Search

This article analyzes the specific temporal uses of the Serbian verb stići, when it denotes the act of overcoming a spatial obstacle, or reaching the end point of a movement at a predetermined time. The study examines the relationship between the spatial (basic) use of this verb and its derived telic sense, and describes the process of its grammaticalization, in which this lexeme loses its semantic and syntactic autonomy and becomes part of a complex predicate. The contrastive section of the study compares the non-spatial uses of stići with the corresponding uses of its French equivalent, the verb arriver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses aspectual se in Spanish. Building on the previous analyses that have been proposed in the literature to account for constructions with aspectual se that mainly focus on the syntax of these (see, e.g., MacDonald, Jonathan E. 2017. Spanish aspectual se as an indirect object reflexive: The import of atelicity, bare nouns, and leísta PCC repairs. Probus. International Journal of Romance Linguistics 29(1). 73–118), this paper provides a semantic account that makes explicit (i) why dynamic predicates must be telic in the presence of se, and (ii) why the very same se can appear with a limited number of stative predicates, which are atelic. The account is implemented in the Figure/Path Relation model in Beavers, John. 2011. On affectedness. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 29(2). 335–370, Figure/Path Relation model. I propose a maximization strategy that captures that dynamic predicates in constructions with se are always telic by indicating the conditions under which the theme has a fixed quantity and the scale/path that may be associated with the verb is bounded. This maximization strategy is then compared to and distinguished from the event maximization strategies proposed for Slavic languages (Filip, Hana. 2008. Events and maximalization: The case of telicity and perfectivity. In Susan Rothstein (ed.), Theoretical and crosslinguistic approaches to the semantics of aspect, 217–256. Amsterdam: John Benjamins) and Hungarian (Kardos, Éva. 2016. Telicity marking in Hungarian. Glossa: A Journal of General Linguistics 1(1). 1–37), and to the scale/path maximization strategy proposed for Southern Aymara (Martínez Vera, Gabriel. 2021a. Degree achievements and degree morphemes in competition in Southern Aymara. Linguistics and Philosophy 44. 695–735). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I give an account of degree achievements in Southern Aymara, an understudied Andean language. I focus on degree achievements that are derived from gradable bases by means of the verbal suffix -cha, e.g., llusk'a-cha-ña 'to straighten' or q'añu-cha-ña 'to dirty'. I provide arguments suggesting that Aymara should be analyzed as a degree language (Bochnak in Semant Pragmat 8(6):1–48, 2015b). I further propose an analysis of Aymara degree achievements in terms of a differential measure function (Kennedy and Levin, in: McNally, Kennedy (eds) Adjectives and adverbs: syntax, semantics and discourse. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 156–182, 2008) The main point argued for in this paper is that this language has two degree morphemes in competition (Heim, in: von Stechow, Wunderlich (eds) Semantik: ein internationales Handbuch der zeitgenössischen Forschung. Mouton de Gruyter, Berlin, pp 487–535, 1991) combining with degree achievements, namely, a covert verbal positive morpheme v.pos and the overt morpheme -su. The latter restricts the standard of comparison to change where maximal values are reached, so it is preferred over v.pos when such values are targeted. v.pos is thus felicitous when the maximum is not reached. I propose an initial typology that distinguishes how telicity is achieved cross-linguistically when degree achievements are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semantic interpretation of aspectual verbs has been shown to cause a processing cost. The present study provides additional evidence that the semantic interpretation of events interacts with sentence processing. The study focused on telicity, an aspectual property that does not solely depend on lexical items but instead on the semantic composition of verb phrase (VP)-level events. Results from a working memory task showed that committing to a semantic interpretation incurs a processing cost and that some adverbials force the parser to commit to a particular aspectual interpretation. Specifically, in-X-time adverbials force the parser to commit to a telic (completed/terminated) interpretation before the VP has been processed. In contrast, for-X-time adverbials, which are compatible with an atelic (completed or incomplete) interpretation, do not force the parser to make an early commitment to a particular semantic interpretation. Instead, processing is always delayed until the VP has been completely parsed. Results support the partial interpretation hypothesis according to which the parser can delay making semantic commitments until it is necessary to do so, that is, in atelic but not telic sentences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We very warmly dedicate this volume to the memory of Edit Doron, Anita Mittwoch and Susan Rothstein for their inspiring and outstanding contribution to research on tense, aspect and verb meanings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semanticists often assume an ontology for natural language that includes not only ordinary objects, but also events, and other sorts of entities. We link this ontology to how speakers represent static and dynamic entities. Specifically, we test how speakers determine whether an entity counts as "atomic" by using count vs. mass (e.g., some gleebs, some gleeb) and distributive vs. non-distributive descriptions (e.g., gleeb every second or so, gleeb around a little). We then seek evidence for atomic representation in a non-linguistic task. Ultimately we suggest that natural language ontology reveals properties of language-independent conceptualization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Telicity and agentivity are semantic factors that split intransitive verbs into (at least two) different classes. Clear-cut unergative verbs, which select the auxiliary HAVE, are assumed to be atelic and agent-selecting; unequivocally unaccusative verbs, which select the auxiliary BE, are analyzed as telic and patient-selecting. Thus, agentivity and telicity are assumed to be inversely correlated in split intransitivity. We will present semantic and experimental evidence from German and Mandarin Chinese that casts doubts on this widely held assumption. The focus of our experimental investigation lies on variation with respect to agentivity (specifically motion control, manipulated via animacy), telicity (tested via a locative vs. goal adverbial), and BE/HAVE-selection with semantically flexible intransitive verbs of motion. Our experimental methods are acceptability ratings for German and Chinese (Experiments 1 and 2) and event-related potential (ERP) measures for German (Experiment 3). Our findings contradict the above-mentioned assumption that agentivity and telicity are generally inversely correlated and suggest that for the verbs under study, agentivity and telicity harmonize with each other. Furthermore, the ERP measures reveal that the impact of the interaction under discussion is more pronounced on the verb lexeme than on the auxiliary. We also found differences between Chinese and German that relate to the influence of telicity on BE/HAVE-selection. They seem to confirm the claim in previous research that the weight of the telicity factor locomotion (or internal motion) is cross-linguistically variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a long tradition of analyzing the use of the Dutch perfect auxiliarieshebben“have” andzijn“be” in semantic terms, which has centered around two notions: “change in the subject referent” and “telicity”. The present study argues that “change in the subject referent” is the most viable generalization, in light of attested examples with three particle verbs of motion:omdraaien“turn around”,weglopen“walk/run away” andafdalen“descend (off)”. While (telic) particle verbs are commonly said to take onlyzijn“be” as their perfect auxiliary, the three particle verbs studied here are shown to occur withhebbenas well aszijn, in contexts that do not differ in terms of telicity. These data can be accounted for if the traditional notion of “change in the subject referent” is considered against the background of the cognitive-grammar notion of construal. In particular, the present study argues thatzijnis used with these particle verbs when the motion event is construed as a (telic or atelic) change of state on the part of the subject referent, whilehebbenis used when it is construed as a subject’s executing or engaging in a (telic or atelic) type of act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses four properties of Spanish aspectual se constructions. 1. The telicity inducing effects of se; 2. The ungrammaticality of bare noun direct objects; 3. Leísta Spanish Person Case Constraint (PCC) repairs; and 4. A central/terminal coincidence relation between the direct object and the subject. I show that aspectual se does not induce telicity with stative VPs. The ungrammaticality of bare noun direct objects results from the direct object functioning as an 'inner subject' of a complex predicate formed by the verb and a null preposition, the complement of which is a pro coreferential with the external argument. The semantics of the null P plus verb give rise to a central/terminal coincidence relation between the direct object and the complement of P. Moreover, I argue that the null pro moves to Spec, Appl and functions as an indirect object. In this respect, aspectual se is an indirect object reflexive. The resulting structure, moreover, is fundamentally a double object construction, a construction in which PCC effects are known to hold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspectual properties of English particles still lack a satisfactory account, as neither the standard (Brinton 1985, Verb particles in English: Aspect or aktionsart? Studia Linguistica 39(2). 157-168. doi:10.1111/j.1467- 9582.1985.tb00750.x (accessed 30 January 2015)) nor a more recent (Cappelle and Chauvin 2010, Interprétations aspectuelles des verbes à particule en anglais: Téliques, comparatifs, résultatifs. In Pascale Hadermann, Olga Inkova, Michel Pierrard & Dan Van Raemdonck (eds.), Approches de la scalarité, 249-281. Geneve: Droz) account can be generalized over all aspectual particles. By analyzing aspect in terms of scalarity this paper argues that particles are either scalar or non-scalar, which leads to their different aspectual and syntactic behavior. Scalar particles are marked for scalarity; they can affect the argument structure of the verb root and enforce telicity. In contrast, nonscalar particles are unmarked for scalarity; they do not affect the argument structure and do not enforce telicity. Both scalar and non-scalar particles systematically appear in atelic and telic sentences, depending on the verb root and its arguments. Scalarity, like telicity, is a feature built compositionally and monotonically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspectual complements and verbs expressing ways of movement in French: between boundary marking and telicity Considered synonymous by some, carefully distinguished by others, the notions of telicity and boundary marking are of crucial importance for studies on aspect. This article offers a reflection on the relation between aspectual properties and certain complement verbs. Through a detailed analysis of the verb syntagmas formed by courir and nager (courir cent mètres, nager le deux-cents-mètres), it is demonstrated that despite the apparent formal similarity, complements like cent mètres and le deux-cents-mètres perform different functions in relation to the predicate: in the first case, they mark boundaries, while in the second they are markers of a property [+ telicity]. A study of a particular problem thus allow for taking part in a more general discussion, providing arguments in favour of distinguishing between telicity and boundary marking. Compléments aspectuels et verbes de manière de déplacement en français: entre bornage et télicité Considérées comme équivalentes par certains, soigneusement distinguées par d’autres, les notions de télicité et de bornage ont une importance cruciale pour les études consacrées à l’aspect. Cet article propose une réflexion sur le rapport entre ces propriétés aspectuelles et certains compléments verbaux. À travers des analyses détaillées des syntagmes verbaux que forment courir et nager (courir cent mètres, nager le deux-cents-mètres), il est montré que malgré une similarité formelle apparente, les compléments tels que cent mètres et le deux-cents-mètres assument des fonctions différentes auprès du prédicat : dans le premier cas, ils opèrent un bornage, alors que dans le seconds, ils sont porteurs du trait [+ télicité]. L’étude d’un problème spécifique permet ainsi de prendre part dans une discussion plus générale, en dégageant des arguments en faveur de la distinction entre télicité et bornage. Dopełnienia aspektowe a czasowniki wyrażające sposób przemieszczania w języku francuskim: między określaniem granic a telicznością Przez jednych uważane za równoznaczne, przez innych wyraźnie odróżniane, pojęcia teliczności i określania granic mają zasadnicze znaczenie dla studiów dotyczących aspektu. Niniejszy artykuł proponuje refleksję nad stosunkiem pomiędzy owymi właściwościami określającymi aspekt a niektórymi dopełnieniami [czasownikowymi]. Poprzez szczegółową analizę syntagm czasownikowych tworzonych przez courir i nager (courir cent mètres, nager le deux-cents-mètres), wykazano, że pomimo pozornego podobieństwa formalnego, dopełnienia takie jak cent mètres i le deux-cents-mètres pełnią różne funkcje wobec orzeczenia: w pierwszym przypadku dokonują określenia granic, podczas gdy w drugim nadają pewną właściwość [+teliczność]. W ten sposób studia nad specyficznym problemem pozwalają zabrać głos w ogólniejszej dyskusji, przedstawiając nam argumenty przemawiające za rozróżnieniem pomiędzy telicznością a określaniem granic.

Copyright of Language: Meaning & Form / Valoda: Nozīme un Forma is the property of University of Latvia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal for Languages & Literatures of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad / Zbornik za Jezike i Knjizevnosti Filozofskog Fakulteta u Novom Sadu is the property of Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Why can I tell you that I ran for five minutes but not that I *ran to the store for five minutes? Why can we talk about five pounds of books but not about *five pounds of book? What keeps you from saying *sixty degrees Celsius of water when you can say sixty inches of water? And what goes wrong when I complain that *all the ants in my kitchen are numerous? The constraints on these constructions involve concepts that are generally studied separately: aspect, plural and mass reference, measurement, distributivity, and collectivity. This paper provides a unified perspective on these domains and gives a single answer to the questions above in the framework of algebraic event semantics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a reply to the comments by Corver, Doetjes, Link, Piñón, Schwarzschild, and Syrett on the target article in this volume, Stratified reference: The common core of distributivity, aspect, and measurement. Stratified reference is designed to capture semantic oppositions involving atelicity, plurality and mass reference, extensive measure functions, distributivity, and collectivity. Following suggestions by some of the commentators, stratified reference is refined here in two ways: it is restricted to the parts of the event or individual in question, and its granularity parameter is instantiated with a predicate built around mereological proper parthood and degree ordering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to discuss the functioning of the comparison clitic -džyk in forming the verbal augmentative or intensifying grade and its relation to the inherent properties of the event it modifies in literary Komi. The analysis of an assessment questionnaire proved telicity to be the most prominent factor in determining the gradability of an event. Two semantic types of gradation appeared -- degree gradation and extent gradation. In the case of degree gradation ('faster', 'better', 'stronger'), telicity determines the openness of the event's scale. In the case of extent gradation ('more' or temporal duration), atelic events appear with either a cardinality reading or a temporal duration reading, while telic events appear with a cardinality reading only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the hypothesis that all comparative sentences- nominal, verbal, and adjectival-contain instances of a single morpheme that compositionally introduces degrees. This morpheme, sometimes pronounced much, semantically contributes a structure-preserving map from entities, events, or states, to their measures along various dimensions. A major goal of the paper is to argue that the differences in dimensionality observed across domains are a consequence of what is measured, as opposed to which expression introduces the measurement. The resulting theory has a number of interesting properties. It characterizes the notion of 'measurement' uniformly across comparative constructions, in terms of non-trivial structure preservation. It unifies the distinctions between mass/count nouns and atelic/telic verb phrases with that between gradable and non-gradable adjectives. Finally, it affords a uniform characterization of semantically anomalous comparisons across categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper examines syntax and semantics of complex predicates in Ossetian, an Iranian language spoken in the Central Caucasus. Ossetian, being a language where complex predicates participate in the causative-inchoative alternation, offers us an opportunity to investigate a case where the alternation is blocked by telicizing prefixes if the non-verbal component is not eventive. To account for this effect, an analysis is developed in which eventive and non-eventive non-verbal components are integrated into the event structure in considerably different ways. Eventivity/non-eventivity determines different attachment options for telicizing prefixes, hence constrains the spell-out of the whole structure in different ways. As a consequence of this, for one class of complex predicates, but not for the other, both causative and inchoative prefixed configurations can be spelled out by the same set of lexical items, and the alternation obtains. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Several semantic and syntactic distinctions, which have largely been neglected in the Vietnamese linguistic literature, are drawn together in this paper in a comparative context with other better-studied languages in order to indicate that Inner Aspect is projected within the VP shell and independently of the projection of Outer Aspect - a structural proposal originally advanced by Travis (2010). Overall, Vietnamese with its isolating character and rigid word order provides us with unusually direct evidence for an articulated VP structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal for Languages & Literatures of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad / Zbornik za Jezike i Knjizevnosti Filozofskog Fakulteta u Novom Sadu is the property of Faculty of Philosophy, University of Novi Sad and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: In this study we investigated whether the human brain distinguishes between telic events that necessarily entail a specified endpoint (e.g., reaching), and atelic events with no delimitation or final state (e.g., chasing). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore the patterns of neural response associated with verbs denoting telic and atelic events, and found that the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG), an area consistently engaged by verb processing tasks, showed a significantly higher activation for telic compared with atelic verbs. These results provide the first evidence that the human brain appreciates whether events lead to an end or a change of state. Moreover, they provide an explanation for the long-debated question of which verb properties modulate neural activity in the left pMTG, as they indicate that, independently of any other semantic property, verb processing and event knowledge in this area are specifically related to the representation of telicity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper focuses on the linguistic realization of five idealized situation types, namely states, semelfactives, activities, achievements and accomplishments, in Turkish within the framework of Smith's (1997) theory of aspect where two components are distinguished, namely viewpoint aspect and situation type. Three temporal/aspectual features, namely dynamism, duration and telicity, which are based on human cognitive and perceptual capabilities, will be illustrated to distinguish among the five situation types in Turkish within a number of semantic and syntactic environments constituting the linguistic correlates of these temporal/aspectual features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ffectedness-usually construed as a persistent change in or impingement of an event participant-has been implicated in argument realization, lexical aspect, transitivity, and various syntactic operations. However, it is rarely given a precise, independently-motivated definition. Rather, it is often defined intuitively or diacritically, or reduced to the properties it is meant to explain, especially lexical aspect. I propose a semantic analysis of affectedness as a relationship between a theme participant that undergoes a change and a scale participant that measures the change (following Beavers , and Kennedy and Levin ). I justify this analysis by re-examining the empirical diagnostics for affectedness, and argue that affectedness is not reducible to lexical aspect, but is tightly correlated with it in a way that motivates an analysis involving two interdependent participants. This model also provides a precise way of defining the pervasive notion of degrees of affectedness, as a hierarchy of monotonically weakening truth conditions about the result state of the theme on the scale. This hierarchy further captures important subset relations among predicates regarding affectedness diagnostics, and ultimately brings together many of the above phenomena under a single, unified approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we argue that by making a careful distinction between the notions of inchoativity and telicity, we can gain new insight into how changes of state can be expressed in natural language. Our argument is based on an analysis of Spanish reflexive psychological verbs (SRPVs) such as aburrirse 'to be/become bored' and enfadarse 'to become angry.' We present diagnostics that clearly support the claim that while these verbs are inchoative, they are not telic, nor do they denote changes of state. Additional tests indicate that these verbs are not dynamic, either; however, we show that they lack dynamicity for different reasons: aburrirse verbs, because they are stative; enfadarse verbs, because they denote truly punctual eventualities. We present a formal semantic analysis using the event ontology proposed in Piñón (). This analysis allows us to capture very naturally the similarities and differences between the two subclasses of SRPVs, to characterize their inchoativity, and to distinguish it from telicity. In addition, it supports a view of the Vendlerian aspectual classes on which the achievement class describes truly punctual eventualities and excludes certain predicates commonly (if not universally) assumed to belong to this class, such as the so-called degree achievement verbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on the second language acquisition of telicity have suggested that learners can use morphosyntactic cues to interpret sentences as telic or atelic even in cases where the cues differ in the first language (L1) and second language (L2) (Slabakova, 2001, 2005; Gabriele, 2008; Kaku et al., 2008a, 2008b). The present study extends this line of research by focusing on a case in which learners cannot rely on morphosyntactic cues in order to reach the appropriate aspectual interpretation. We examine the acquisition of telicity by English-speaking learners of Japanese, focusing on how learners interpret bare count nouns such as kaado 'card' that obligatorily display count noun morphosyntax in English. In Japanese, a bare noun such as kaado is ambiguous with respect to number and therefore a verb phrase such as kaado-o kakimashita 'wrote card' can be interpreted as either telic 'wrote the cards' or atelic 'wrote cards' depending on the context. The results of two studies with both intermediate (Study 1: n = 38; Study 2: n = 38) and advanced (Study 1: n = 7; Study 2: n = 10) learners of Japanese show that there are learners at both levels of proficiency that have difficulty with the interpretation of bare count nouns and assign an exclusively telic reading to a verb phrase such as kaado-o kakimashita 'wrote card'. We argue that this interpretation is due to the boundedness of count nouns in L1 English and propose that a retreat from negative transfer is difficult when there is variability in the native speaker input and when meaning has to be derived from context in the absence of morphosyntactic cues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systematic differences between the resultative constructions in Germanic languages and those in Romance languages have posed numerous problems, many of which still constitute the ground for heated debates among linguists from various theoretical backgrounds. Changing the point of view largely adopted in the literature, centered on the existence/non-existence of AP resultatives in Germanic, respectively Romance languages we argue in this paper that there are AP resultatives in Romanian, but only if they are built on accomplishment-type verbs. English resultative constructions can be built on activity, as well as accomplishment-type verbs; whereas Romanian allows only resultatives built on accomplishment verbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Verbs contain multifaceted information about both the semantics of an action, and potential argument structures. Linguistic theory classifies verbs according to whether the denoted action has an inherent (telic) end-point (fall, awaken), or whether it is considered homogenous, or atelic (read, worship). The aim of our study was to examine how this distinction influences on-line sentence processing, investigating the effects of verbal telicity on the ease of syntactic re-analysis of Object reduced relative clauses. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 22 English speakers as they read sentences in which the main verb was either telic or atelic, e.g., “The actress awakened/worshipped by the writer left in a hurry”. ERPs elicited by telic and atelic verbs, the preposition “by” introducing the second argument (Agent), and the second argument itself, e.g., “writer”, were compared. Additionally, participants were grouped according to receptive syntactic proficiency: normal (NP) or high (HP). ERPs from the NP group first diverged at the second argument, with the atelic condition eliciting larger amplitude negativity at the N100, and continuing to the P200 interval. In contrast, ERPs from the HP group first diverged earlier in the sentence, on the word “by”. ERPs elicited by “by” in the atelic condition were also characterized by increased negativity, in this case significant at P200 and Anterior Negativity between 320 and 500ms post stimulus onset. Our results support the postulated conceptual/semantic distinction underlying the two verb categories, and demonstrate that world-knowledge about actions designated by verbs and syntactic proficiency are reflected in on-line processing of sentence structure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Proportional quantification and progressive aspect interact in English in revealing ways. This paper investigates these interactions and draws conclusions about the semantics of the progressive and telicity. In the scope of the progressive, the proportion named by a proportionality quantifier (e.g. most in The software was detecting most errors) must hold in every subevent of the event so described, indicating that a predicate in the scope of the progressive is interpreted as an internally homogeneous activity. Such an activity interpretation is argued to be available for telic predicates (e.g. cross the street) because these receive a partitive interpretation except in combination with a completive operator, which asserts that the event so described has culminated. The obligatoriness of the completive operator in the preterit is shown to parametrically distinguish those languages that show completion entailments in the preterit, e.g. English, from those that do not, e.g. Malagasy, Hindi, and Japanese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most prominent meaning of le has been conventionally recognized as the 'perfective' marker, although its non-perfective reading occasionally draws researchers' attention. This paper starts with viewing the ambiguity of aspectual le in Chinese from the perspective of syntax-semantics interplay, showing that the structural ambiguity results in le's semantic ambiguity to be interpreted as perfective or imperfective. I argue that the ambiguity of a sentence-final le is predetermined by its syntactic scope over a predicate or a sentence. After the distinction is clear, the special interest is particularly paid to examine the imperfective use of le. I list many examples and grammatical constructions to show that le is able to express imperfectivity, and such analysis can also be accounted for by various theories about the nature of aspect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is an extension of the analysis of classifier predicates (CL predicates) in ASL in Benedicto and Brentari (2004) in order to account for event structure as well as argument structure, motivated by the specific claim that limb/body part classifiers (BPCL) are unergative predicates with single external arguments. If unergative, with a single external argument, BPCL should not be able to express telic events (events containing natural semantic endpoints) because such events require a quantified or specified (delimited) internal argument, or some entity the event can apply to exhaustively. We show that BPCL can express telic as well as atelic events, indicating a contradiction with their claim that BPCL are unergative. We argue that BPCL do in fact contain internal arguments, realized as a morphemic specification for selected fingers in the handshape of the CL predicate that B&B associate in handling (HCL) and whole entity (w/e CL) CL with an internal argument, although this does not entail telicity. This evidence indicates that BPCL are in fact transitive, as are HCL, with the internal argument representing a body part of the referent external argument. We adopt a sub-event analysis of event structure (Pustejovsky, 1991, 1995) and following the claims of the Event Visibility Hypothesis for ASL (Wilbur, 2004a,b,c, 2005, in press; Schalber, 2004) demonstrate that telic and atelic events in ASL are morphologically and phonologically contrastive, in both CL and non-CL predicates, with the endpoints of telic events overtly marked morphologically. We demonstrate that telic BPCL also show these markings, supporting the claim that these CL predicates are transitive and not unergative. We adapt the syntactic analysis of Benedicto and Brentari to account for telicity following insights from Ramchand (in preparation) and Borer (2005). In addition, we show why the tests provided by Benedicto and Brentari to indicate the presence of an internal argument are not applicable for BPCL. Extensions of this analysis to non-CL predicates and instrument CL (ICL) are also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To explain the semantic and syntactic compositionality of bounded interpretations. I propose here that events with a definite end point involve interpretation of the verb and either a bounded direct object or a bounded PP in the checking domain of Asp(ect)P, whereas unbounded events involve interpretation in a projection lower in the clause. This analysis explains the syntactic behavior of the ambiguous adverb quickly. In addition, it follows from the analysis that durative adjuncts are adjoined to VP, while time frame adjuncts are adjoined to AspP. Constructions involving preposition stranding, scope of only. parasitic gaps, and semantic restrictions on adjunct PP objects support this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea that the form of a word reflects information about its meaning has its roots in Platonic philosophy, and has been experimentally investigated for concrete, sensory-based properties since the early 20th century. Here, we provide evidence for an abstract property of 'boundedness' that introduces a systematic, iconic bias on the phonological expectations of a novel lexicon. We show that this abstract property is general across events and objects. In Experiment 1, we show that subjects are systematically more likely to associate sign language signs that end with a gestural boundary with telic verbs (denoting events with temporal boundaries, e.g., die, arrive) and with count nouns (denoting objects with spatial boundaries, e.g., ball, coin). In Experiments 2-3, we show that this iconic mapping acts on conceptual representations, not on grammatical features. Specifically, the mapping does not carry over to psychological nouns (e.g. people are not more likely to associate a gestural boundary with idea than with knowledge). Although these psychological nouns are still syntactically encoded as either count or mass, they do not denote objects that are conceived of as having spatial boundaries. The mapping bias thus breaks down. Experiments 4-5 replicate these findings with a new set of stimuli. Finally, in Experiments 6-11, we explore possible extensions to a similar bias for spoken language stimuli, with mixed results. Generally, the results here suggest that 'boundedness' of words' referents (in space or time) has a powerful effect on intuitions regarding the form that the words should take. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]