The Acquisition of Grammatical Marking of Indefiniteness with the Indefinite Article a in L2 English

The article system is a notorious source of difficulty for second language (L2) learners of English, largely because it is based on a complex set of abstract distinctions which are, to some extent, arbitrarily mapped onto surface forms (a, the, and zero). This difficulty is only compounded when learners’ first languages (L1s) do not share the same surface features and/or the same semantic conceptualizations with the target language (TL). This study is about the acquisition of grammatical marking of indefiniteness in L2 English as exemplified by a learner’s use of the indefinite article a. The ways in which L2 acquirers manage to make sense of English articles and even the cases when they do not offer fascinating insights into learners’ cognition (Young, 1996). The specific focus of this study is on whether differences in the grammatical treatment of indefiniteness in L1 and L2 correspond with detectable and systematic differences in interlanguage (Selinker, 1972)

An Abstract Machine for Unification Grammars

This work describes the design and implementation of an abstract machine, Amalia, for the linguistic formalism ALE, which is based on typed feature structures. This formalism is one of the most widely accepted in computational linguistics and has been used for designing grammars in various linguistic theories, most notably HPSG. Amalia is composed of data structures and a set of instructions, augmented by a compiler from the grammatical formalism to the abstract instructions, and a (portable) interpreter of the abstract instructions. The effect of each instruction is defined using a low-level language that can be executed on ordinary hardware. The advantages of the abstract machine approach are twofold. From a theoretical point of view, the abstract machine gives a well-defined operational semantics to the grammatical formalism. This ensures that grammars specified using our system are endowed with well defined meaning. It enables, for example, to formally verify the correctness of a compiler for HPSG, given an independent definition. From a practical point of view, Amalia is the first system that employs a direct compilation scheme for unification grammars that are based on typed feature structures. The use of amalia results in a much improved performance over existing systems. In order to test the machine on a realistic application, we have developed a small-scale, HPSG-based grammar for a fragment of the Hebrew language, using Amalia as the development platform. This is the first application of HPSG to a Semitic language.Comment: Doctoral Thesis, 96 pages, many postscript figures, uses pstricks, pst-node, psfig, fullname and a macros fil

Of Contradictions and Tautologies

According to one standard semantic definition of a contradiction, a sentence is a contradiction if (and only if) it is false in every model, whereas a sentence is a tautology if (and only if) it is true in every model. This dissertation explores three reinterpretations of these definitions, each of which seeks to extend the coverage of these definitions to new phenomena in natural language. The first reinterpretation excludes all models in which a term is undefined, and is used to classify certain Existential There Sentences as either contradictions or tautologies. The second reinterpretation excludes the very few models in which a sentence whose subject is a but-phrase that is headed by a non-universal determiner is true. The final reinterpretation requires that we shift our focus from models, to the more inclusive concept of an interpretation, and classifies a sentence whose meaning is compatible with only one interpretation that is always false as a contradiction. An example of this strategy is any statement of support for the position that all quantification is restricted in natural language, e.g. I am not quantifying over everything. The dominant focus of these reinterpretations has been the behaviour of the data in the sanctioned models (or interpretations). A strategy, I will argue, that does not yield nearly as much insight into the semantic properties of natural language as a close study of these constructions in the excluded models (or interpretations). The topics covered include the odd truth value assignment to Existential There Sentences in which a term is undefined, the influence of Grice's maxims of conversation on the distribution of DPs in but-phrases, and the possibly related phenomenon of sentences in which the subject is modified by a sentence initial only, and finally, the impossibility of expressing the content of the view that all quantification is restricted in natural language

Imagination + Imagery: A Model for Design Pedagogy

abstract: The Imagination + Imagery model for design pedagogy is presented. Two studies were conducted to develop the model: (a) the visual imagery assessment of design students; and (b) a historical research on the concept of imagination. Results suggest the following implications as the components of strong imagination for design thinkers: (a) the ability to shape vivid images of objects in mind; (b) the ability to mentally transform the spatial representations of images; (c) to consider the ethical consequences of imagined situation; (d) to use imagination for resolving design wicked problems; and (e) to actively imagine for mental and emotional health.Dissertation/ThesisMasters Thesis Design 201

A study of the perceptions and worldviews of mature age pre-service teachers aged between 31 and 53 years

This study presents the perceptions and worldviews of 17 mature age second-career pre-service teachers in career transition. The aim was to explore the experience of becoming a primary school teacher after a first career. The second-career pre-service teachers were enrolled on a fulltime basis at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE/UT). The primary data were collected from 17 separate interviews of approximately 1 h; over two separate calendar years, which totalled a five-month interviewing period. The interviewees volunteered to be part of the study and were aged between 31 and 53 and enrolled in two high academic entry-level accelerated programmes for graduates. The interviewees had previous undergraduate degrees and numerous years’ experience working in a variety of other careers. The overall findings are that individuals who have been involved in well-established careers, present distinct perceptions of teaching, that are not only separate from traditional younger pre-service teachers, but remain as significant factors throughout their teaching programmes. It is argued that perceptions could in turn shape their pedagogy in ways that are either profitable or problematic to primary teaching

Sand plain fynbos conservation : the Kenilworth Racecourse case study

Bibliography: pages 114-122.The current extent of Sand Plain Fynbos and threats to its survival are examined, with a view to proposing effective means of managing areas of high conservation priority. Extensive depletion of Sand Plain Fynbos has resulted from agricultural development, urbanisation and its susceptibility to invasion by introduced woody plant species. The need to conserve this veld type is apparent in that only 0.05% of the original Cape Flats Sand Plain Fynbos still survives within scattered refugia. A mere 3.8% of this already minute fraction is represented in proclaimed nature reserves, clearly illustrating the neglected conservation status of this veld type. The majority of the remaining habitat owes its survival, albeit in various stages of degradation, to low impact land uses not related to conservation per se. The in-fields of the three racecourses on the Cape Flats in total comprise the land use supporting the largest area of Sand Plain Fynbos. This suggests the potential compatibility of such a land use with conservation in the longer term. Of the three racecourses, Kenilworth is the most important in terms of area, diversity and unprecedented numbers of threatened flora and fauna of the fynbos it supports. This provides a case study on which to base an assessment of the trends in species survival on small remnants. A historical backdrop to the isolation and degradation of the Kenilworth Racecourse and neighbouring remnants is provided. The predictions of conservation theory for the long-term viability of such small and isolated remnants are then reviewed. To determine the effects of recent events and processes on the conservation merits of Kenilworth Racecourse, species extinctions and turnover from 1950 to the present are determined for the flora and avifauna respectively. Past and current species checklists form the basis of this analysis. Causes of species loss are investigated by comparing the physical attributes and habitat preferences of the species present with those which have apparently become extinct locally. The influence of private landownership on the conservation security of Kenilworth Racecourse is of fundamental importance to its future conservation. In this respect, the likelihood of change in land use of the in-field fynbos, as well as the Racecourse area as a whole, is a crucial factor addressed in this study. The present and future operating requirements of the Racecourse Management are also determined and their likely effects on the natural system are assessed. The study establishes a need for conservation management at Kenilworth Racecourse. The approach adopted to achieve the ongoing conservation of the area is through the development of a Conservation Management Plan. The latter has been derived through reasoned and personal interaction with the Racecourse Management and is aimed towards integrating the needs of the Management with the ecological requirements for the natural system under its control. The creation of corridors to facilitate migration of biota, as well as the reintroduction of those species which have become extinct locally, are described as an adjunct to these proposals. The implementation of an organised burn programme is proposed as a management procedure to counteract species loss. Evaluation of initial success resulting from the Management Plan reveals that there is now an improved communication channel with the Management. This encompasses moral obligations for eradication of alien vegetation, abstention from further drainage of wetlands, prevention of future encroachment of parking within the natural system and an agreement to cease indiscriminate dumping of refuse material. A major constraint facing the conservation of the area is the reluctance of the Management to allow public interest groups direct involvement with monitoring and implementation of proposals presented within the Management Plan. The research findings and conservation management approach generated by the study are important because they have potential for promoting the long term conservation of analogous remnants, not only within the fynbos biome, but in other similar systems further afield. Although threats exist to the ongoing survival of Sand Plain Fynbos remnants, these should not prejudice their selection as areas worthy of sound conservation management. Remnants have inherent value as refugia. They are also of potential importance as sites for reintroduction of species that have become extinct locally, as educational resources and as relatively low-maintenance open spaces within the urban landscape

On the veridicality of perfective clause-embedding verbs in Polish

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der wahrheitsbasierten Bedeutung perfektiver satzeinbettender Prädikate im Polnischen, i.e. mit dem Zusammenhang zwischen Aspekt und Wahrheitsinferenz. Den Kern meiner Dissertation bilden sogenannte ‚reveal-type predicates‘ wie ‘beweisen’, ‘zeigen’ oder ‘offenbaren [dass]’. In Abhängigkeit von deren aspektueller Markierung bringen sie entweder eine maximale (bei perfektiven Verben) oder eine partielle Evidenz (bei imperfektiven Verben) für die Wahrheit einer eingebetteten Proposition mit sich. Nur wenn die Evidenz maximal ist, wird der dass-Satz notwendigerweise als wahr interpretiert. Ich habe gezeigt, dass maximale Evidenz einer totalen Affiziertheit eines nominalen inkrementellen Themas (wie z. B. in ‘einen Schrank bauen.pfv’) entspricht (Maximalität von Evidenz = Maximalität vom Schrank). Somit sind reveal-type predicates inkrementell. Außerdem habe ich eine Akzeptabilitätsstudie mit 51 polnischen MuttersprachlerInnen geplant und durchgeführt, die die Veridikalität des Perfektivs und die Neutralität des Imperfektivs bestätigt hat. Die Interpretation der Ergebnisse wurde um eine Korpusuntersuchung ergänzt. Basierend auf den theoretischen Beobachtungen und den Studienergebnissen habe ich eine einheitliche Analyse für inkrementelle Verben vorgeschlagen, die entweder ein nominales oder ein propositionales Objekt verlangen. Die von mir für das Polnische entdeckten Korrelationen gelten auch für andere slawische (Tschechisch, Russisch) und einige nicht-slawische Sprachen (austronesische Sprachen, Französisch, Ungarisch).In my dissertation, I investigated a systematic interaction between the perfective aspect of a clause-embedding verb and a truth-oriented interpretation of embedded propositions in Polish. I demonstrated that the so-called reveal-type predicates (‘prove’, ‘reveal’, ‘show [that]’) are in complementary distribution with respect to triggering truth-related meaning of their sentential complements. Whereas perfective variants enforce embedded propositions to be true, imperfective counterparts are almost only compatible with false (or neutral) propositions. I further showed that clause-embedding reveal-type predicates exhibit an incremental structure and can therefore be treated by analogy to verbs that combine with nominal incremental themes. In the former case, we have a gradual creation of a proof, whereas in the latter case, we have a gradual creation of an object like ‘wardrobe’ (maximality of evidence = maximality of a wardrobe). I proposed a novel analysis of incremental theme verbs that combine with either nouns or clauses. According to my analysis, one possible realization of a partial-total affectedness of an incremental theme is a gradual creation of a proof for an embedded proposition. In order to obtain empirical evidence for the (non-)veridicality of (im)perfective reveal-type predicates in Polish, I conducted an acceptability judgement study with 51 Polish native speakers. I further conducted a corpus-based analysis of the frequency of investigated lexemes, which completed the interpretation of results. Apart from Polish, I provided evidence from other Slavic languages (Czech, Russian) and some non-Slavic languages (Austronesian languages, French, Hungarian)

David, Some Davids, and All Davids: Reference, Category Change, and Bearerhood of Real-Life Names

[eng] This essay is devoted to the study of proper names. Although the view that sees proper names as referential singular terms is widely considered orthodoxy, there is a growing popularity to the view that proper names are predicates. This is partly because the orthodoxy faces two anomalies that Predicativism can solve: on the one hand, proper names can have multiple bearers. But multiple bearerhood is prima facie a problem to the idea that proper names have just one individual as referent. On the other hand, proper names can have predicative uses. But the view that proper names are singular terms arguably does not have the resources to deal with these uses. In this dissertation I argue that the Predicate View of proper names is mistaken. In the first part of the thesis, I analyse this view in its main con- tentions and offer several arguments to reject it. This critical exercise provides useful insight into the life of proper names that I incorporate in my own view as follows: I argue that the behaviour of proper names should be understood in light of the wider phenomenon I call category change. Thus, I maintain, with orthodoxy, that proper names are fundamentally referential terms, but I also argue that they also have other uses, including the predicative uses highlighted by the predicativist. I also offer a semantic theory according to which proper names are polyreferential, that is, they are terms that can have more than one referent in a way that is distinct from both plural terms and general terms. This theory resolves the problem of multiple bearerhood and provides a base to account for all other uses of proper names that are not referential, i.e., common noun, adjectival and verbal uses, as semantically derived from the more fundamental referential meaning