SLLING-L Digest - 5 Mar 2011 to 6 Mar 2011 (#2011-15)

[Valerie Sultan]

One thing that needs to be considered is that these intransitive VS
structures seem to be possible with pronouns but not lexical nouns.
 EAT-FINISH ME/YOU/US/etc. seems fine to me as a native signer whereas
EAT-FINISH DOG/DAD/MAN/etc. don't.  Unless these pronouns are to be labeled
as some other linguistic structure, then ruling out intransitive VS
structures completely is not accurate.

Valerie

On Sun, Mar 6, 2011 at 9:00 PM, SLLING-L automatic digest system <
LISTSERV at listserv.valenciacc.edu> wrote:

> There are 2 messages totalling 65 lines in this issue.
>
> Topics of the day:
>
>  1. a Linguistics of ASL question -- grammar (2)
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Date:    Sun, 6 Mar 2011 06:22:28 -0500
> From:    Dan Parvaz <dparvaz at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject: Re: a Linguistics of ASL question -- grammar
>
> >     topic_____
> >     RECENTLY, EAT-FINISH DADDY.
>
> I have no "instincts", but years of observation have me thinking that if
> the above
> is an example of a VS structure, then it is infelicitious. It is possible
> to construe
> it as such, to find a context in which it can be so, but I'll bet the
> temptation
> would be to interpret that as "Not that long ago, I ate my father." That
> this
> sentence might be as likely, or more so, than the VS interpretation should
> say
> something about the former interpretation's likelihood. Or about me, but
> that's a
> little more disturbing.
>
> <soapbox>
> This is one more reason why we need a good ASL corpus, preferably including
> spontaneous dialogue and not simply those utterances we wheedle out of our
> consultants. Then we may have some idea of the distribution of these
> constructions.
> </soapbox>
>
> -Dan.
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Date:    Sun, 6 Mar 2011 23:18:53 -0500
> From:    Adam Frost <adam at FROSTVILLAGE.COM>
> Subject: Re: a Linguistics of ASL question -- grammar
>
> I wasn't planning on saying anything on the matter, but as a native signer
> the sentence RECENTLY, EAT-FINISH DADDY to follow a VS structure feels
> wrong. The only way I can see DADDY being a subject in this sentence is if
> it were a rhetorical statement. I don't know if that would mean it's still a
> VS structure with that way of signing, but I don't think it would be.
>
> Adam
>
> On Mar 6, 2011, at 6:22 AM, "Dan Parvaz" <dparvaz at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
> >>    topic_____
> >>    RECENTLY, EAT-FINISH DADDY.
> >
> > I have no "instincts", but years of observation have me thinking that if
> the above
> > is an example of a VS structure, then it is infelicitious. It is possible
> to construe
> > it as such, to find a context in which it can be so, but I'll bet the
> temptation
> > would be to interpret that as "Not that long ago, I ate my father." That
> this
> > sentence might be as likely, or more so, than the VS interpretation
> should say
> > something about the former interpretation's likelihood. Or about me, but
> that's a
> > little more disturbing.
> >
> > <soapbox>
> > This is one more reason why we need a good ASL corpus, preferably
> including
> > spontaneous dialogue and not simply those utterances we wheedle out of
> our
> > consultants. Then we may have some idea of the distribution of these
> > constructions.
> > </soapbox>
> >
> > -Dan.
> >
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of SLLING-L Digest - 5 Mar 2011 to 6 Mar 2011 (#2011-15)
> ************************************************************
>
>
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