In this paper, linguistic methodology is suggested for approaching figures of speech formed due to shift of cognitive relations. First, requisite features, possible features and impossible features are proposed on the...In this paper, linguistic methodology is suggested for approaching figures of speech formed due to shift of cognitive relations. First, requisite features, possible features and impossible features are proposed on the basis of semantic analysis and their interrelationships and expressions are discussed. Then it is further argued that all figures formed due to shift of cognitive relation are expressed to accept an impossible feature; and there are four semantic forms to accept it: “zero distance/distanced”, “implicit/explicit”, “direct/indirect”, “positive/negative”. Finally, starting from the two approaches to figures we comment on the traditional idea of separating decoration and substance and the new idea of “function as form”.展开更多
Numeral systems in natural languages show astonishing variety,though with very strong unifying tendencies that are increasing as many indigenous numeral systems disappear through language contact and globalization.Mos...Numeral systems in natural languages show astonishing variety,though with very strong unifying tendencies that are increasing as many indigenous numeral systems disappear through language contact and globalization.Most numeral systems make use of a base,typically 10,less commonly 20,followed by a wide range of other possibilities.Higher numerals are formed from primitive lower numerals by applying the processes of addition and multiplication,in many languages also exponentiation;sometimes,however,numerals are formed from a higher numeral,using subtraction or division.Numerous complexities and idiosyncrasies are discussed,as are numeral systems that fall outside this general characterization,such as restricted numeral systems with no internal arithmetic structure,and some New Guinea extended body-part counting systems.展开更多
Whether meaning is arbitrary or motivated remains a matter of unsettled linguistic debate.The main purpose of this discussion is to bring to linguistic attention the level of motivation in EkeGusii,a Bantu language of...Whether meaning is arbitrary or motivated remains a matter of unsettled linguistic debate.The main purpose of this discussion is to bring to linguistic attention the level of motivation in EkeGusii,a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family spoken in Kenya,using onomatopoeic infinitives and nouns,and to attest that meaning is considerably iconic.It does not look convenient to classify onomatopes under ideophones.Imagic iconicity plays a central role in the two word classes,though imagic and relative iconicity intersect in cacophonous,reduplicative,and inherently onomatopoeic nouns.In EkeGusii,onomatopes are either explicit or implicit.It becomes clear that onomatopoeia acquires a metaphorical function in certain idiomatic expressions in EkeGusii.展开更多
This paper presents a unified account of the discourse function of the Chinese particle ne based on synchronic and diachronic studies of the function of the particle in statements, in questions and as a theme marker...This paper presents a unified account of the discourse function of the Chinese particle ne based on synchronic and diachronic studies of the function of the particle in statements, in questions and as a theme marker under an interactional and cognitive framework for discourse markers. It proposes that the particle ne has a general function of hearer engagement for Common Ground (CG) negotiation. The use of ne in discourse serves as an instruction for the hearer to pay special attention to a discrepancy in the perceived CG shared by the speaker and hearer in a conversation that the speaker thinks is highly relevant to the current interaction and needs to be negotiated and resolved. And it is the interplay between this core function of ne and the propositional content of the host utterance in a specific context that generates the various interpretations in the literature associated with the use of ne. This core function of the particle ne is rooted in the two core properties of existence marking and discourse-continuation marking, which pertain to its two origins—the locality marker li and the discourse continuation marker ni—in Middle Chinese (201-1000 CE) and Early Mandarin (1001-1900).展开更多
In this paper, the determinacy of regular lexical selectional restrictions is examined from both the internal structures of the single selectional restrictions (i.e.semantic selectional restrictions) and relationship ...In this paper, the determinacy of regular lexical selectional restrictions is examined from both the internal structures of the single selectional restrictions (i.e.semantic selectional restrictions) and relationship between the structures of several selectional restrictions. Hence, our analysis and description are shifted from casual and indeterminate strings and markers on case basis to determined rules and circumspect dynamic systems, from lexical precepts to knowledge precepts, from the state of memory to rational deduction and rhetorical devices. Further studies indicate that selectional restrictions are intertwined structures, a feature that makes it possible to be one of the bases for lexical selectional restrictions to come into existence. Its related theories are the grarantee for scientific observations of selectional restriction structures.展开更多
The present paper focuses on a descriptive method of valency-increasing devices in five South Ethio-Semitic languages(Amharic,Harari,Kɨstane,Məsqan,and Endəgaɲ).The five languages were selected for two reasons.The fir...The present paper focuses on a descriptive method of valency-increasing devices in five South Ethio-Semitic languages(Amharic,Harari,Kɨstane,Məsqan,and Endəgaɲ).The five languages were selected for two reasons.The first reason is that conducting a valency study on all South Ethio-Semitic languages would have been impossible.With limited resources and time,it will prove difficult to cover all languages.The second reason is that,except for Amharic,these languages are known for being the least studied.Most of them even lack sufficient recording and description.So this research needs to choose the representative language in each branch.As a result,no explicit theoretical framework is followed;data analysis is guided solely by a descriptive perspective.The study’s data was gathered by consulting native speakers via elicitation.Valency has been considered as both a semantic and syntactic notion.As a semantic notion,it is used to refer to the participants in an event;as a syntactic notion,it is used to indicate the number of arguments in a construction.There are different types of transitivity classes of verbs in the South Ethio-Semitic Language,which is spoken in Ethiopia:intransitive,transitive,and ditransitive.Apart from these,there are verbs that can be used both intransitively and transitively.The facts that provide clear evidence for grammatical relations in South Ethio-Semitic languages are crucial to the study of the concept of valency-increasing devices.As is the case in many languages,South Ethio-Semitic languages possess morphosyntactic means through which the valency of verbs can be adjusted.The application of these morphosyntactic processes decreases or increases the valency of verbs.This article looks at valency-increasing devices in Causative and Applicative South Ethio-Semitic languages.展开更多
xiaojie(小姐， miss) is a popular form of address in contemporary Chinese; generally speaking, it is defined as a title for ―unmarried girl. This form has multiple connotations,. Given recent changes in society, some...xiaojie(小姐， miss) is a popular form of address in contemporary Chinese; generally speaking, it is defined as a title for ―unmarried girl. This form has multiple connotations,. Given recent changes in society, some think that, xiaojie (小姐） will become a widely-used form of address, while others think that young females will come to consider the title repulsive. None can have the final say, this is because the synchronic language differences are not only the result of the synchronic change but also possibly its sign. Since synchronic differences could not only be a result of diachronic change but also could herald further change, it is not clear what direction xiaojie (小姐） will take. In the language conflicts, When two language varieties conflict, the more common variety usually influences the less common. A field investigation in large cities throughout China thus allows us not only to draw A Distributional Map of Pragmatic Features of the Title xiaojie(小姐) ,but also enables us to see its diachronic possibilities.展开更多
The asymmetric behaviour of the mid tone has been reported in the Yoruboid literature and previous accounts of tone behaviour in Iṣẹkírìsuggest that a low tone is always deleted in favour of others at word b...The asymmetric behaviour of the mid tone has been reported in the Yoruboid literature and previous accounts of tone behaviour in Iṣẹkírìsuggest that a low tone is always deleted in favour of others at word boundary.However,synchronic data have shown that this is not the case.This paper investigates tonal asymmetry and the non-participation of the mid tone in some phonological processes in Iṣẹkírì.The study adopts an Optimality Theory(OT)version that incorporates the grounding conditions to develop constraints of implicational statements into faithfulness constraints.Data are elicited from eight speakers of the language,recordings are with the aid of a digital audio device and the tool used for our acoustic measurement is Praat 6.0.30.The analysis reveals that tonal asymmetry in this language always deletes the Mid-tone at word boundary and not the Low tone,also noting that the Low tone may be deleted in some cases.The lack of participation of the M tone in some phonological processes such as vowel elision,glide formation and vowel assimilation reveals the unstable nature of this tone in Iṣẹkírì.This paper concludes that the M tone is in asymmetry to the H and L tones in Iṣẹkírìand demonstrates the need for more perceptual and acoustic studies of tonal behaviour in Iṣẹkírì.展开更多
Language artificially classifies the varied phenomena of the chaotic world into four kinds of expressions: “real displacements”， “real shifts”， “virtual displacements” and “virtual shifts” This paper is main...Language artificially classifies the varied phenomena of the chaotic world into four kinds of expressions: “real displacements”， “real shifts”， “virtual displacements” and “virtual shifts” This paper is mainly a semantic exploration of the “real displacements” and the achievement of the discussion is a foundation for the semantic study of the latter three kinds of expressions. Emphasis will be laid upon the verbs and their relationship with nouns. The “multiple space role-state-ring-chain” model designed in the paper is aimed at delving beneath the surface of a verb and studying its inner micro-world, so as to grasp the transformational rules among the surface, deep and underlying structures of a sentence and to promote the discovery for the mystery of human languages.展开更多
The purpose of this article is twofold.First,it explores the order of the development of nominal and verbal gender of Amharic,which is one of the Ethio-Semitic languages.Second,it provides empirical evidence for the t...The purpose of this article is twofold.First,it explores the order of the development of nominal and verbal gender of Amharic,which is one of the Ethio-Semitic languages.Second,it provides empirical evidence for the typological plausibility of processability theory(PT).In fact,PT has been tested in typologically different languages(e.g.,English,Italian,and Japan);however,it does not have any validation from Ethiopian languages in general and Ethio-Semitic languages in particular yet.Relevant data was collected from sixteen respondents via picture description tasks,short storytelling,interviews,story re-telling,and spot the difference tasks.Distributional analysis was conducted for the analysis,and the point of emergence of target structures was determined using the emergence criteria.Accordingly,the result shows that the development of gender assignment is compatible with processability theory’s predictions in that lexical procedure precedes phrasal procedure,which is followed by S-procedure.Moreover,the masculine gender emerged earlier than its feminine counterpart at all developmental stages.However,subject agreement markers in pro-drop context emerged at stage two preceding subject verb agreement.This finding is against processability theory’s claim that suggests subject agreement markers only emerge at stage four of the processability hierarchy disregarding their stages of development in pro-drop context in particular.展开更多
This essay elaborates as thoroughly as possible the theory of internal compensation of the natural language system, and proves that the general distinctive function, which vanishes because of the loss or decrease of o...This essay elaborates as thoroughly as possible the theory of internal compensation of the natural language system, and proves that the general distinctive function, which vanishes because of the loss or decrease of one or more sub-systems or units with their distinctive function, will be compensated with the increase of others or something new to guarantee the general balance of the whole system and fulfill the need of communication. By just discussing some phenomena of internal compensation at the phonological level here, this essay reveals some interesting rules and gives new explanations to some phenomena that have not been explained or not explained properly, then prove the theory’s function of explanation.展开更多
Researches on cartography have made universal predictions on the hierarchies of functional projections in language.Based on this assumption,the structural maps established by Rizzi(1997,2001b)for the left-peripheral e...Researches on cartography have made universal predictions on the hierarchies of functional projections in language.Based on this assumption,the structural maps established by Rizzi(1997,2001b)for the left-peripheral elements suggest very strongly that Interrogative dominates Focus.Nevertheless,a straight-jacket adoption of this proposed hierarchical order to account for these left-peripheral projections inǸjò`-Kóo would be counterintuitive.Therefore,leaning on empirical and theoretical evidence,the paper calls to question the universality of the cartographers’claim,and argues that the opposite of the view is true ofǸjò`-Kóo.The paper adopts fieldwork method for data elicitation and descriptive approach as well as minimalist program for analysis of data.Data used in this study were elicited from purposively selected native speakers based on language proficiency.Data were acquired with syntactic checklist and structured interviews,and were subjected to interlinear and qualitative analysis.展开更多
From the study of polysemy of coordinate conjunctions, it can be found that there are grammaticalization processes from coordination to transition and from coordination to succession. It is a general evolutionary proc...From the study of polysemy of coordinate conjunctions, it can be found that there are grammaticalization processes from coordination to transition and from coordination to succession. It is a general evolutionary process in connective structures to go from non-specific semantic relationship to specific semantic relationship. This was caused by the cognitive tendency of approximately substituting typical functions for atypical functions.展开更多
One of the assumptions underlying theories of phonological derivation is that the phonological architecture of any language consists of,at least,an abstract underlying form,its surface form and conditions which derive...One of the assumptions underlying theories of phonological derivation is that the phonological architecture of any language consists of,at least,an abstract underlying form,its surface form and conditions which derive the surface form from its underlying form.It is further assumed that the conditions are serially ordered in frameworks which subscribe to the rule ordering such as orthodox generative phonology and lexical phonology.In the present study,these issues are engaged in the case of Uvwie.In particular,the study seeks to investigate the conditions(processes and rules)which derive surface forms from their corresponding underlying forms,and the order in which they apply.Thus the study will examine the different well-motivated phonological rules attested in the derivation of Uvwie formatives,and provide evidence for the order in which the processes apply.The study employe data documented in Ekiugbo(2016),and couched its analysis within rule ordering principle of generative phonology.The study identifies six rules,which are ordered thus:nasal assimilation>glide formation>vowel elision>tone fusion>vowel lengthening>consonant elision.展开更多
This paper examines the acquisition of subject-verb agreement inflections in the natural speech corpus of two mono-lingual children speaking Yemeni Ibbi Arabic(YIA)between 2 and 3 years old.The two children are Ibrahi...This paper examines the acquisition of subject-verb agreement inflections in the natural speech corpus of two mono-lingual children speaking Yemeni Ibbi Arabic(YIA)between 2 and 3 years old.The two children are Ibrahim and Wala(between the age of 2;1 and 2;10)with Mean Lenghth of Utterance(MLU)range of 2.72 to 3.23 for Ibrahim and 2.9 to 3.27 for Wala.YIA,as a variety of Arabic,has rich and complex morphological system with a fusional type.Verbs are inflected with tense and agreement.Each verbal inflection is marked for person,number,and gender agreement.However,this paper attempts to explore how agreement forms are acquired by YIA-speaking children and examines when YIA children distinguish between first,second,and third person agreement,singular and plural,masculine and feminine agreement forms.The paper argues that agreement inflections(person,number,gender)are available to children early,thereby supporting the Strong Continuity Hypothesis(Lust,1999).Moreover,the results give evidence to Wexler’s Hypothesis(1998),Very Early Knowledge of Inflection(VEKI),which says that children know the grammatical and phonological properties of inflections in a language in the earliest stages when they enter the two-word stage.Similarly,this study tests Hoekstra and Hyams’(1995)Early Morpho-syntactic Convergence(EMC)which proposed that children acquire the specifics of inflections of the target language at an early stage.展开更多
文摘In this paper, linguistic methodology is suggested for approaching figures of speech formed due to shift of cognitive relations. First, requisite features, possible features and impossible features are proposed on the basis of semantic analysis and their interrelationships and expressions are discussed. Then it is further argued that all figures formed due to shift of cognitive relation are expressed to accept an impossible feature; and there are four semantic forms to accept it: “zero distance/distanced”, “implicit/explicit”, “direct/indirect”, “positive/negative”. Finally, starting from the two approaches to figures we comment on the traditional idea of separating decoration and substance and the new idea of “function as form”.
文摘Numeral systems in natural languages show astonishing variety,though with very strong unifying tendencies that are increasing as many indigenous numeral systems disappear through language contact and globalization.Most numeral systems make use of a base,typically 10,less commonly 20,followed by a wide range of other possibilities.Higher numerals are formed from primitive lower numerals by applying the processes of addition and multiplication,in many languages also exponentiation;sometimes,however,numerals are formed from a higher numeral,using subtraction or division.Numerous complexities and idiosyncrasies are discussed,as are numeral systems that fall outside this general characterization,such as restricted numeral systems with no internal arithmetic structure,and some New Guinea extended body-part counting systems.
文摘Whether meaning is arbitrary or motivated remains a matter of unsettled linguistic debate.The main purpose of this discussion is to bring to linguistic attention the level of motivation in EkeGusii,a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo family spoken in Kenya,using onomatopoeic infinitives and nouns,and to attest that meaning is considerably iconic.It does not look convenient to classify onomatopes under ideophones.Imagic iconicity plays a central role in the two word classes,though imagic and relative iconicity intersect in cacophonous,reduplicative,and inherently onomatopoeic nouns.In EkeGusii,onomatopes are either explicit or implicit.It becomes clear that onomatopoeia acquires a metaphorical function in certain idiomatic expressions in EkeGusii.
文摘This paper presents a unified account of the discourse function of the Chinese particle ne based on synchronic and diachronic studies of the function of the particle in statements, in questions and as a theme marker under an interactional and cognitive framework for discourse markers. It proposes that the particle ne has a general function of hearer engagement for Common Ground (CG) negotiation. The use of ne in discourse serves as an instruction for the hearer to pay special attention to a discrepancy in the perceived CG shared by the speaker and hearer in a conversation that the speaker thinks is highly relevant to the current interaction and needs to be negotiated and resolved. And it is the interplay between this core function of ne and the propositional content of the host utterance in a specific context that generates the various interpretations in the literature associated with the use of ne. This core function of the particle ne is rooted in the two core properties of existence marking and discourse-continuation marking, which pertain to its two origins—the locality marker li and the discourse continuation marker ni—in Middle Chinese (201-1000 CE) and Early Mandarin (1001-1900).
文摘In this paper, the determinacy of regular lexical selectional restrictions is examined from both the internal structures of the single selectional restrictions (i.e.semantic selectional restrictions) and relationship between the structures of several selectional restrictions. Hence, our analysis and description are shifted from casual and indeterminate strings and markers on case basis to determined rules and circumspect dynamic systems, from lexical precepts to knowledge precepts, from the state of memory to rational deduction and rhetorical devices. Further studies indicate that selectional restrictions are intertwined structures, a feature that makes it possible to be one of the bases for lexical selectional restrictions to come into existence. Its related theories are the grarantee for scientific observations of selectional restriction structures.
文摘The present paper focuses on a descriptive method of valency-increasing devices in five South Ethio-Semitic languages(Amharic,Harari,Kɨstane,Məsqan,and Endəgaɲ).The five languages were selected for two reasons.The first reason is that conducting a valency study on all South Ethio-Semitic languages would have been impossible.With limited resources and time,it will prove difficult to cover all languages.The second reason is that,except for Amharic,these languages are known for being the least studied.Most of them even lack sufficient recording and description.So this research needs to choose the representative language in each branch.As a result,no explicit theoretical framework is followed;data analysis is guided solely by a descriptive perspective.The study’s data was gathered by consulting native speakers via elicitation.Valency has been considered as both a semantic and syntactic notion.As a semantic notion,it is used to refer to the participants in an event;as a syntactic notion,it is used to indicate the number of arguments in a construction.There are different types of transitivity classes of verbs in the South Ethio-Semitic Language,which is spoken in Ethiopia:intransitive,transitive,and ditransitive.Apart from these,there are verbs that can be used both intransitively and transitively.The facts that provide clear evidence for grammatical relations in South Ethio-Semitic languages are crucial to the study of the concept of valency-increasing devices.As is the case in many languages,South Ethio-Semitic languages possess morphosyntactic means through which the valency of verbs can be adjusted.The application of these morphosyntactic processes decreases or increases the valency of verbs.This article looks at valency-increasing devices in Causative and Applicative South Ethio-Semitic languages.
文摘xiaojie(小姐， miss) is a popular form of address in contemporary Chinese; generally speaking, it is defined as a title for ―unmarried girl. This form has multiple connotations,. Given recent changes in society, some think that, xiaojie (小姐） will become a widely-used form of address, while others think that young females will come to consider the title repulsive. None can have the final say, this is because the synchronic language differences are not only the result of the synchronic change but also possibly its sign. Since synchronic differences could not only be a result of diachronic change but also could herald further change, it is not clear what direction xiaojie (小姐） will take. In the language conflicts, When two language varieties conflict, the more common variety usually influences the less common. A field investigation in large cities throughout China thus allows us not only to draw A Distributional Map of Pragmatic Features of the Title xiaojie(小姐) ,but also enables us to see its diachronic possibilities.
文摘The asymmetric behaviour of the mid tone has been reported in the Yoruboid literature and previous accounts of tone behaviour in Iṣẹkírìsuggest that a low tone is always deleted in favour of others at word boundary.However,synchronic data have shown that this is not the case.This paper investigates tonal asymmetry and the non-participation of the mid tone in some phonological processes in Iṣẹkírì.The study adopts an Optimality Theory(OT)version that incorporates the grounding conditions to develop constraints of implicational statements into faithfulness constraints.Data are elicited from eight speakers of the language,recordings are with the aid of a digital audio device and the tool used for our acoustic measurement is Praat 6.0.30.The analysis reveals that tonal asymmetry in this language always deletes the Mid-tone at word boundary and not the Low tone,also noting that the Low tone may be deleted in some cases.The lack of participation of the M tone in some phonological processes such as vowel elision,glide formation and vowel assimilation reveals the unstable nature of this tone in Iṣẹkírì.This paper concludes that the M tone is in asymmetry to the H and L tones in Iṣẹkírìand demonstrates the need for more perceptual and acoustic studies of tonal behaviour in Iṣẹkírì.
文摘Language artificially classifies the varied phenomena of the chaotic world into four kinds of expressions: “real displacements”， “real shifts”， “virtual displacements” and “virtual shifts” This paper is mainly a semantic exploration of the “real displacements” and the achievement of the discussion is a foundation for the semantic study of the latter three kinds of expressions. Emphasis will be laid upon the verbs and their relationship with nouns. The “multiple space role-state-ring-chain” model designed in the paper is aimed at delving beneath the surface of a verb and studying its inner micro-world, so as to grasp the transformational rules among the surface, deep and underlying structures of a sentence and to promote the discovery for the mystery of human languages.
文摘The purpose of this article is twofold.First,it explores the order of the development of nominal and verbal gender of Amharic,which is one of the Ethio-Semitic languages.Second,it provides empirical evidence for the typological plausibility of processability theory(PT).In fact,PT has been tested in typologically different languages(e.g.,English,Italian,and Japan);however,it does not have any validation from Ethiopian languages in general and Ethio-Semitic languages in particular yet.Relevant data was collected from sixteen respondents via picture description tasks,short storytelling,interviews,story re-telling,and spot the difference tasks.Distributional analysis was conducted for the analysis,and the point of emergence of target structures was determined using the emergence criteria.Accordingly,the result shows that the development of gender assignment is compatible with processability theory’s predictions in that lexical procedure precedes phrasal procedure,which is followed by S-procedure.Moreover,the masculine gender emerged earlier than its feminine counterpart at all developmental stages.However,subject agreement markers in pro-drop context emerged at stage two preceding subject verb agreement.This finding is against processability theory’s claim that suggests subject agreement markers only emerge at stage four of the processability hierarchy disregarding their stages of development in pro-drop context in particular.
文摘This essay elaborates as thoroughly as possible the theory of internal compensation of the natural language system, and proves that the general distinctive function, which vanishes because of the loss or decrease of one or more sub-systems or units with their distinctive function, will be compensated with the increase of others or something new to guarantee the general balance of the whole system and fulfill the need of communication. By just discussing some phenomena of internal compensation at the phonological level here, this essay reveals some interesting rules and gives new explanations to some phenomena that have not been explained or not explained properly, then prove the theory’s function of explanation.
文摘Researches on cartography have made universal predictions on the hierarchies of functional projections in language.Based on this assumption,the structural maps established by Rizzi(1997,2001b)for the left-peripheral elements suggest very strongly that Interrogative dominates Focus.Nevertheless,a straight-jacket adoption of this proposed hierarchical order to account for these left-peripheral projections inǸjò`-Kóo would be counterintuitive.Therefore,leaning on empirical and theoretical evidence,the paper calls to question the universality of the cartographers’claim,and argues that the opposite of the view is true ofǸjò`-Kóo.The paper adopts fieldwork method for data elicitation and descriptive approach as well as minimalist program for analysis of data.Data used in this study were elicited from purposively selected native speakers based on language proficiency.Data were acquired with syntactic checklist and structured interviews,and were subjected to interlinear and qualitative analysis.
文摘From the study of polysemy of coordinate conjunctions, it can be found that there are grammaticalization processes from coordination to transition and from coordination to succession. It is a general evolutionary process in connective structures to go from non-specific semantic relationship to specific semantic relationship. This was caused by the cognitive tendency of approximately substituting typical functions for atypical functions.
文摘One of the assumptions underlying theories of phonological derivation is that the phonological architecture of any language consists of,at least,an abstract underlying form,its surface form and conditions which derive the surface form from its underlying form.It is further assumed that the conditions are serially ordered in frameworks which subscribe to the rule ordering such as orthodox generative phonology and lexical phonology.In the present study,these issues are engaged in the case of Uvwie.In particular,the study seeks to investigate the conditions(processes and rules)which derive surface forms from their corresponding underlying forms,and the order in which they apply.Thus the study will examine the different well-motivated phonological rules attested in the derivation of Uvwie formatives,and provide evidence for the order in which the processes apply.The study employe data documented in Ekiugbo(2016),and couched its analysis within rule ordering principle of generative phonology.The study identifies six rules,which are ordered thus:nasal assimilation>glide formation>vowel elision>tone fusion>vowel lengthening>consonant elision.
文摘This paper examines the acquisition of subject-verb agreement inflections in the natural speech corpus of two mono-lingual children speaking Yemeni Ibbi Arabic(YIA)between 2 and 3 years old.The two children are Ibrahim and Wala(between the age of 2;1 and 2;10)with Mean Lenghth of Utterance(MLU)range of 2.72 to 3.23 for Ibrahim and 2.9 to 3.27 for Wala.YIA,as a variety of Arabic,has rich and complex morphological system with a fusional type.Verbs are inflected with tense and agreement.Each verbal inflection is marked for person,number,and gender agreement.However,this paper attempts to explore how agreement forms are acquired by YIA-speaking children and examines when YIA children distinguish between first,second,and third person agreement,singular and plural,masculine and feminine agreement forms.The paper argues that agreement inflections(person,number,gender)are available to children early,thereby supporting the Strong Continuity Hypothesis(Lust,1999).Moreover,the results give evidence to Wexler’s Hypothesis(1998),Very Early Knowledge of Inflection(VEKI),which says that children know the grammatical and phonological properties of inflections in a language in the earliest stages when they enter the two-word stage.Similarly,this study tests Hoekstra and Hyams’(1995)Early Morpho-syntactic Convergence(EMC)which proposed that children acquire the specifics of inflections of the target language at an early stage.
