Syntax
Maryam Khamse Ashari; Rezvan Motavallian; Vali Rezai
Volume 15, Issue 2 , September 2023, , Pages 29-53
Abstract
Object complement construction as one of the most important and challenging categories of grammar has been noticed by linguists and grammarians from past to present. The present study investigates the Object complement construction based on three basic hypotheses: Small Clause Theory, Predication Theory, ...
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Object complement construction as one of the most important and challenging categories of grammar has been noticed by linguists and grammarians from past to present. The present study investigates the Object complement construction based on three basic hypotheses: Small Clause Theory, Predication Theory, and Complex Predicate Theory. Most of the linguists and grammarians who have studied Object complement construction in the Persian language have presented a similar view of the Predication theory. The findings of this study revealed that the analysis of the Object complement construction within the framework of Predication Theory is incompatible with the principles of the Government and Binding theory and Minimalist Program, such as the Theta criterion, Projection principle, and Uniformity of Theta Assignment Hypothesis (UTAH). The analysis of the mentioned construction based on the complex predicate theory on the one hand ignores the principle of linguistic economy and productivity process by increasing the number of compound verbs in Persian, and on the other hand, it ignores the propositional relationship between the Object complement construction and the preceding noun phrase. In the following, based on small clause theory and arguments such as argument alternation, selection restriction, the ambiguity of the interrogative complex sentences, occurrence in different syntactic contexts, idiom chunk, agreement, paraphrasing, sentence fragment, scrambling, gapping pronominalization, and the distribution of NP-types as subjects of small clause construction was shown Object complement together with the preceding noun phrase should be considered a single constituent as a small clause.
Syntax
Sahar Mohammadian; Bahram Modarresi; Foroogh Kazemi; Setareh Majidi
Volume 14, Issue 4 , March 2023, , Pages 39-77
Abstract
Dabir-Moghaddam (1972,2004) believes that -râ, moreover, is syntactically the function word of the explicit object, can also be informationally the marker of its secondary topic. Meanwhile, some researchers have challenged the use of -râ as a secondary topic marker in the explicit object ...
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Dabir-Moghaddam (1972,2004) believes that -râ, moreover, is syntactically the function word of the explicit object, can also be informationally the marker of its secondary topic. Meanwhile, some researchers have challenged the use of -râ as a secondary topic marker in the explicit object when it is indefinite or when it is considered as an informative focus in response to the speaker's question in the discourse context. They have considered the marker-râ being fastened on factors such as identifiability, specificity, and definiteness. The current study's goal is to examine the marker-râ using the LFG approach of King (1997), Butt & King (2000), and Abubakari (2018), relying on the definitions provided by the secondary topic by Dabir-Moghaddam (1972,2004), Dalrymple & Nikolaeva (2011). The research methodology is descriptive-analytical, and the data was collected in two ways: in the library and field. The findings reveal that in the f-structure, the grammatical preposition-râ is placed in the (PFORM) feature and can indicate the grammatical function of the theme/patient oblique instead of the grammatical function of the explicit object. In the i-structure, -râ is placed in the (DFORM) feature and leads to secondary topic marking. In the c-structure, as the preposition's head, it also causes the formation of the prepositional phrase. Also, in the above-mentioned challenging cases, it has been shown that with a suggestion of the layered i-structure, the râ-Marker as a (DFORM) marks secondary topic at the sentence level and the secondary topic can be placed on the inner or outer layer of other informative elements at a level beyond the sentence. Therefore, it can be concluded that the mentioned approach in the LFG in line with the opinion of Dabir-Moghaddam (1972,2004) on the effect of syntactic and informational factors on the occurrence of -râ, can show a comprehensive representation of the marker-râ.
Syntax
Seyyed Mahdi Sadati Nooshabadi; Narjes Banou sabouri
Volume 14, Issue 4 , March 2023, , Pages 229-254
Abstract
In this research the structure of gapping in the Old Persian and Zoroastrian Middle Persian Languages is studied with regard to the symmetric merge and multi-dominance approach. For doing so, at first the structure of gapping and its properties are described and then this structure in the linguistic ...
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In this research the structure of gapping in the Old Persian and Zoroastrian Middle Persian Languages is studied with regard to the symmetric merge and multi-dominance approach. For doing so, at first the structure of gapping and its properties are described and then this structure in the linguistic samples of Old and Middle Persian Languages are analyzed by using the results of Citko (2011b and 2012). According to the results of this research, the properties of gapping structure found in the samples of Old Persian Language are different from the standard notion of gapping in a way that in the samples of Old Persian Language there is scrambling phenomenon in a NP and the deleted construction is also a part of embedded NP. In the Zoroastrian Middle Persian language, evidences found in the gapping structure such as existence of the same tense, voice of the verb and lexical verbs in the conjuncts are the solid bases for the symmetric merge of the T, little v, and lexical verb heads in this structure.
Syntax
Ahoo Alvand; Zeinab Mohammad Ebrahimi Jahromi
Volume 14, Issue 2 , July 2022, , Pages 181-201
Abstract
Compound verbs are one of the most frequent types of verbs in Persian and have been the subject of many researches. This type of verb is actually a compound predicate that consists of a verbal component and one (or more) non-verbal component that, together, express a meaning. In this article, we provide ...
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Compound verbs are one of the most frequent types of verbs in Persian and have been the subject of many researches. This type of verb is actually a compound predicate that consists of a verbal component and one (or more) non-verbal component that, together, express a meaning. In this article, we provide a model for the structure of compound verbs in Persian based on the theory of Distributed Morphology. It becomes clear that in the structure of compound verbs, an abstract root is considered for each component. These roots have no syntactic category and phonetic essence and are only a chain of semantic features. At first, roots merge in their base position according to Minimalism Program and pass the known syntactic processes in the theory. After that, they undergo post-syntactic processes on the basis of Distributed Morphology. Finally, the syntactic nodes are prepared for the insertion of Vocabulary Items (VI). It is shown that the root related to the non-verbal component is merged in the head of the predicate group (PredP) and bears the main burden of predication in the sentence. This group is in sister position to the vP. The verbal component of the compound verb is merged into the head of vP.
Syntax
Hassan Barzegar; Mahinnaz Mirdehghan Farashah; Gholamhossein Karimidoostan
Volume 13, Issue 2 , February 2022, , Pages 167-194
Abstract
The study of Lexical Aspect in Persian Complex Predicates has been a controversial topic in recent years. As far as telicity is concerned, there are two contrasting approaches in this field: one in which the “Preverbal elements”, including nouns, adjectives, and prepositional phrases, are ...
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The study of Lexical Aspect in Persian Complex Predicates has been a controversial topic in recent years. As far as telicity is concerned, there are two contrasting approaches in this field: one in which the “Preverbal elements”, including nouns, adjectives, and prepositional phrases, are considered to be determinant of telicity; and the other, in which “Light Verbs” are considered to be determinant. The present research is aimed to study the aspectual properties of Persian Denominal Complex predicates, and the role and contribution of its constituents in the aspectual properties of theses verbs. For this purpose, the First Phase Syntax is been used to divide the eventive nominal preverbs into two main classes, including process and achievement nouns. Evidences have been provided showing that telicity in eventive denominal CPrs is determined by the event structure of the nominal preverb. Therefore, CPrs which benefit from a process preverb are all atelic, due to the non-bounded nature of the nominal, while those with achievement nominals are all telic, due to the bounded event structure of their preverbal element. The result of this study illustrates that light verbs are neutral in determining the telicity of Persian Complex Predicates. Moreover, it shows that some CPrs with eventive nominals are atelic.
Syntax
Atiyeh Kamyabi Gol; Reihane Barani
Volume 13, Issue 2 , February 2022, , Pages 225-258
Abstract
Preparation and compilation of educational materials based on scientific principles is one of the major goals of the document of the comprehensive scientific map of the country. Due to the growing need for these resources, unfortunately today we are faced with a lack of standardized and efficient educational ...
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Preparation and compilation of educational materials based on scientific principles is one of the major goals of the document of the comprehensive scientific map of the country. Due to the growing need for these resources, unfortunately today we are faced with a lack of standardized and efficient educational materials for teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers. The purpose of this library, analytical and field research study was to develop a simplified and translated text from "Qaboosnameh" anecdotes to study the reflective feedback from both teachers and learners at the pre-advanced level. In order to achieve this aim, Maxwell (2011) and Paetzold, and Specia (2015) frameworks and principles were applied to a text and simplification implemented. In order to collect the instructors’ feedback on classroom application of the designed material, a written semi-structured interview was conducted. The developed materials were given to 15 instructors from Azfa Center at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad and 3 instructors from Ankara. All the participating instructors confirmed the appropriateness of the lesson topics and asserted their relevance to the learners’ needs. Also, the instructors believed that the syntactic and lexical difficulty level of the texts were comprehensible for 21 out of 25 Persian learners, which indicates the appropriate level of difficulty of the simplified texts.
