Journal Issue: Proceedings of the 40th Annual Penn Linguistics Conference
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Publication The Particle Mo in Japanese and its Roles in Numeral Indeterminate Phrases(2017-01-01) Mohri, FumioThe main purpose of this paper is to provide an appropriate explanation for the so-called numeral indeterminate (NI) constructions, in which mo is accompanied by an indeterminate pronoun+ Cl(assifier). The quirky character of this construction is that apparently mo is applied to the denotation of a numeral indeterminate nan-nin as a syntactic binder and at the same it invokes a scalar reading. The assumption that mo should be a syntactic binder can be corroborated from the fact that the NI construction is degraded without the particle mo. Also mo as a scalar particle attributes an implicit large reading. This large reading can also be observed in cases where the indeterminate is replaced by a specific numeral, e,g, yo-nin-mo ‘four-Cl-mo’. To the best of my knowledge, Kobuchi-Philip (2010) and Oda (2012) are the only works that deal with this construction. Especially Oda extensively discusses every possible means to explain this construction and works out a solution by assuming that the suffix mo functions multiply as an existential quantifier and a scalar particle. Through this paper, I will support her claim for its double functions, but I will clarify that the functions are both derived from a core semantic property of mo, namely, maximality. In other words, these functions work individually, but the component of maximality is placed in the center of the semantics of both usages.Publication The Semantic Ontology of Agent and Theme: A Case Study with Event Partitioning Quantifiers in Japanese(2017-01-01) Nakamura, TakanobuThe primary aim of this paper is a description of a previously unanalyzed kind of numeral quantifiers in Japanese. While the purpose is modest, I believe that it might shed light on the Neo-Davidsonian semantic architecture (see Parsons 1990, Schein 1993 and Kratzer 1996 among others). Specifically, I will introduce Event Partitioning Quantifiers (EPQs), which have not been analyzed in literature and show that with an EPQ, agents of events and themes of events are quantified independently of both an event expressed by a lexical verb and host nominals in the subject or in the object. Based on this observation, I discuss the semantic independence of thematic roles Agent and Theme from their corresponding verb.Publication “I didn’t drink and drove a car” Neg Expresses Eccentric Triplets(2017-01-01) Yoda, Yusuke; Kobayashi, RyoichiroThis paper aims to propose an account of the scope between negation and VP-coordination in Japanese. We investigate a scope puzzle between negation and VP-coordination, which has been unexplained. We claim that VP-coordination and negation have three readings: (i) Suspended Affixation Reading (neg > VP1 > VP2); (ii) non-Suspended Affixation Reading (VP1 > neg > VP2); and (iii) the third reading (VP2 > neg > VP1), which has been unnoticed. This reading is yielded via the phase-based interpretation system, as well as De Morgan’s Law, which only applies to negation.Publication Use of Discourse Cues During Garden-Path Resolution is Modulated by Verb Argument Structure(2017-01-01) Besserman, Ana; Kaiser, ElsiStudies on garden-path sentences such as While the man hunted the deer ran into the woods have shown that comprehenders face processing difficulties due to the locally ambiguous noun phrase “the deer”. This critical noun phrase tends to be initially interpreted as the object of the preceding verb, but it must ultimately be interpreted as the subject of the following clause. This grammatical role ambiguity is particularly of interest because in English (and other languages) discourse information tends to be packaged in such a way that objects are typically indefinite, new information, and subjects are most often previously-mentioned, definite information (e.g., Comrie 1989, Prince 1992). We hypothesized that, if discourse information is at play, noun phrases that are more subject-like might facilitate garden-path resolution relative to more object-like noun phrases. However, in order to better understand when the discourse level is engaged in processing these constructions, we examined garden-paths with two verb types: reflexive absolute verbs (RATs, e.g., “wash”) and optionally transitive verbs (OPTs, e.g., “hunt”). Due to their reflexive nature, RATs were expected to operate mainly through a structural route (syntax-only). On the other hand, OPT verbs can introduce implicit arguments and are more likely to engage in operations beyond the domain of syntax (e.g., syntax+discourse). In this study, we discuss data from a self-paced reading experiment (see Besserman and Kaiser 2016) to shed light on the syntax/discourse division of labor: we found effects of information status related to subject-/object-hood in the processing of garden-paths with OPT, but not RAT verbs. These findings suggest that engagement of discourse representations was modulated by the verb’s argument structure.Publication Morphosyntactic Interleaving in Vietnamese and Pacoh(2017-01-01) Shwayder, KobeyInterleaving, a surface configuration in some languages in which the parts of two adjacent words are interspersed with each other, has been argued to be a phonological phenomenon. In this paper, I investigate interleaving in Vietnamese and a related language, Pacoh (Katuic, Mon-Khmer), and argue that it is the result of morphosyntactic operations and structures and not a phonological operation. I present three pieces of evidence that interleaving is morphosyntactic in nature: (i) interleaving cannot apply to all syllables, only those in certain morphosyntactic environments; (ii) interleaving manipulates polysyllabic units and can apply to 3-part compounds, showing that it is manipulating morphosyntactic structure and not phonological structure; and (iii) interleaving creates extra syntactic-semantic force, suggesting a change in the syntax. I propose an analysis in which interleaving is the result of the structure of coordinate compounds, whose members have no precedence relation with each other, in combination with an alternate traversal of the syntactic tree during linearization.Publication Variants of Indonesian Prepositions as Intra-speaker Variability at PF(2017-01-01) Jeoung, Helen; Biggs, AlisonThis paper discusses the formal representation of morphosyntactic intra-speaker variability in a modular grammar. It presents novel data from Indonesian functional prepositions that exhibit unusual variability in form. It is shown that oleh ‘by’ and dengan ‘with’ may either (i) be phonologically unrealized (Preposition-drop), a process sensitive to syntactic structure, or (ii) may be realized as sama ‘by/with,’ a variant speakers use in an informal style. We establish that it is necessary to invoke distinct processes to formally introduce these outputs: Indonesian preposition-drop is argued to reflect a morphophonological variable deletion rule, while style-shifting is modeled as competition in use of lexical inventories. The variable realization of Indonesian prepositions indicates that it is possible to identify distinct variable processes (competition and variable rules), here operating over a single morphosyntactic item. The appeal to two variable processes follows in part from the nature of the factors (internal or external to the grammar) that condition variability, but we argue that it also follows if implementation additionally obeys constraints imposed by the grammatical architecture. Finally, we find that, in order to maintain modularity, variable processes may have distinct loci in the post-syntactic derivation.Publication Multi-Value Asymmetry in Number Agreement and Concord(2017-01-01) Shen, ZhengIn this paper I present cross-linguistic data of NRNR, TP RNR, and composed plurality to argue for the multi-value asymmetry between the N and the T domain. I propose that the asymmetry can be accounted for by assuming that T heads have multiple unvalued number features while N heads have only one. The proposal is compatible with the unified Agree analysis of concord and agreement and it is further supported by the mismatch cases of multi-valuation.Publication Lithuanian Passive-like Impersonals and Regular Passives(2017-01-01) Šereikaitė, MilenaThis study provides evidence for microvariations in VoiceP (Legate 2014) by contrasting two Lithuanian constructions, the passive-like -ma/-ta construction with an accusative theme grammatical object and the canonical passive with a nominative theme grammatical subject. The -ma/-ta construction is cognate with the Polish and Ukrainian -no/-to construction. The Polish construction is an impersonal active, whereas the Ukrainian construction is a passive with an accusative object (Lavine 2005, 2013; Legate 2014). Although the Lithuanian construction patterns with the Ukrainian one in allowing an auxiliary, it patterns with the Polish in exhibiting a PRO subject and demonstrating that these two properties are dissociable (contra Lavine 2005). To encode the difference between the impersonal and the passive, I argue for the presence of a functional head VoiceP originating above a vP. The impersonal has a PRO subject in VoiceP, while the passive lacks the thematic subject. This study is extended to passives with causative morphology showing that VoiceP and vP are independent of each other: the former introduces external argument and the latter causative semantics (Pylkkänen 2008, Harley 2013, Legate 2014).Publication Pseudo-allomorphs in Modern Russian(2017-01-01) Magomedova, VarvaraIn this paper I argue that apparent complementary, phonologically conditioned distribution in a group of affixes with the same function (diminutive) does not necessarily imply that they are allomorphs. I show it on the example of Russian diminutive suffixes [-ok, -ik, -t͡ɕik], previously considered to be allomorphs. I also show that semantic factors may contribute to the choice of a suffix realization on a par with phonological factors. I call such suffixes pseudo-allomorphs, as they have phonologically conditioned distribution as well as different meanings.Publication Copula Distinction and Constrained Variability of Copula Use in Iberian and Mexican Spanish(2017-01-01) Sánchez-Alonso, Sara; Deo, Ashwini; Piñango, María MercedesSpanish has two copulas, ser and estar, which are often translated as English ‘be’. Here, we study their differences by investigating their contrastive distributional patterns in combination with adjectival predicates. Specifically, we test the processing predictions of a presupposition-based analysis (Deo et al. 2016) that accounts for a wide range of distributional patterns of the copulas. This analysis has the advantage that it explains the variable copulas’ uses observed across Spanish varieties. Our focus is on Iberian and Mexican Spanish. The presupposition-based analysis establishes a clear-cut distinction between the two copulas: estar presupposes the contingency of the prejacent, ser does not. Accordingly, the use of estar requires that the common ground contextually entails that its prejacent is contingent. If the common ground does not imply the contingency of the prejacent, this new information would need to be accommodated by the hearer. We hypothesize that estar predications, when presented in isolation with adjectival predicates that show a preference to appear with ser, will engender a processing cost as a result of adding to the common ground the proposition that the prejacent holds contingently. This hypothesis is tested in two studies, an acceptability questionnaire and a self-paced reading. The results show that when the context does not explicitly support estar’s presupposition, sentences are scored lower (study 1, acceptability questionnaire) and read slower (study 2, self-paced reading) by both Iberian and Mexican speakers. In addition, the data provide experimental evidence for the ‘constrained’ variability across Spanish dialects. The results suggest that Mexican speakers are able to accommodate the contingency-presupposition of estar without relying on explicit contextual cues to a larger extent than Iberian speakers. Altogether, the data support an analysis of copula distinction in Spanish that takes into account the contingency-presupposition of estar and the variability in copula use across Spanish dialects.