From Space to Time

Temporal Adverbials in the World's Languages
Martin Haspelmath
Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

The relation between space and time has fascinated linguists and philosophers for a long time. That temporal relations are derived from spatial relations in many languages through conceptual metaphor is a commonplace, but systematic studies of this phenomenon were lacking.

In this important new book, the author investigates grammatical markers of simple (non-clausal) time adverbials in a world-wide sample of 50 languages (with an unavoidable emphasis on European languages), presents a taxonomy of the systematic types of time adverbials and formulates typological generalizations about the adverbial markers (mainly adpositions and cases). For the first time, a cross-linguistically applicable terminological grid for time adverbials is developed that makes comparative research in this area possible.

The results comfirm the expectation that temporal notions overwhelmingly derive from spatial notions, in particular markers of temporal location (e.g. in March, before the meal, after the war). In fact, there are no languages that do not make use of spatial concepts for the expression of time at all, and speculations (originating in Benjamin L. Whorf's work on Hopi) that cultures differ fundamentally in their conceptualization of time are thereby refuted definively. However, not all temporal concepts are expressed by spatial markers, and temporal markers do show a tendency to become autonomous from their spatial sources. Thus, there is little linguistic evidence for the full conceptual unity of space and time.

Additional issues dealt with in this typological study are the role of deixis in temporal adverbial markers, alternatives to simple time markes where these are lacking, and grammaticalization as an explanatory factor.

The book consists of the following chapters: (1) Introduction, (2) Taxonomy of the semantic functions, (3) Theoretical issues, (4) Sequential location ('after'/'before'), (5) Sequential-durative ('since'/'until'), (6) Temporal distance ('in'/'ago'), (7) Simultaneous location ('at, in, on'), (8) Temporal extent ('for'/'in'), (9) Conclusion. An appendix containing examples of teh markers in the 50 languages allows the reader to get a full picture of the data on which this work is based.

ISBN 9783895860911. LINCOM Studies in Theoretical Linguistics 02. 171pp. 1997.

Typology of Iterative Constructions

Viktor S. Khrakovskij (ed.)
Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Linguistic Research, Saint-Petersburg

The present book has been prepared by the Language Typology Workshop of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Linguistic Research.

The book continues the earlier studies of the Workshop addressing the syntactic structure of the sentence: (ed. A.A. Kholodovich) Typology of Causative Constructions, "Nauka": Leningrad, 1969, (ed. A.A. Kholodovich) Typology of Passive constructions, "Nauka": Leningrad, 1974, (ed. V.P. Nedjalkov) Typology of resultative constructions, Amsterdam 1988, etc.

The monograph focuses on the semantic category of multiplicity of situations realized in utterances. The main objective of this work is, by proceeding from content to form, to determine grammatical, lexical, and contextual means of expressing the specific meanings of plurality, viz. the iterative, the multiplicative, and the distributive both in a single language and in different languages.

The book consists of three parts. Part 1 outlines the theory suggesting one of the possible ways of interpreting the category of situational plurality.

Part 2 has four sections and 24 chapters describing the category of situational plurality in structurally different languages. These descriptions are quite uniform and, on the whole, are based on the theory presented in Part 1. Section A (Chapters 1-7) deals with languages which use special grammatical markers to express the iterative, multiplicative, and distributive. Section B (Chapters 8-15) focuses on languages having specific grammatical means to express the iterative. Section C (Chapters 16-20) describes languages that have tense forms combining with iterative adverbials. Section D (Chapters 21-24) deals with languages where iterative meanings are expressed by adverbials. It is easily seen that this classification lays no claims to strict precision, its immediate aim being an intuitively acceptable classification of linguistic data. This Part was prepared by a large group of authors, including T. G. Akimova (English), E. V. Golovko (Aleut), E. A. Gruzdeva (Nivkh), E. E. Kordi (French), N. A. Kozintseva (Armenian), I. V. Nedjalkov (Even), V. P. Nedjalkov (Chukchee), M. A. Smirnova (Hausa), N. M. Spatari (Cambodian) , V. A. Stegnij (Klamath), N. B. Vaxtin (Eskimo), A. P. Volodin (Itelmen), V. A. Plungian (Chamalal), D. M. Nasilov (Turkic languages), I. S. Bystrov (Vietnamese), S. Je. Jaxontov (Chinese), Ju. P. Knyazev (Slavic languages), G. Z. Poumpyan (Arabic), V. M. Alpatov (Japanese), B. A. Zaxarjin (Hindi), E. Š. Geniushiene (Lithuanian), V. P. Litvinov (Ewe), S. M. Kibardina (German), and Agus Salim (Indonesian). The three interpretations of the category of plurality presented in Part 3 (written by L. A. Biriulin, G. G. Silnitskij, I. B. Dolinina) differ from the theory developed in the preceeding chapters both in their general approach and in specific aspects of analysis. The book is supplied with an extensive bibliography.

ISBN 9783895861789. LINCOM Studies in Theoretical Linguistics 04. 540pp. 1997.

Verb Semantics, Diathesis and Aspect

Mila Dimitrova-Vulchanova
NTNU, Trondheim

This work addresses issues of the interface between the lexical specification of verbs and the level of Morpho-syntactic structure and verbal Aspect. The main claim is that the properties of constructions are largely predictable from the semantic properties of the head verb. This claim also extends to predictions concerning the aspectual properties of constructions. The languages on which this study is based include Germanic (English, Norwegian and German) and Slavic (Bulgarian and Russian). The analysis is carried out within a framework of grammar called 'The Sign Model', currently under development. The discussion focuses on a number of aspectual processes attested cross-linguistically and the problems they pose for a unified treatment. In the course of presentation an illustration is given of the systematic interrelation between the morpho-syntactic realization of constructions and their aspectual properties. While providing a discussion of the relevant existing proposals for the treatment of Aspect (Aspectuality) in view of the syntactic properties of constructions, the work also indicates a system geared towards a unified analysis.

A considerable part of the book is devoted to the implementation of the Sign Model to the analysis of passive constructions based on a notional definition of PASSIVE. A number of construction types cross-linguistically are matched against this definition, such as middles in English, impersonals in Germanic, and the Bulgarian constructions involving the reflexive clitic se. An attempt is made at defining the constraints for each of the above construction types which arise from the lexical specification of the head verbs. The book also includes a proposal concerning the aspectual properties of passives and the role palyed by passive morphology in aspect construal.

ISBN 9783895865725. LINCOM Studies in Theoretical Linguistics 08. 200pp. 1999.

Typology of Imperative Constructions

Victor S. Khrakovskij (ed.)
Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Linguistic Research, Saint-Petersburg

The present volume has been prepared by the Language Typology Workshop of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Linguistic Research.

The book continues the earlier studies of the Workshop addressing grammatical categories of the verb linked to the semantic and syntactic structure of the sentence: (ed. A.A. Kholodovich) Typology of Causative Constructions, Nauka: Leningrad, 1969; (ed. A.A. Kholodovich) Typology of Passive Constructions, Nauka: Leningrad, 1974; (ed. V.P. Nedjalkov) Typology of Resultative Constructions, Amsterdam, 1988; (ed. V.S. Xrakovskij) Typology of Iterative Constructions, LINCOM EUROPA, Munchen, 1997; etc.

The monograph focuses on imperative sentences and verb forms used in them. The main objective of this work is, by proceeding from the universal definition of the imperative concept, to describe the imperative sentences from the angle of language typology.

The volume consists of three parts. Part 1 contains two chapters: Chapter 1, outlining the theoretical concept of the research, and Chapter 2, presenting a questionnaire on imperative sentences and imperative verb forms. Part 2 contains 23 chapters on imperative sentences in structurally different languages: Aleut, Armenian, Bamana, Cambodian, English, Eskimo, Ewe, French, German, Gypsy, Hausa, Hebrew, Indonesian, Japanese, Kerek, Klamath, Maori, Mongol, Nivkh, Tagalog, Turkic languages, Vietnamese, and Javanese. These 23 chapters are grouped into five sections in consistence with five types of languages that are singled out basing on two major attributes: (i) presence or absence of a specific imperative person/number paradigm, and (ii) homogeneity or non-homogeneity of the forms in the imperative paradigm. Part 3 provides an alternative interpretation of the imperative paradigm that differs from the theory developed in the preceding chapters both in its general approach and in specific aspects of analysis.

The contributors to the volume are: researchers from Saint Petersburg Institute of Linguistic Research (Agus Salim, T. G. Akimova, L. A. Biriulin, N. B. Vaxtin, A. P. Volodin, E. V. Golovko, E. Yu. Gruzdeva, I. B. Dolinina, N. A. Kozintseva, E. E. Kordi, D. M. Nasilov, A. Yu. Rusakov, M. A. Smirnova, N. M. Spartar, V. A. Stegnij, V. S. Khrakovskij), Oriental Faculty of the Saint Petersburg State University (I. S. Bystrov, N. A. Dobronravin, E. A. Kuzmenkov, L. V. Malygina, A. K. Ogloblin, G. E. Rachkov), as well as linguists from other research institutions of Russia, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam: X. F. Isxakova, and M. S. Polinskaja (Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences), V. M. Alpatov (Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences), M. B. Bergelson (Institute of the Russian Language of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Kofi O. Agbodjo and V. P. Litvinov (Pyatigorsk Pedagogical Institute), S. M. Kibardina (Vologda Pedagogical Institute), Sh. S. Safarov (Samarkand Pedagogical Institute), and N. V. Stankevich (Hanoi University).

The book is supplied with an extensive bibliography.

ISBN 9783895865428. LINCOM Studies in Theoretical Linguistics 09. 558pp. 2001.

 Lexical-semantic information in Head-driven Phrase

Structure Grammar and Natural Language Processing
Martin Hoelter
University of Bochum

Lexical-semantic information traditionally has certainly not been in the focus of formal grammar theories or computational linguistics. With the recent emergence of complex Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems, however, an immediate practical need for semantically richer but formalized language-related information has arisen. The question then is how e.g. selectional restriction information which normally has been dealt with by separate models and theories can be integrated in a formal grammar framework also adequate for NLP tasks.

The suitable grammar theory employed is Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), whose complex feature structure models and attribute-value matrices as major means of representation have made it the linguistic framework of choice in state-of-the-art NLP. Cobuild dictionaries on the other hand provide the ideal lexicographic framework for a data base: their unique definition style using simple English sentences only is shown to be both of high theoretical and practical relevance.

"Lexical-semantic information in Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar and Natural Language Processing" proposes a concept of information transfer between natural language dictionaries, formal grammar, and language engineering systems by mapping dictionary definitions to HPSG lexical entries. The aim is to show how retrieval of lexical-semantic information from a Cobuild dictionary can be organized and what the theoretical assumptions on lexical-semantic information in a syntactically and semantically integrative HPSG model are.

ISBN 9783895865831. LINCOM Studies in Theoretical Linguistics 10. 200pp. 1999.

Extragrammatical and Marginal Morphology

Papers from the Workshop held in Vienna, 15 February 1996
Ursula Doleschal & Anna M. Thornton (eds.)


This volume is a collection of papers presented at a workshop on "Extragrammatical and Marginal Morphology" held in Vienna in February 1996. It brings together authors from different theoretical backgrounds, spanning from Natural Morphology to lexicography and OT. The topics addressed include, besides a general introduction to the concepts of extragrammatical and marginal morphology, a close-up study of phenomena such as blends, the make-up of trade names in different languages, and the morphological structure of toponyms.

Contents: Wolfgang U. Dressler: Extragrammatical vs. marginal morphology; Bernard Fradin: Combining forms, blends and related phenomena; Outi Bat-El: The grammaticality of "extragrammatical" morphology; Elke Ronneberger-Sibold: Creative competence at work: the creation of partial motivation in German trade names; Anna M. Thornton: On -ex and -tex; Damaris Nübling: The semiotic and morphological structure of German toponyms. Different strategies for indicating propriality.

ISBN 9783895865909.LINCOM Studies in Theoretical Linguistics 12. 220pp. 2000.

Structure and Interpretation in Natural Language

Marc Authier & Lisa Reed
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park

The central objective of this book is to present an integrated theory of the syntax-semantics interface, one which combines the most recent advances in the generative framework with the basic tenets of model-theoretic semantics. The three opening chapters develop, in a step-by-step and highly accessible fashion, an approach to structure and meaning in these terms.

The remaining chapters show how this approach sheds light on three long-standing issues in formal grammar: the treatment of "syntactically-triggered" presuppositions, the treatment of some notable exceptions to the generative binding conditions, and the issue of the relative autonomy of syntax and semantics. With respect to the first issue, it is argued that a compositional treatment of syntactically-triggered presuppositions can be formulated as a condition which ties presuppositional triggers to a specific class of syntactic configurations definable in terms of devices found in Minimalist syntax. A subsequent chapter demonstrates that the empirical coverage of so-called Bare-Output Conditions in generative syntax can be increased if such conditions are made sensitive to the two types of semantic information which have sometimes been recognized in model-theoretic semantics; that is, extension expressions and implicature expressions. Finally, empirical evidence is adduced which supports the view that there are two distinct types of semantic constraints and that those which make reference to features of tree geometry can, under specific circumstances defined by representational Economy conditions, override those which do not.

Audience: Linguists, philosophers, computational and psycholinguists, cognitive scientists; advanced undergraduates, graduate students and researchers in these fields.

Contents: Introduction - Earlier Models of Generative Grammar - Minimalist Theory - An Integration of Model-Theoretic Semantics with Minmalist Syntax - On the Compositional Analysis of Presupposed Meaning - On Presuppusitions and the Satisfaction of Bare Output Conditions - Bare Output Conditions and Others: On the Notions of Primay and Economy in the Semantic Component - Bibliography.

ISBN 9783895866036. LINCOM Studies in Theoretical Linguistics 14. 180pp. 1999.