Excluded entailments and the de se/de re partition
Inquiry
We show that some PRO-sentences (sentences containing an unpronounced subject in an infinitive cl... more We show that some PRO-sentences (sentences containing an unpronounced subject in an infinitive clause) appear to receive de re interpretations when they occur in suitable discourse contexts or linguistic environments. This finding is surprising given the received view that such sentences are unambiguously de se (Morgan 1970, Chierchia 1990). We argue that these apparent de re readings are not genuine readings assigned by the grammar, but rather arise via a pragmatic process that results in what we call ‘excluded entailments’. The interpretation of PRO-sentences thus shows a certain amount of pragmatic latitude that is reminiscent of other cases of non-literal language, such as examples of ‘pragmatic slack’ first discussed in Lasersohn (1999). However, we show that there are crucial differences between the puzzling data at hand and more familiar cases of pragmatic slack, and argue that they constitute a different class of nonliteral meaning that has received less attention in the literature. This class of meanings is akin to that introduced by the modifier ‘in effect’. Our view has consequences for semantic methodology, understanding the limits of non-literal language use and interpretation, and the division of labour between semantics and pragmatics in the analysis of attitude reports
It's my pleasure to chair this session and I'm very happy to introduce two people who don't need ... more It's my pleasure to chair this session and I'm very happy to introduce two people who don't need to be introduced. The first is Jill DeVilliers, who is the Sophia and Austin Smith Professor of Psychology and Philosophy at Smith College; and the other is Tom Roeper who is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Tom gave me a whole list of accomplishments and then said, "Well, just tell them that I've given 100 lectures in 17 different countries." I've been very fortunate over the last six years to have Jill and Tom working as consultants for Laureate on grants we've had through the National Institutes of Health. So, I know you're going to enjoy this session. I'm sure that if you've heard some of their other sessions, you realize that they have a wealth of knowledge and information that we in our field can certainly benefit from. We'll be starting with Tom Roeper.
I. Can we define " Possible Disorder" in UG? 1. Deficit = deviance unlike a Delay 2.Missed Formal... more I. Can we define " Possible Disorder" in UG? 1. Deficit = deviance unlike a Delay 2.Missed Formal Feature Hypothesis = Premature fixation of lexical item II. Missed Formal Features and Normal Lexical acquisition A. Why does normal child not say: " Me can do it" => learn Nominative => change to "I can do it" B. Normal Child: Maximize Formal Features 1) I saw the boy => [the: +sing,+masc,+def,+acc] ich sah den Mann 2) The girls arrived => delete: ,masc,sing, acc German: no change (den => correct (idealized)) C . Normal acquisition of Modal: can => modal meaning => Understood before used search for Tense, Agr, Case, Selection properties " John can sing" => no case information 1. Constraint on Normal Acquisition: Do not insert item into grammar until all domains checked D. Deficit Grammar: fix item in grammar without AGR or CASE E. Dialect: AGREEMENT present as Universal Grammar Option => Check each domain separately => AAE requires nominative in "I can sing" AGR carrried by Modal "categories lacking interpretability should be disallowed"(Chomsky (1998)) a. Conclusion: [-interpretable] => Formal Features (AGR, Case) E. . General Hypothesis: Fix lexical item without [-Interpretable features] 1. In productive grammar => No Retreat (Clahsen, Vainikka, Eisenbeiss (1994)
In recent linguistic theory, there has been an explosion of detailed studies of language variatio... more In recent linguistic theory, there has been an explosion of detailed studies of language variation. This volume applies such recent analyses to the study of child language, developing new approaches to change and variation in child grammars and revealing both early knowledge in several areas of grammar and a period of extended development in others. Topics dealt with include question formation, "subjectless" sentences, object gaps, rules for missing subject interpretation, passive sentences, rules for pronoun interpretation and argument structure. Leading developmental linguists and psycholinguists show how linguistic theory can help define and inform a theory of the dynamics of language development and its biological basis, meeting the growing need for such studies in programs in linguistics, psychology, and cognitive science.
The Hidden Algebra of the Mind From a Linguistic Perspective
Studies in Linguistics and Philosophy, 2002
[We inevitably turn to a mathematical representation of biology “once the concept of body/matter ... more [We inevitably turn to a mathematical representation of biology “once the concept of body/matter is abandoned as it must be, when the force of Newton’s conclusions is finally recognized.” In the past it turns out consistently “that the assumptions made about the ‘material base’ were wrong.”] Noam Chomsky, letter September 1999
The heart of linguistic theory lies in the concept of a transformation. It creates the fundamenta... more The heart of linguistic theory lies in the concept of a transformation. It creates the fundamental acquisition problem as well: how does a child learn to reconstruct deep structure from surface structure? In concrete terms, how does the child know where invisible noun phrases are, how does he know that there is an invisible NP after hit in who did John hit, which is linked to who?
The classic contrast between Empiricism and Rationalism falls under a new light when we try to bu... more The classic contrast between Empiricism and Rationalism falls under a new light when we try to build realistic, mechanical interfaces that will assist in language acquisition. The notion of an interface automatically entails the assumption that other mental modules-with other mental purposes-are systematically engaged not only in our model of adult grammar, but possibly with a special role in the acquisition process. Does grammar interact or interface with a General Learning Capacity, familiar from behaviorist and connectionist approaches in the empiricist tradition? A prior question is whether there are any General Learning Capacities? Daily life gives us the impression that we can develop knowledge schemes whose heterogeneity would suggest that such General Abilities exist. Nonetheless one of the lessons of using modes of formal representation for grammatical theory is that abstractions have strong biases that are visible only when abstractly formulated. A second possibility is that the identical ability is independently represented in the brain. We illustrate each of them. First we need to articulate an elementary contrast. The suggestion of an interface with a ''conceptual-intentional system'', for instance, means that our methods for representing actions of all kinds are linked-in
In this paper we want to compare the results from monolingual children with object omissions in b... more In this paper we want to compare the results from monolingual children with object omissions in bilingual children who have acquired two languages simultaneously. Our longitudinal studies of bilingual Dutch±French, German±French, and German±Italian children show that the bilingual children behave like monolingual children regarding the type of object omissions in the Romance languages. They differ from monolingual children with respect to the extent to which object drop is used. At the same time, the children differentiate the two systems they are using. We want to claim that the difference between monolingual and bilingual children concerning object omissions in the Romance languages is due to crosslinguistic in¯uence in bilingual children: the Germanic language in¯uences the Romance language. Crosslinguistic in¯uence occurs once a syntactic construction in language A allows for more than one grammatical analysis from the perspective of child grammar and language B contains positive evidence for one of these possible analyses. The bilingual child is not able to map the universal strategies onto language-speci®c rules as quickly as the monolinguals, since s/he is confronted with a much wider range of language-speci®c syntactic possibilities. One of the possibilities seems to be compatible with a universal strategy. We would like to argue for the existence of crosslinguistic in¯uence, induced by the mapping of universal principles onto language-speci®c principles ± in particular, pragmatic onto syntactic principles. This in¯uence will be de®ned as mapping induced in¯uence. We will account for the object omissions by postulating an empty discourse-connected PRO in pre-S position (Mu Èller, Crysmann, and Kaiser, 1996; Hulk, 1997). Like monolingual children, bilingual children use this possibility until they show evidence of the C-system (the full clause) in its target form.
Deductive Parameters and the Growth of Empty Categories
Studies in Theoretical Psycholinguistics, 1987
... category of N, V, A, or P. In a second step, they acquire special features within the syntact... more ... category of N, V, A, or P. In a second step, they acquire special features within the syntactic model (it ... For instance, how do empty categories grow? Particular grammars show intricate variation in the projection of anaphors, pronominals, and the domains where they can occur. ...
Page 1. Samuel Jay Keyser Re: The Abstract Clitic Thomas Roeper Hypothesis 1. The Argument In thi... more Page 1. Samuel Jay Keyser Re: The Abstract Clitic Thomas Roeper Hypothesis 1. The Argument In this article we explore a number of syntactic constructions that, taken together, sug-gest that each English verb is associated with a category-neutral abstract clitic position. ...
Introduction by Margaret Speas.- Minimal Recursion: Exploring the Prospects By Noam Chomsky.- Rec... more Introduction by Margaret Speas.- Minimal Recursion: Exploring the Prospects By Noam Chomsky.- Recursion Restrictions: Where Grammars Count By Hilda Koopman.- Deriving the Two-argument Restriction without Recursion By Eva Juarros-Daussa.- Embedding Illocutionary Acts By Manfred Krifka.- Recursion, Legibility, Use By Peter Ludlow.- Recursion and Truth By Wolfram Hinzen.- Recursion in Language: Is it Indirectly constrained? By Aravind Joshi.- Recursion in Grammar and Performance By Edward P. Stabler.- Empirical Results and Formal Approaches to Recursion in Acquisition By Bart Hollebrandse and Tom Roeper.- Recursive Complements and Propositional Attitudes By Jill deVilliers and Kate Hobbs.- Recursive Merge and Human Language Evolution By Koji Fujita.
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