommended that to alleviate the gap of shortage of literature in Sepedi, future studies should focus on word formation processes in Sepedi. / Feenix Crowdfunding and C Track Fleet Management Solutions Pty Ltd