An Introduction to Word Grammar

✍ Scribed by Richard Hudson

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 350
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Word grammar is a theory of language structure and is based on the assumption that language, and indeed the whole of knowledge, is a network, and that virtually all of knowledge is learned. It combines the psychological insights of cognitive linguistics with the rigour of more formal theories. This textbook spans a broad range of topics from prototypes, activation and default inheritance to the details of syntactic, morphological and semantic structure. It introduces elementary ideas from cognitive science and uses them to explain the structure of language including a survey of English grammar.

✦ Table of Contents

Half-title......Page 3
Series-title......Page 5
Title......Page 7
Copyright......Page 8
Contents......Page 9
Figures......Page 12
Tables......Page 15
Acknowledgements......Page 17
Introduction......Page 19
Part I How the mind works......Page 23
1 Introduction to cognitive science......Page 25
2.1.1 Concepts and properties......Page 27
2.1.2 Inheritance......Page 28
2.1.3 Categories and exemplars......Page 29
2.2 Taxonomies and the isA relation......Page 30
2.2.2 A notation for taxonomies......Page 31
2.2.3 A notation for isA......Page 32
2.3.1 How inheritance works (1)......Page 34
2.3.2 How the mind stores generalizable information......Page 36
2.3.3 How inheritance works (2)......Page 37
2.3.4 Inheritance and logic......Page 38
2.4.1 Multiple inheritance......Page 40
2.4.3 Choice sets......Page 41
2.5 Default inheritance and prototype effects......Page 42
2.5.1 Exceptions and classical definitions......Page 43
2.5.2 Categories and prototypes......Page 44
2.5.4 How inheritance works (3)......Page 46
2.6.1 The richness of social categories......Page 48
2.6.2 Inheritance and stereotypes......Page 49
2.6.3 I-language and I-society......Page 50
3.1.1 Percepts......Page 52
3.1.3 Motorskills......Page 54
3.2 Relational concepts, arguments and values......Page 55
3.2.3 Relations, arguments and values......Page 56
3.2.4 Primitive relations, relational concepts and the relation taxonomy......Page 58
3.2.5 A notation for relations......Page 59
3.2.7 Defining new relations, relational triangles and recursion......Page 61
3.3 Choices, features and cross-classification......Page 62
3.3.2 A notation for choice sets......Page 63
3.3.3 The benefits of features, and their limitations......Page 64
3.4.1 Kinship......Page 65
3.4.2 Interpersonal relations......Page 68
Landmarks......Page 70
The Best Landmark Principle......Page 71
Different ways of relating to a landmark......Page 73
3.4.4 Chunking, serial ordering and sets......Page 74
3.5 The network notion, properties and default inheritance......Page 75
3.5.1 The network notion......Page 76
3.5.2 Simple and complex properties and the Recycling Principle......Page 77
3.5.3 How inheritance works (4)......Page 79
3.6 Do networks need modularity?......Page 81
3.6.1 Why our minds aren’t modular......Page 82
3.6.2 Mind and brain......Page 83
3.6.3 The effects of network structure......Page 84
3.6.4 Why modularity matters in linguistics......Page 85
4.1.1 Accessibility and frequency......Page 88
4.1.2 Mind and brain again......Page 89
4.1.3 Activation levels......Page 90
4.2.1 Working memory......Page 91
4.2.2 Spreading activation......Page 92
4.2.3 Priming......Page 93
4.2.4 How attention channels activation......Page 94
4.2.5 The benefits of global activation......Page 97
4.3.1 Building nodes for perceived exemplars......Page 98
4.3.2 Forgetting exemplar nodes......Page 99
4.3.3 Remembering exemplars......Page 100
4.4 Building induced nodes......Page 101
4.4.1 How background activation guides induction......Page 102
4.5.1 Why we need new nodes for inherited properties......Page 105
4.5.2 How activation guides inheritance......Page 106
4.6.1 Recognizing and remembering......Page 109
4.6.3 Building an empty node......Page 110
4.6.4 Retrieving the best target......Page 112
4.6.5 How spreading activation helps......Page 113
4.6.6 The ‘identity’ relation......Page 114
4.6.7 How binding helps us to remember, anticipate and solve problems......Page 116
Part II How language works......Page 119
5.1 Description......Page 121
5.2 Detail......Page 122
5.4 Differences......Page 123
5.5 Divisions......Page 124
5.6 Developments......Page 126
6.1.1 Language as concepts......Page 127
6.1.2 Declarative and procedural knowledge......Page 128
6.1.3 Types and tokens......Page 129
6.1.4 A notation for types and tokens......Page 130
6.2.1 Properties of a typical word......Page 132
6.2.2 Other properties available to some words......Page 133
6.2.3 Word properties in dictionaries and in linguistics......Page 134
6.3 Word-classes......Page 135
6.4 Grammaticality......Page 136
6.4.1 Good grammar......Page 138
6.5 Lexemes and inflections......Page 139
6.5.1 Lexemes and inflections......Page 140
6.5.2 Marked and unmarked inflections......Page 141
6.5.3 Intersecting inflections......Page 142
6.5.4 Sublexemes......Page 144
6.6 Definitions and efficiency......Page 145
6.6.1 Definitions or descriptions?......Page 146
6.6.2 Efficiency......Page 147
6.6.3 Membership tests for the novice......Page 148
6.7 Morphology and lexical relations......Page 149
6.7.1 Morphs and forms......Page 150
6.7.2 Irregularity, partial and complete......Page 151
6.7.3 Variants......Page 152
6.7.4 Lexical morphology......Page 153
6.8 Social properties of words......Page 154
6.9 Levels of analysis......Page 156
6.9.1 The notion of ‘levels’......Page 157
6.9.2 The level of form......Page 158
6.9.3 Evidence for morphs in the mind......Page 159
6.9.4 The architecture of language......Page 160
6.9.5 Why do we divide language into levels?......Page 161
7.1 Dependencies and phrases......Page 163
7.1.1 Syntactic dependencies......Page 164
7.1.3 Phrase structure......Page 165
7.1.4 Dependencies or phrases?......Page 166
7.1.5 Evidence for dependencies and dependency distance......Page 168
7.1.6 The arguments for dependency structure......Page 169
7.1.7 Adjuncts and valents in inheritance......Page 170
7.1.8 The logical difference between valents and adjuncts......Page 171
7.2 Valency......Page 172
7.2.1 Parent-valency and sentence roots......Page 173
7.2.2 Why finite verbs are special......Page 174
7.2.4 Valency as a guide to meaning......Page 176
7.2.6 Syntactic triangles......Page 177
7.3.1 Morpho-syntactic features and agreement......Page 180
7.3.2 Features and taxonomies......Page 182
7.3.3 Unrealized lexemes......Page 183
7.3.4 Evidence from polite pronouns......Page 184
7.3.5 Evidence from case agreement......Page 185
7.4 Default word order......Page 186
7.4.1 Parents as landmarks......Page 187
7.4.2 The continuity of phrases......Page 188
7.4.3 Word-order rules......Page 190
7.4.5 The preference for raising......Page 191
7.5.1 Word strings......Page 193
7.5.2 Coordination and dependency......Page 194
7.5.3 Coordinating conjunctions......Page 196
7.5.4 Non-constituent coordination......Page 197
7.5.5 Layered coordination......Page 198
7.6 Special word orders......Page 199
7.6.2 Overriding default word order......Page 200
7.6.3 Forcing a choice between ‘before’ and ‘after’......Page 201
7.6.4 Long-distance dependencies......Page 202
7.6.5 Evidence for hopping......Page 203
7.6.6 Special word orders and dependency distance......Page 204
7.6.7 Functional explanations for syntactic facts......Page 206
7.7.1 Is syntax different from the rest of cognition?......Page 207
7.7.2 How autonomous is syntax?......Page 208
8.1.1 The frequency effect......Page 211
8.1.2 Accessibility and retrieval......Page 212
8.1.4 A notation for activation......Page 213
8.2 Retrieving words......Page 215
8.2.1 Speaking......Page 216
8.2.2 Speech errors......Page 217
8.2.4 Listening, writing, reading and other routes through language......Page 218
8.3 Tokens and types in listening and speaking......Page 220
8.3.1 Building nodes for word-tokens......Page 221
8.3.2 Learning words......Page 222
8.4 Learning generalizations......Page 223
8.4.2 Stages in language learning......Page 224
8.4.3 Learning syntax......Page 225
8.5 Using generalizations......Page 227
8.5.2 Special effects of education and the psychological laboratory......Page 228
8.6 Binding in word-recognition, parsing and pragmatics......Page 230
8.6.1 Recognizing words......Page 231
8.6.2 The Stroop effect......Page 232
8.6.3 Recognizing syntactic relations......Page 234
8.6.4 Ambiguities......Page 235
8.6.5 Recognizing antecedents for definite pronouns......Page 236
8.6.6 Ellipsis......Page 237
8.7.1 Referential meaning......Page 238
Meaning as a relation......Page 239
Meaning as a link between minds......Page 240
Sense/referent and type/token......Page 242
Identity-of-reference and identity-of-sense anaphora......Page 243
Referents and senses in inflectional and lexical morphology......Page 244
8.7.3 Meaning and syntax......Page 245
Default: a word’s sense is modified by its dependent’s referent......Page 246
Coreference: a word shares its referent with its dependent......Page 247
Coreference and identity in cleft sentences......Page 248
Predicatives: a word’s sense is modified by its dependent’s sense......Page 250
Semantic phrasing......Page 252
Other issues on the boundary between meaning and syntax......Page 253
Recycling and semantic roles......Page 254
Deixis......Page 255
8.7.5 Meaning, thought and culture......Page 257
8.8.1 Kinship......Page 259
8.8.2 Social interaction......Page 261
Part III How English works......Page 265
9 Introduction to English linguistics......Page 267
10.1.1 Determiners and pronouns......Page 269
10.1.2 The taxonomy of word-classes and a notation......Page 272
10.2 Inflections......Page 273
10.2.1 Basic verb inflections......Page 274
10.2.2 The inflectional taxonomy......Page 275
10.2.3 Gerunds......Page 276
10.2.4 Overview of inflections and abbreviations......Page 277
10.3 Word-class properties......Page 278
10.3.1 Verbs......Page 279
10.3.2 Auxiliary and main verbs......Page 280
10.3.3 Nouns......Page 281
10.3.4 Common nouns, proper nouns and pronouns......Page 283
10.3.5 Adjectives and adverbs......Page 284
10.3.6 Prepositions and conjunctions......Page 285
10.3.7 Overview of word-classes and tests......Page 286
10.3.9 Tests for recognizing verb inflections......Page 287
10.4 Morphology and lexical relations......Page 288
10.4.1 Lexical morphology and etymology......Page 289
10.4.2 Word-formation rules and variants......Page 291
10.4.3 Morphs are meaningless......Page 292
10.4.4 Recursive structures......Page 293
10.5 Social properties......Page 294
11.1 Dependencies......Page 297
11.1.1 Pre-dependents and post-dependents......Page 298
11.1.2 Pre- and post-adjuncts, subjects and complements......Page 300
11.1.3 Tests for dependencies......Page 301
11.2 Valency......Page 303
11.2.2 Dependent-valency......Page 304
11.2.3 Dependent-valency for prepositions and ‘subordinating conjunctions’......Page 305
11.2.4 Dependent-valency for nouns......Page 306
11.2.5 The possessive’S......Page 308
11.2.6 Other nouns that have complements......Page 309
11.2.7 Dependent-valency for verbs: direct and indirect objects......Page 310
11.2.8 Predicatives......Page 311
11.2.9 Other complements of verbs......Page 312
11.2.10 Summary of dependency types......Page 313
11.3 Features, agreement and unrealized lexemes......Page 314
11.3.1 Unrealized subjects......Page 315
11.3.2 Other unrealized lexemes......Page 317
11.4 Default word order......Page 319
11.4.1 The cognitive benefits of the English rules......Page 320
11.5 Coordination......Page 322
11.5.1 Coordination or subordination?......Page 323
11.5.2 The coordinating conjunctions......Page 324
11.6 Special word orders......Page 325
11.6.2 Extraction in topicalization......Page 326
11.6.3 Extracted Wh-pronouns......Page 327
11.6.4 Extraction in subordinate questions......Page 328
11.6.5 Extraction in relative clauses......Page 329
11.6.7 Extraposition......Page 330
11.6.8 Other ways of delaying heavy dependents......Page 331
11.6.9 Passives......Page 332
References......Page 335
Index......Page 340