Search results for "Theoretical linguistics"

Hidden complexity – The neglected side of complexity and its implications

2015

AbstractLinguistic complexity is the result of the two motivations of explicitness and economy. Most approaches focus on the explicitness-side of complexity (overt complexity) but there is also an economy-oriented side to it (hidden complexity). The aim of the paper is to introduce hidden complexity and to show how it opens new perspectives on central issues of linguistics. It will discuss the following questions: (i) the implementability of hidden complexity for psycholinguistic experiments, (ii) the evolution of linguistic complexity, (iii) its realisation in creole languages and (iv) its consequences for theories on the architecture of grammar. With this aim, the paper is a programmatic …

Proximal and distal. Rethinking linguistic form and use for clinical purposes.

2010

With clinical purposes in mind, a review of the proximal/distal opposition is carried out in order to define a universal parameter of variability in semiotic procedures. By taking into consideration different-although notionally inter-related-senses of the proximal/distal opposition, a cluster of semiotic properties is proposed, which initially permits one to characterize dimensions of variability in the form and use of gestures. The subsequent and central aim of this paper is, however, to demonstrate that the same, or homologous, properties can also serve to characterize variability in the use of language, by assuming a basic connection between gesturing and linguistic behaviour. The main …

Sobre metodología de gramática histórica del español: a propósito de una obra reciente

2003

Contributions to Spanish historical morphology are used to dealing with many descriptive issues, but they generally lack methodological considerations. This was not the case with other components of historical grammar such as the phonological and the lexical ones. However morphology, perhaps because of its semiproductive character and the irregularity of its paradigms, has been conceived of as a sample of unrelated data. This paper aims to consider the paradigmatic proposals that have been recently made by Joel Rini putting them in the methodological context of current research on grammaticalization in general linguistics.

The Role of Prominence Information in the Real-Time Comprehension of Transitive Constructions: A Cross-Linguistic Approach

2008

Approaches to language processing have traditionally been formulated with reference to general cognitive concepts (e.g. working memory limitations) or have based their representational assumptions on concepts from generative linguistic theory (e.g. structure determines interpretation). Thus, many well-established generalisations about language that have emerged from cross-linguistic/typological research have not as yet had a major influence in shaping ideas about online processing. Here, we examine the viability of using typologically motivated concepts to account for phenomena in online language comprehension. In particular, we focus on the comprehension of simple transitive sentences (i.e…

Corpus linguistics and its aplications in higher education

2010

The aim of this paper is to review and analyse relevant factors related to the implementation of corpus linguistics (CL) in higher education. First we set out to describe underlying principles of CL and its developments in relation to theoretical linguistics and its applications in modern teaching practices. Then we attempt to establish how different types of corpora have contributed to the development of direct and indirect approaches in language teaching. We single out Data Driven Learning (DDL) due to its relevance in applied linguistics literature, and examine in detail advantages and drawbacks. Finally, we outline problems concerning the implementation of CL in the classroom since awar…

The formal method in Germany and Russia : the beginnings of European psycholinguistics

2018

Abstract German–Austrian psychology is a direct source of the European formalism movement both in the German context (Germany, Austria) as well as in Russia. This interest of the formalists in the corporeal component of linguistic and literary production has resulted in a particular research stream, which could be defined as a ‘linguo-somatic orientation’. In particular, this is the case of Alois Riegl’s [1] perceptive ‘tactile–optical’ method; Adolf von Hildebrand’s [2] architectonic conception; Konrad Fiedler’s [3] ‘sensorial aesthetics’; W. Wölfflin’s [4] ‘basic concepts’ of the art history, W. Worringer’s [5] psychological arts typology as well as Oskar Walzel’s sound-corporeal poetics …

Outlining a grammaticalization path for the Spanish formula en plan (de): A contribution to crosslinguistic pragmatics

2020

Abstract This article discusses the diachronic development of the Spanish multifunctional formula en plan (with its variant en plan de, literally ‘in plan (of)’ but usually equivalent to English like). The article has two main aims: firstly, to describe the changes that the formula has undergone since its earliest occurrences as a marker in the nineteenth century up to the early 21st century. The diachronic study evinces a process of grammaticalization in three steps: from noun to clause adverbial and then to discourse marker. Secondly, to conduct a contrastive analysis between en plan (de) and the English markers like and kind of/kinda so as to shed new light on the potential existence of …

Automatic Extraction of Semantic Roles in Support Verb Constructions

2021

This paper deals with paraphrastic relations in Italian. In the following sentences: (a) Max strappò delle lacrime a Sara 'Max moved Sara to tears' and (b) Max fece piangere Sara 'Max made Sara cry', the verbs differ syntactically and semantically. Strappare 'tear/rip/wring' is transitive, fare ‘have/make’ is a causative, and piangere 'cry' is intransitive. Despite this, a translation of (a) as (b) is legitimate and therefore (a) is a paraphrase of (b). In theoretical linguistics this raises an issue concerning the relationship between strappare and fare/piangere in Italian, and that in English between move and make. In computational linguistics, can such paraphrases be obtained automatical…

Animacy shifts and resolution of semantic conflicts: A typological commentary onShifting animacyby de Swart & de Hoop

2018

De Praepositione: The Emerging of Donatus’s Thought on Syntax?

2020

The paper aims at investigating the syntax treatment in late Antiquity through the analysis of the description of prepositions within Donatus’s Artes. As far as an organic and dedicated description of syntax is concerned, the Roman tradition of grammatical studies in late Antiquity shows an overall gap. However, reflections on syntax emerge from the parts of speech descriptions made by grammarians. The ultimate purpose of this paper is to understand if, and to what extent, traces of emerging thought on syntax can be found in Donatus’s description of prepositions. These are regarded as a syntactic object of study by the modern linguistic theory. To that end, the paper focuses on the textual …