Quiz, Comparative syntax, Summary

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Quiz, Comparative syntax, Summary

• Introduction to Syntax
• ANTH 359/759
• Fall 2007

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Quiz 1

• Match each description in (A) to an example or
  analysis in (B) and write the letter from (B) in
  the box. (10 x 1 10 pts)

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Answers to Quiz 1

• a designer of furniture who is fashionable
• a) a trendy furniture designer
• a designer of fashionable furniture
• b) a trendy furniture designer
• a compositional interpretation of Mary bit off
  more than she could chew
• f) Mary took so much food into her mouth she
  could not masticate it.
• a non-compositional interpretation of Mary bit
  off more than she could chew
• e) Mary took on something that was beyond her
  abilities.
• The auxiliary verb moves to the left of the
  subject in SAI.
• i) Does the athletic program constantly overspend
  its budget?

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Answers to Quiz 1, cont.

• The subject does not move to the right of the
  auxiliary verb in SAI.
• g) Constantly does the athletic program
  overspend its budget?
• The subject and auxiliary verb do not switch
  places in SAI.
• j) Does constantly the athletic program
  overspend its budget?
• Dare acts like an auxiliary verb.
• k) Dare you read on?
• Dare acts like an auxiliary verb.
• m) I darent read on.
• Dare acts like a main verb.
• l) Mary dares to read on.

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Announcements

• There are no changes to the syllabus at
  http//www.tulane.edu/ling/ANTH359/
• The bookstore says that more copies of the
  textbook will arrive tomorrow (Tuesday).

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Cross-linguistic comparisons

• If a phenomenon is found in all human languages,
  it is called 'universal'.
• and presumably is part of the human genetic
  endowment and so does not need to be learned
• If a phenomenon is found in only some human
  languages, it is called a 'parameter', at least
  in the theory used in the textbook.
• and presumably is not part of the human genetic
  endowment and so needs to be learned

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Review Verb inversion in English
What conclusion do you draw? English allows
auxiliary but not main verbs to invert with the
subject.
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Verb inversion in French
What conclusion do you draw? French allows both
auxiliary and main verbs to invert with the
subject.
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Verb inversion in German (and Dutch)
What conclusion do you draw? German and Dutch
also allow both auxiliary and main verbs to
invert with the subject.
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Main conclusion
There is no universal ban on SVI. English must
have a language-particular ban on SVI. SVI must
be a parameter of language.
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Verb inversion in Old English
What conclusion do you draw? Old English also
allowed both auxiliary and main verbs to invert
with the subject.
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Summary table
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Language families

• Germanic
• German
• Dutch
• English
• Danish
• Swedish
• Norwegian
• Icelandic

• Romance
• French
• Italian
• Spanish
• Portuguese
• Romanian

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Exercises

• Exercise 5, 6, p. 52ff

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Next time

• Exercises I Ex. 8-10