Similarity in linguistic categorization: The importance of necessary properties

Usage-based models of language propose that the acceptability of an element in a constructional slot is determined by its similarity to attested fillers of that slot (Bybee 2010, ch. 4). However, Ambridge and Goldberg (2008) find that the acceptability of a long-distance-dependency (LDD) question does not correlate with the judged similarity of the matrix verb to think and say, which are by far the most frequently attested fillers of this slot. They propose instead that the acceptability of LDD questions is determined by the degree of fit between the information-structure properties of the matrix verb and those specified by the construction—specifically, the degree to which the matrix verb foregrounds its complement clause. This paper explores the possibility of reconciling this explanation with one based on similarity by suggesting that in this case the relevant aspect of similarity is precisely the verb’s foregrounding of its complement. Evidence for this suggestion comes from psychological research showing that in a categorization task, the similarity of an item to the exemplars of a category is judged primarily with respect to the features common to all category members, as well as from the observation that virtually all attested matrix verbs in LDD questions strongly tend to foreground their complements

Operationalising Cognitive Grammar: Experimental and theoretical approaches

One of the main advantages of cognitive linguistics (and in particular Cognitive Grammar) over other approaches to the study of language structure is the fact that every descriptive construct is defined in psychological terms. This means, ideally, that any cognitive linguistic description of a word or grammatical construction constitutes a hypothesis about the mental representation of that structure. It should thus be possible to verify such descriptions, or to decide between competing analyses of a phenomenon, by experimentally testing the hypotheses that they entail. Such tests have been rare, however, due to the difficulty of operationalising many of the semantic notions used in Cognitive Grammar. The present thesis reports on attempts to operationalise and test (using questionnaires, production tasks, and reaction time measurements) four descriptive claims formulated in the framework of Cognitive Grammar: that finite complementation constructions are headed by the complement-taking predicate; that the first object in a three-argument clause is more “figure-like” than the second object; that impersonal there in an existential clause refers to the locative scene as a whole; and that non-finite clauses encourage the hearer to imagine the described event as a single gestalt, whereas finite clauses encourage them to imagine it unfolding over time. These grammatical analyses crucially involve the notions of “profiling”, “focal prominence”, and “mode of scanning”, which are central to Cognitive Grammar. None of the experiments conducted produced conclusive results, leaving open the question of whether the descriptive constructs used in the analyses are really necessary. Accordingly, the second part of the thesis presents an attempt to reconceptualise Cognitive Grammar using only descriptive constructs that are known to be easily operationalisable; in particular, giving prominence to notions from discourse pragmatics and prosodic phonology

The Dimensions of Morphosyntactic Variation: Whorf, Greenberg and Nichols were right

We examine a database of 3089 languages coded for 351 morphosyntactic features, including almost all of the morphosyntactic features found in The World Atlas of Language Structures (Dryer & Haspelmath 2013). We apply Factor Analysis of Mixed Data, and determine that the main dimensions of global morphological variation involve (1) word order in clauses and adpositional phrases, (2) head- versus dependent-marking, and (3) a set of features that show an east-west distribution. We find roughly the same features clustering in similar dimensions when we examine individual macro-areas, thus confirming the universal relevance of these groupings of features, as encapsulated in well-known implicational universals. This study confirms established insights in linguistic typology, extending earlier research to a much larger set of languages, and uncovers a number of areal patterns in the data

Post COVID-19 multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adults: a new clinical challenge

The spectrum of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues to evolve since its outbreak in November 2019. Although COVID-19 most commonly causes substantial respiratory pathology, it can also result in several extra pulmonary manifestations. Association between COVID-19 disease and a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and adolescents has now been well defined. However, case reports describing a similar phenomenon in adults are sparse. We presented a case of 42 year old male who presented 3 weeks after initial COVID-19 infection with acute ST elevation myocardial infarction, splenic artery thrombosis, generalized anasarca, with hepatic and renal dysfunction, but minimal respiratory symptoms. He had a turbulent hospital course. However timely suspicion of presence of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in adult (MIS-A) and use of hemoadsorption filters helped to save his life

Development and Evaluation of an Electrode for the Capacitive Deionization Unit

Abstract: The existing conventional technologies like Reverse Osmosis, EDI(Electro Deionization

Side effects of messenger RNA vaccines and prior history of COVID-19, a cross-sectional study

Background There are concerns regarding immunogenicity with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mRNA vaccines among persons with prior history of COVID-19 (PHC). This study was to analyze the short-term side effects of mRNA vaccines among health care workers (HCWs) with and without PHC. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed using an independent online survey questionnaire that gathered responses from HCWs. Results Among 1,475 HCWs, 1268 (85.97%) completed the survey, 102/1268 (44/447 in Moderna group and 58/821 in Pfizer-BioNTech group) reported PHC during pre-vaccination period. Symptoms of flushing/P = .05, brain fogging/P= .005, vertigo/P= .041, numbness/P= .023, diarrhea/P= .047, hives/P= .028, itching/P= .028, swelling of lips/mouth/P= .001, shortness of breath/P= .022, and anxiety/P= .048 have greater occurrence among Pfizer-BioNtech group with PHC when compared to Pfizer-BioNtech group with no PHC. Symptoms of chills/P= .027, flushing/P= .045, tremor/P= .05, muscle spasm/P= .039, vomiting/P= .031, diarrhea/P= .015, and cough/P= .011 have higher occurrence among Moderna group with PHC when compared to Moderna group with no PHC. Conclusions Few short-term side effects among mRNA vaccine recipients with PHC may have necessitated transient time-off from work. The PHC can be considered as a predictor for severity of side effects. While the vaccination program continues in the United States, a future COVID legislation that mandates vaccination among employees along with paid time off provision may help with higher compliance and acceptance

When the waves meet the trees: A response to Jacques and list

This work contributes to the research program ”Investissements d’Avenir,” overseen by the French National Research Agency (ANR-10-LABX-0083): LabEx Empirical Foundations of Linguistics, Strand 3 – “Typology and dynamics of linguistic systems.

Automatic identification and visualization of linguistic areas

Abstract of presentation for ALS201

When the waves meet the trees: A response to Jacques and List

International audienceThis special issue of the _Journal of Historical Linguistics_, titled “Understanding language genealogy: Alternatives to the tree model”, was created with the idea of opening a constructive debate around the issues raised by the Tree model. We (Kalyan and François) had previously published articles highlighting the shortcomings of the tree for representing language history, and promoting an approach – called Historical Glottometry – based on the Wave model (François 2014, 2017; Kalyan & François 2018). We invited two historical linguists, Guillaume Jacques and Johann-Mattis List, as discussants in our volume; their chapter “Save the trees: Why we need tree models in linguistic reconstruction” [doi:10.1075/jhl.17008.mat] argued in favour of the Tree model – and this is our final response.In this response article, we review our apparently conflicting perspectives, but endeavour to find common ground between them – hence the title “when the waves meet the trees”. We show that our differences are partly due to distinct definitions of key concepts (subgroup, shared innovations…). We also show that the argument of “Incomplete lineage sorting”, which they use to defend the tree, could as well defend the wave model, since it can capture the key notion of intersecting innovations that is so prevalent in linkages, and so problematic in the traditional tree approach.The final part of our response shows how Historical Glottometry (HG) provides a way to reconstruct the historical process of ‘linkage breaking’, whereby a dialect continuum breaks progressively into separate languages. All in all, our two approaches are fundamentally compatible – even though we find the Wave model, ultimately, to be more realistic

Freeing the Comparative Method from the tree model: A framework for Historical Glottometry

International audienceSince the beginnings of historical linguistics, the family tree has been the most widely accepted model for representing historical relations between languages. While this sort of representation is easy to grasp, and allows for a simple, attractive account of the development of a language family, the assumptions made by the tree model are applicable in only a small number of cases: namely, when a speaker population undergoes successive splits, with subsequent loss of contact among subgroups. A tree structure is unsuited for dealing with dialect continua, as well as language families that develop out of dialect continua (for which Ross 1988 uses the term “linkage”); in these situations, the scopes of innovations (in other words, their isoglosses) are not nested, but rather they persistently intersect, so that any proposed tree representation is met with abundant counterexamples. In this paper, we define “Historical Glottometry”, a new method capable of identifying and representing genealogical subgroups even when they intersect. Finally, we apply this glottometric method to a specific linkage, consisting of 17 Oceanic languages spoken in northern Vanuatu. Kalyan, Siva and Alexandre François. 2018. Freeing the Comparative Method from the tree model: A framework for Historical Glottometry