All Questions
Tagged with morphosyntax syntax
26 questions
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Are there languages which restrict adverb usage to only one of either preceding or following a verb?
We have adverb sentences like this:
I basically initially ran quickly.
That means the same thing pretty much as:
I basically initially quickly ran.
First part of the question is, why do some ...
- 4,438
3
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107
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Was there a tendency of Indo-European languages to avoid syntactical ambiguity by introducing more complex morphology?
In (Peškovskij, 1914, p. 246) I stumbled upon the following (Russian) assertion:
Opisannoe vytesnenie predikativnogo imenitel'nogo tvoritel'nym možno
rassmatrivat' kak častnyj slučaj obščego ...
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2
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182
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For English, is there a finite set of patterns for constructing sentences?
I am wondering about conlangs and thinking about English currently. I'm wondering does English have a finite set of patterns for constructing sentences? That is, could you build a computer program ...
- 4,438
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69
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Is syntactic understanding of a text actually the most elementary form of semantical understanding of the text?
I am not a Linguist, but I am curious about the question below:
Is there a linguistic theory that points out that syntactic understanding of a text constitutes the lowest level of semantical ...
- 191
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2
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2k
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What is non-headed phrase?
I know most of the phrases in English are headed phrases, like noun is the head of NP. But what is non-headed phrase?
user27687
9
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455
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Are all "Ergative Languages" split-ergative?
I've noticed that in a lot of examples of "ergative languages," there is some piece of the language that does not fit the pattern we call "ergativity." For example, Basque does not mark ergative case ...
- 2,364
4
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3
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434
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In English, is the use of the -ing participle verb form as adjectives or subjects or objects an example of conversion (a.k.a. zero-derivation)?
This is a pretty straight forward question. But here are some examples:
Baking is my hobby. (used as a subject thing, or as some would call it, a gerund or verbal noun)
I will be a contestant in the ...
- 206
1
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330
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Binding Principles
For each of the following sentences I have been asked to:
1) State which binding principle applies to all relevant elements
2) Identify the antecedent (If none then state so)
3) State if the ...
- 11
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65
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Finiteness of embedded clause in "Susan seems to have gone"
My textbook flags the above mentioned phrase as non-finite but it clearly seems to indicate tense. After all, alterations like "have eaten", "have been eating", "have had been eating", "having been ...
- 21
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Are first-person and second-person pronouns always co-referential for a given speaker at a given context?
For the first-person singular pronouns, it seems obvious that these pronouns can only refer the speaker, since there is always only one speaker, so it must be always coreferential, as in
I(i) took my(...
- 141
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80
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Edit Doron: Reflexivity in Syntax or the Lexicon
Perhaps I am missing something here, but does Edit Doron adopt:
1) a lexicalist view of morphology (as it seems from "A Unified Approach to Reflexivization in Semitic and Romance" by Edit Doron and ...
- 63
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4
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523
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Corpus Linguistics: Is it possible to add a tag for "sentence ending"?
I'm new to Corpus Linguistics and I'm writing a paper about the English and Portuguese "because noun", a type of construction such as "I'm going home because GTA5".
However, when I try to search this ...
- 313
-1
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2
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251
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"Ought" omission of "to" [closed]
Does anybody know anything about the distribution of the modal "ought" without "to" (in other words, "ought" taking the base infinitive). Eg:
They ought to go home.
vs.
They ought go home.
Is "...
- 120
2
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0
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80
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What is some standard analysis for "Look me in the eye"
I am looking for hints where to find a ("standard") analysis of something like this english dative construction:
Look me in the eye
Clearly, the "the" in this phrase is semantically scoped BY the me ...
- 658
2
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128
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Why "Monotonicity" Hypothesis? (Koontz-Garboden)
Should't it be "monodirectionality hypothesis"?
In my understanding, this is about the one-way that material/structure can be added to a sentence-while-generated, but never deleted. (Harley 2013 ...
- 658
2
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1
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270
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Why is syntax called "grammar outside the word " [closed]
In my book said that syntax is grammar outside the word but i don't understand why can you explain me
- 31
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1
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145
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are words more independent from syntax in non-analytical languages? Does this affect language processing? [closed]
When we think about the morphology and syntax, the debate arises. Even if they are protagonist parts of linguistic debates, and even if they are usually address separately, the importance of each ...
2
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1
answer
345
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Evidence for/against Lexical integrity principle
Some (mostly lexicalist) theories of syntax assume that there's a 1-to-1 relationship between the words in a sentence and the nodes in its syntax tree. It seems pretty obvious to me. Is there ...
user8145
6
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3
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984
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Vocatives and Case Assignment
Vocatives, which are basically nouns that refer to the person to whom the speech event is directed, are said to be detached from the sentences in which they occur.
Mary, I hate you.
I don't think I ...
- 1,582
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3
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820
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How do formal theories analyse the syntax of polysynthetic languages?
How is syntax of polysynthetic languages (e.g. Inuktitut, Mohawk) represented in formal theories of syntax? In many cases, a sentence consists of only one or two words so the syntax tree is rather ...
user8145
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1
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94
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What are some alternative communities/forums that are home to engaged linguists? [closed]
I have made accounts on some forums that seem quite lackluster. Quora can be fun, but it's not really enough. Reddit fails in this regard. I would love to find a forum for discussion that I can look ...
- 313
4
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1
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639
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Can a language have both nominative/accusative and ergative/absolutive syntactic systems in its syntactic structure?
These examples are from Kui, a Trans New Guinean language spoken on Alor island, Indonesia.
(1) nya yai umasingin u=ga=sam u=ga=bur=i.
1pl.Sub v. n. appl=3sg....
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Can anyone point me toward articles/theory that syntax and morphology operate on the same principles?
Looking for articles and or theories that explore the idea that morphology and syntax are not separate but operate on the same principles; for example, that the sentence is just an extended ...
- 91
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1
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306
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"Enumerators" and Approximate Inversion
There's a term that, as far as I know, goes back to traditional Celtic grammar called "enumerators". These are essentially words that inflect for number in weird ways when preceded by a numeral, that ...
- 734
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359
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What are some theoretical motivations for do-support?
I've been attempting to put together an overview of the various theoretical motivations that have been proposed for do-support in the literature, but the topic has been frustratingly difficult to ...
- 31
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2
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3k
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Is Conversion syntactic or morphological?
Conversion, such as:
permit (verb): I permit you to do so
permit (noun): Take this permit
Can be considered to be a morphological (i.e. lexical) process. But there are arguments for it being a ...
- 2,049