Papers by Maria Zubizarreta
Languages
This paper examines in detail the morpho-syntax of the verbal phrase in Paraguayan Guarani, in ro... more This paper examines in detail the morpho-syntax of the verbal phrase in Paraguayan Guarani, in root and complement clauses, and argues that while the ordering relation between the verb and its associated functional morphemes is congruent with the syntax (cf. the Mirror Principle), the ordering of post-verbal arguments is best understood in terms of phonological linearization. More specifically, it is argued that there are language-particular prosodic requirements that force the post-verbal arguments to be phonologically linearized outside the accentual domain defined by the verb and its associated functional morphemes.
One of the primary challenges in language acquisition in general, and second language acquisition... more One of the primary challenges in language acquisition in general, and second language acquisition in particular, is learning how to mentally represent the grammatical structure of a target language. Prior research has indicated that in some domains – like adjective-noun ordering (Gass and Ard 1984) or grammatical gender agreement (White et al 2004; Montrul 2004) – it is possible for second language learners to quickly acquire a very native-like representation of the target language. But, in other linguistic domains, like filler-gap resolution (Marinis et al 2005), anaphor resolution (Felser and Cunnings 2011), or subject-verb agreement (Parodi et al 2004), native-like acquisition of the target grammar seems comparably more difficult. At stake, then, is not simply the question of whether any particular linguistic phenomenon is transferred from a first language (L1), but more specifically, what contributes to the strength and durability of L1 interference in a second, non-native, lang...
Because it has a tremendous effect on the interpretation of a variety of phenomena, an understand... more Because it has a tremendous effect on the interpretation of a variety of phenomena, an understanding of the meaning of focus is crucial to a thorough theory of dialogue. Major theories of focus predict that speakers need to have in mind a set of alternatives when evaluating an utterance with a focused constituent. We report an experiment that provides additional experimental evidence that this set of alternatives is being used by speakers. In addition, by using only written stimuli, we show that the set of alternatives is evoked by the semantic notion of contrastiveness, even without explicit prosodic cues. Furthermore, in contrast to prior experiments which used alternative sets that could be derived from previously-learned semantic associations, we show that speakers use prior discourse context in a dynamic fashion to build the set of alternatives, even in the absence of pre-existing semantic associations. Our findings highlight the importance of incorporating rapid contextual sen...
This paper provides an overview of the literature on the syntax and prosody of focus in some of t... more This paper provides an overview of the literature on the syntax and prosody of focus in some of the Bantu languages (Kimatuumbi, Chimwiini, Chichewa) and in Italian, and it argues that, despite their typological distance, they share much in common with respect to both the syntax and prosody of focus: 1) both language types have an active low Focus position (Belletti 2004, Aboh 2007); and 2) the Focus position triggers the insertion of a strong prosodic boundary, which gives rise to a ‚ripple effect‛ in that phrases to the right of Foc are similarly flanked by a comparable prosodic boundary. The view outlined here argues in favor of a stronger syntax-prosody connection than is generally recognized in current approaches.
Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 2014
Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 2007
This paper addresses the issue of how to characterize manner-of-motion verbs cross-linguistically... more This paper addresses the issue of how to characterize manner-of-motion verbs cross-linguistically, and more specifically, in Italian (a topic more fully developed in Zubizarreta & Oh (2007)). It is informative to begin by looking at manner-of-motion verbs in a serial verb language like Korean. In Korean, manner-of-motion verbs are unambiguously activity-denoting verbs; they do not encode directed motion. Compare the examples in (1) with the ones in (2). The locative-ey can denote the goal of the motion in the context of the light verbs ka-"go" and o-"come", as illustrated in (1). On the other hand, the locative-ey cannot denote the goal of motion in the context of manner-ofmotion verbs such as run, walk, swim, fly, crawl, etc., as illustrated in (2). (1) a. John-i pang-ey tul-e-ka-ss-ta John-Nom room-Loc into-L go-Past-Decl "John went into the room" b. John-i pang-ey tul-e-o-ass-ta John-Nom room-Loc into-L come-Past-Decl "John came into the room." (2) a. *John-i kongwen-ey talli-ess-ta John-Nom park-Loc run-Past-Decl "John ran to the park." Cf. John-i kongwen-eyse talli-ess-ta John-Nom park-Loc run-Past-Decl "John ran at the park" * The material in this paper has been drawn from the book On the Syntactic Composition of Manner and Motion, MIT Press, 2007
Language Acquisition and Language Disorders, 2013
This paper compares the production of stress patterns in various types of compounds by English na... more This paper compares the production of stress patterns in various types of compounds by English natives and by L1 Spanish/L2 English speakers. English natives (ENs) systematically produced idiomatic compounds with fore-stress (Strong-Weak) patterns, and so did the second language learners (L2ers) (although to a lesser extent). Significant differences were found between the two groups in their stress production of less familiar compositional compounds. While there was a strong tendency for ENs to produce fore-stress patterns in the case of argument-head combinations and a weak tendency to produce end-stress (Weak-Strong) patterns in the case of modifier-head combinations, L2ers exhibited a strong tendency to produce end-stress patterns across the board. We attribute this to the end-based stress property of the L1, in conjunction with the relatively ambiguous prosody of the modifier-head type due to analogical processes.
Current Issues in Linguistic Theory, 2009
This paper reexamines several ideas and empirical data uncovered during the last decade regarding... more This paper reexamines several ideas and empirical data uncovered during the last decade regarding the left-edge part of the clause in Standard Spanish in the light of what is also known about other closely related languages, such as Italian and Caribbean Spanish. Two facts about Standard Spanish are identified as being intimately related to its rich agreement paradigm: the availability of the VSO order and the "subject inversion" phenomenon in informational questions. A particular formalism is proposed which allows us to identify the left-most edge in the I-domain (above Tense) as the projection of "rich" agreement (phi-P) and as the locus of the EPP feature. * I am grateful to Anna Cardinaletti and Patricia Schneider-Zioga for detailed comments.
1. Introduction Katherine McKinney-Bock and Maria Luisa Zubizarreta 2. Exquisite connections: som... more 1. Introduction Katherine McKinney-Bock and Maria Luisa Zubizarreta 2. Exquisite connections: some remarks on the evolution of linguistic theory Robert Freidin and Jean-Roger Vergnaud 3. On a Certain Notion of "Occurrence:" The source of metrical structure and much more Jean-Roger Vergnaud 4. Generalizing the Notion of "Occurrence" Tommi Tsz-Cheung Leung 5. Some Explanatory Avatars of Conceptual Necessity: Elements of UG Jean-Roger Vergnaud 6. Grafts and Beyond: Graph Theoretic Syntax Katherine McKinney-Bock and Jean-Roger Vergnaud 7. On Merge-markers and Nominal Structures Wei-wen Roger Liao and Jean-Roger Vergnaud
The grammatical notions of" topic" and" focus" are grounded to some extent in... more The grammatical notions of" topic" and" focus" are grounded to some extent in the discourse notions of" old"(or" given") and" new" information. Such dichotomy has to do with the manner in which the flow of information is articulated within a discourse at a given point in time ...
A Cross-Categorial View of Event Structure, 2012
Paraguayan Guaranı́ (Tupi-Guaranı́, Tupian) has no overt tense morphemes. Verbs obligatorily infl... more Paraguayan Guaranı́ (Tupi-Guaranı́, Tupian) has no overt tense morphemes. Verbs obligatorily inflect for person and number, following a direct/inverse pattern, and optionally for aspect. (See Ayala 1996, Tonhauser 2011a,b, Zubizarreta and Pancheva 2017.) In the absence of overt aspectual morphemes on verbs, present or past reference is determined on the basis of aktionsart, modifying temporal adverbials and context, while future reference is not possible, except in a limited set of cases (Tonhauser 2011a,b).1 Both past and present interpretation is available to aspectually unmarked atelic predicates, whereas in order to be interpreted as present, telic predicates need the progressive morpheme hı́na, otherwise they are interpreted as past. Future reference typically requires the modal prospective morpheme -ta (though the picture is more nuanced). Examples (1), (2), and (3), partly based on Tonhauser 2011b, illustrate the effect of aktionsart (atelic do and bathe vs. telic go to the m...
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique, 2019
The present article argues that temporality can be computed indirectly via evidentiality, and tha... more The present article argues that temporality can be computed indirectly via evidentiality, and that this is the case for Paraguayan Guaraní, a tenseless language. To model the evidential–temporal connection, we employ features from the domains of person (author, participant) and general deixis (proximate, distal). We discuss in detail the case of two evidential morphemes: indirect evidential ra'e and reportative raka'e. We argue that these particles do not have temporal semantics; rather their temporal contribution is due to the interaction of person features that determine the type of evidentiality and deictic features incorporated into the person system.
Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 2017
We propose a theory of the person restrictions in clitic double object constructions, a phenomeno... more We propose a theory of the person restrictions in clitic double object constructions, a phenomenon known as the Person Case Constraint (PCC). In our proposal, the PCC is concerned with the encoding of perspective, and is, as such, a syntax-semantics interface phenomenon. A phase-based Person-Constraint, triggered by an interpretable person feature on the Applicative head, is responsible for the grammatical marking of the indirect object as a point-of-view center. Variation in the values of the interpretable person feature are shown to have counterparts in logophoric roles. The Person-Constraint has several clauses, which are subject to parametric variation, and which account for the range of cross-linguistic variation in PCC effects. The clauses of the P-Constraint are regulated by a theory of markedness, making predictions about how widely attested and robust the different types of PCC grammars are.
Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 2017
We put forth a formal analysis within the Minimalist framework of argument alignment in languages... more We put forth a formal analysis within the Minimalist framework of argument alignment in languages with one type of direct/inverse system. Our proposal involves the cyclical application of a phase-edge Person constraint, which ensures that a [+Participant] argument (when present) is promoted from the verbal (vP) to the inflectional (IP) domain. We illustrate the proposed analysis with Paraguayan Guaraní, a language with direct/inverse alignment whose morpho-syntax has received little attention from a formal perspective. Paraguayan Guaraní does not mark tense morphologically in Infl(ection); instead, the overt realization of Infl varies depending on the person specification of the arguments. We refer to languages of this type as Generalized P(erson)-languages, in contrast to Restricted P-languages, whose direct/inverse system is limited to the vP domain and whose Infl encodes tense (e.g., Hungarian and Kashmiri). Building on insights in Ritter and Wiltschko (2014) on the anchoring function of Infl, we link the distinction between the two types of language to the presence vs. absence of an interpretable tense feature and its complementary interpretable person feature in the Infl node of the clausal structure. Keywords Direct/inverse orders • Person hierarchy • Person agreement • Phases • Paraguayan Guaraní B M.L. Zubizarreta
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Papers by Maria Zubizarreta