Author: Paul Martin Postal Publisher: SUNY Press ISBN: 9780887060830 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 290
Book Description
In this work, Paul M. Postal supports the universalist theory of language by examining passive clauses. Contrary to a skeptical tradition, Postal argues that passive clauses are cross-linguistically identifiable and characterizable. This study proposes refinements of the analysis of the natural language grammatical category Passive Clause. These refinements include an account of the notion 'dummy nominal,' central to the analysis of impersonal passive clauses; additions permitting a proper typology of the major known subtypes of Passive Clause; a generalization permitting application to clauses whose subjects are not earlier level direct objects; and, construction of precise rule concepts to represent restrictions on passive clauses. The passive domain supports the universalist approach in three distinguishable ways: (1) by permitting formulation of otherwise apparently unstatable lawful characteristics of all passive structures; (2) by facilitating statement of language-specific passive constraints holding in diverse languages; and, (3) by allowing uniform statement in grammars of recurrent constraints on passives. Each mode of support is applied to actual cases based on material from more than a dozen languages from English and French to Quiche (Mayan) and Chi-Mwi:ni (Bantu).
Author: Masayoshi Shibatani Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing Company ISBN: 9027286132 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 720
Book Description
This volume brings together 18 original papers dealing with voice-related phenomena.The languages dealt with represent both typological and geographic diversity, ranging from accusative-type languages to ergative-type and Philippine-type languages, and from Australia to Africa and Siberia. The studies presented here open up many possibilities for theorizing and offer data inviting formal treatments, but the most important contribution they make is in terms of the insights they offer for a better understanding of the fundamentals of voice phenomena.
Author: Anja Wanner Publisher: Walter de Gruyter ISBN: 3110199211 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 241
Book Description
This book analyzes the form and function of the English passive from a verb-based point of view. It takes the position that the various surface forms of the passive (with or without thematic subject, with or without object, with or without by-phrase, with or without auxiliary) have a common source and are determined by the interplay of the syntactic properties of the verb and general syntactic principles. Each structural element of the passive construction is examined separately, and the participle is considered the only defining component of the passive. Special emphasis is put on the existence of an implicit argument (ususally an agent) and its representation in the passive. A review of data from syntax, language acquisition, and psycholinguistics shows that the implicit agent is not just a conceptually understood argument. It is argued that it is represented at the level of argument structure and that this is what sets the passive apart from other patient-subject constructions. A corpus-based case study on the use of the passive in academic writing analyzes the use of the passive in this particular register. One of the findings is that about 20-25% of passives occur in constructions that do not require an auxiliary, a result that challenges corpus studies on the use of the passive that only consider full be-passives. It is also shown that new active-voice constructions have emerged that compete with the passive without having a more visible agent. The emergence of these constructions (such as "This paper argues...") is discussed in the context of changes in the rhetoric of scientific discourse. The book is mainly of interest to linguists and graduate students in the areas of English syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
Author: Annika Onken Publisher: GRIN Verlag ISBN: 3638893340 Category : Languages : en Pages : 33
Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2007 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1,3, University of Münster, 9 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: 1Introduction In order to learn more about the English language and how it is actually used by the native speaker community I am going to investigate the occurrence of bare passives as modifiers and of relative clauses in be-passive form which can be compared to the former in its function as modifier. With help of the queries I will find out how many of these constructions exist in The Penn Treebank and then take a closer look at the beginning of sentences. Which of these two grammatical phenomenon is more frequent at the beginnings of sentences and why? Firstly in this term paper, I will introduce the grammatical phenomenon of the passive voice with its variants 'be-passive', 'get-passive' and 'bare passive' by contrasting it to the active voice. Furthermore I will explain the development of the different queries needed for the research whose findings will be discussed subsequent to that.
Author: Werner Abraham Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing ISBN: 9027229805 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 566
Book Description
Is the passive a unified universal phenomenon? The claim derived from this volume is that the passive, if not universal, has become unified according to function. Language as a means of communication needs the passive, or passive-like constructions, and sooner or later develops them based on other voices (impersonal active, middle, reflexive), specific semantic meanings such as adversativity, or tense-aspect categories (stative, perfect, preterit). Certain contributors review the passives in various languages and language groups, including languages rarely discussed. Another group of contributors takes a novel theoretical approach toward passivization within a broad typological perspective. Among the languages discussed are Vedic, Irish, Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Lithuanian, Mordvin, and Nganasan, next to almost all European languages. Various theoretical frameworks such as Optimality Theory, modern structuralist approaches, Role and Reference Grammar, cognitive semantics, Distributed Morphology, and case grammar have been applied by the different authors.
Author: Keith S. Folse Publisher: University of Michigan Press ELT ISBN: 9780472036677 Category : English language Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
This book teaches the most common ESL grammar points in an accessible way through real ESL errors together with suggested teaching techniques. Relevant grammar terminology is explained. The four objectives of this book are to help teachers: (1) identify common ESL grammar points and understand the details associated with each one; (2) improve their ability to answer any grammar question on the spot (when on the "hot seat"); (3) anticipate common ESL errors by grammar point, by first language, and/or by proficiency level; and (4) develop more effective grammar/language learning lessons. These objectives are for all teachers, whether they are teaching grammar directly or indirectly in a variety of classes -- including a grammar class, a writing class, a speaking class, an ESP class, or a K-12 class.
Author: J. Toyota Publisher: Springer ISBN: 0230594654 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 286
Book Description
In this coherent historical development of the passive voice in English, the main argument deals not only with the passive per se, but also with its related constructions, which can play vital parts in identifying both functional and structural motivations for creating the passive.
Author: Paul Martin Postal
Author: Masayoshi Shibatani
Author: Gabriele Stein
Author: Anja Wanner
Author: Annika Onken
Author: Werner Abraham
Author: Joachim Remak
Author: Keith S. Folse
Author: J. Toyota
Author: J. Aissen