Issues on topics

The present volume contains papers that bear mainly on issues concerning the topic concept. This concept is of course very broad and diverse. Also, different views are expressed in this volume. Some authors concentrate on the status of topics and non-topics in so-called topic prominent languages (i.e. Chinese), others focus on the syntactic behavior of topical constituents in specific European languages (German, Greek, Romance languages). The last contribution tries to bring together the concept of discourse topic (a non-syntactic notion) and the concept of sentence topic, i.e. that type of topic that all the preceding papers are concerned with

The null hypothesis for fiction and logical indiscipline

The literature on the semantics of fiction is long-standing and voluminous. The null hypothesis, however, is rarely seriously entertained. Such a hypothesis simply denies that the fiction/non-fiction distinction is a semantic one, and so just like other statements, fictive ones of all kinds might be true or false depending on how the world is, and their truth conditions involve no ontological exotica or bespoke semantic machinery for their specification. As far as language goes, we might say, there just is no fiction. The present paper attempts nothing as ambitious as a full articulation and defence of this position; still less a refutation of the extant alternatives that are the focus of contemporary discussion. Much of the work in this regard, however, has been done in various ways by Ludlow (2006), Azzouni (2010), Friend (2012), Crane (2013), and Collins (2021a). Instead, my aim is to raise and dispel what might seem conclusive evidence against the null hypothesis. If nothing else, then, I'd like the null hypothesis to be rendered as a genuine null hypothesis from which we need a reason to depart

Level theory, part 1: Axiomatizing the bare idea of a cumulative hierarchy of sets

The following bare-bones story introduces the idea of a cumulative hierarchy of pure sets: ‘Sets are arranged in stages. Every set is found at some stage. At any stage S: for any sets found before S, we find a set whose members are exactly those sets. We find nothing else at S.’ Surprisingly, this story already guarantees that the sets are arranged in well-ordered levels, and suffices for quasi-categoricity. I show this by presenting Level Theory, a simplification of set theories due to Scott, Montague, Derrick, and Potte

Lelepa: topics in the grammar of a Vanuatu language

This thesis discusses topics in the grammar of Lelepa, an Oceanic language spoken by about 500 people on the islands of Lelepa and Efate in the centre of the Vanuatu archipelago. The areas of grammar covered in the thesis are phonology (chapter 2), morphology (chapter 3), word classes (chapter 4), noun phrases (chapter 5), possession (chapter 6), clause structure and grammatical relations (chapter 7), verb classes and valency changing devices (chapter 8), the verb complex (chapter 9), complex predicates (chapter 10), aspect and modality (chapter 11), coordination and subordination (chapter 12). The phonemic inventory is of medium to small size, with fourteen consonants and five vowels. It includes two typologically rare labial-velar consonants. Stress is not phonemic. Syllables can be complex and consonant clusters are allowed in onset and coda positions. The most important phonological process is vowel reduction, which represent a significant driver of language change. Clausal word order is SVO. Oblique arguments follow the object(s), and adjuncts occur in initial or final position in the clause. An exception is the benefactive phrase, an adjunct encoding beneficiaries which occurs between the subject proclitic and the verb, and makes the verb complex a discontinuous structure. The benefactive phrase is cross-linguistically unusual and makes central Vanuatu languages distinctive. Of typological interest is the split dividing objects along two classes of transitive verbs. It has its source in a semantic distinction between significantly affected Ps and less affected Ps. However, the split is lexical because borrowed transitive verbs are systematically classified with verbs taking less affected Ps regardless of the degree of affectedness of their P. Lelepa has serial verb constructions but has also developed other verbal constructions grouped in the class of complex predicates, which comprise auxiliary verbs, serial verbs, post-verbs and viii clause-final particles. These encode a broad range of semantic distinctions including aspectual, modal and directional values, manner, intensification, cause-effect and result. Lelepa distinguishes between inalienable and alienable possession, but the possessive constructions have diverged from the typical Oceanic model. In particular, relational classifiers are not found in the language, and a construction reflecting alienable relationships distinguishes between human and non-human possessors. An unusual feature is the marking of mood and transitivity on certain verbs with Stem Initial Mutation. In this process, verbs switch their initial consonant from /f/ to /p/ according to particular mood and transitivity values. This process is known in Vanuatu language but often limited to mood marking, whereas Lelepa and other central Vanuatu languages also mark transitivity. The morphological structure is agglutinative, but many grammatical features are encoded by particles, especially in the verb complex. In the nominal domain, inflectional affixes include possessor-indexing suffixes, a prefixed article and derivational affixes generating deverbal nouns. Compounding is a feature of both nouns and verbs. Word classes are clearly defined, and the main open classes are nouns and verbs. Nominals can be derived through nominalisation of verb roots or substantivisation, a process deriving referential items from all word classes except nouns and pronouns

Semantic stability within English idiomatic expressions

The aim of this thesis is to address a gap in historical semantics concerning idiomatic expressions by testing the hypothesis that an idiom can change its meaning over time while retaining its initial form. The linguistic literature so far has been focused on semantic change in words, on diachronic patterns according to which a lexeme changes, and on grammatical constructions that have gone through grammaticalization or lexicalization processes. This thesis presents a study of idiomatic expressions, where idiom is defined as a fixed multi-word expression with non-compositional meaning. A historical corpus of English within a period of 140 years has been designed that allows for the same idiom to be traced back and its usage contexts to be compared. Using diachronic methods similar to the ones used for the study of single words (e.g. frequency of co-occurrence, semantic fields, synonymous substitution), I have analysed 28 idioms in terms of semantic change. The findings show that idiomatic expressions are able to acquire additional meanings over time. I identified common patterns in the development of idiom meaning, and one of the common trajectories appears to be from a specific, narrow meaning towards more generalized, broader meaning and vice versa, often in relation with metaphorical and/or metonymical changes. The results indicate that the less opaque and fixed an idiom is, the more open it is to additional meanings. Further research would benefit from a wider time span and a bigger sample to incorporate more types of idiomatic expressions

Medieval Disability Sourcebook

The field of disability studies significantly contributes to contemporary discussions of the marginalization of and social justice for individuals with disabilities. However, what of disability in the past? The Medieval Disability Sourcebook: Western Europe explores what medieval texts have to say about disability, both in their own time and for the present.This interdisciplinary volume on medieval Europe combines historical records, medical texts, and religious accounts of saints’ lives and miracles, as well as poetry, prose, drama, and manuscript images to demonstrate the varied and complicated attitudes medieval societies had about disability. Far from recording any monolithic understanding of disability in the Middle Ages, these contributions present a striking range of voices—to, from, and about those with disabilities—and such diversity only confirms how disability permeated (and permeates) every aspect of life.The Medieval Disability Sourcebook is designed for use inside the undergraduate or graduate classroom or by scholars interested in learning more about medieval Europe as it intersects with the field of disability studies. Most texts are presented in modern English, though some are preserved in Middle English and many are given in side-by-side translations for greater study. Each entry is prefaced with an academic introduction to disability within the text as well as a bibliography for further study. This sourcebook is the first in a proposed series focusing on disability in a wide range of premodern cultures, histories, and geographies

Ancient Tahitian Society

“Tahiti is far famed yet too little known.” Thus wrote J. M. Orsmond in 1848, and the same assertion can be made in 1972. Thousands of pages had been published about Tahiti and its neighboring islands when Orsmond uttered his judgment, and tens of thousands have been published since that time, but a unified, comprehensive, and detailed description of the pre-European ways of life of the inhabitants of those Islands is yet to appear in print. The present work, lengthy as it is, makes no such claim to comprehensiveness; rather, it is concerned mainly with the social relations of those inhabitants, and it serves up only enough about their technology, their religion, their aesthetic expressions, and so forth to place descriptions of their social relations in context and render them more comprehensible. Volumes 1 and 2 of this work are a reconstruction of the Islanders’ way of life as it was believed to have been just before it began to be transformed by European influence—a period labeled the Late Indigenous Era. Volume 3 covers events in Tahiti and Mo‘orea from about 1767 to 1815—a period labeled the Early European Era

A critical ethnography of Kreol Morisien as an optional language in primary education within the Republic of Mauritius

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDThis research is a critical ethnography of KM in primary schools. Its purpose is to explore the link between heritage language and identity construction. My central research question is: how does the introduction of KM as an optional language in primary education shape Creole pupils' language identity construction in Mauritius? The research studied the overall impact of KM on two schools which I selected as research sites. Research participants were pupils of Standard I-II-III, head of schools, teachers and parents. I also selected some key informants. The study was placed within the international literature on heritage language and identity construction. The research is significant in the sense that it was conducted at the initial stages of the introduction of KM in schools. It might be of interest for future studies as its findings would serve to understand the place of KM in schools. At the same time looking at KM as a heritage language set against the 'ancestral languages' has not been done before. It contributes to other ways of looking at 'heritage' in a global world. I elaborated a conceptual framework based on classical Marxism, post-structural Marxism, French theories and post-colonial studies. I applied critically the theoretical lens in the Critical Theory Tradition which basically challenges the status quo. This study drew implications for language teaching policy and practice and the teaching of KM as a tool for empowerment and human agency. This research indicated the learners' views as to how their exposure to Kreol Morisien in the classroom shapes their ability to construct new, desired identities within local, national or global communities. The research design was based on a critical ethnographic approach whereby the researcher and the participants find themselves in a reciprocal human experience. Research instruments that were used were ethnographic interviews, class observations, document analysis complemented by the Delphi Method which is a forecast study of future trends. I got five findings. First, Creole consciousness movement underpinned the introduction of KM as an optional language in primary education. Second, parents chose KM on a purely utilitarian basis. Third, the curriculum and syllabus do not reflect and support the Creole identity and culture. Fourth, there was an invisibility and ambiguity about Creole culture in the school textbook. Finally, the pedagogy used to teach KM as an optional language created motivation and self-esteem. This study which was conducted during the first three years of the introduction of KM in two primary schools indicates that the presence of KM did not however, really enhance the identity of the Creole children as the curriculum, syllabus and textbook did not reflect and support the Creole culture and identity. KM was an additional language subject which certainly seduced by its novelty but it did not bring great changes as were expected. But KM does open avenues for adjustments and initiatives for an alternative programme in KM as heritage language and culture which could be implemented outside school. Such initiative would foster KM in its double identity of being both an ethnic and national language plus its future use as medium of instruction