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The paper describes the reanalysis of deverbal nominalizations as verbal forms, allowing them to function as predicates of finite and dependent clauses. The paper questions how the reanalyzed forms mark verbal grammatical categories, and data is presented to show that verbal morphology may be marked on a copula, or in some cases directly marked on the nominalization, clearly showing that reanalysis has taken place. The paper also questions what happens to nominal morphology associated with a reanalyzed nominalization, and shows that this too can be reanalyzed and become functionally part of the verbal switch-reference system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adults exhibit strong preferences when framing symmetrical relations. Adults prefer, for example, "A zebra is like a horse" to "A horse is like a zebra," and "The bicycle is near the building" to "The building is near the bicycle." This is because directional syntax requires more typical or prominent items (i.e., reference points) to be placed in the complement position. Three experiments with children ages 4-8 (N = 181) explored whether children share this sensitivity to directional syntax. Children of this age showed an incipient preference for framing reference points as complements. Stating, "Girls do math as well as boys," which frames boys as the reference point for girls, may therefore actually teach children that boys set the standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a new survey of switch-reference in the languages of North America. The survey's purposes are to provide a broad basis for future analysis of switch-reference (SR), spur further research on the languages included, and help revitalization efforts with a better understanding of what SR looks like and how it works. The survey catalogs 33 facts about SR morphology, semantics, and syntax, organized around central questions in SR research. The paper discusses the major findings based on the survey, some of which have major implications for theories of switch-reference: SR is found in nearly 70 American language varieties, mostly in the western United States and Mexico, often spreading by areal diffusion. Cross-linguistically, SR usually indicates subject co-reference across clauses. It is associated with every type of clause juncture except disjunction and is found throughout the verbal morphology. Morphological homophony with case is not due to a common semantic core. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the (re)creation of referential cohesion in Hungarian-English translation and examines the extent to which shifts of reference are motivated by the differences between the languages, the characteristics of the translation type (news translation) and the genre (news story). As referential cohesion is hypothesized to be affected by certain universals of translation, the explicitation and the repetition avoidance hypotheses are also tested. Analyses show considerable shifts of reference in translations, but these are not statistically significant. The corpus also fails to provide evidence for the universals of translation investigated; however, the in-depth analysis of optional shifts suggests that they are conditioned by the discursive features of the genre and contribute to a more explicit presentation of news content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Switch-reference is commonly regarded as a typologically special, and structurally isolated, mechanism of clause linkage. This view, however, is challenged by the data on clause linkers in Lakota, which have previously been analyzed either as coordinators or as switch-reference markers. The corpus-based investigation of their functional and semantic features conducted in this study reveals that Lakota clause linkers exhibit characteristics of both coordinators and switch-reference markers. The hybrid status of these elements is best accounted for in a model in which switch-reference is redefined as one of several subcomponents of the principle of discourse cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a novel approach to the classical referential categories described for Plains Cree (Algonquian), paying particular attention to the notions of "animate obviative" and "inanimate obviative." Based on the asymmetric morphological expression of these two proposed categories, I argue that the term "obviative" ought not to be applied equally to animate and inanimate, and that the grammatical category "inanimate obviative" is not relevant for Plains Cree. A compositional approach is developed instead, which demonstrates that the semantic and syntactic properties of "obviative" are predictable from the properties of the elements that construct them. So the grammatical category "obviative" is a property of constructions but not of particular morphosyntactic elements. I then consider the typological implications of this discussion, both for Algonquian and cross-linguistically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultures without a written tradition depend entirely on the oral channel to transmit sometimes highly complex information. It is therefore not surprising that in the languages of such cultures linguistic devices evolve that enhance textual coherence, and thus comprehension. These devices should ideally also be economical in terms of morphosyntactic complexity in order to facilitate both production and comprehension. In this paper, I will argue that switch-attention (a term preferred over the traditional switch-reference) systems in temporal clauses fulfill these requirements of cohesion and complexity reduction, making them particularly apt for orally transmitting texts. Moreover, switch-reference systems seem to diffuse relatively easily. These features taken together are suggested to be (partly) responsible for the widely attested phenomenon in areas without a lengthy written tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have shown that switch costs (i.e., slower responding on task-alternation trials than on task-repetition trials) are not observed when on the preceding trial a no-go signal instructed the participant to withhold the response to the target stimulus. This finding suggests that neither task set is inhibited on no-go trials, and that the origin of switch costs is located in the application of the task set to the target stimulus. However, these studies also showed that responding after a no-go trial is substantially slower than after a go trial. This suggests that both task sets are inhibited on no-go trials and that switch costs originate from the preparation of a task set. In two experiments we created conditions that revealed an absence of switch costs in conjunction with relatively fast responding after no-go trials. Together these findings confirm that switch costs originate from the application of the task set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses switch-reference (SR) systems in Pano and Muskogean languages, and proposes that grammatical case plays an essential role in licensing same-subject SR constructions in these languages. Specifically, case activates an agreement relationship between two clauses, allowing for transmission of information about participant coreference. different-subject SR, on the other hand, does not involve case concord, but signals the activation of a discourse participant that was either inactive in the background or not present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term "switch-reference" denotes an obligatory and pervasive grammatical marking on a subordinate clause that indicates whether the subject of this subordinate clause is coreferential with the subject of the superordinate clause. It can be found primarily in New Guinea, Australia, America, and Africa, as well as in the Northeast Caucasus. The present paper provides evidence for switch-reference in Tibetan, based on materials from the western Central Tibetan dialect of Shigatse and the Biography of Milarepa, one of the most important works of autochthonous Tibetan literature. The knowledge that certain reference relations are characteristic for specific subordinators facilitates the interpretation of difficult passages and suggests that in Tibetan subordination arguments are not only deleted for reasons of context, but also because their mention is regarded as redundant due to reference relations encoded by subordinators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents data on the Azoyú Tlapanec reference tracking system. The system is analyzed according to a procedure where default rules for how the system works are formulated and deviations are interpreted as being licensed by different levels of grammar organization along the lines of the local-global parameter proposed by Comrie (1989). The system is compared to its closest common typological congeners, obviation and switch-reference. Although it bears more resemblances to obviation, the system is neither clearly one of switch-reference, nor, indeed, of obviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reference to properties is normally achieved by the use of nominalizations of predicative expressions. I examine the relation between different kinds of these: while, traditionally, the terms ‘wisdom’ and ‘the property of being wise’ were thought to be co-referential, in certain contexts they do not seem to be interchangeable salva veritate. Observing this, Friederike Moltmann claims that abstract nouns such as ‘wisdom’ do not refer to properties. I argue that her theory is flawed and that the existence of the problematic contexts should be explained in non-referential terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the use of singular and plural pronominal references to split antecedents such as John and Mary. Current opinion suggests that under the right circumstances, singular reference should be difficult, and plural reference facilitated, but currently only the first of the these predictions has been demonstrated. We report four experiments that explore the preferences for plural and singular pronouns following split antecedents, and through eye-tracking data show predicted effects for plural references as well as for singular. Experiments 3 and 4 show that when one character is introduced by name and the other by role description, people produce less plural continuations, but do not show evidence of a reduction in the facilitation of reading plural pronouns. This suggests that the use of and forces the availability of a plural reference object. The results are consistent with the view that the assignment of characters to common thematic roles supports plural reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines performance costs in a lexical decision task when bilingual speakers switch languages in recognizing words. Comprehension of visually presented words; Initial rationale for siting switch costs within the lexicon; Switch cost for words with language-specific orthography; Explanations of the switch cost.

The article offers information on a paper focusing on the issues related to the comprehension of anaphoric reference. It mentions the issues analyzed in the paper, which include the relationship between the linguistic and non-linguistic knowledge in the interpretation of anaphora, and the proposition that reference assignment is delayed. It presents three experiments designed to test the proposition that there is invariably a delay built into reference assignment. One experiment manipulates type of reference (pronoun vs. ellipsis) and the particular point in the sentence where pragmatic inferences. Another experiment focuses on manipulating semantics and syntax. Third experiment measures the reading times by the subjects. The article supports the proposal that assignment is delayed.

The article discusses a study on the effects of referential experience on encoder-decoder agreement by assessing the agreement through the measures of word predictability, the verbatim replacement and the replacement of words of the same grammatical form classes as the deleted items. Results of the study indicated that referential experience enhances verbatim replacement and more for lexical type words than for members of grammatical function classes. However, there were no such effects of referential experience shown on grammatical replacement. The study revealed that there were no differences according to whether the messages had been encoded as objective descriptions or as subjective interpretations of the stimuli.