Coercion is a much-discussed topic in the linguistic literature. This article expands the usual r... more Coercion is a much-discussed topic in the linguistic literature. This article expands the usual range of cases at the most subtle and the extreme end: it demonstrates how coercion extends into semantic flexibility on the one hand and into idiomaticity on the other. After discussing a broad variety of coercion cases in syntax and morphology and briefly reviewing the equally diverse literature, we identify three mechanisms – selection, enrichment, and override – that have alternatively been proposed to account for coercion effects. We then present an approach that combines all three mechanisms, arguing that they can be unified along a single axis: the degree of top-down influence of complex structures on lexical semantics.
Taalportaal. A new scientific grammar of Dutch and Frisian (and Afrikaans) We describe the Taalpo... more Taalportaal. A new scientific grammar of Dutch and Frisian (and Afrikaans) We describe the Taalportaal, a new comprehensive on-line scientific grammar of Dutch and Frisian.
Effet des processus derivationnels sur la valence syntaxique, dans le cas ou les mots de base son... more Effet des processus derivationnels sur la valence syntaxique, dans le cas ou les mots de base sont des verbes
German, Dutch and English have surprisingly large sets of verbal diminutives: verbs ending in -el... more German, Dutch and English have surprisingly large sets of verbal diminutives: verbs ending in -el/-le and carrying an attenuative and/or iterative meaning. These verbs exhibit particular properties that make them interesting for morphological theory. Focussing on Dutch data, this paper sketches the challenges that arise with respect to structure, productivity and meaning, and proposes a constructionist account that allows for a better understanding of the issues. The central notion is the schema, a generalization over the structure of complex words. In contrast to rules, whose main function is to generate new words, schemas motivate existing words by marking their structure as non-arbitrary. We discuss the modelling options this gives us and apply them to the verbal diminutives.
... 3.2 Word edges The difference between syllable structure constraints and sequential constrain... more ... 3.2 Word edges The difference between syllable structure constraints and sequential constraints is stressed by Kristoffersen (2000: 46–48), in relation to the distribution of consonants at word edges. In Norwegian, the cluster tl-is a proper syllable onset. ...
Output-oriented, constructional schemas should be used for stating regularities that are not prod... more Output-oriented, constructional schemas should be used for stating regularities that are not productive. These schemas have a motivational function only. We show that words may be partially motivated even when they lack a base word. Moreover, they can be motivated by more than one schema. This applies to the huge set of Dutch verbs in-elen. Verbs in-eren appear to exhibit similar properties, as do parallel verbs in German and English, and Dutch words ending in-ig. Diachronic facts, in particular the construction of nouns ending in-er, support the claim that language users make generalizations in the form of output-oriented schemas.
Coercion is a much-discussed topic in the linguistic literature. This article expands the usual r... more Coercion is a much-discussed topic in the linguistic literature. This article expands the usual range of cases at the most subtle and the most extreme end: it demonstrates how coercion extends into semantic flexibility on the one hand and into idiomaticity on the other. After discussing a broad variety of coercion cases in syntax and morphology and briefly reviewing the equally diverse literature, we identify three mechanisms – selection, enrichment and override – that have alternatively been proposed to account for coercion effects. We then present an approach that combines all three mechanisms, arguing that they can be unified along a single axis: the degree of top-down influence of complex structures on lexical semantics. Acknowledgements: We thank Ray Jackendoff and two anonymous reviewers for comments and advice. Jenny Audring is grateful to the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for a Veni grant, #275-70-036.
This study investigated the role of morphological structure in explaining pronunciation variation... more This study investigated the role of morphological structure in explaining pronunciation variation. The focus was on the Dutch derivational suffix -igheid (/əxhɛit/), which occurs in two types of words. In the first type, -igheid is analyzed as a single suffix. In the second type, there is a morphological boundary between -ig and -heid. The main research question was whether this difference is reflected in the duration of the /xh/ cluster. Two hypotheses were distinguished: one based on prosodic structure, which predicts that the cluster is shorter in the first type than in the second type, and one based on the informativeness of the affix given the morphological paradigm, which makes the opposite prediction. All occurrences of -igheid in a corpus of read speech were acoustically analyzed using Automatic Speech Recognition technology. The duration of the /xh/ cluster was found to be shorter in words of the second type than in words of the first type. This can be explained by the observation that words of the second type have sparser morphological paradigms, making the cluster less informative with respect to word identity. Furthermore, this finding shows that morphological effects on fine phonetic detail cannot always be explained by prosodic structure.
Coercion is a much-discussed topic in the linguistic literature. This article expands the usual r... more Coercion is a much-discussed topic in the linguistic literature. This article expands the usual range of cases at the most subtle and the extreme end: it demonstrates how coercion extends into semantic flexibility on the one hand and into idiomaticity on the other. After discussing a broad variety of coercion cases in syntax and morphology and briefly reviewing the equally diverse literature, we identify three mechanisms – selection, enrichment, and override – that have alternatively been proposed to account for coercion effects. We then present an approach that combines all three mechanisms, arguing that they can be unified along a single axis: the degree of top-down influence of complex structures on lexical semantics.
Taalportaal. A new scientific grammar of Dutch and Frisian (and Afrikaans) We describe the Taalpo... more Taalportaal. A new scientific grammar of Dutch and Frisian (and Afrikaans) We describe the Taalportaal, a new comprehensive on-line scientific grammar of Dutch and Frisian.
Effet des processus derivationnels sur la valence syntaxique, dans le cas ou les mots de base son... more Effet des processus derivationnels sur la valence syntaxique, dans le cas ou les mots de base sont des verbes
German, Dutch and English have surprisingly large sets of verbal diminutives: verbs ending in -el... more German, Dutch and English have surprisingly large sets of verbal diminutives: verbs ending in -el/-le and carrying an attenuative and/or iterative meaning. These verbs exhibit particular properties that make them interesting for morphological theory. Focussing on Dutch data, this paper sketches the challenges that arise with respect to structure, productivity and meaning, and proposes a constructionist account that allows for a better understanding of the issues. The central notion is the schema, a generalization over the structure of complex words. In contrast to rules, whose main function is to generate new words, schemas motivate existing words by marking their structure as non-arbitrary. We discuss the modelling options this gives us and apply them to the verbal diminutives.
... 3.2 Word edges The difference between syllable structure constraints and sequential constrain... more ... 3.2 Word edges The difference between syllable structure constraints and sequential constraints is stressed by Kristoffersen (2000: 46–48), in relation to the distribution of consonants at word edges. In Norwegian, the cluster tl-is a proper syllable onset. ...
Output-oriented, constructional schemas should be used for stating regularities that are not prod... more Output-oriented, constructional schemas should be used for stating regularities that are not productive. These schemas have a motivational function only. We show that words may be partially motivated even when they lack a base word. Moreover, they can be motivated by more than one schema. This applies to the huge set of Dutch verbs in-elen. Verbs in-eren appear to exhibit similar properties, as do parallel verbs in German and English, and Dutch words ending in-ig. Diachronic facts, in particular the construction of nouns ending in-er, support the claim that language users make generalizations in the form of output-oriented schemas.
Coercion is a much-discussed topic in the linguistic literature. This article expands the usual r... more Coercion is a much-discussed topic in the linguistic literature. This article expands the usual range of cases at the most subtle and the most extreme end: it demonstrates how coercion extends into semantic flexibility on the one hand and into idiomaticity on the other. After discussing a broad variety of coercion cases in syntax and morphology and briefly reviewing the equally diverse literature, we identify three mechanisms – selection, enrichment and override – that have alternatively been proposed to account for coercion effects. We then present an approach that combines all three mechanisms, arguing that they can be unified along a single axis: the degree of top-down influence of complex structures on lexical semantics. Acknowledgements: We thank Ray Jackendoff and two anonymous reviewers for comments and advice. Jenny Audring is grateful to the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) for a Veni grant, #275-70-036.
This study investigated the role of morphological structure in explaining pronunciation variation... more This study investigated the role of morphological structure in explaining pronunciation variation. The focus was on the Dutch derivational suffix -igheid (/əxhɛit/), which occurs in two types of words. In the first type, -igheid is analyzed as a single suffix. In the second type, there is a morphological boundary between -ig and -heid. The main research question was whether this difference is reflected in the duration of the /xh/ cluster. Two hypotheses were distinguished: one based on prosodic structure, which predicts that the cluster is shorter in the first type than in the second type, and one based on the informativeness of the affix given the morphological paradigm, which makes the opposite prediction. All occurrences of -igheid in a corpus of read speech were acoustically analyzed using Automatic Speech Recognition technology. The duration of the /xh/ cluster was found to be shorter in words of the second type than in words of the first type. This can be explained by the observation that words of the second type have sparser morphological paradigms, making the cluster less informative with respect to word identity. Furthermore, this finding shows that morphological effects on fine phonetic detail cannot always be explained by prosodic structure.
Word formation in Germanic languages takes mainly place by means of compounding and affixation. C... more Word formation in Germanic languages takes mainly place by means of compounding and affixation. Compounds are usually right-headed, and there is often a linking element in NN-compounds that derives historically from a case ending. In addition to endocentric compounds there are also copulative compounds. Compounding also takes place with roots of Greek and Latin origin that do not occur as words by themselves. Some compound constituents have developed into affixoids. Affixation is used to derive words of major categories: nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Some of these affixes behave phonologically similar to compound constituents. Many non-native affixes, identified on the basis of sets of borrowed non-native complex words, are being used in word formation as well. Other mechanisms of word formation are affix substitution, conversion, reduplication, prosodic morphology, abbreviation, and blending. For the construction of numerals above 20, syntactic coordination may be used. The word formation patterns of Germanic languages have been strongly influenced by contact with Greek Latin, and French. In addition, they have been influenced by contact with English. Individual languages have borrowed some of their morphology and complex words from another Germanic language, and Yiddish has been strongly influenced by various non-Germanic languages.
Uploads