WORD SYNTAXLexicon: inventory of (stored) lexical

items Syntax: meaningful grouping of lexical

items-----------------------------------------------------------

Morphology Syntax

Concepts constitutethe entities in the world as we construe it.

Linguistic expressions refer to these entities,for example, by means of pragmatic anaphora

(i.e. deictic pronominal expressionsaccompanied by some pointing gesture):

THING: I bought that [pointing] yesterday, isn’t it nice? ACTIVITY: Can you do that [pointing]?EVENT: That [pointing] had better not happen in my

house!MANNER: You can’t shuffle cards like that [pointing]. AMOUNT: The fish they caught was that [demonstrating]

long.

The continuous flow of matter inthe physical world does not come

neatly segmented intoevents, actions, manners, amounts, etc.,

as language would have it.

In order to correlate the linguistic and visual inputs involved in the use of pragmatic

anaphora, both speaker and hearer must have internal information structures that

contain entities of all these sorts.

C O N C E P T U A L S E M A N T I C S

the world of ‘reality’ (tangible matter in constant change)

continuous spatial extensionof material substance (1) perception sensitivity to change (2)

human experience [phenomenological clusters]

cognitive scanning processes

object representations (1)

concepts (memory)event representations (2)

l e x i c a l i t e m sThe Generativist Lexicon:lexical items + features

[formal, semantic, and phonological features]Formal features determine the item’s behaviour in the SYNTAX----------------------------------------------------------------------

The Cognitive / Functionalist Lexicon:lexical items + skeletal schemasboth are form–meaning correspondences

there is no strict division between lexicon and syntaxboth are essentially the same sort of entity

a schema is (an unspecified representation) abstracted from multiple instances of utterances of a given type

Definition of Word Classes Traditional Grammars

N O T I O N A L C R I T E R I A1) Logical-conceptual criterion: The ‘parts of speech’

correspond to the way in which reality is thought of, i.e. to concept

– Nouns and Verbs correspond to independent concepts– Adjectives and Adverbs correspond to adjacent or non-

independent concepts

2) Logical-objective criterion: The classes of word correspond to the different aspects of reality:

– Nouns correspond to the substance of reality– Verbs correspond to the action of the substance– Adjectives correspond to the quality of the

substance– Adverbs correspond to the modality of the action

S T R U C T U R A L C R I T E R I A S t r u c t u r a l & G e n e r a t i v e G r a m m a r s

1) Morphological criterion: words are defined and classified in terms of their morphological structure:

– Verbs may inflect for tense and person-number agreement– Nouns inflect for number, (gender) and (genitive) case– Pronouns inflect fornumber, gender, person and case– Adjectives and Adverbs inflect for degree– Verbs take non-finite forms by means of special suffixes – N, V, A & Adv take specific derivational suffixes

2) Syntactic criterion: words are classed according to their syntactic function (i.e. distribution in the sentence):

– Noun can follow (i.e. be COMPL to) a determiner– Noun constructions can be subject or object– Verbs and adjectives may ‘function’ as predicate

SENTENCEnotional definition (loosely semantic):

A sentence is a group of words which express a complete idea, presumably a proposition (static or dynamic) and a modality (cognition or volition).

1. ‘complete idea’: requiring a subject and a predicate.2. ‘proposition’: unit of logical analysis (Logic).3. ‘static’: denoting a (physical or figurative) state or location4. ‘dynamic’: denoting a (p. or f.) change of state or location5. ‘modality’: expressing the attitude of the speaker

However, this definition is:a. subjective: who knows what a complete idea is?b. unscientific: not made in terms of a system, but depends on the observer

-------------------------------------------------------------This definition is compatible with Functionalism,but functionalists don't use this kind of definition.

Functionalists do not consider the sentence the largest unit of analysis.

Functionalism studies discourse,not the sentence.

SENTENCEmorpho-syntactic definition

A sentence is a structural string whose words fall into natural groups known as constituents. The predicate can be a finite VERB phrase, whose verb agrees in person and number with the NOMINAL construction which functions as subject. When the initial subject position is taken by the expletive there, there is CONCORD or AGREEMENT between the VERB and the NOMINAL which follows it:

[There are six coins here] [There appears a strange image on the screen]

The presence of a finite verb (i.e. conjugated)

is not indispensable for a sentenceto make complete sense, e.g.:

Yes. No. Good-bye. Thanks. Hello. Of course.

However, these examples may be full sentences only from a phonological perspective.

Notionally they are always elliptical, i.e. some elements of their structure have been omitted.

SENTENCEPhonological definitions:

1. A sentence is an utterance between two pauses.2. A sentence is an utterance with a definite intonation contour.

I couldn't find the photographs which we took during the trip.

Sentences are abstract units of study, isolated from the rest of the language.

Utterances are real occurrences of speech in actual discourse.

SENTENCEStructuralist definition

Leonard Bloomfield (USA, 1887–1949) 1930’s:

a sentence is an independent linguistic form,not included by virtue ofany grammatical construction*,in any larger linguistic form.Syntactically, a sentence consists ofa subject and a predicate;categorially, a noun phrase & a verb phrase.

*‘grammatical construction’: combination of words according to rules of syntax (the largest unit is the sentence).

a CLAUSEis a structure containing a

SUBJECT and a PREDICATE (i.e. a logical proposition)

It can be embedded (i.e. subordinated)to a main clause (i.e. the sentence),

in which case its meaning is not complete.

GRAMMATICAL UNITS [Structuralist approach]SENTENCE: [Those are the houses where we stayed last year]CLAUSE: [Those are the houses (where we stayed last year)]PHRASE: <the houses> <last year>WORD: those the where lastMORPHEME: houseS stayED laST________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

SENTENCES may be:SIMPLE [This is my house]COMPOUND [(This is my house) and (I like it)]COMPLEX [This is the house (where we stayed last year) ]________________________________________________________________________________________________

CLAUSES may be: MAIN / MATRIX / ROOT: (This is the house)SUBORDINATE / EMBEDDED: (where we stayed last year)

l e x i c a l i t e m sDistinction between lexical and functional

categories:

•Contentive words are:Noun - Verb - Preposition - Adjective -

Adverb•They have idiosyncratic descriptive content or

sense properties•They have antonyms, e.g. : lose / gain; in / out

----------------------------------------------------------------

•Functional words are carriers of grammatical information:

Complementiser - Auxiliary - Infinitive Particle Determiner - Pronoun - Quantifier - etc.

event seen as past Tense Inflection event seen as present event seen as future with respect to some point of reference

event seen as a wholeAspect Inflection event seen in progress

event seen as a series

Modal Inflection event seen as factualevent seen as non-factual

Processes of Word Formation•Morphological Inflection•Derivation• Composition: at least two free morphemes get together to

form another word, e.g.: bedroom• Acronyms: initials or initial syllables from different words are

joined to form a single word, e.g.: laser, radar, Pakistan, Benelux,

nylon, AIDS, UFO, snafu /snæ’fu:/ [N] [A] [transitive V] = Situation Normal All Fucked/Fouled Up (etymology circa 1941) a situation marked by errors or confusion; muddle; an error causing such a situation, e.g. a scheduling snafu.

• Clipping: part of a word is clipped and the resulting segment becomes another word, e.g.: telly, pram, perm, ad, phone, gents

• Blending: segments from two or more words are joined to form a single word, e.g.: brunch

• Borrowing: foreign words are incorporated into the morphological system of a language, e.g.: golear, (from English goal); chatear, etc

Morphological evidencei.Inflectional properties

different forms of the same wordi.Derivational properties formation of different words by addition of

derivational morphemes

The derivational affixes have categorial properties:

in- / un- adjectives or verbs-ly adverbs

M O R P H O L O G Ymorpheme (Greek morphé = form, shape):

the smallest group of phonemes with meaning.It cannot be subdivided into smaller grammatical units with semantic content.

two-morpheme word LIVED {LIVE + ED} two-morpheme word CARELESS {CARE + LESS}three-morpheme word CARELESSNES {CARE + LESS + NESS}

Free morphemes can stand independently; they’re words by themselves e.g.: LIVE, DO, HUT, BUT, NICE, WORK, WHAT

Bound morphemes, i.e. affixes, are never independent,they must be attached to another morpheme –a free morpheme–

forming part of a larger unit, the worde.g.: livING, doES, hutS, DISlike, UNdo, nicER

A stem is a free morpheme to which bound morphemes –affixes– are attached.

AFFIXES affect the meaning of the STEMS they are attached to.These changes in meaning may or may not alter the word-class or category of the stem. The affix ‘–s’ means third person singular, present tense, when attached to a verb stem, such as ‘find’. The resulting word: ‘finds’ is not different in category from the stem ‘find’, i.e. verb. The affix ‘–s’ means plural when attached to a noun stem, such as ‘cat’; catS is a noun too. But the affix ‘–ly’ attached to an adjective stem such as ‘slow’ causes a change in meaning which involves a change in the category of the resulting word: the adverb 'slowly’.

Inflectional affixesdo not change the category of the stem they attach to

INFLECTION is the generic name given to a set of features which affect the meaning of lexical items in any language, without changing their category. Inflection encompasses the grammatical features of TENSE, ASPECT, MOOD, CASE, PERSON, NUMBER, GENDER and DEGREE, which affect the lexical categories (and the functional category PRONOUN)These inflectional features may be realised in different ways:• MORPHOLOGICAL INFLECTION:a bound morpheme, e.g. a suffix, added to a stem:

serve + ed [affixal inflection for Past Tense] served• INTERNAL INFLECTION: phonological changes within the stem

break + internal inflection for Past Tense broke• LEXICAL INFLECTION: a separate word, e.g. an auxiliary or an adverb, affects the meaning of the stem:

walk + lexical inflection forPast tense, Imperfective aspect, Indicative mood would

walk

Realisation of Inflectional FeaturesMorphological inflection can be regular or irregularIrregular inflection may be referred to as internal inflection due to the fact that the morphological change in these cases occurs internally in the word and not by attachment of a bound morpheme, e.g.:

Number: mouse – mice / foot – feetTense: break – broke / feel – felt / bring – brought

Degree: far – farther – further – farthest / little – less – lesser – least

Gender: man – woman / king – queen

Lexical inflection occurs when a grammatical feature, such as tense, person, number, degree, etc. is not manifested by means of a morphological affix or an internal change in the stem, but by addition of or substitution for a separate lexical item, e.g.:

Number: I – we ; her – them Person: I – you ; we – they ; me – her

Tense: am – was ; go – went Degree: good – better ; bad – worse

Gender: brother – sister ; monk – nun ; bull – cow

Realisation of Inflectional Features

INFLECTIONAL FEATURES ON PRONOUNS

English NOUNS inflect fornumber and genitive case,but they rarely inflect for

gender.Irregular morphological behaviour of NOUNS:sheep (the same form expresses both singular and plural number)furniture (uncountable noun with no plural form)baby-sitter (compound noun)

VERBS inflect for

• 3rd person singular number –s• past tense -d • past participle –n• present participle / gerund -ingMost verbs are irregularbecause their past tense form is the same astheir past participle form.Sometimes inflection is irregular.Some derivational affixes have limited productivity.

DERIVATIONA process of word formation which often involves a change in the category (i.e. word-class) of a stem.

Derivation can occur:

a. MORPHOLOGICALLYb. by CONVERSION

English derivational affixes can be:

suffixes or prefixes, e.g.:

electric (A) electricity(N)execute (V) execution (N)danger (N) dangerous (A)sleep (V) asleep (A)midst (N) amidst (P)do (V) undo (V)flexible (A) inflexible(A)

The derivational suffix –ENforms ergative verbs from stems of

different categories

fright [N] – frighten [V] threat [N] – threaten [V]

strength [N] – strengthen [V] like [P/A] – liken [V]soft [A] – soften [V]

short [A] – shorten [V]stiff [A] – stiffen [V]

sharp [A] – sharpen [V]

Fossilised affixesThe fossilised inflectional –EN suffix

encodes past participle features withmany verbs of Germanic origin:

break – brokenmelt – moltensink – sunkenrot – rotten

swell – swollenforget – forgottenforbid – forbidden

A homophone inflectional suffix –EN

encodes plural features with a very restricted set of nouns:

man – menox – oxen

child – childrenwoman – women

brother – brethren

D E R I V A T I O NAn affix with little productivity is restricted to a limited set of occurrences, i.e. its use cannot be generalised to other occurrences outside the restricted set within which it is meaningful.A fossilised affix is no longer productive in the present stage of the language.Notice that some ancient affixes attach to stems which are not Modern English free morphemes: BE– beget; behold; befriend; behave; become; believe; belong; behind; before A– {an old preposition} astride; aloft; alike

The stem may be a recognisable modern word, but the derivational process involved

is not productive any longer.These affixes affect stems of different categories and form words of different word-classes.They reflect processes of word formation belonging to the grammar of a different language. In such cases, the whole word:

{stem + ancient affix}must be regarded as a single lexical unit, i.e. a Modern English free morpheme.

The same applies to words of foreign origin (Greek, Latin, etc.).Pairs like:

present – absentprefer – infer

implement – complementreveal the presence of meaningful prefixes in the language of origin, but, the ‘stems’ to which they attach are not English words, i.e. these words are not formed by a derivational process within the grammar of English.Consequently, they must be regard as lexical units, i.e. bare stems.

Some foreign words even retain their original inflectional pattern for number:Greek nouns:

criterion – criteriaphenomenon – phenomena

automaton – automatacrisis – crises

Latin nouns:datum – data

medium – mediastratum – strata

curriculum – curriculaalga – algae

Morphosyntactic evidence (categories)

a. He didn’t stay long(er). (ADV)a’. He didn’t stay [for] a long(er) period (A)b. He went on a long(er) journey. (A)I would prefer for the lock to be changed. (C)We are hoping for a peace agreement to be signed. (C)Congress voted for the treaty to be ratified. (C)Congress voted for/against the ratification of the treaty. (P)It is important for parents to spend time with their children.

(C)

It is important that parents should spend time with their children. (C)

It is Mary and Joe that you should spend most of your time with. (C)

That time that parents spend with their children is important. (D)–(C)

That is the question. (D)

Humans did not know what was going on, for they did not see these creatures.I go to the park every Sunday, for I love to watch the ducks on the lake.And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. They were determined to smuggle them in somehow, trusting to luck; but they were not so wise as my pal, for they did not wrap their things in bundles.

PRESENT PARTICIPLE or GERUND?ING’s premodifying a NOUN

• The crying baby had a wet diaper.• We didn’t visit the Weeping Wall.

• She’s a walking history book.• She won’t wear her walking shoes or take her

walking stick.

• The burning log fell off the fire.• Every coal-burning stove must have a chimney.

running water / running tracks / running nose

Null Constituents (Empty Categories) Students are required to remain silent for a while Los estudiantes deberán permanecer … (plural specific)

I like cats, but I don’t like dogs. Me gustan los gatos, pero no los perros. (plural generic)

Are there any bottles of wine in the cellar?¿Hay botellas de vino en la bodega? (plural generic)

“El romance del Aniceto y la Francisca” (singular specific)

…y también le va a enseñar la costura como en la escuela ‘e la rubia? … no tendrá necesidad de tocar la música, sino que buscará algún pianisto…

(Fray Mocho “Escuela de campaña”) (mass generic)

A R G U M E N T S T R U C T U R E• Predicates denote states, activities or events in which

one or more animate/inanimate entities participate.In logical terms, a ‘predicate’ predicates something about an entity, e.g.:

arrive – run – send – like

• Arguments are the actors or participants taking part in the activity, state, or event denoted by a predicate.

• Thematic Roles are the roles played by each of the participants in an activity, state, or event, e.g.:

agent, theme, patient, experiencer, percept, goal, source, location, recipient, instrument, etc.

Thematic RelationsJackendoff’s 1972 theory (i.e. Thematic Tier)

• Agent: initiatior, doer of an action, capable of volition• Force: initiatior, doer of an action, incapable of volition• Patient: affected argument, undergoer of an action• Theme: what is located, changes location, or is created• Location: spatial or figurative entity at which another

entity is located/placed.• Goal/Source: entities toward or from which (spatial or

figurative) change of location takes place.• Recipient/Benefactive: goal/(intended) destination• Experiencer: the individual who feels/perceives the

event.• Percept: entity experienced or perceived• Instrument: the object with which an action is

performed

T H E M A T I C R O L E SThe minimally required (explicit) participant in

an unaccusative predicate has a theme Ө-role:

John hasn’t come / His letter has arrived------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The minimally required (explicit) participant in an unergative predicate has an agent Ө-role

Lynn dances / Leo swims very wellThe sun is shining / They sang all night

Describe the argument structure of each predicate and label the θ-roles.

• The boss was in a good mood that morning. theme location adjunct

• The driver smiled [when he noticed that his lover was at the party ]. agent experiencer percept “his lover” = theme | “the party” = location

• It is absurd to expect [that those naughty children will behave properly]expletive infinitival clause (notional subject) theme“expect”: null subject = experiencer clause: “that those naughty children….” = percept“behave”: “those naughty children” = agent “properly” (adjunct of manner)

Provide the argument structure and the -gridof each of the predicates in the following sentence:

It was pointless to expect the womanwe saw at the pub to do us such a favour.

• POINTLESS selects only one internal argument (THEME) = the infinitival clause “to expect the woman we saw at the pub to do us such a favour”• EXPECT selects two arguments, the external one is a null subject (EXPERIENCER), and the internal one is an infinitival clause with an overt subject (THEME): “the woman we saw at the pub to do us such a favour”• SAW selects two arguments: the PRN “we” (EXPERIENCER) and the null PRN [whom] (PERCEPT) within the subordinate clause, which refers back to the antecedent “the woman”.• DO selects three arguments: the nominal construction “the woman we saw at the pub” (AGENT), the accusative PRN “us” (RECIPIENT) and the nominal construction "such a favour” (THEME).

Describe the argument structure of each predicate and label the θ-roles.

•The offended young lady slapped the ill-mannered man agent predicate patient(DP) (DP)

•[Without wanting to], Judith hit Frank with the ball. adjunct agent predicate patient instrument (DP) (DP) (PP)

•Edward didn’t lend Leonard the money for Charles’ bail. agent predicate recipient theme (DP) (DP) (DP)

•This key will open that door. instrument predicate theme(DP) (DP)

Describe the argument structure of each predicate and label the θ-roles.

•The unemployment rate rose from 10 to 15% [last month]. theme predicate source goal adjunct(DP) (PP) (PP) (DP)

•The hunchback frightened the village people [yesterday]. agent predicate patient adjunctpercept experiencer (DP) (DP) (Adv)

•Tim [always] hated the smell of hospitals. experiencer adjunct predicate theme/percept(DP) (Adv) (DP)

Describe the argument structure of each predicate and label the θ-roles.

•Her coat was hanging on the door theme predicate location (DP) (PP)

•[pro(ec)] Hang your coat on the hook agent predicate theme location (DP) (DP) (PP)

•The frightened criminal hanged himself [with his shoelaces]. agent predicate patient adjunct [instrument](DP) (DP) (PP)

• Randy sold a car to Michael [for $1500]. agent [source] predicate theme recipient [goal] adjunct [purpose]

(DP) (DP) (PP) (PP)