The present diploma thesis is concerned with English non-prepositional equivalents of the Czech v/ve and z/ze prepositional phrases. This type of equivalent is found in approximately 20% of cases (Klégr et al., 2011). The thesis shows that some of the divergent equivalents are conditioned lexically (different valency of the Czech and English verb), while others, being of systemic nature, are related to typological differences between Czech and English. Among the systemic counterparts are particularly English locative subjects in sentence-initial position correspoding to Czech adverbials, and English premodification by a noun translated into Czech as postmodification by a prepositional phrase. Material for the analytical part was extracted from the "Core" of the parallel corpus InterCorp, consisting of original Czech fiction texts and their English translations. A total of more than 200 divergent counterparts of both Czech prepositional phrases was collected.

Argument marking prepositions in German are part of more complex structures referred to here as verb-preposition combinations (verb-PPs), e.g. warten auf ('to wait for') and pochen auf ('to insist on'). The preposition auf ('on') attaches to a wide range of verbs to form such combinations in which auf encodes different semantic relations that elude concrete description. Nevertheless, previous research in valency theory and related approaches could identify patterns in the distribution of verb-PP[subscript 'auf'] combinations (Eroms 1981, 1991, Lerot 1982, Bouillon 1984, Domínguez Vázquez 2005), based on perceived similarities in the meaning of the governing verbs. Cognitive linguistics provides insights into seemingly opaque senses of prepositions by analyzing them as motivated by metaphorical meaning extension (Brugman 1988, Lakoff 1987, Meex 2001, Liamkina 2007). Finally, generative approaches scrutinize the semantic relationships between verbs and their PP-arguments and systematize them under the concept of semantic roles (Fillmore 1968, Rauh 1993). However, none of these approaches can fully account for the distribution of verb-PPauf combinations in German. This dissertation proposes a novel approach towards identifying and analyzing the distributional patterns of verb-PP[subscript 'auf'] combinations by applying insights from Frame Semantics (Fillmore 1982, 1985) and Construction Grammar (Goldberg 1995, 2006). Goldberg's theory of argument structure constructions already served as a model for analyzing auf as a partially schematic argument structure construction encoding the meaning 'future orientation/future event' (Rostila 2007). Based on a large amount of corpus data, I show that such generalizing accounts are better arrived at by employing a usage-based bottom-up approach to verb-PP[subscript 'auf'] combinations. I argue that the detailed semantic and syntactic information provided by the lexical database FrameNet for each lexical unit can be used to identify distributional patterns and to describe them in detail. Furthermore, I argue that integrating the verb-PP[subscript 'auf'] combinations and the frames they evoke into a hierarchical lexical-constructional network allows us to discover substantiated generalizations about these combinations while at the same time preserving the description of their idiosyncratic features. / text

published_or_final_version / abstract / Linguistics / Master / Master of Philosophy

The present thesis focusses on the structure of PP's in English and Polish, and the occurrence of PP's in subject and object positions. The main theoretical references are the X-bar Theory of syntactic categories and the Government Binding framework (GB). A consideration of English data corroborates Jackendoff's and Emonds' claim that apart from an NP, prepositions can take a PP and an S′ complement or no complement at all, though details of Jackendoff's analysis are revised. Polish prepositions allow the same range of complements, including no complement, although,with a greater variety of complex prepositions and with intransitive prepositions modified by relative and appositive clauses, the P-PP and the P-S′ structures are less common in Polish than in English. Subject and object PP's have so far received little attention. Like PP objects of prepositions, they are used if the intended meaning cannot be expressed by a suitable NP. The appearance of subject PP's in raising and passive sentences poses a problem for classical Transformational Grammar, though not for a slightly revised version of GB – another category-based framework. The analysis proposed here involves a particular view of the representation of Case, and a revised Case Filter. The Case Filter rules out not merely any lexical NP with no Case but any lexical XP which requires Case but has not been assigned Case. Thus, the properties of being an NP and requiring Case are independent of each other. It emerges from the investigation (i) that prepositions in English and Polish are more alike than one might expect, given the obvious differences between the two languages; (ii) that prepositions and PP's are like verbs and VP's – as Jackendoff emphasizes – but in some respects they show greater resemblance to other categories; and (iii) that syntactic categories are less important for the distribution of phrases than is commonly assumed, and that the meaning of phrases is of central importance for their distribution.

Verhandeling ingelewer vir die graad Magister in die Lettere en Wysbegeerte aan die Universiteit van Zululand, 2000. / Eng =: In this thesis I report the results of a survey that I made of the contributions that linguists had made in the course of the previous century regarding the description of the Afrikaans prepositional phrase construction. My research revealed that the first generation of Afrikaans linguists for ideological reasons were preoccupied with the origin and development of Afrikaans, and that Afrikaans prepositions were only referred to during discussions regarding the extent to which Afrikaans was considered to be a pure Germanic language, or a creolised language that obtained its characteristic features at the southern tip of Africa under the influence of contact languages such as Malay-Portuguese and Khoe. My research further revealed that De Villiers and Raidt were the first of the second generation Afrikaans linguists that understood that prepositions were constituents of a grammatical construction, the prepositional phrase construc¬tion. My main finding was that Ponelis is the central figure in the description of the grammar of Afrikaans, and that he made the biggest contribution to the description of the Afrikaans prepositional phrase construction in that capacity. Finally I concluded that De Wet and De Stadler are transitional figures to a new approach, according to which prepositions are characterised as elements of case grammar. Of De Stadler I concluded that his work on the Afrikaans partitative construction and the Afrikaans dative construction have created a bridge for analysing the Afrikaans prepositional phase construction within an emerging new approach, Cognitive Grammar. Afri: = In hierdie verhandeling doen ek verslag oor 'n bestekoJlname wat ek gemaak het van die bydraes wat taalkundiges in die loop van die vorige eeu gemaak het t.o.v. die beskrywing van die Afrikaanse setselgroep. My navorsing het aan die lig gebring dat die eerste generasie Afrikaanse talkumliges om ideologiese redes gemoeid was met die ontstaansgeskiedenis van Afrikaans, en dat Afrikaanse setsels slegs ter sprake gekom het tydens besprekings oor die mate waarin Mrikaans 'n suiwer Germaanse taal sou wees, of 'n gekreoliseerde taal wat aan die suidpunt van Afrika onder invloed van kontaktale soos Maleis-Portugees en Khoekoens sy kenmerkende taaleienskappe gekry het. Verder het my navoring aan die lig gebring dat De Villiers en Raidt die eerste taalkundiges van die tweede generasie was wat getoon het dat setsels as konstituente van 'n bepaalde grammatikale struktuur,die setselgroep, gebruik word. My hootbevinding is dat Ponelis die hooffiguur in die beskrywing van die grammatika van Afrikaans is en dat hy in daardie hoedanigheid die grootste bydrae gelewer het tot die beskrywing van die Mrikaanse setselgroep. Laastens het ek bevind dat De Wet en De Stadler oorgangsfigure is na 'n nuwe benadering waarvolgens setseIgroepe as deel van die kasusgrammatika beskryf word. Gor De Stadler het ek bevind dat sy werk oor die Afrikaanse partitietkonstruksie en die Afrikaanse datietkonstruksie 'n brug skep vir die bestudering van die Mrikaanse setselgroep binne 'n ontwikkelende nuwe benadering, die Kognitiewe Grammatika. / National Research Foundation (NRF),

The present thesis is concerned with the topic of multi-word verbs (MWV) use in the speech of native and non-native (Czech) speakers of English. More precisely, it aims to give a quantitative as well as qualitative analysis of the use of three main MWV categories: phrasal verbs (PhV), prepositional verbs (PrV) and phrasal-prepositional verbs (PPV). In addition, it summarizes the main research areas in the field of MWV, one of them being the avoidance of MWV by non-native speakers of English, which has been an inspiration for conducting this study. The material comes from two spoken corpora: LINDSEI_CZ corpus of Czech speakers and its referential LOCNEC corpus of English native speakers. The analysis tries to disprove or prove three hypotheses, i.e. non-native speakers' usage of MWV is lower than that of native speakers, prepositional verbs are the favoured MWV by non-native speakers, and non-native speakers overuse certain MWV. The results show that the biggest difference is in the use of PhV as the non-native speakers use significantly fewer PhV than the native speakers; their usage of phrasal-prepositional verbs and especially prepositional verbs is rather comparable to native speakers. Non-native speakers also overuse (and conversely underuse) certain MWV that are far less (or conversely more)...

Cognitive Linguistics has been widely used to deal with the ambiguity generated by words in combination. Although this domain offers many solutions to address this challenge, not all of them can be implemented in a computational environment. The Dynamic Construal of Meaning framework is argued to have this ability because it describes an intrinsic degree of association of meanings, which in turn, can be translated into computational programs. A limitation towards a computational approach, however, has been the lack of syntactic parameters. This research argues that this limitation could be overcome with the aid of the Generative Lexicon Theory (GLT). Specifically, this dissertation formulated possible means to marry the GLT and Cognitive Linguistics in a novel rapprochement between the two. This bond between opposing theories provided the means to design a computational template (the AXEL System) by realising syntax and semantics at software levels. An instance of the AXEL system was created using a Design Research approach. Planned iterations were involved in the development to improve artefact performance. Such iterations boosted performance-improving, which accounted for the degree of association of meanings in three-noun compounds. This dissertation delivered three major contributions on the brink of a so-called turning point in Computational Linguistics (CL). First, the AXEL system was used to disclose hidden lexical patterns on ambiguity. These patterns are difficult, if not impossible, to be identified without automatic techniques. This research claimed that these patterns can assist audiences of linguists to review lexical knowledge on a software-based viewpoint. Following linguistic awareness, the second result advocated for the adoption of improved resources by decreasing electronic space of Sense Enumerative Lexicons (SELs). The AXEL system deployed the generation of “at the moment of use” interpretations, optimising the way the space is needed for lexical storage. Finally, this research introduced a subsystem of metrics to characterise an ambiguous degree of association of three-noun compounds enabling ranking methods. Weighing methods delivered mechanisms of classification of meanings towards Word Sense Disambiguation (WSD). Overall these results attempted to tackle difficulties in understanding studies of Lexical Semantics via software tools.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-212). / This dissertation develops a form of relativism in which propositions are treated as sets of world-time-individual triples, in contrast to standard views that treat them as sets of worlds or world-time pairs. This builds on existing proposals for predicates of personal taste such as fun and tasty, and has ties to approaches to de se attitudes involving centered worlds. I develop an accompanying pragmatic view in which the context set is similarly construed as a set of world-time-individual triples. The semantic and pragmatic systems together are used to account for the behavior of predicates of personal taste, epistemic modals, indicative conditionals, and a variety of attitude reports, including control constructions. I also explore ways that this account can help solve puzzles related to Moore's paradox. To give one concrete example, I propose that the proposition expressed by the sentence it might be raining is the set of world-time-individual triples <w,t,x> such that it's compatible with x's knowledge in w at t that it's raining. On the pragmatic side, a speaker is justified in asserting this sentence in a conversation if it is compatible with the speaker's own knowledge that it's raining; by asserting it, though, the speaker is making the stronger proposal to make it common ground that it is compatible with the knowledge of the entire group of conversational participants that it's raining. If this proposal is accepted by the other participants, then the group will have established that their knowledge states are aligned in a particular way. I introduce the core semantic and pragmatic proposals in Chapter 2, focusing on epistemic modals, predicates of personal taste, and belief reports. / (cont.) In Chapter 3, I extend the analysis to indicative conditionals, showing that this solves longstanding puzzles involving the relationship between conditionals and disjunction. In Chapter 4, I extend the approach to certain control constructions, with a special emphasis on capturing their de se interpretation. In Chapter 5, I look at two puzzles related to Moore's paradox, with special attention to the meaning of imagine. / by Tamina C. Stephenson. / Ph.D.

Cette thèse présente une réflexion sur les verbes à particule et les verbes prépositionnels en anglais. La relation qui existe entre la syntaxe et la sémantique est une des pierres angulaires de cette étude. Nous étudierons le rôle de la configuration syntaxique, de la structure argumentale et des connaissances extralinguistiques dans la construction du sens. Nous analyserons également le nombre d’arguments, tels qu’ils apparaissent dans une combinaison, ainsi que leur type sémantique en contexte et la manière dont ces deux paramètres peuvent influencer l’interprétation sémantique finale. Les aspects théoriques abordés sont la catégorisation des particules et des prépositions, l’interaction du sémantisme des particules - prépositions et le sémantisme verbal, la structure interne des verbes à particule, et les raisons pour lesquelles les particules peuvent apparaître soit avant, soit après le complément régi par le verbe. Nous aborderons également certaines questions plus générales telles que la conceptualisation du mouvement, la résultativité, la transitivité et la polysémie. Le travail a été effectué à partir d’un corpus de 286 combinaisons formées d’un élément verbal et over. Chaque combinaison est analysée en contexte afin d’identifier les facteurs qui influencent l’interprétation sémantique finale de la combinaison. Au cours de cette étude, nous identifierons toute une gamme de facteurs qui influencent l’interprétation sémantique finale des verbes à particule et des verbes prépositionnels anglais ainsi que leur interaction. / This thesis explores the construction of sense in English particle and prepositional verbs. It departs from the premise that meaning is something constructed during the process of situated usage. A corpus of 286 combinations formed through the association of a verbal element with over are analysed in context in order to identify the various factors which influence final semantic interpretation. A particular focus of the study is the relationship between form and meaning. The relationship between syntactic configuration and semantic interpretation is investigated and the various ways in which the number and nature of the verbal and/or prepositional arguments can impact semantic interpretation is explored. The role of the extralinguistic in the construction of sense is examined. The major theoretical questions dealt with concern the categorisation of particles and prepositions, the interaction between particle/prepositional semantics and verbal semantics, the internal structure of particle verbs, and the reasons why the particle in a particle verb can either precede or follow the verbal object. The study also explores several more general areas of linguistic investigation including the conceptualisation of movement, resultativity, transitivity and polysemy. During the course of the study a wide range of factors which influence the final semantic interpretation of particle and prepositional verbs in English are identified.

Submitted by Fabio Henrique de Carvalho Bertonha null (bertonha.tradutor@hotmail.com) on 2018-03-09T19:12:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação_Bertonha_final correto.pdf: 1390555 bytes, checksum: 8ac12bde0223b3326acd29aba930ca02 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Elza Mitiko Sato null (elzasato@ibilce.unesp.br) on 2018-03-12T18:13:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 bertonha_fhc_me_sjrp.pdf: 1390555 bytes, checksum: 8ac12bde0223b3326acd29aba930ca02 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-03-12T18:13:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 bertonha_fhc_me_sjrp.pdf: 1390555 bytes, checksum: 8ac12bde0223b3326acd29aba930ca02 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-02 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Este trabalho propõe, primeiramente, analisar locuções adverbiais e prepositivas compostas por „a‟, „de‟ e „em‟; em seguida, propor um dicionário especial na direção português-italiano, da macro à microestrutura. Apoiados em Berruto (1979), Ilari e Geraldi (1985), Tamba-Mecz (2006), Oliveira (2012) e Regueiro Rodríguez (2013), acreditamos que duas ou mais palavras podem ser consideradas como sinônimas em uma língua se forem intercambiáveis em um dado contexto, sem provocar alteração de sentido, em outro. Uma vez que assumimos a equivalência entre as línguas como condição sine qua non para a elaboração de dicionários bilíngues, delineamos um verbete-modelo, que inclui contextos de uso a fim de atestar a ocorrência das locuções adverbiais e prepositivas deste estudo. Para o desenvolvimento desta pesquisa, consideramos 154 itens lexicais que estão presentes no Dicionário Houaiss: Sinônimos e Antônimos (2011). Com relação à busca dos equivalentes em italiano, observamos a semelhança na descrição das locuções adverbiais e prepositivas em dicionários italianos monolíngues e bilíngues, bem como em dicionários brasileiros. Além disso, legitimamos o uso da(s) locução(ões) equivalente(s) por meio de motores de busca na internet. Desse modo, verificamos a correspondência das ocorrências sinonímicas, ou melhor, se os contextos de uso na língua-fonte e na língua-alvo eram os mesmos. Se por um lado, nossos resultados demonstraram a presença de equivalentes sinonímicos como locuções adverbiais e prepositivas, por outro lado, também indicaram a recorrência de advérbios terminados em „-mente‟, funcionando como sinónimos de nosso objeto de pesquisa, tanto em português quanto em italiano (ambos, inter- e intralinguisticamente). Com isso, destacamos a importância da sinonímia como fenômeno linguístico, particularmente, para tradutores, pois pode conduzi-los a equivalentes mais apropriados para um contexto particular. Por fim, tendo como proposta ulterior a elaboração de um dicionário bilíngue, apresentamos 119 verbetes nos quais estão distribuídas 99 locuções adverbiais e 29 locuções prepositivas constituídas pelas preposições „a‟, „de‟ e „em‟. / This study aims, firstly, to analyse adverbial and prepositional phrases composed of ‘a’, ‘de’ and ‘em’; secondly, to propose a Portuguese-Italian special dictionary, from its macrostructure to its microstructure. Based on Berruto (1979), Ilari and Geraldi (1985), Tamba-Mecz (2006), Oliveira (2012) and Regueiro Rodríguez (2013), we affirm that two or more words can be considered as synonymous in a language if they are interchangeable in a given context, without meaning alteration, in another. Once we assume as sine qua non condition for the elaboration of bilingual dictionaries the equivalence between languages, we delineate a prototype entry, which includes contexts of use in order to certify the occurrence of adverbial and prepositional phrases in study. For the development of this research, we consider 154 itens that are present in the Dicionário Houaiss: Sinônimos e Antônimos (2011). Concerning the search for the Italian equivalents, we observe the similarity in the description of adverbial and prepositional phrases in bilingual and monolingual Italian dictionaries, as well as in Brazilian dictionaries. Moreover, we legitimate the use of the equivalent phrase(s) by means of web search engines. Thus, we verify the correspondence of synonymic occurrences, or rather, if the contexts of use in source and target languages are the same. If, on one hand, our results demonstrate the presence of synonymic equivalents as adverbial and prepositional phrases, on the other hand, they also indicate the recurrence of adverbs ending in –mente functioning as synonyms of our research object, both in Portuguese and Italian (both inter- and intra-linguistically). For this reason, we highlight the importance of synonymy as a language phenomenon, especially for translators, since it can conduce them to the most appropriate equivalents in a particular context. Finally, having as an ulterior purpose the elaboration of a bilingual dictionary, we present 119 entries in which are included 99 adverbial phrases and 29 prepositional phrases composed of ‘a’, ‘de’ and ‘em’.