A History of English Reflexive Pronouns

A History of English Reflexive Pronouns

Author: Elly van Gelderen

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2000-10-20

Total Pages: 293

ISBN-13: 902729917X

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This book brings together a number of seemingly distinct phenomena in the history of English: the introduction of special reflexive pronouns (e.g. myself), the loss of verbal agreement and pro-drop, and the disappearance of morphological Case. It provides vast numbers of examples from Old and Middle English texts showing a person split between first, second, and third person pronouns. Extending an analysis by Reinhart & Reuland, the author argues that the ‘strength’ of certain pronominal features (Case, person, number) differs cross-linguistically and that parametric variation accounts for the changes in English. The framework used is Minimalist, and Interpretable and Uninterpretable features are seen as the key to explaining the change from a synthetic to an analytic language.


Reflexives

Reflexives

Author: Zygmunt Frajzyngier

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 2000-03-15

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 9027298599

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The importance of reflexive markers in the study of language structure cannot be underestimated: they participate in the coding of the argument structure of a clause; in the coding of semantic relations between arguments and verbs; in the coding of the relationship between arguments; in the coding of aspect; in the coding of point of view; and in the Coding of the information structure of a clause. The present volume offers an approach to reflexive forms and functions from several perspectives: a formal approach where reflexives are discussed within a well-defined model of language representation; a typological approach; a historical approach concentrating on grammaticalization of reflexives and on the changes that pronouns and anaphors undergo; and a functionalist approach where functions of reflexive forms are described. The languages from which data were drawn represent a wide variety of language families and language types: English, Old English, Dutch, German, Tsakhur (Nakh-Dagestanian), Spanish, French, Bantu and Chadic languages. The variety of languages discussed and the different approaches taken complement each other in that each contributes an important piece to the understanding of reflexives in a cross-linguistic perspective.


Reflexive Language

Reflexive Language

Author: John A. Lucy

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1993-03-04

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 0521351642

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These innovative essays represent a critique of those researchers in the humanities and social sciences who fail to take language seriously.


The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Author: Lester Kaufman

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2021-04-16

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1119652847

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The bestselling workbook and grammar guide, revised and updated! Hailed as one of the best books around for teaching grammar, The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation includes easy-to-understand rules, abundant examples, dozens of reproducible quizzes, and pre- and post-tests to help teach grammar to middle and high schoolers, college students, ESL students, homeschoolers, and more. This concise, entertaining workbook makes learning English grammar and usage simple and fun. This updated 12th edition reflects the latest updates to English usage and grammar, and includes answers to all reproducible quizzes to facilitate self-assessment and learning. Clear and concise, with easy-to-follow explanations, offering "just the facts" on English grammar, punctuation, and usage Fully updated to reflect the latest rules, along with even more quizzes and pre- and post-tests to help teach grammar Ideal for students from seventh grade through adulthood in the US and abroad For anyone who wants to understand the major rules and subtle guidelines of English grammar and usage, The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation offers comprehensive, straightforward instruction.


Reflexivization

Reflexivization

Author: Leonard M. Faltz

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-11-10

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 1315448661

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This title, first published in 1985, is the result of a cross-linguistic, comparative study of reflexives, with a major role played by syntactic conditions on reflexivization rules. The basic definitions outlined in the book lead to a discussion of morphological types, discussions about syntax, and speculations on the historical origins and destinies of the various kinds of reflexives. This title will be of interest to students of language and linguistics.


Long Distance Reflexives

Long Distance Reflexives

Author: Peter Cole

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2000-10-17

Total Pages: 430

ISBN-13: 1849508747

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This new volume serves to focus and clarify the debate surrounding long-distance reflexives by examining the role of syntax, semantics, and pragmatics/discourse in the use of long-distance reflexives in a variety of languages. It discusses a broad range of questions about syntactic categories and presents a number of theoretical frameworks.


Knowledge of Reflexives in a Second Language

Knowledge of Reflexives in a Second Language

Author: Margaret Thomas

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 1993-10-28

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 9027281769

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This study addresses the debate about whether adult language learners have access to the principles and parameters of universal grammar in constructing the grammar of a second language. The data are based on two related experiments. The first examines the interpretation of English reflexive pronouns by native speakers of Japanese and of Spanish. The second experiment examines the interpretation of the Japanese reflexive zibun by native speakers of English and of Chinese. Three hypotheses are evaluated: (a) that UG is unavailable, and that processing strategies or other non-linguistic principles guide second language acquisition; (b) that UG is available only in the form in which it is instantiated in the learner's native language; (c) that UG is fully available, including the ability to re-set parameters to UG-sanctioned values not instantiated in the learner's native language. The results show that learners observe constraints defined by Manzini and Wexler's parameterized version of Principle A of the binding theory and support the proposal that adult learners have access to universal grammar. A final chapter reviews the experimental data in the light of recent accounts of cross-linguistic variation in the grammar of anaphors which reject parameterization of the binding principles in favor of a “movement to INFL” analysis.


Sentence and Discourse

Sentence and Discourse

Author: Jacqueline Guéron

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2015-10-29

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 019105982X

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This book looks at the relationship between the structure of the sentence and the organization of discourse. While a sentence obeys specific grammatical rules, the coherence of a discourse is instead dependent on the relations between the sentences it contains. In this volume, leading syntacticians, semanticists, and philosophers examine the nature of these relations, where they come from, and how they apply. Chapters in Part I address points of sentence grammar in different languages, including mood and tense in Spanish, definite determiners in French and Bulgarian, and the influence of aktionsart on the acquisition of tense by English, French, and Chinese children. Part II looks at modes of discourse, showing for example how discourse relations create implicatures and how Indirect Discourse differs from Free Indirect Discourse. The studies conclude that the relations between sentences that make a discourse coherent are already encoded in sentence grammar and that, once established, these relations influence the meaning of individual sentences.


English Grammar

English Grammar

Author: Talmy Givón

Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 381

ISBN-13: 9027220999

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The approach to language and grammar that motivates this book is unabashedly functional; grammar is not just a system of empty rules, it is a means to an end, an instrument for constructing concise coherent communication. In grammar as in music, good expression rides on good form. Figuratively and literally, grammar like musical form must make sense. But for the instrument to serve its purpose, it must first exist; the rules must be real, they can be explicitly described and taught. This book is intended for both students and teachers, at college level, for both native and nonnative speakers. With the guidance of a teacher this book will serve as a thorough introduction to the grammar of English. Volume II continues with syntactic and communicative complexity: embedded clauses – verb complements, relative clauses; detransitive voice – passive, anti-passive, impersonal and middle voice, reflexive and reciprocal constructions; focus and topic constructions; nondeclarative speech acts. It closes with interclausal connectivity: conjoined and subordinate clauses, the grammar of discourse coherence, clause chains and thematic paragraphs.