Linguistics Test 1 : Language: Typology and Universals
Absolute Universals
parameter that is genuinely universal
NP indirect object
person or thing for whose benefit the ___ing was done [writing]
location
place in which a motion occurs; ex. Dan sat [at home]. We are [in class].
principles
rules that everyone shares (absolute universals)
innateness unity
some universals may have been encoded genetically; all languages utilize the same underlying principles
agglutinative morphology
stringing affixes together in easily identifiable pouches where each affix corresponds to one grammatical concept; opposite of fusional
affixes
the add-ons to roots
theta role
the formal device for representing syntactic argument structure—the number and type of noun phrases—required syntactically by a particular verb (ex. put requires 3 arguments)
marked/unmarked forms
a marked form is a non-basic one, often one with inflectional or derivational endings; an unmarked form is the basic form (ex. marked: dishonest, unmarked: honest)
Relative Universal
a parameter that applies to most languages; called Universal Tendencies or Statistical Universals
Linguistic Universals
a pattern that occurs systematically across natural languages, potentially true for all of them; a principle that languages share or a statement that holds for all languages
phylogenetic unity
a possible explanation for linguistic universals -> if all languages have descended from the same common original human language, then forms and principles of this language could still be present
contact unity
a possible explanation for linguistic universals -> languages may have commonalities because they are influenced by constant geographical proximity of numerous languages
expletive/pleonastic verb
a verb that controls 0 arguments (rain, snow, hail)
transitive verb
a verb that controls 2 arguments (hit, love, kiss)
ditransitive verb
a verb that controls 3 arguments (give, put)
intransitive verb
a verb that controls one argument (smile, arrive)
polysynthetic languages
a whole sentence's worth of meaning can be expressed in one unit; opposite of isolating languages
suffixes
affixes attached to the end of the root
prefixes
affixes before the root
fusional morphology
affixes can carry a bunch of grammatical rules simultaneously (ex. latin, the ending gives tense, person, number); opposite of agglutinative
infixes
affixes in the middle of the root
transfixes
affixes that are weaved through and through the root; ex. hebrew
universal grammar
all people are born with a set of knowledge about how languages can work
apophony
another type of non-concatenative morphology; where something is changed inside of the word; like goose goes to geese to indicate plurality
complement
any word or phrase that completes the sense of a subject, an object, or a verb
Non-Implicational Universals
apply to all human languages without exception
functional unity
because human language is used to carry out the same same set of functions, then similarities could persist
physiological unity
because human speech and hearing physiology is the same across the species, it may determine similarities in language; because human neurophysiological structure is the same, it determines abstract linguistic similarities
NP subject
capable of ___ing [writing]
NP object
capable of being ____ [written]
relative clauses (adjP)
clauses starting with the relative pronouns who*, that, which, whose, where, when
arguments
complements that are controlled by a verb; ex.: Jill likes [Jack]. Sam fried [the meat]. The old man helped [the young man].
benefactor
entity for whose benefit an action or event took place; ex. He bought [Elizabeth] a pineapple.
recipient
entity similar to goal with special verbs showing change of possession; ex. Steve gave [Sabastian] a love pat. I sent [Andrew] an email.
experiencer
entity that perceives, senses, or feels events; ex. [Jill] loves Sam.
theme (patient)
entity that undergoes the action (with or without a change of state) ex. John kept [his book].
Source
entity, place or direction from which a motion comes; I came [from home].
goal
entity, place, or direction towards which motion takes place; ex. John kicked the ball [towards the goal].
predicate
everything after the subject
manner
expressed the way in which an action took place; ex. She [quickly] dialed 911. She dialed 911 [without delay].
syntax
grammatical structure
language typology
grouping of languages on the basis of similarities
semantics
the meaning of the vocabulary symbols arranged with that structure (whether the combined words make logical sense, like "the water is triangular" doesn't)
thematic relationships
the role played by a XP with respect to the verb; ex. can have theta-agent, which is the agent that carries out the verb
parameters
the switches that are there before birth; when something can be one thing or another; 'switches'; ex. verbs b4 or after object?
force
things that unwillingly/mindlessly initiate action; ex. [Lightning] hit the boy.
Time
time at which an action takes place; ex. I'll send it [when I have the time].
language
unitary system of linguistic communication that subsumes a number of mutually intelligible varieties
isolating language
use no affixes
cause
what caused or why did an an action take place; ex. He stayed in bed [due to illness].
non-concatenative
when languages have lots of transfixes; morphemes aren't piled
concatenation
when you stack one morpheme on top of another then read them all in a row; for languages that don't use many if any transfixes
Analytic language
words of a single root morpheme are predominant (isolating); 1. predominantly monosyllabic morphemes 2.extensive use of tonemes 3. extensive use of functional words 4. relatively fixed word order ex. chinese, vietnamese
adjuncts
words that are not necessary to complete the meaning of the predicate; ex. Jill [really] likes Jack. Jill likes Jack [most of the time].
Implicational Universals
if 'y' exists, then 'x' also exists
agent (source)
initiator or performer of an action or an event ex. [I] laughed.
Principle of Markedness
linguistic phenomena often occur in polar opposite pairs; a marked feature is only present, if its unmarked counterpart also occurs
instrument
means by which something is done; ex. [A rock] hit the boy. He hit the boy [with a rock].
dialect
mutually intelligible forms of a language that differ in systematic ways from each other
principle of subjacency
English is subject to this; if a language moves its question words around, you can't always form a question off of a sentence using the same format; "you can't move a morpheme past more than one syntactic boundary at one time"
possible arguments
NP subject, NP object, NP indirect object