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Questions and Answers
What are the essential components required in language as mentioned in the content?
What are the essential components required in language as mentioned in the content?
Which verbs allow postverbal subjects in native English?
Which verbs allow postverbal subjects in native English?
Which principle states that heavy material is typically placed at the end of a sentence?
Which principle states that heavy material is typically placed at the end of a sentence?
What do postverbal materials in sentences tend to represent according to the syntax-discourse interface?
What do postverbal materials in sentences tend to represent according to the syntax-discourse interface?
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What does the syntax-phonology interface primarily deal with?
What does the syntax-phonology interface primarily deal with?
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What kind of verb constructions allow for postverbal subjects in English?
What kind of verb constructions allow for postverbal subjects in English?
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What role does the lexicon play in the language structure according to the interfaces?
What role does the lexicon play in the language structure according to the interfaces?
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In what context can postverbal subjects in Spanish supposedly alternate freely?
In what context can postverbal subjects in Spanish supposedly alternate freely?
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Which hypothesis specifies that postverbal subjects appear only with unaccusative verbs?
Which hypothesis specifies that postverbal subjects appear only with unaccusative verbs?
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What type of sentences do native speakers predominantly produce with unaccusative verbs?
What type of sentences do native speakers predominantly produce with unaccusative verbs?
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In which context do learners show a higher percentage of unaccusative verbs in VS formations compared to natives?
In which context do learners show a higher percentage of unaccusative verbs in VS formations compared to natives?
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What is predicted by the Syntax-Phonology interface in the context of postverbal subjects?
What is predicted by the Syntax-Phonology interface in the context of postverbal subjects?
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Which form of structures do learners occasionally use in unaccusative sentences?
Which form of structures do learners occasionally use in unaccusative sentences?
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What percentage of learners produced grammatical versus ungrammatical unaccusative structures?
What percentage of learners produced grammatical versus ungrammatical unaccusative structures?
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Which of the following is NOT a predicted interface condition affecting postverbal subjects?
Which of the following is NOT a predicted interface condition affecting postverbal subjects?
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Which statement best captures the relationship between native and learner use of unengiative verbs?
Which statement best captures the relationship between native and learner use of unengiative verbs?
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Study Notes
Subject-Verb Inversion in Spanish and English
- Verb-subject order is possible in Spanish, but some orders are better than others for understanding.
Theoretical Departure Point: Interfaces
- Four basic ingredients for language: words, how words combine (syntax), how words are pronounced (phonetics/phonology), and meaning (semantics/pragmatics).
- Lexicon (words) feeds the computational system (syntax) through the syntax-lexicon interface.
- Syntax interacts with phonology (sound system) and creates the conceptual and intentional systems (through syntax-discourse interface)
- Interfaces connect linguistic modules.
Word Order in Native Spanish
- Word order in Spanish is seemingly "free" for postverbal subjects with all verb types, but constraints exist based on speaker knowledge of context.
Word Order in Native English
- Three principles operate across three interfaces relate to subject position:
- Subjects that are heavy or focus tend to occur after the verb, particularly with unaccusative verbs.
- Lexicon-syntax interface: Only unaccusative verbs (existence, appearance, change of location) allow postverbal subjects in English.
- Existential constructions with "there" allow postverbal subjects, as in "There exist three types of social problems".
Study 1: Interface Conditions on Postverbal Subjects
- Previous studies explored conditions for postverbal subjects in L2 English.
- Unaccusative verbs (e.g., arrive, happen) allow postverbal subjects.
- Unergative verbs (e.g., cry, walk) do not.
Hypotheses
- Hypothesis 1 (Unaccusativity): Learners understand the rule that postverbal subjects occur only with unaccusative verbs.
- Hypothesis 2 (End Weight): Learners understand that postverbal subjects are phonologically heavy.
- Hypothesis 3 (End Focus): Learners understand that postverbal subjects are new information.
Corpus Studies
- Learner corpora were analyzed to compare native and non-native speakers' use of postverbal subjects.
- Speakers produced unaccusative verbs more often than unergative verbs and also tend to put heavy materials at the end of a sentence.
- Natives produce more grammatically correct unaccusative sentences.
- Learners also produce ungrammatical unaccusative or post-verbal sentence.
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Description
Explore the dynamics of subject-verb inversion in both Spanish and English. This quiz delves into theoretical frameworks, word order principles, and the interfaces that connect different linguistic modules. Test your understanding of how these concepts affect communication in both languages.
