Esta tese teve como objetivo identificar a norma semântico-lexical de cinco municípios da Região Norte do Alto Tietê- ReNAT, no estado de São Paulo,e pauta-se pelos estudos dialetológicos, geolinguísticos e sociogeolinguísticos. O local da pesquisa, a antiga Vila de Nossa Senhora da Conceição dos Guarulhos, é atualmente uma região composta por cinco municípios: Guarulhos, Arujá, Santa Isabel, Mairiporã e Nazaré Paulista. Está situada na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, com exceção do quinto município, Nazaré Paulista, localizado na microrregião de Atibaia. A origem da região composta pelos cinco municípios, corpus do trabalho, remonta à época da fundação de São Paulo. Três municípios estão situados na região do Alto Tietê, ao norte do rio que leva o mesmo nome, por isso é denominada ReNAT. A vila era inicialmente povoada pelos índios Maromomis. A tese fundamentou-se nos trabalhos linguísticos voltados para a Dialetologia, a Geolinguística a Sociolinguística variacionista, a Sociolinguística interacional, a Semântica e a Lexicologia. Além do tratamento quantitativo dos dados, conforme a proposta de Muller, privilegiou a abordagem dos aspectos semânticos-lexicais a partir de Pottier e Rastier, e baseou-se na concepção de norma de Coseriu. Assim, de acordo com os procedimentos teórico-metodológicos atuais da Geolinguística e da Sociogeolinguística, aplicaram-se as 202 questões do questionário Semântico-Lexical (QSL) do projeto ALiB e, também, 31 questões do Questionário Semântico-Lexical do Projeto Estudo sociogeolinguístico do Município de São Paulo, elaborado pelo Grupo de Pesquisa em Dialetologia e Geolinguística (GPDG) da Universidade de São Paulo. As entrevistas foram desenvolvidas in loco, ou seja, nos seis pontos da pesquisa, localizados nos cinco municípios. As 233 questões, dos dois questionários, foram aplicadas a 24 sujeitos-entrevistados de ambos os gêneros masculino e feminino em duas faixas etárias, quais sejam: 18 a 30 anos e 50 a 65 anos. Os resultados estão apresentados em gráficos ou tabelas com informações de frequências absoluta e relativa. A esses dados, seguiu-se a análise interpretativa dos resultados de cada questão. As respostas dos sujeitos-entrevistados, bem como a localização destes estão registradas em 233 cartogramas linguísticos. Acredita-se que as palavras refletem a história dos sujeitos, confirmando que para a expressão linguística são exigidos fatores internos e estes estão associados a fatores externos à linguagem. Assim, a língua, conforme o espaço, variação diatópica, sofre variações. Toda a dinamicidade da língua é evidenciada sobretudo no léxico, nível linguístico que melhor expressa a mobilidade das estruturas sociais, o qual reflete a maneira como a sociedade vê e representa o mundo. Ao final da pesquisa, mostrou-se o quadro da diversidade linguística na região, constatando-se a variação semântico-lexical na ReNAT. Enfim, a tese registrou a realidade linguística dos cinco municípios que compõem a região pesquisada, com relação ao léxico utilizado pelos sujeitos-entrevistados. Sabe-se que a área pesquisada tem dimensões pequenas, mas, ainda assim, revela sua importância para os estudos sociogeolinguísticos, pois expressa a situação real de uso da linguagem do sujeito num espaço e momento determinado, e também denota as características sócio-histórico-culturais de uma comunidade linguística. / This thesis aims to identify the semantic and lexical norm of five counties of the North region of the High Tietê- ReNAT, in the state of São Paulo, and it is based on the dialectological, geolinguistic and sociogeolinguistic studies. The premise of the research, which is the ancient Vila de Nossa Senhora da Conceição dos Guarulhos, is currently composed of five counties: Guarulhos, Arujá, Santa Isabel, Mairiporã and Nazaré Paulista. It is located in the Great São Paulo area, except for Nazaré Paulista, that is situated in the micro region of Atibaia. The origin of the region composed of five counties, the corpus of this research goes back to the epoch of the foundation of São Paulo. Three counties are situated in the region of High Tietê, to the north of the river which takes the same name, that is why it is called ReNAT. This thesis has its fundamentals on the linguistic works featured by the dialectological and sociogeolinguistic studies focusing on the semantic and lexical aspect. The theory has been based on linguistic studies which have helped develop essays on Dialectology, Geolinguistic; Variational, Sociolinguistc; Interactional Sociolinguistic, Semantics and Lexicology. Besides the quantitative treatment of data, as of the studies of Muller, we have prioritized the approach of the lexical and semantic aspects, based on Pottier and Rastier, stemming from the conception of norm by the theory of Coseriu. Based on the recent methodological procedures of Geolinguistic and Sociogeolinguistic, 202 questions of the Semantic-Lexical (QSL) questionnaire of the ALIB project have been applied as well as the 31 questions of the questionnaire lexical-semantic of the Atlas of the São Paulo city (ALESP), created by the Grupo de Pesquisa em Dialetologia e Geolinguistica(GPDG) of the University of São Paulo. The interviews have been carried out in loco, that is, on the 6 places of research where the five counties belong to. The 233 questions of the 2 questionnaires were applied to 24 subjects of both genre- male and female- in two age brackets: from 18 to 30 and 50 to 65 years old. The results are presented in tables, graphs with information of absolute and relative frequency. To this data, followed the interpretative analysis of the results of each question. The answers of the interviewee- subjects are registered in 233 linguistic cartograms. It is believed that the words reflect the story of the individuals, confirming that to the linguistic expression are demanded the internal factors which are associated to the external factors of the language. Thus, language according to space, suffers variation and all this dynamism is evidenced on the lexicon- the linguistic level that better expresses the mobility of the social structures, which reflects the way the society sees and represents the world. A the end of this research, we have shown the picture of linguistic diversity of the aimed region by proving the variation of the ReNAT. At last, this research has registered the linguistic reality of the five counties that compose the region as to the lexicon used by the subjects interviewed. The studied area has small dimensions, but, even so, it reveals great importance to socio-geo-linguistic studies , for, they express the real usage of language in a certain space and time as well as the socio-historical and cultural features of a linguistic community.

Esta tese teve como objetivo identificar a norma semântico-lexical de cinco municípios da Região Norte do Alto Tietê- ReNAT, no estado de São Paulo,e pauta-se pelos estudos dialetológicos, geolinguísticos e sociogeolinguísticos. O local da pesquisa, a antiga Vila de Nossa Senhora da Conceição dos Guarulhos, é atualmente uma região composta por cinco municípios: Guarulhos, Arujá, Santa Isabel, Mairiporã e Nazaré Paulista. Está situada na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, com exceção do quinto município, Nazaré Paulista, localizado na microrregião de Atibaia. A origem da região composta pelos cinco municípios, corpus do trabalho, remonta à época da fundação de São Paulo. Três municípios estão situados na região do Alto Tietê, ao norte do rio que leva o mesmo nome, por isso é denominada ReNAT. A vila era inicialmente povoada pelos índios Maromomis. A tese fundamentou-se nos trabalhos linguísticos voltados para a Dialetologia, a Geolinguística a Sociolinguística variacionista, a Sociolinguística interacional, a Semântica e a Lexicologia. Além do tratamento quantitativo dos dados, conforme a proposta de Muller, privilegiou a abordagem dos aspectos semânticos-lexicais a partir de Pottier e Rastier, e baseou-se na concepção de norma de Coseriu. Assim, de acordo com os procedimentos teórico-metodológicos atuais da Geolinguística e da Sociogeolinguística, aplicaram-se as 202 questões do questionário Semântico-Lexical (QSL) do projeto ALiB e, também, 31 questões do Questionário Semântico-Lexical do Projeto Estudo sociogeolinguístico do Município de São Paulo, elaborado pelo Grupo de Pesquisa em Dialetologia e Geolinguística (GPDG) da Universidade de São Paulo. As entrevistas foram desenvolvidas in loco, ou seja, nos seis pontos da pesquisa, localizados nos cinco municípios. As 233 questões, dos dois questionários, foram aplicadas a 24 sujeitos-entrevistados de ambos os gêneros masculino e feminino em duas faixas etárias, quais sejam: 18 a 30 anos e 50 a 65 anos. Os resultados estão apresentados em gráficos ou tabelas com informações de frequências absoluta e relativa. A esses dados, seguiu-se a análise interpretativa dos resultados de cada questão. As respostas dos sujeitos-entrevistados, bem como a localização destes estão registradas em 233 cartogramas linguísticos. Acredita-se que as palavras refletem a história dos sujeitos, confirmando que para a expressão linguística são exigidos fatores internos e estes estão associados a fatores externos à linguagem. Assim, a língua, conforme o espaço, variação diatópica, sofre variações. Toda a dinamicidade da língua é evidenciada sobretudo no léxico, nível linguístico que melhor expressa a mobilidade das estruturas sociais, o qual reflete a maneira como a sociedade vê e representa o mundo. Ao final da pesquisa, mostrou-se o quadro da diversidade linguística na região, constatando-se a variação semântico-lexical na ReNAT. Enfim, a tese registrou a realidade linguística dos cinco municípios que compõem a região pesquisada, com relação ao léxico utilizado pelos sujeitos-entrevistados. Sabe-se que a área pesquisada tem dimensões pequenas, mas, ainda assim, revela sua importância para os estudos sociogeolinguísticos, pois expressa a situação real de uso da linguagem do sujeito num espaço e momento determinado, e também denota as características sócio-histórico-culturais de uma comunidade linguística. / This thesis aims to identify the semantic and lexical norm of five counties of the North region of the High Tietê- ReNAT, in the state of São Paulo, and it is based on the dialectological, geolinguistic and sociogeolinguistic studies. The premise of the research, which is the ancient Vila de Nossa Senhora da Conceição dos Guarulhos, is currently composed of five counties: Guarulhos, Arujá, Santa Isabel, Mairiporã and Nazaré Paulista. It is located in the Great São Paulo area, except for Nazaré Paulista, that is situated in the micro region of Atibaia. The origin of the region composed of five counties, the corpus of this research goes back to the epoch of the foundation of São Paulo. Three counties are situated in the region of High Tietê, to the north of the river which takes the same name, that is why it is called ReNAT. This thesis has its fundamentals on the linguistic works featured by the dialectological and sociogeolinguistic studies focusing on the semantic and lexical aspect. The theory has been based on linguistic studies which have helped develop essays on Dialectology, Geolinguistic; Variational, Sociolinguistc; Interactional Sociolinguistic, Semantics and Lexicology. Besides the quantitative treatment of data, as of the studies of Muller, we have prioritized the approach of the lexical and semantic aspects, based on Pottier and Rastier, stemming from the conception of norm by the theory of Coseriu. Based on the recent methodological procedures of Geolinguistic and Sociogeolinguistic, 202 questions of the Semantic-Lexical (QSL) questionnaire of the ALIB project have been applied as well as the 31 questions of the questionnaire lexical-semantic of the Atlas of the São Paulo city (ALESP), created by the Grupo de Pesquisa em Dialetologia e Geolinguistica(GPDG) of the University of São Paulo. The interviews have been carried out in loco, that is, on the 6 places of research where the five counties belong to. The 233 questions of the 2 questionnaires were applied to 24 subjects of both genre- male and female- in two age brackets: from 18 to 30 and 50 to 65 years old. The results are presented in tables, graphs with information of absolute and relative frequency. To this data, followed the interpretative analysis of the results of each question. The answers of the interviewee- subjects are registered in 233 linguistic cartograms. It is believed that the words reflect the story of the individuals, confirming that to the linguistic expression are demanded the internal factors which are associated to the external factors of the language. Thus, language according to space, suffers variation and all this dynamism is evidenced on the lexicon- the linguistic level that better expresses the mobility of the social structures, which reflects the way the society sees and represents the world. A the end of this research, we have shown the picture of linguistic diversity of the aimed region by proving the variation of the ReNAT. At last, this research has registered the linguistic reality of the five counties that compose the region as to the lexicon used by the subjects interviewed. The studied area has small dimensions, but, even so, it reveals great importance to socio-geo-linguistic studies , for, they express the real usage of language in a certain space and time as well as the socio-historical and cultural features of a linguistic community.

La ricerca offre per la prima volta una disamina ampia, approfondita ed aggiornata degli studi linguistici post-sovietici dedicati alla Russkaja Jazykovaja Kartina Mira; essi dimostrano, attraverso l’analisi semantica delle parole-chiave della lingua russa, l’esistenza di concetti glotto-specifici, e dunque l’esistenza di un quadro del mondo veicolato dalla lingua russa. Nella ricerca viene indagato dapprima il contesto storico-culturale che ha portato al sorgere dell’indirizzo linguistico della RJaKM e viene mostrato il legame esistente tra le ricerche sulla RJaKM e lo sviluppo degli studi di semantica lessicale, nonché l’apporto della linguistica occidentale all’evoluzione della linguistica sovietica. Individuati poi i rappresentanti attualmente più autorevoli degli studi sulla RJaKM - la Scuola di Anna Wierzbicka e la Scuola Semantica di Mosca per la descrizione integrale della lingua e la lessicografia sistemica - si considerano in modo sistematico e comparativo i principi teorici alla base delle rispettive concezioni linguistiche e i metodi di analisi semantica, applicati alla parola russa smirenie, valutandone la loro efficacia. Quindi, si presentano alcune applicazioni della RJaKM e si indicano alcuni strumenti linguistici e lessicografici innovativi, utilizzati o prodotti all’interno di tali studi, particolarmente utili nella didattica della lingua e della linguistica russa. Infine, si offre una valutazione conclusiva del fenomeno studiato, individuando nuove vie di ricerca nell’ambito dell’analisi linguistico-culturale. / This dissertation represents the first extensive and updated research of the post-Soviet linguistic studies dedicated to Russkaja Jazykovaja Kartina Mira. These studies demonstrate the existence of specific language ideas through a semantic analysis of the keywords of the Russian language. As a consequence, these studies also display a perspective on the world vehiculated by the Russian language. The research opens with an investigation of the historical and cultural context that lead to RJaKM’s linguistic disposition and it shows the existing link between analysis on RJaKM and the development of the studies on lexical semantics. It also shows how western linguistics contributed to the evolution of Soviet linguistics. After mentioning the most authoritative and representative experts on RJaKM, such as Anna Wierzkicka’s School and the Moscow Semantic School for the Integrated Description of Language and Systematic Lexicography, this dissertation systematically and comparatively considers the theoretical principles at the base of both schools linguistic ideas and methods of semantic analysis, applying them to the Russian word ‘smirenie,’ and consequently evaluating their effectiveness. As an outcome, this research presents some possible applications of RJaKM and it indicates some innovative linguistic and lexicographic tools which were either employed or even produced at the bosom of RJaKM studies and are especially useful for the teaching of the Russian language and linguistics. In conclusion, this dissertation offers a final evaluation of the studied phenomena, defining new research paths in the fields of linguistics and cultural analysis.

Cette thèse constitue une étude systématique du lexique du déné sųłiné, une langue athabaskane du nord-ouest canadien. Elle présente les définitions et les patrons de combinatoire syntaxique et lexicale de plus de 200 unités lexicales, lexèmes et phrasèmes, qui représentent une partie importante du vocabulaire déné sųłiné dans sept domaines: les émotions, le caractère humain, la description physique des entités, le mouvement des êtres vivants, la position des entités, les conditions atmospheriques et les formations topologiques, en les comparant avec le vocubulaire équivalent de l'anglais. L’approche théorique choisie est la Théorie Sens-Texte (TST), une approche formelle qui met l’accent sur la description sémantique et lexicographique empiriques. La présente recherche relève d'importantes différences entre le lexique du déné sųłiné et celui de l'anglais à tous les niveaux: dans la correspondence entre la représentation conceptuelle, considérée (quasi-)extralinguistique, et la structure sémantique; dans les patrons de lexicalisation des unités lexicales, et dans les patrons de combinatoire syntaxique et lexicale, qui montrent parfois des traits propres au déné sųłiné intéressants. / This work constitutes a systematic lexical semantic study of Dene Sųłiné, an Athabaskan language from northwestern Canada. As such, it presents the lexicographic definitions, syntactic and lexical combinatorial patterns of over 200 lexical units (lexemes and idioms) representing part of the core Dene Sųłiné vocabulary for seven semantic fields: terms to describe emotions, human character, physical description, position of an object, atmospheric conditions and topographical features. The theoretical approach used is Meaning-Text Theory (MTT), a formal linguistic approach with a strong empirical focus on semantics and lexicography. This work finds significant differences between Dene Sųłiné and English at all levels: in the relationship between of (quasi-)extralinguistic concepts and linguistic meanings, in the lexicalization or conflation patterns one finds in meanings of lexical units, and finally in the syntactic and lexical combinatorial patterns, which also show interesting language-specific tendencies.

Material addicional: http://hdl.handle.net/10230/6325 / La tesi, en el marc de la Teoria Comunicativa de la Terminologia (TCT), es proposa observar els elements d'activació del valor terminològic en els verbs fraseològics del discurs especialitzat. Es descriuen, a diferents nivells, la sintaxi i la semàntica de verbs fraseològics d'ús comú i freqüents en textos d'economia i de genòmica, i es detecten diferències i semblances en el seu comportament en ambdós discursos d'especialitat per establir tendències.A partir de les anàlisis, identifiquem les construccions verbals mínimes que són unitats de coneixement especialitzat (UCE) i observem si els verbs que fan de nucli sintàctic d'aquests sintagmes sofreixen canvis semàntics en els contextos especialitzats. Alhora, reinterpretem la proposta de factors d'activació d'Adelstein (2007) per als verbs, i confirmem empíricament diversos supòsits de la TCT sobre la polisèmia.La tesi consta de tres parts: els fonaments de la recerca, l'anàlisi sintacticosemàntica del corpus, i els resultats i conclusions. / La tesis, en el marco de la Teoría Comunicativa de la Terminología (TCT), se propone observar los elementos de activación del valor terminológico en los verbos fraseológicos del discurso especializado. Se describe, a distintos niveles, la sintaxis y la semántica de los verbos fraseológicos de uso común y frecuentes en textos de economía y de genómica, y se detectan diferencias y similitudes en su comportamiento en ambos discursos de especialidad para establecer tendencias.A partir de los análisis, identificamos las construcciones verbales mínimas que son unidades de conocimiento especializado (UCE) y observamos si los verbos que funcionan como núcleo sintáctico de estos sintagmas sufren cambios semánticos en los contextos especializados. Asimismo, reinterpretamos la propuesta de factores de activación de Adelstein (2007) para los verbos, y confirmamos empíricamente distintos supuestos de la TCT sobre la polisemia.La tesis consta de tres partes: los fundamentos de la investigación, el análisis sintacticosemántico del corpus, i los resultados y conclusiones. / This thesis, within the frame of the Communicative Theory of Terminology (CTT), aims at observing the terminological-value activating elements of phraseological verbs in specialized discourse. Syntax and Semantics of common use and frequent phraseological verbs in Economy and Genomic texts are described at different levels, and differences and similarities in their behavior in both domain discourses are detected to establish tendencies.From the analysis, we identify the minimal verbal constructions working as specialized knowledge units (SKU) and we observe if the verbs being the syntactic core of these groups suffer semantic changes in specialized contexts. Moreover, we reinterpret for verbs the activation factors proposal by Adelstein (2007, and we empirically confirm different assumptions of CTT on polysemy.The thesis has three parts: the basis of the research, the syntax-semantic analysis of the corpus, and the results and conclusions

Aquesta tesi tracta l'adquisició automàtica de classes semàntiques per a adjectius. La tesi es basa en dues hipòtesis. La primera, que alguns aspectes de la semàntica dels adjectius no són totalment impredictibles, sinó que corresponen a un conjunt de tipus denotacionals, o classes semàntiques. En conseqüència, els adjectius es poden agrupar en funció de la seva classe semàntica. La segona hipòtesi de treball és que la classe semàntica es reflecteix en més d'un nivell de descripció lingüística. Les interfícies entre morfologia i semàntica i entre sintaxi i semàntica són les que s'exploren en detall a la tesi. Com que no ens podíem basar en una classificació establerta prèviament, bona part dels esforços van dirigits precisament a definir una classificació adequada. La proposta de classificació s'assoleix mitjançant una metodologia iterativa. Es combinen aproximacions deductives i inductives, cosa que permet evolucionar d'una classificació inicial basada en la bibliografia teòrica a una classificació final que té en compte els resultats empírics dels diversos experiments. / Esta tesis versa sobre la adquisición automática de clases semánticas para adjetivos. La tesis se basa en dos hipótesis. La primera, que algunos aspectos de la semántica de los adjetivos no son totalmente impredecibles, sino que corresponden a un conjunto de tipos denotacionales, o clases semánticas. En consecuencia, los adjetivos se pueden agrupar en función de su clase semántica. La segunda hipótesis de trabajo es que la clase semántica se refleja en más de un nivel de descripción lingüística. Las interfaces entre morfología y semántica y entre sintaxis y semántica son las que se exploran en detalle en la tesis. Dado que no nos podíamos basar en una clasificación establecida previamente, buena parte de los esfuerzos van dirigidos precisamente a definir una clasificación adecuada. La propuesta de clasificación se logra mediante una metodología iterativa. Se combinan aproximaciones deductivas e inductivas, cosa que permite evolucionar de una clasificación inicial basada en la bibliografía teórica a una clasificación final que tiene en cuenta los resultados empíricos de los diversos experimentos. / This thesis concerns the automatic acquisition of semantic classes for adjectives. Our work builds on two hypotheses: first, that some aspects of the semantics of adjectives are not totally unpredictable, but correspond to a set of denotational types (semantic classes). Therefore, adjectives can be grouped together according to their semantic class. Second, that the semantic class of an adjective can be traced in more than one linguistic level. In particular, the morphology-semantics and syntax-semantics interfaces are explored for clues that lead to the acquisition of the targeted semantic classes.Since we could not rely on a previously established classification, a major effort is devoted to defining an adequate classification. The classification proposal is reached through an iterative methodology. By combining deductive and inductive approaches, we evolve from an initial classification based on literature review to a final classification proposal that takes advantage of the insight gained through a set of experiments.

Light verb constructions in Humanistic Czech This thesis surveys the supposed properties of light verb constructions (LVC, in Czech analytická verbonominální spojení, AVNS, in German Funktionsverbgefüge) on an extensive corpus of Czech texts dating from the Humanistic period. The LVC, a combination of a semantically bleached (light, semantically weak) verb and an abstract noun (a preposition and such a noun, respectively), are defined rather broadly and understood not necessarily as a syntactic unit (predicate) but rather as a lexical unit different from both free collocations and phrasemes. Special attention is paid to transitional examples of these constructions with non- prototypical properties of the verb or noun. In the individual chapters, the semantic and syntactical properties of the light verbs are discussed, as well as the word formation (derivation) patterns of the abstract nouns forming the LVC. The core of the analysis lies in the prepositional constructions, on which the LVC-delimitation criteria are applied. It is shown that the meanings of such constructions are subjects to stabilizing and develop from spatial (or directional, respectively) to abstract meanings, including their lexicalization. Moreover, the possibilities of using alternative means of expression are examined. The last chapter...

Les verbes de position sont décrits du point de vue d'une invariance mise au point pour chacun d'entre eux en fonction de la diversité des contextes dans laquelle on les trouve. Cela conduit d'une part à considérer que dans certains contextes leur sens n'est pas inutile au contenu informatif de l'énoncé et qu'il n'est pas équivalent à celui d'un verbe d'existence. Au contraire, l'emploi d'un verbe de position par un locuteur correspond à un choix motivé par la désignation de quelque chose de plus que l'être ou la présence du sujet. D'autre part, cette invariance mène à distinguer clairement le fonctionnement sémantique de chacun de ces verbes alors qu'ils semblent entrer en concurrence lorsqu'ils apparaissent dans des contextes visiblement similaires. / Posture verbs are described from the perspective of an invariance developed for each of them according to the diversity of the contexts where they can be found. It conduces, on the one hand, to consider that in some contexts their meaning is not ancillary to the informative content of the statement, and that it is not equivalent to the meaning of a being verb. In fact, the use of a posture verb by a speaker refers to a choice motivated by something more than the being or the presence of the subject. On the other hand, this invariance facilitates clear distinction of the semantical function of each of these verbs, while they may seem to have the same meaning, when they occur in contexts which seem similar at first glance.

La présente thèse utilise la technique des potentiels évoqués afin d’étudier les méchanismes neurocognitifs qui sous-tendent la compréhension de la phrase. Plus particulièrement, cette recherche vise à clarifier l’interaction entre les processus syntaxiques et sémantiques chez les locuteurs natifs et les apprenants d’une deuxième langue (L2). Le modèle “syntaxe en premier” (Friederici, 2002, 2011) prédit que les catégories syntaxiques sont analysées de façon précoce: ce stade est reflété par la composante ELAN (Early anterior negativity, Négativité antérieure gauche), qui est induite par les erreurs de catégorie syntaxique. De plus, ces erreurs semblent empêcher l’apparition de la composante N400 qui reflète les processus lexico-sémantiques. Ce phénomène est défini comme le bloquage sémantique (Friederici et al., 1999). Cependant, la plupart des études qui observent la ELAN utilisent des protocoles expérimentaux problématiques dans lesquels les différences entre les contextes qui précèdent la cible pourraient être à l’origine de résultats fallacieux expliquant à la fois l’apparente “ELAN” et l’absence de N400 (Steinhauer & Drury, 2012). La première étude rééevalue l’approche de la “syntaxe en premier” en adoptant un paradigme expériemental novateur en français qui introduit des erreurs de catégorie syntaxique et les anomalies de sémantique lexicale. Ce dessin expérimental équilibré contrôle à la fois le mot-cible (nom vs. verbe) et le contexte qui le précède. Les résultats récoltés auprès de locuteurs natifs du français québécois ont révélé un complexe N400-P600 en réponse à toutes les anomalies, en contradiction avec les prédictions du modèle de Friederici. Les effets additifs des manipulations syntaxique et sémantique sur la N400 suggèrent la détection d’une incohérence entre la racine du mot qui avait été prédite et la cible, d’une part, et l’activation lexico-sémantique, d’autre part. Les réponses individuelles se sont pas caractérisées par une dominance vers la N400 ou la P600: au contraire, une onde biphasique est présente chez la majorité des participants. Cette activation peut donc être considérée comme un index fiable des mécanismes qui sous-tendent le traitement des structures syntagmatiques. La deuxième étude se concentre sur les même processus chez les apprenants tardifs du français L2. L’hypothèse de la convergence (Green, 2003 ; Steinhauer, 2014) prédit que les apprenants d’une L2, s’ils atteignent un niveau avancé, mettent en place des processus de traitement en ligne similaires aux locuteurs natifs. Cependant, il est difficile de considérer en même temps un grand nombre de facteurs qui se rapportent à leurs compétences linguistiques, à l’exposition à la L2 et à l’âge d’acquisition. Cette étude continue d’explorer les différences inter-individuelles en modélisant les données de potentiels-évoqués avec les Forêts aléatoires, qui ont révélé que le pourcentage d’explosition au français ansi que le niveau de langue sont les prédicteurs les plus fiables pour expliquer les réponses électrophysiologiques des participants. Plus ceux-ci sont élevés, plus l’amplitude des composantes N400 et P600 augmente, ce qui confirme en partie les prédictions faites par l’hypothèse de la convergence. En conclusion, le modèle de la “syntaxe en premier” n’est pas viable et doit être remplacé. Nous suggérons un nouveau paradigme basé sur une approche prédictive, où les informations sémantiques et syntaxiques sont activées en parallèle dans un premier temps, puis intégrées via un recrutement de mécanismes contrôlés. Ces derniers sont modérés par les capacités inter-individuelles reflétées par l’exposition et la performance. / The present thesis uses event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate neurocognitve mechanisms underlying sentence comprehension. In particular, these two experiments seek to clarify the interplay between syntactic and semantic processes in native speakers and second language learners. Friederici’s (2002, 2011) “syntax-first” model predicts that syntactic categories are analyzed at the earliest stages of speech perception reflected by the ELAN (Early left anterior negativity), reported for syntactic category violations. Further, syntactic category violations seem to prevent the appearance of N400s (linked to lexical-semantic processing), a phenomenon known as “semantic blocking” (Friederici et al., 1999). However, a review article by Steinhauer and Drury (2012) argued that most ELAN studies used flawed designs, where pre-target context differences may have caused ELAN-like artifacts as well as the absence of N400s. The first study reevaluates syntax-first approaches to sentence processing by implementing a novel paradigm in French that included correct sentences, pure syntactic category violations, lexical-semantic anomalies, and combined anomalies. This balanced design systematically controlled for target word (noun vs. verb) and the context immediately preceding it. Group results from native speakers of Quebec French revealed an N400-P600 complex in response to all anomalous conditions, providing strong evidence against the syntax-first and semantic blocking hypotheses. Additive effects of syntactic category and lexical-semantic anomalies on the N400 may reflect a mismatch detection between a predicted word-stem and the actual target, in parallel with lexical-semantic retrieval. An interactive rather than additive effect on the P600 reveals that the same neurocognitive resources are recruited for syntactic and semantic integration. Analyses of individual data showed that participants did not rely on one single cognitive mechanism reflected by either the N400 or the P600 effect but on both, suggesting that the biphasic N400-P600 ERP wave can indeed be considered to be an index of phrase-structure violation processing in most individuals. The second study investigates the underlying mechanisms of phrase-structure building in late second language learners of French. The convergence hypothesis (Green, 2003; Steinhauer, 2014) predicts that second language learners can achieve native-like online- processing with sufficient proficiency. However, considering together different factors that relate to proficiency, exposure, and age of acquisition has proven challenging. This study further explores individual data modeling using a Random Forests approach. It revealed that daily usage and proficiency are the most reliable predictors in explaining the ERP responses, with N400 and P600 effects getting larger as these variables increased, partly confirming and extending the convergence hypothesis. This thesis demonstrates that the “syntax-first” model is not viable and should be replaced. A new account is suggested, based on predictive approaches, where semantic and syntactic information are first used in parallel to facilitate retrieval, and then controlled mechanisms are recruited to analyze sentences at the interface of syntax and semantics. Those mechanisms are mediated by inter-individual abilities reflected by language exposure and performance.

Semantic distance is a measure of how close or distant in meaning two units of language are. A large number of important natural language problems, including machine translation and word sense disambiguation, can be viewed as semantic distance problems. The two dominant approaches to estimating semantic distance are the WordNet-based semantic measures and the corpus-based distributional measures. In this thesis, I compare them, both qualitatively and quantitatively, and identify the limitations of each. This thesis argues that estimating semantic distance is essentially a property of concepts (rather than words) and that two concepts are semantically close if they occur in similar contexts. Instead of identifying the co-occurrence (distributional) profiles of words (distributional hypothesis), I argue that distributional profiles of concepts (DPCs) can be used to infer the semantic properties of concepts and indeed to estimate semantic distance more accurately. I propose a new hybrid approach to calculating semantic distance that combines corpus statistics and a published thesaurus (Macquarie Thesaurus). The algorithm determines estimates of the DPCs using the categories in the thesaurus as very coarse concepts and, notably, without requiring any sense-annotated data. Even though the use of only about 1000 concepts to represent the vocabulary of a language seems drastic, I show that the method achieves results better than the state-of-the-art in a number of natural language tasks. I show how cross-lingual DPCs can be created by combining text in one language with a thesaurus from another. Using these cross-lingual DPCs, we can solve problems in one, possibly resource-poor, language using a knowledge source from another, possibly resource-rich, language. I show that the approach is also useful in tasks that inherently involve two or more languages, such as machine translation and multilingual text summarization. The proposed approach is computationally inexpensive, it can estimate both semantic relatedness and semantic similarity, and it can be applied to all parts of speech. Extensive experiments on ranking word pairs as per semantic distance, real-word spelling correction, solving Reader's Digest word choice problems, determining word sense dominance, word sense disambiguation, and word translation show that the new approach is markedly superior to previous ones.