15.1903, Qs: Verbless Configurations;Lang Acquisition Theory

[LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List:  Vol-15-1903. Wed Jun 23 2004. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 15.1903, Qs: Verbless Configurations;Lang Acquisition Theory

Moderators: Anthony Aristar, Wayne State U.<aristar at linguistlist.org>
            Helen Dry, Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at linguistlist.org>

Reviews (reviews at linguistlist.org):
	Sheila Collberg, U. of Arizona
	Terence Langendoen, U. of Arizona

Home Page:  http://linguistlist.org/

The LINGUIST List is funded by Eastern Michigan University, Wayne
State University, and donations from subscribers and publishers.

Editor for this issue: Naomi Fox <fox at linguistlist.org>
 ==========================================================================
We'd like to remind readers that the responses to queries are usually
best posted to the individual asking the question. That individual is
then strongly encouraged to post a summary to the list. This policy was
instituted to help control the huge volume of mail on LINGUIST; so we
would appreciate your cooperating with it whenever it seems appropriate.

In addition to posting a summary, we'd like to remind people that it
is usually a good idea to personally thank those individuals who have
taken the trouble to respond to the query.

To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at
http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.html.

=================================Directory=================================

1)
Date:  Mon, 21 Jun 2004 21:04:24 -0400 (EDT)
From:  Francisco Gonzálvez-García<fgonza at ual.es>
Subject:  Counterfactual verbless configurations across lgs

2)
Date:  Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:05:31 -0700 (PDT)
From:  Naicker Suren <suren1946 at yahoo.com>
Subject:  question

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Mon, 21 Jun 2004 21:04:24 -0400 (EDT)
From:  Francisco Gonzálvez-García<fgonza at ual.es>
Subject:  Counterfactual verbless configurations across lgs

Dear members of the LINGUIST list,

I am currently investigating the effects of coercion (as in Michaelis
2002, 2003) in low-level configurations of the type in (1) and (2)for
Spanish:

(1) Te            hacía                      en        Londres
    You-ACCUSATIVE  made-IMPERFECT 1stPERS.SG in       London
(2) Te            creía                          en      París
    You-ACCUSATIVE believed-IMPERFECT 1stPERS.SG in      Paris

These configurations activate coercion (i) when the verb takes the
form of the imperfect preterite, not the indefinite preterite (*hice
('made')/*creí ('believed') and (ii) require a prepositional phrase or
an adverbial phrase as XP after the intervening nominal with a literal
(usually locative) meaning. Otherwise, the configuration is not
acceptable (e.g. ''Yo te creo en Londres :: I you believe in London 'I
believe you in London'). Moreover, they carry the implication that the
speaker's prior prediction about the state of affairs encoded in the
postverbal sequence is actually wrong, something of which the speaker
has first-hand evidence. I would very much appreciate if native
linguists from the list could let me know if these configurations are
acceptable in their respective language in the verbless clause
configuration (as in (1)-(2) above), or whether, by contrast, a finite
complement clause must be used instead, as in English (i.e. * I
thought you in London :: I thought you were in London). I would be
more than happy to post a summary with the contributions from the
members of the list.

Thank you in advance for your time and cooperation.
All best,
Francisco.


-------------------------------- Message 2 -------------------------------

Date:  Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:05:31 -0700 (PDT)
From:  Naicker Suren <suren1946 at yahoo.com>
Subject:  question


I was wondering if anyone has any critical comments on Geoffrey
Sampson's theory on language acquisition, as outlined in his Educating
Eve??


Suren Naicker, BA (Hons.) (Wits)
School of Literature and Language Studies
Wits University
Johannesburg
South Africa

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-15-1903