Word order & Complex clauses Flashcards
What are constituents?
functional components that form larger structures. A functional component is a phrase that generally takes the syntactic function and position in the clause of their head.
Is free word order haphazard?
No, it may not be structured following conventional grammatical relations, but by some other principle. Some languages have an order that is determined by semantic factors such as animacy, in others by pragmatic factors such as topicality or focus, or information structure, or even by grammatical functions such as aspect.
What is meant by constituent order correlations?
the position of the verb tends to correlate with a number of other word orders on different levels. This is especially true when it comes to the position of the verb with respect to the object. As such, OV languages behave in one way, while VO languages behave in a different way. VO languages are in many ways the mirror image of OV languages.
How do sing languages compare to spoken languages with respect to word order?
They also vary with respect to their constituent orders. VSO seems common but others are attested. Most sign languages are more flexible in their word order than spoken languages, as such the word order is determined by pragmatic factors.
what are the different strategies of clause combining from loose to tight integration?
Juxtaposition > coordination > adverbial clause > complement clause > clause chaining > serial verb clauses
What is juxtaposition?
two independent clauses joined under one intonation contour
What is coordination?
two independent clauses (can stand on their, form of independent clause) joined under one intonation contour connected by a coordinate conjunction.
There is no change of form or order of combined clauses, and predictable information often not repeated by speakers (ellipsis or gapping) as pragmatic strategy (Gricean maxim of quantity/manner)
What are adverbial clauses?
Adverbial clauses function as an adjunct in another clause (= superordinate clause or main clause)
what are complement clauses?
Complement clauses function as a core argument in another clause (=superordinate or main clause)
What is a complementiser?
the subordinating conjunction that marks argument/complement clauses.
what is the difference between finite and non-finite complement clauses?
Finite complement clauses express TMA on the verb of the complement clause (fully verbal CCs), whereas non-finite complements do not express TMA on its verb (lacks some properties of full verbs).
What are nominalised complement clauses?
A complement clause where the verb of the CC has been nominalised, where the noun properties of the verb become increasingly visible.
for example, it can possessive pronouns, but not the plural affix.
What is clause chaining?
Two or more clauses are combined without any overt syntactic marker. Chained or medial clauses are dependent on final clause of clause chain but they ar not an argument or an adjunct of another clause. Usually only one in the chain that is inflected for TMA, whereas the medial clauses are in a non-finite and usually more restricted form, e.g. participial.
Why is clause chaining sometimes described as co-subordination?
As the chained clause is not a constituent of the final clause, it becomes more a coordinate than a subordinate. Although it cannot stand alone, as it is dependent on the finite clause for interpretation in term of TMA, which makes it also a subordinate clause. i.e. the cosubordination refers to the medial clauses, as they are not embedded in each other, but also do not function independently.
What are serial verb constructions and why is it described as co-subordination?
Serial verb constructions is a sequence of verbs that act together as a single predicate, without any overt marker of coordination, subordination or syntactic dependency of any other sort. They describe what is conceptualised as a single event.
what is Switch Reference?
Basically a referent tracking device indicating if the subject of the following clause is the same as or different from the one in the present clause.
SS = same subject in next clause of clause chain
DS = different subject in next clause of clause chain
What are relative clauses?
Relative clauses essentially modify an NP. In other words, its function is to narrow potential referents of the referring expression in the matrix clause. The RC thus modifies a noun and the RC and the MC share an argument (=common argument=CA).
Why do relative clauses not fit well into the category of complex clause combining?
since a relative clause combines with an NP, and not another clause, it does not constitute a complex clause on its own.
What is cosubordination?
this refers to complex clauses that have similarities with both coordination and subordination. They are both not embedded, making them similar to coordinated clauses, yet also not independent, making them similar to subordinate clauses.
What is the difference between asyndetic and syndetic coordination?
Asyndetic means that the units are juxtaposed without any overt linker.
Syndetic means that an overt linker coordinates the units.
What are medial clauses?
Medial clauses, or medial verbs, are those clauses or verbs that are chained together cosubordinately to form a structural narrative completed by the finite clause (the matrix clause, sometimes also called the reference clause).
