The nature of configurationality in LFG
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| Title: | The nature of configurationality in LFG |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Snijders, Liselotte |
| Committee Members: | Asudeh, Ash; Dalrymple, Mary |
| Summary: | The central issue in this thesis is configurationality, which has broadly been defined in terms of a division of the world's languages based on their core syntactic structure. Specifically, languages are traditionally divided into so-called configurational and non-configurational languages. Configurational languages are assumed to be languages with many restrictions on word order, and non-configurational languages are assumed to be languages with very few or no word order restrictions. Many linguists posit a strict division between the two different types of languages. In this thesis I propose a non-derivational approach to configurationality, and I discuss in detail three posited characteristics of non-configurational languages (in comparison to configurational languages): free word order, discontinuous expressions and subject-object asymmetries in binding. I propose a four-way classification of languages instead of a two-way one, based on constraints on annotations on phrase structure nodes, both for argument functions and for information structural roles (such as topic and focus). I propose that this four-way distinction is what underlies configurationality. I show that discontinuous expressions and potentially subject-object symmetries follow from the nature of languages that have traditionally been classified as non-configurational. For my analysis I employ Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), a non-derivational framework which is particularly well-suited to account for languages in which grammatical functions are not tied to specific phrase structural positions, due to its parallel architecture. This characteristic of LFG enables me to provide a straightforward classification of languages, by the ability to separate the influence of grammatical functions and information structural roles on word order and phrase structural configuration. |
| URL: | https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.711852 |
| Database: | OpenDissertations |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ddu DbLabel: OpenDissertations An: ddu.oai.ethos.bl.uk.711852 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Dissertation/ Thesis PubTypeId: dissertation PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The nature of configurationality in LFG – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Snijders%2C+Liselotte%22">Snijders, Liselotte</searchLink> – Name: Author Label: Committee Members Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="CO" term="%22Asudeh%2C+Ash%22">Asudeh, Ash</searchLink>; <searchLink fieldCode="CO" term="%22Dalrymple%2C+Mary%22">Dalrymple, Mary</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Summary Group: Ab Data: The central issue in this thesis is configurationality, which has broadly been defined in terms of a division of the world's languages based on their core syntactic structure. Specifically, languages are traditionally divided into so-called configurational and non-configurational languages. Configurational languages are assumed to be languages with many restrictions on word order, and non-configurational languages are assumed to be languages with very few or no word order restrictions. Many linguists posit a strict division between the two different types of languages. In this thesis I propose a non-derivational approach to configurationality, and I discuss in detail three posited characteristics of non-configurational languages (in comparison to configurational languages): free word order, discontinuous expressions and subject-object asymmetries in binding. I propose a four-way classification of languages instead of a two-way one, based on constraints on annotations on phrase structure nodes, both for argument functions and for information structural roles (such as topic and focus). I propose that this four-way distinction is what underlies configurationality. I show that discontinuous expressions and potentially subject-object symmetries follow from the nature of languages that have traditionally been classified as non-configurational. For my analysis I employ Lexical Functional Grammar (LFG), a non-derivational framework which is particularly well-suited to account for languages in which grammatical functions are not tied to specific phrase structural positions, due to its parallel architecture. This characteristic of LFG enables me to provide a straightforward classification of languages, by the ability to separate the influence of grammatical functions and information structural roles on word order and phrase structural configuration. – Name: URL Label: URL Group: URL Data: <link linkTarget="URL" linkTerm="https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.711852" linkWindow="_blank">https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.711852</link> |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ddu&AN=ddu.oai.ethos.bl.uk.711852 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Code: eng Text: English Subjects: – SubjectFull: 415 Type: general – SubjectFull: Lexical-functional grammar ; Language and languages--Classification ; Linguistics ; Grammar ; Comparative and general--Syntax Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The nature of configurationality in LFG Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Snijders, Liselotte IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2015 |
| ResultId | 1 |
