This paper will make an investigation on the properties of lexical causatives from the cross-linguistic perspective. Specifically, we shall contrast the lexical causatives in English, Japanese and Chinese. We adopt Py...This paper will make an investigation on the properties of lexical causatives from the cross-linguistic perspective. Specifically, we shall contrast the lexical causatives in English, Japanese and Chinese. We adopt Pylkk^inen＇s （2008） minimalist model as the framework. According to this model, the similarity of cross-linguistic causatives is attributed to the presence of the functional head vCAUSE. Variations of causatives in different languages can be attributed to two parameters： （i） whether vCAUSE obligatorily requires the presence of an external argument or not; （ii） the complement of vCAUSE is root-selecting, verb-selecting or phase-selecting. Causatives in languages can be ronghly divided into two types, namely the lexical causatives and the productive ones. As far as lexical causatives are concerned, languages can be classified into Voice-bundling vs. Non-Voice-bundling ones according to whether the presence of an external argument （i.e, causer or cause） is obligatorily required in lexical causatives or not. English is Voice-bundling and Japanese is Non-Voice-bundling. Chinese stands as the third type of languages which may be called semi-Voice-bnndling language since lexical unaccusative causatives in Chinese are Non-Voice-bundling while action-result-compounds unaccusatives （resultative unaccusatives） are Voice-bundling. Causative heads of lexical cat, satires in these three languages are all root-selecting.展开更多
The issue of ＂headedness＂ is a product of Chomsky＇s （1988） notion of UG （Universal Grammar） that led to the development of a framework known as P＆P （Principles and Parameters） theory. It is this theory we ha...The issue of ＂headedness＂ is a product of Chomsky＇s （1988） notion of UG （Universal Grammar） that led to the development of a framework known as P＆P （Principles and Parameters） theory. It is this theory we have adopted for our analysis in this paper. The purpose of this paper is to examine the inconsistency in the value of Head Parameter with reference to the value of DP （determiner phrase） in Yorfib^i. As a native speaker of Yorfib~, the author has adopted an introspective method of data collection and used the intuitive knowledge of other native speakers of the language for necessary clarifications. Despite the fact that English and Yorfib~ are both head-initial, the structure of the NPs （noun phrases） in English shows that the head noun is always pre-modified, making the NP ＂head-final＂--a violation of the value of Head Parameter in the language. This necessitated the need for Abney＇s （1987） DP hypothesis; in which the determiner heads its own phrase, thereby making a NP in English head-initial. This solves the problem of Head Parameter in English. However, since nouns in Yor/lb^i are post-modified, adopting ＂DP-analysis＂ will automatically produce head-final--a violation of the value of Head Parameter in the language. Given the inconsistency in the specification of head-complement order among the noun phrases in English and Yorfib~, this paper proposes to set a parameter for SVO （Subject-Verb-Object） languages with pre-modification （like English） to adopt ＂DP-analysis＂, and those with post-modification （like Yorfib^t） to adopt ＂NP-analysis＂. This will ensure ＂head-initial＂ value for the two categories of SVO languages展开更多
The purpose of this study is to shed light on the southern part of Italy where Catalonians ruled. Great numbers of Spaniards, principally the Catalonians, headed to that country. This affected the language, and, in tu...The purpose of this study is to shed light on the southern part of Italy where Catalonians ruled. Great numbers of Spaniards, principally the Catalonians, headed to that country. This affected the language, and, in turn, the history of people＇s last names. At first, some of the Spanish last names were used as nicknames for Italians. The method 1 used to get the data from primary sources was from spending time in Italy for four consecutive summers and visiting towns in the Naples area while I collected surnames found on houses. The Catalonians came to rule Sardinia, and their language and subsequently Spanish were official on the island. The linguistic influence of Spanish does not stop with surnames. A list of Spanish and Basque surnames which is redolent of the history of southern Italy and Sicily is appended. The geolinguistics interest lies in the way that the study of language, both ordinary words and proper nouns, offers important clues to the lives and movements of people of ages past, reflects political and economic aspects and also explains the ethnic origin of people who live in Sicily and Italy today or are descendants of Italians who have been important immigrants in the Americas, in Australia, and indeed around the world.展开更多
文摘This paper will make an investigation on the properties of lexical causatives from the cross-linguistic perspective. Specifically, we shall contrast the lexical causatives in English, Japanese and Chinese. We adopt Pylkk^inen＇s （2008） minimalist model as the framework. According to this model, the similarity of cross-linguistic causatives is attributed to the presence of the functional head vCAUSE. Variations of causatives in different languages can be attributed to two parameters： （i） whether vCAUSE obligatorily requires the presence of an external argument or not; （ii） the complement of vCAUSE is root-selecting, verb-selecting or phase-selecting. Causatives in languages can be ronghly divided into two types, namely the lexical causatives and the productive ones. As far as lexical causatives are concerned, languages can be classified into Voice-bundling vs. Non-Voice-bundling ones according to whether the presence of an external argument （i.e, causer or cause） is obligatorily required in lexical causatives or not. English is Voice-bundling and Japanese is Non-Voice-bundling. Chinese stands as the third type of languages which may be called semi-Voice-bnndling language since lexical unaccusative causatives in Chinese are Non-Voice-bundling while action-result-compounds unaccusatives （resultative unaccusatives） are Voice-bundling. Causative heads of lexical cat, satires in these three languages are all root-selecting.
文摘The issue of ＂headedness＂ is a product of Chomsky＇s （1988） notion of UG （Universal Grammar） that led to the development of a framework known as P＆P （Principles and Parameters） theory. It is this theory we have adopted for our analysis in this paper. The purpose of this paper is to examine the inconsistency in the value of Head Parameter with reference to the value of DP （determiner phrase） in Yorfib^i. As a native speaker of Yorfib~, the author has adopted an introspective method of data collection and used the intuitive knowledge of other native speakers of the language for necessary clarifications. Despite the fact that English and Yorfib~ are both head-initial, the structure of the NPs （noun phrases） in English shows that the head noun is always pre-modified, making the NP ＂head-final＂--a violation of the value of Head Parameter in the language. This necessitated the need for Abney＇s （1987） DP hypothesis; in which the determiner heads its own phrase, thereby making a NP in English head-initial. This solves the problem of Head Parameter in English. However, since nouns in Yor/lb^i are post-modified, adopting ＂DP-analysis＂ will automatically produce head-final--a violation of the value of Head Parameter in the language. Given the inconsistency in the specification of head-complement order among the noun phrases in English and Yorfib~, this paper proposes to set a parameter for SVO （Subject-Verb-Object） languages with pre-modification （like English） to adopt ＂DP-analysis＂, and those with post-modification （like Yorfib^t） to adopt ＂NP-analysis＂. This will ensure ＂head-initial＂ value for the two categories of SVO languages
文摘The purpose of this study is to shed light on the southern part of Italy where Catalonians ruled. Great numbers of Spaniards, principally the Catalonians, headed to that country. This affected the language, and, in turn, the history of people＇s last names. At first, some of the Spanish last names were used as nicknames for Italians. The method 1 used to get the data from primary sources was from spending time in Italy for four consecutive summers and visiting towns in the Naples area while I collected surnames found on houses. The Catalonians came to rule Sardinia, and their language and subsequently Spanish were official on the island. The linguistic influence of Spanish does not stop with surnames. A list of Spanish and Basque surnames which is redolent of the history of southern Italy and Sicily is appended. The geolinguistics interest lies in the way that the study of language, both ordinary words and proper nouns, offers important clues to the lives and movements of people of ages past, reflects political and economic aspects and also explains the ethnic origin of people who live in Sicily and Italy today or are descendants of Italians who have been important immigrants in the Americas, in Australia, and indeed around the world.
