Une structure prédicative sans copule

Le but de cet article est de discuter la structure des constructions prédicatives sans copule du créole haïtien. Nous cherchons à établir la nature et la fonction du se, un élément qui apparaît dans les constructions prédicatives à prédicat nominal. Nous montrons que cette forme est une tête fonctionnelle de type aspectuel dont le rôle est celui d’un élément de liaison qui permet de légitimer des prédicats DP. L’absence obligatoire du se avec les prédicats adjectivaux ou verbaux est liée à l’hypothèse proposée suivant laquelle la tête d’un prédicat de type verbal peut s’associer par mouvement à la tête fonctionnelle qui sert à légitimer la prédication syntaxique.Nous proposons que se est en fait un élément composite qui se subdivise en deux sous-parties, s et e rassemblées au niveau phonologique.L’un des avantages importants de cette analyse est de rendre compte de l’incompatibilité du se avec un sujet pronominal simple lorsque d’autres formes flexionnelles sont présentes.Enfin une brève étude comparative des constructions prédicatives de l’hébreu et de l’arabe marocain souligne l’universalité de certains aspects de ces constructions et de l’analyse proposée.The aim of this paper is to discuss the structure of predicate constructions without a copula in Haitian Creole. We try to establish the nature and the function of se, an item which appears in predicate constructions with a nominal predicate. We demonstrate that this form corresponds to an aspectuel type of functional head and that its role is to license DP predicates. The obligatory absence of se with adjectival or verbal predicates is related to the proposed hypothesis which follows that the head of a verbal type of predicate can merge by movement with the functional head which serves to license syntactic predication.We propose that se is in fact a composed element which is subdivided in two parts, s and e, united at the phonological level. One important advantage of this analysis is to give an account of the incompatibility of se with a simple pronominal subject when other inflectional items appear.Finally, a brief comparative study of predicate constructions from Hebrew and Moroccan Arabic emphasizes the universality of certain aspects of these constructions and of the proposed analysis

Valeurs sémantiques et pragmatique des pluriels créoles : Une comparaison des pluriels mauriciens et haïtiens

En plus de la notion de pluriel qu’ils expriment, les morphèmes pluriels créoles attribuent un sens ajouté de définitude ou de spécificité aux expressions nominales qu’ils déterminent. Toutefois, les valeurs sémantiques et pragmatiques mises en jeu par ces morphèmes restent jusqu’à présent largement floues et demandent à être clarifiées pour permettre une meilleure compréhension de ce phénomène. De surcroit, on ignore encore tout sur la question de la valeur comparative de ce sens ajouté dans différentes langues. Est-il largement identique dans différents créoles ou y a-t-il des différences selon les langues, et si oui de quelle nature ? Pour commencer à aborder ces questions, cet article rapporte les résultats d’une comparaison détaillée des usages et propriétés des morphèmes pluriels dans deux créoles à base lexicale française, le créole Haïtien et le créole Mauricien. En plus de s’être appuyé sur les jugements de plusieurs locuteurs natifs, ce travail fournit une étude qualitative et quantitative de l’usage des pluriels dans un corpus comparatif des traductions créoles de l’œuvre de St Exupéry, le Petit Prince en Haïtien et en Mauricien. Cet article vise à illustrer les notions pragmatiques et sémantiques mises en jeu de façon plus empirique que théorique pour brosser un paysage détaillé des usages possibles de ces pluriels créoles.In addition to plurality, creole plural morphemes, often confer an added meaning of specificity or definiteness to the nominal expressions they mark. However, a precise characterization of the semantic/pragmatic notions into play here has yet to be closely examined. Concurrently, the question of whether this added meaning is largely fixed across distinct creoles or plural morphemes, or subject to cross-linguistic variations has yet to be considered. In this article, we report the results of a comparative study of the properties of two creole plural morphemes in two distinct French-lexifier creoles, Haitian Creole (HC) and Mauritian Creole (MC). Besides relying on native speakers’ intuitions, we conducted a comparative qualitative and quantitative corpus study of the use of these plural morphemes in the respective adaptation of the story of the Little Prince by Antoine De St Exupery in these two creoles. This article aims at illustrating the semantic and pragmatic notions at play more empirically than theoretically so as to offer a detailed landscape of the uses of these creole plurals

Seismic and aseismic deformation along the East African Rift System from a reanalysis of the GPS velocity field of Africa

International audienceThe improvement of the geodetic coverage within the African Plate over the last decade together with an extended GPS position time-series allows improved accuracy in determining the velocity field than prior geodetic studies. Using this new velocity field of the whole African continent, the best model proposed here remains consistent with previous studies including the existence of two small plates along the East African Rift System (EARS, Victoria and Rovuma).We focus specifically on the velocities along this plate boundary by estimating both the geodetic and the seismic moment rate.Whereas we use a scalar form of the Kostrov relation to calculate the geodetic moment rate, the seismic moment rate is obtained by integrating the cumulative truncated Gutenberg-Richter earthquake distribution of local events in the 39-yr-long worldwide catalogue, using a maximum likelihood method. This statistical method allows us to take into account the probable incompleteness of the existing catalogue and to assume the seismic moment rate calculated from this short catalogue to be representative of the long-term seismic deformation. The comparison of geodetic and seismic energy release sheds light on the variations of mechanical behaviour related to intracontinental extension along the EARS. The southward increase, observed along the rift, of the proportion of geodetic moment seismically accommodated suggests a significant control of the thermal structure associated with different states of rifting evolution

On the typology of syntactic positions and the nature of chains : move [alpha] to the specifier of functional projections

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, 1990.On t.p. "[alpha]" is the original Greek letter.Includes bibliographical references (p. 500-507).by Viviane M. Déprez.Ph.D

In silico-in vitro screening of protein-protein interactions: towards the next generation of therapeutics.

International audienceProtein-protein interactions (PPIs) have a pivotal role in many biological processes suggesting that targeting macromolecular complexes will open new avenues for the design of the next generation of therapeutics. A wide range of "in silico methods" can be used to facilitate the design of protein-protein modulators. Among these methods, virtual ligand screening, protein-protein docking, structural predictions and druggable pocket predictions have become established techniques for hit discovery and optimization. In this review, we first summarize some key data about protein-protein interfaces and introduce some recently reported computer methods pertaining to the field. URLs for several recent free packages or servers are also provided. Then, we discuss four studies aiming at developing PPI modulators through the combination of in silico and in vitro screening experiments

Probing resonating valence bonds on a programmable germanium quantum simulator

Simulations using highly tunable quantum systems may enable investigations of condensed matter systems beyond the capabilities of classical computers. Quantum dots and donors in semiconductor technology define a natural approach to implement quantum simulation. Several material platforms have been used to study interacting charge states, while gallium arsenide has also been used to investigate spin evolution. However, decoherence remains a key challenge in simulating coherent quantum dynamics. Here, we introduce quantum simulation using hole spins in germanium quantum dots. We demonstrate extensive and coherent control enabling the tuning of multi-spin states in isolated, paired, and fully coupled quantum dots. We then focus on the simulation of resonating valence bonds and measure the evolution between singlet product states which remains coherent over many periods. Finally, we realize four-spin states with $s$-wave and $d$-wave symmetry. These results provide means to perform non-trivial and coherent simulations of correlated electron systems.Comment: Article main text and Supplementary Information Main text: 9 pages, 5 figures Supplementary Information: 15 pages, 9 figure

Friction and Wear Studies Using Taguchi Method: Application to the Characterization of Carbon-Silicon Carbide Tribological Couples of Automotive Water Pump Seals

An experimental design based on the Taguchi method has been applied to optimize the use of a dynamic sealing element of water pump of automotives combustion engines. A carbon primary ring and a silicon carbide mating ring set up this dynamic sealing element. The aim of this work was to experimentally determine the crossed influence of the primary ring variant, the normal load, the surrounding, the mating ring finishing, and the rotational frequency on the dynamic friction coefficient and on the wear of carbon primary ring-silicon carbide mating ring tribological couples. The coefficient of dynamic friction and the wear depend on the design factors. They are also functions of the interactions between these experimental factors, from the implementation of an experimental design. The results obtained allow the optimal functioning condition to be determined and the best friction couple to be used for a given dynamic sealing application