Abstract structures for moods in Greek

It is my intention to make two major points in this paper: 1. The first has to do with finding a frame within which the modal expressions of one particular Ancient IE [Indoeuropean] language – I have chosen Classical Greek – can be best described. I shall try to point out that the regularities which we find in these expressions must depend on an underlying principle, represented by abstract structures. These structures are semanto-syntactic, which means that the semantic properties or bundles of properties are arranged not in a linear order but in a hierarchical order, analogous to a bracketing in a PS structure. The abstract structures we propose have, of course, a very tentative character. They can only be accepted as far as evidence for them can be furnished. 2. My second point has to do with the modal verb forms that were the object of the studies of most Indo-Europeanists. If in the innermost bracket of a semanto-syntactic structure two semantic properties or bundles of properties can be exchanged without any further change in the total structure, and if this change is correlated with a change in verbal mood forms and nothing else, then I think we are faced with a case where these forms can be said to have a meaning of their own. I shall also try to show how these meanings are to be understood as bundles of features rather than as unanalyzed terms. In my final remarks: I shall try to outline the bearing these views have on comparative IE linguistics

A functional view on prototypes

The human mind may produce prototypization within virtually any realm of cognition and behavior. A "comparative prototype-typology" might prove to be an interesting field of study – perhaps a new subfield of semiotics. This, however, would presuppose a clear view on the samenesses and differences of prototypization in these various fields. It seems realistic for the time being that the linguist first confine himself to describing prototypization within the realm of language proper. The literature on prototypes has steadily grown in the past ten years or so. I confine myself to mentioning the volume on Noun Classes and Categorization, edited by C. Craig (1986), which contains a wealth of factual information on the subject, along with some theoretical vistas. By and large, however, linguistic prototype research is still basically in a taxonomic stage - which, of course, represents the precondition for moving beyond. The procedure is largely per ostensionem, and by accumulating examples of prototypes. We still lack a comprehensive prototype theory. The following pages are intended, not to provide such, a theory, but to do the first steps in this direction. Section 2 will feature some elements of a functional theory of prototypes. They have been developed by this author within the frame of the UNITYP model of research on language universals and typology. Section 3 will bring a discussion of prototypization with regard to selected phenomena of a wide range of levels of analysis: Phonology, morphosyntax, speech acts, and the lexicon. Prototypization will finally be studied within one of the universal dimensions, that of APPREHENSION - the linguistic representation of the concepts of objects – as proposed by Seiler (1986)

The case against asymptotic freedom

In this talk I give an overview of the work done during the last 15 years in collaboration with the late Adrian Patrascioiu. In this work we accumulated evidence against the commonly accepted view that theories with nonabelian symmetry -- either two dimensional nonlinear $\sigma$ models or four dimensional Yang-Mills theories -- have the property of asymptotic freedom (AF) usually ascribed to them.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figure

Introductory notes to a grammar of Cahuilla : [to appear in Linguistic Studies offered to Joseph Greenberg on the occasion of his 60th birthday]

These notes grew out of my preoccupation with writing a grammar of a particular language, Cahuilla, which is spoken in Southern California and belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family. [...] The Introduction to the Grammar as a whole – of which two sections are reproduced here in a modified version – tries to integrate the synoptic views of the different chapters into a series of comprehensive statements. The statements cluster around two topics: 1. A presentation of Cahuilla as a type of language. 2. Remarks on writing a grammar

Two types of Cahuilla kinship expressions: inherent and establishing

In my Cahuilla Grammar (Seiler 1977:276-282) and in a subsequent paper (Seiler 1980:229-236) I have drawn attention to the fact that many kin terms in this language, especially those that have a corresponding reciprocal term in the ascending direction – like niece or nephew in relation to aunt – occur in two expressions of quite different morphological shape. The following remarks are intended to furnish an explanation of this apparent duplicity

The toll of the automobile

Animal-vehicle collisions are a common phenomenon worldwide, causing injury or death to millions of animals and hundreds of human passengers each year. Collision numbers can be significant to species conservation, wildlife management, traffic safety, as well as from an economic and political point of view, and should thus be evaluated from these different perspectives. In this thesis, I assess, evaluate, analyse and predict animal-vehicle collisions with respect to their extent, their effect on populations, and their broad and fine scale distribution. A questionnaire with Swedish drivers indicated that nationwide road traffic in 1992 may caused an annual loss in harvest of common game species of 7% to 97% and of 1% to 12% of estimated populations. Road mortality did not appear as an existential threat to most species, although in badgers (Meles meles), traffic probably is the largest single cause of death. A slow population growth rate coupled with a high proportion of adult badger road-kills is responsible for their sensitivity to road mortality. Provided that road mortality is additive, we predicted that losses due to nationwide traffic might already exceed birth rates and limit badger population growth. In roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) and moose (Alces alces), road mortality is of minor importance to the population. Broad-scale trends and patterns in collision numbers correlate with harvest and traffic volumes, thus providing a simple means to monitor the toll of road traffic. To predict local collision risks with these species, information on animal abundance and landscape composition, on road traffic parameters, and on the spatial coincidence of roads and landscape elements is needed. However, vehicle speed appeared as one of the most important factors determining collision risks with moose, underlining the influence of human factors on collision risks. Successful counteraction therefore requires an interdisciplinary approach that addresses both the animal and the driver in their shared environment

Dynamic modelling of Nonresponse in Business Surveys

It is well-known that nonresponse affects the results of surveys and can even cause bias due to selectivities if it cannot be regarded as missing at random. In contrast to household surveys, response behaviour in business surveys has been examined rarely in the literature. This paper is one of the first which analyses a large business survey on micro data level for unit nonresponse. The data base is the Ifo Business Tendency Survey, which was established in 1949 and has more than 5,000 responding firms each month. The panel structure allows to use statistical modelling including time-varying effects to check for the existence of a panel fatigue. The results show that there are huge differences in business characteristics such as size or subsector and that nonresponse is more frequent in economically good times