The Syntax-pragmatics Interface and Finnish Ditransitive Verbs
نویسنده
چکیده
This paper presents an analysis of the ditransitive constructions in Finnish, a language with flexible word order. I argue that the base-generated order of Finnish ditransitive structures, which permit both direct object-indirect object (DO-IO) order and IO-DO order, is in fact DO-IO. According to my analysis, IO-DO order is generated by discourse-driven scrambling of the IO. These claims are supported by evidence from reciprocal binding, idioms and pragmatic word order patterns.
منابع مشابه
Cross-linguistic Influence at Syntax-pragmatics Interface: A Case of OPC in Persian
Recent research in the area of Second Language Acquisition has proposed that bilinguals and L2 learners show syntactic indeterminacy when syntactic properties interface with other cognitive domains. Most of the research in this area has focused on the pragmatic use of syntactic properties while the investigation of compliance with a grammatical rule at syntax-related interfaces has not received...
متن کاملVerb Semantics and Double Object Constructions A constraint-based approach to Double Object Constructions in German
This paper treats verbs of diverse syntactic and semantic origins that enter into preposition-less double object constructions in German. It develops a fine-grained semantics within a lexicalist approach to grammar. Three semantic components are recognized: situation schemata which represent situational knowledge in the form of a matrix of abstract participant constellations; the attribute desi...
متن کاملAn Aspectual Classification of English Ditransitive Verbs
In this paper I examine the types of events associated with ditransitive verbs that describe caused possession by looking at their lexical aspectual properties, a methodology that has proven fruitful for the exploration of (in)transitive verbs. I show that as a whole these ditransitives share a number of aspectual properties in common with (in)transitive verbs of change of state and motion, sug...
متن کاملL1 Transfer in L2 Acquisition of the There-Insertion Construction by Mandarin EFL Learners
This study examined the role of the native language (L1) transfer in a non-native language (L2) acquisition of the there-insertion construction at the syntax-semantics interface. Specifically, the study investigated if Mandarin EFL learners would make overgeneralization errors in the situation where an L1 argument structure constitutes a superset of its L2 counterpart. Verbs of existence and ap...
متن کاملIranian Advanced EFL Learners’ Awareness and the Use of Marked Word Order: Discourse-pragmatically Motivated Variations
The present investigation was designed to study the production and comprehension of specific means for information highlighted by advanced Iranian learners of English as a Foreign Language. The study focused on the discourse-pragmatically motivated variations of the basic word order such as inversion, pre-posing, it- and Wh-clefts. After taking the Nelson test, a homogeneous group was settled. ...
متن کامل