elc 231: introduction to language and linguistics · 1.1review: allomorphy...

1 Different Types of Allomorphy2 Case Study: Blackfoot Allomorphy

3 More Selectional RestrictionsReferences

ELC 231: Introduction to Language and LinguisticsWeek 11: Case Studies in Morphosyntax and S-Selection

Dr. Meagan Louie

M. Louie ELC 231: Language and Linguistics 1 / 41



Core Subdomains

Linguistics: The study of Language

Phonetics

Phonology

Morphology

Syntax

Semantics

Pragmatics




Core Subdomains: Morphology-Syntax-Semantics

Linguistics: The study of Language

Phonetics

Phonology

Morphology

Syntax

Semantics

Pragmatics




Core Subdomains: Morphology and Syntax

Morphosyntax: The study of how MORPHOLOGY and SYNTAXinteract (the morphology-syntax interface)

1 Different Types of Allomorphy(i) Phonologically-conditioned allomorphy X(ii) Lexically-conditioned allomorphy(iii) Syntactically-conditioned allomorphy

2 More Selectional Restrictions(i) C-Selection: (Lexical) Category Restriction X(ii) S-Selection: Semantic Restriction




1.1 Review: Allomorphy1.2 Syntactically-Conditioned Allomorphy1.3 Lexically-Conditioned Allomorphy

REVIEW: Phonemes and Morphemes

.

Definition: PHONEMEA phoneme is the smallest unit of language that can be used todistinguish/contrast meaning

Although a phoneme can CONTRAST meaning,it doesn’t HAVE/CONTAIN meaning

Definition: MORPHEME

A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that has/containsmeaning - i.e., it is a systematic 〈form,meaning〉 mapping

Phoneme /s/ VS Morpheme 〈−s, plural ,[N-s]N〉M. Louie ELC 231: Language and Linguistics 5 / 41




REVIEW: Phonemes and Morphemes

.

Phoneme/s/

VS

Morpheme〈−s, plural ,[N-s]N〉

Phonemes consistently change meaning, but not in a systematic wayMorphemes consistently change meaning in a systematic way

(i.e., via the MEANING encoded in the lexical entry)





Recall: Koasati Phonologically-Conditioned Allomorphy Odden 2005

A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that has/containsmeaning - i.e., it is a systematic 〈form,meaning〉 mapping

....but there isn’t always the exact same phonological form:

a. [apah>tSa] shadow b. [amapah

>tSa] my shadow

c. [pa>tSokko:ka] chair d. [ampa

>tSokko:ka] my chair

e. [towa] onion f. [antowa] my oniong. [kasto] flea h. [aNkasto] my fleai. [baya:na] stomach j. [ambaya:na] my stomachk. [

>tSofkoni] bone l. [añ

>tSofkoni] my bone





Recall: Koasati Phonologically-Conditioned Allomorphy Odden 2005

DEFINITIONSAlternation:

When a MORPHEME is pronounced differently in different contexts.

An allomorph is a variant form of a morpheme.

The Koasati data shows phonologically-conditioned allomorphy:

1POSS Allomorph Distribution(i) [am-] before (i) vowels and (i) bilabial consonants(ii) [an-] before alveolar consonants(iii) [aN-] before velar consonants(iv) [añ-] before palatal-alveolar consonants





Different Kinds of Allomorphy




But there are several kinds of allomorphy:

(i) Phonologically-Conditioned:depends on phonological properties of nearby sounds X

(ii) Lexically-Conditioned:depends on lexical (sub)category of nearby morphemes

(iii) Syntactically-Conditioned:depends on syntactic position/category of nearby words/phrases





Syntactically-Conditioned Allomorphy




S

VP

NP

them

V

see

NP

I

S

VP

NP

me

V

see

NP

They






Syntactically-Conditioned Allomorphy in English: PronounsWhen the English 1st person SG pronoun

(i) is sister to VP, its form is ‘I” [aj]

(ii) is sister to , its form is ‘me” [mi]

S

VP

NP

them

V

see

NP

I

S

VP

NP

me

V

see

NP

They






Syntactically-Conditioned Allomorphy in English: PronounsWhen the English 3rd person PL pronoun

(i) is sister to VP, its form is ‘they” [Dej]

(ii) is sister to , its form is ‘them” [DEm]

S

VP

NP

me

V

see

NP

They

S

VP

NP

them

V

see

NP

I





Lexically-Conditioned Allomorphy

Lexically-Conditioned Allomorphy in English: Many VS Much

When the quantifier ‘many/much’(i) is sister to a count noun, its form is ‘many” [mEni]

(ii) is sister to mass noun, its form is ‘much” [m2>tS]

a. so many peopleC b. *so much peopleCc. so many chairsC d. *so much chair(s)Ce. so many episodesC f. *so much episode(s)Cg. *so many furnitureM h. so much furnitureMi. *so many bloodM j. so much bloodM

k. *so many dramaM l. so much dramaM





Lexically-Conditioned Allomorphy

Lexically-Conditioned Allomorphy in English: Few VS Little

When the quantifier ‘Few/little’(i) is sister to a count noun, its form is ‘few” [fju]

(ii) is sister to mass noun, its form is ‘little” [lItIl]

a. so few peopleC b. *so little peopleCc. so few chairsC d. *so little chair(s)Ce. so few episodesC f. *so little episode(s)Cg. *so few furnitureM h. so little furnitureMi. *so few bloodM j. so little bloodM

k. *so few dramaM l. so little dramaM




2.1 Blackfoot Nouns2.2 Blackfoot Intransitive Verbs2.2 Blackfoot Transitive Verbs

CASE STUDY: Blackfoot Nouns Frantz 1991

Q: How do you form plural nouns in Blackfoot?

(1) ROOT PLURAL Glossa. imitáá b. imitáíksi dog(s)c. póós d. póósiksi cat(s)e. óóhkotok f. óóhkotokistsi stone(s)g. nínaa h. nínaaiksi man/meni. aakíí j. aakííksi woman/womenk. owáá l. owáístsi egg(s)m. míín n. míínistsi berry/berries

Do you see any allomorphy? How is it conditioned?





CASE STUDY: Blackfoot Nouns Frantz 1991

Q: How do you form noun phrases in Blackfoot?

(2) ROOT NP Glossa. imitáá b. oma imitááwa “that dog”c. póós d. omiksi póósiksi “those cats”e. óóhkotok f. omi óóhkotoki “that stone”g. nínaa h. omiksi nínaiksi “those men”i. aakíí j. oma aakííwa “that woman”k. owáá l. omistsi owáístsi “those eggs”)m. míín n. omi mííni “that berry”

Do you see any allomorphy? How is it conditioned?





CASE STUDY: Blackfoot Intransitive Verbs Frantz 1991

Q: In Blackfoot, how do you indicate1st person, 2nd person and 3rd person actors?

(3) Imperfective Form (á-) Translationa. nitaokskaPsi “I am running/I run“b. kitaokskaPsi “You are running/You run“c. aokskaPsiwa “She is running/She runs“d. nitajoPkaa “I am sleeping/I sleep“e. ajoPkaawa “She is sleeping/She sleeps“f. aikamosiwa “She is stealing/She steals (stuff)“g. nitaohpommaa “I am buying/I buy (stuff)“h. kitaooji “You are eating/You eat (stuff)“i. nitaihpiji “I am dancing/I dance“





CASE STUDY: Blackfoot Transitive Verbs I Frantz 1991

Q: In Blackfoot, how do you indicate1st/2nd person acting on a 3rd person?

(4) Imperfective Form (á-) Translationa. nitainowa oma ninaa “I see that man.“b. kitainowa oma ninaa “You see that man.“c. ainojii oma ninaa “She sees that man.“d. kitainiPp omi owaai “You see that egg.“e. ainim omi miini “She sees that berry.“

Do you see any stem allomorphy? How is it conditioned?





CASE STUDY: Blackfoot Transitive Verbs I Frantz 1991

a. nitainowa oma ninaa

“I see that man.“b. kitainowa oma ninaa

“You see that man.“c. ainojii oma ninaa

“She sees that man.“d. kitainiPp omi owaai

“You see that egg.“e. ainim omi miini

“She sees that berry.“

Initial Hypothesis...

Form Meaning Distribution

inoini-wa-jii-Pp

-m





CASE STUDY: Blackfoot Transitive Verbs II Frantz 1991


Imperfective Form (á-) Translationa. nitaohpommatooPp omistsi miinistsi “I am buying those books.“b. nitaohpommata oma imitaa “I am buying that dog.“c. aohpommatsii omiksi poosiksi “She is buying those cats.“d. aohpommatoom omi iinani “She is buying that banana.“






CASE STUDY: Blackfoot Transitive Verbs III Frantz 1991


Imperfective Form (á-) Translationa. nitaowatooPp omi iinan “I am eating that banana.“b. kitaowata oma nitowaki “You are eating that chicken.“c. nitaikamosatooPp omistsi owaistsi “I am stealing those eggs.“d. aikamosatsii omi poos “She is stealing that cat.“






CASE STUDY: Blackfoot Transitive Verbs I-III Frantz 1991

1 In Blackfoot, how do you indicate(i) a 1st/2nd person acting on a 3rd person?(ii) a 3rd person acting on another 3rd person?

→What conditions the allomorphy?

2 The morphemes you identified in attach to stems/bases.What are the stem/base forms for “see,” “buy,” “eat” and “steal” ?

3 What do you think the roots for “see,” “buy,” “eat” and “steal” are?What morphemes attach to these roots?





More Selectional Restrictions

What’s the difference between these stem forms for “eat” ?

(i) ooji

(ii) oowat

(iii) oowatoo

Lexically/Syntactically-Conditioned Allomorphy

VP

V

ooji

VP

NPINAN

omi mííni

V

oowatoo

VP

NPAN

oma nitowáki

V

oowat




3.1 MORPHOLOGY: Category-Restrictions (C-Selection)3.2 SYNTAX: Category-Restrictions (C-Selection)3.3 SYNTAX: Semantic-Restrictions (S-Selection)3.4 MORPHOLOGY: Semantic-Restrictions (S-Selection)



(i) ooji

(ii) oowat

(iii) oowatoo

Lexically/Syntactically-Conditioned Allomorphy

Alternative Analysis: Selectional restrictions!





Selectional Restrictions for Morphemes

. Observation: Some affixes only attach to certain lexical categories

(1) a. /naa-rak/ นารก

b. /naa-juu/ นาอย

c. /naa-mOON/ นามอง

d. /naa-khit/ นาคด

(2) a. */naa-hiw/ นาหว

b. */naa-rOOn/ นารอน

c. */naa-phet/ นาเผด

d. */naa-lek/ นาเลก

(3) a. */naa-phaasaa/ นาภาษา

b. */naa-mEEw/ นาแมว

c. */naa-naNs00/ นาหนงสอ

d. */naa->tChaa/ นาชา





SELECTIONAL RESTRICTIONS

Selectional RestrictionMorphology: When an affix (suffix/prefix/etc.) must/can only

combine with certain kinds of STEMSi.e., stems of a certain lexical category or semantic nature

Selectional RestrictionSyntax: When a word must/can only

combine with certain kinds of CONSTITUENTS/PHRASESi.e., phrases of a certain lexical category or semantic nature







Form Lexical Category Subcategory

ooji N/A N/Aoowat NPobject NPAN

oowatoo NPobject NPINAN

The stem [ooji] is intransitive- it doesn’t select for an object NP

The stems [oowat] and [oowatoo] are transitive- these select for different (sub)categories of NP





C-SELECTIONAL RESTRICTIONS



S

VP

PP

for a book

V

looking

Aux

am

NP

I

*S

VP

NP

a book

V

looking

Aux

am

NP

I





C-SELECTIONAL RESTRICTIONS



S

VP

NP

a book

V

seeking

Aux

am

NP

I

*S

VP

PP

for a book

V

seeking

Aux

am

NP

I





S-SELECTIONAL RESTRICTIONS



S

VP

NP

two kilos

V

weighs

NP

That book

*S

VP

NP

a small dog

V

weighs

NP

That book








S

VP

NP

20 dollars

V

costs

NP

That book

*S

VP

NP

that 20 dollar bill

V

costs

NP

That book






Observation: The verbs “weigh” and “cost” select for NPs...but the NPs must refer to a measurement/extent;the NPs cannot refer to an object/individual

(4) Extent Arguments I

a. ?*The book weighs a small dog.

b. ?*My phone costs that $500 bill.

c. ?*I spent this book waiting.

(5) Extent Arguments II

a. The book weighs two kilos.

b. My phone costs $500.

c. I spent six hours waiting

→ This is a semantic selectional restriction(a restriction on the reference-conditions of the NP object)






Observation: Morphemes also have semantic selectional restrictions1

ADJ COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

a. strong stronger strongestb. old older oldestc. tall taller tallestd. strange stranger strangeste. annual *annualer *annualestf. online *onliner *onlinestg. entire *entirer *entirest

→ Degree modifiers -er/-est only attach to gradable adjectives

1The comparative and superlative morphemes in English also have phonologicalrestrictions related to the number of syllables that I’m not discussing here.





S-SELECTIONAL RESTRICTIONS: Gradability

Gradable Adjectivesrefer to properties that can be true to different degreeseg., Taylor Swift is tall, but she’s not as tall as Yao Ming

→ Individuals fall on a scale with different degrees:

−− |1 −−|2 −−|3 −−|4 −−|5 −−|6 −−|7 −−|8 −−|9 →

Non-Gradable Adjectivesrefer to properties that, when true, are equally trueeg., Christmas and Halloween are both annual events

| − − −−−−−−−−− | − −−−−−−−−−−−− |





S-SELECTIONAL RESTRICTIONS: Gradability

Non-Gradable Adjectivesrefer to properties that, when true, are equally trueeg., Christmas and Halloween are both annual events

| − − −−−−−−−−− | − −−−−−−−−−−−− |

JannualK = { c, h, n, ... }(c= Christmas, h = Halloween, n = New Years, ...)

→ Individuals either belong to the set JannualK, or don’t(eg., o= Olympics doesn’t belong to the set)





S-SELECTIONAL RESTRICTIONS: Gradability (Kennedy 1999)

Gradable Adjectivesrefer to properties that can be true to different degreeseg., Taylor Swift is tall, but she’s not as tall as Yao Ming

−|1.4 − |1.5 − |1.6 − |1.7 − |1.8 − |1.9 − |2.0 − |2.1 − |2.2 − |2.3 →

JtallK ={ 〈t, d1.75〉, 〈l , d2.03〉, 〈y , d2.29〉, ... }

→ Individuals are paired with a degree on the scale(t= Taylor Swift, l = Lebron James, y = Yao Ming, ...)

...if the degree is high enough, the individuals belong to the set JtallK





S-SELECTIONAL RESTRICTIONS: Degree Semantics

Discussion Question:What is the difference between these degree expressions in Thai?

เหมอน กบ/กน [m00anR kapL/kanM]

เทา กบ/กน [thaoF kapL/kanM]

พอ ๆ กบ/กน [phOOM phOOM kapL/kanM]

คลาย กบ/กน [khlaajH kapL/kanM]

Different truth-conditions? Different selectional restrictions?






Observation: Morphemes also have semantic selectional restrictions

VERB PROGRESSIVE ASPECT SIMPLE ASPECT

a. run She is running She runsHAB

b. eat She is eating an apple She eats an appleHAB

c. recognize *She is recognizing me She recognizes meHAB

d. find *She is finding a dog She finds a dogHAB

e. know *She is knowing me She knows mef. have *She is having a brotherPROSP She has a brotherg. like *She is liking a singer She likes a singer

→ The progressive cannot attach to ACHIEVEMENT or STATIVE verbs






Vendler 1957: Verbs/VPs fall into different aspectual classes

VERB CLASS Examples

Statives know, have, like, ...Activities run, walk, sleep, drink water, eat apples, ...Accomplishments read the book, eat an apple, run a marathon, sink,...Achievements recognize, find, reach the top, ...(Semelfactives) jump, knock, sneeze, ...

→ These verb classes are referred to as lexical aspect;like the difference between gradable/non-gradable adjectives,

the differences are semantically-defined (more next week)





Next Time: Case Study in Semantics

1 Homework: A5: Semantics and Pragmatics Problem Set

2 Instagram Homework: Design Feature (your choice) OR give anexample of a semantic selectional restriction




References I

Frantz, Donald G. 1991. Blackfoot Grammar. Toronto, Canada: University ofToronto Press.

Hayes, Bruce. 2011. Introductory phonology, vol. 32. John Wiley & Sons.

Kennedy, Christopher. 1999. Projecting the adjective: The syntax andsemantics of gradability and comparison. Routledge.

Odden, David Arnold. 2005. Introducing Phonology. Cambridge universitypress.

Vendler, Zeno. 1957. Verbs and Times. The Philosophical Review 66(2).143–160.


elc 231: introduction to language and linguistics · 1.1review: allomorphy...

Documents