Lexical compounds in English are constrained in that the non-head noun can be an irregular but not a regular plural (e.g. mice eater vs. *rats eater), a contrast that has been argued to derive from a morphological constraint on modifiers inside compounds. In addition, bare nouns are preferred over plural forms inside compounds (e.g. mouse eater vs. mice eater), a contrast that has been ascribed...

Syntactic structure has been considered an integral component of agreement computation in language production. In agreement error studies, clause-boundedness (Bock & Cutting, 1992) and hierarchical feature-passing (Franck, Vigliocco, & Nicol, 2002) predict that local nouns within clausal modifiers should produce fewer errors than do those within phrasal modifiers due to structural differences; ...

Two experiments examined whether syntactic number features are tracked during comprehension with a linear slot-based memory system or with a hierarchical feature-passing system. In a construction such as The pond near the trail(s) for the horse(s) was ..., a linear account of subject-number tracking predicts greater interference from horses (N3), whereas a hierarchical account predicts greater ...

Generalized conjunction and relational nouns. I will analyze the behavior of relational nouns in conjoined contexts. In most of the examples I address the coordination of nominal categories. ◊ Some of the cases such as husband and wife are problematic for the current theories of conjunction (Winter 2001, Heycock&Zamparelli 2005) ◊ I will analyze those and highlight some connections to the analy...

Computational approaches to reference resolution , like Centering Theory, are best at resolving referring expressions which denote familiar referents. We demonstrate how, by taking a proof-theoretic approach to reference resolution within a Centering-type framework, we are able to make sense of referring expressions for unfamiliar referents. These include, in addition to bridging descriptions, ...

The potential performance of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as springs for elastic energy storage is evaluated. Models are used to determine an upper bound on the energy density that can be stored in defect-free individual CNTs and in assemblies of such CNTs. The models reveal that optimal energy density may be achieved in small-diameter single-walled CNTs loaded in tension, with a maximum theoretical...

Consider the contrast in interpretation between the examples in (1) and (2) below. While example (1) is compatible with events that unfold in very different ways, the addition of one by one in (2) constrains how the leaving events can proceed. Intuitively, one by one is an event modifier that targets a plural participant in the event. More precisely, it breaks the event down into temporally seq...