LINGUIST List 12.1852

Wed Jul 18 2001

Qs: Emphatic Pronouns/"Learnability", Mosaic Rhyme

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Bechir Manai, On the interpretation of emphatic pronouns and "Learnability"
2. Karen S. Chung, Mosaic rhyme

Dear Madam/Sir,

I would be very grateful if you could answer my following questions:

1) a. Why do emphatic reflexives look acceptable only when used with 
definite NPs ? Compare:

 I received the parcel i itself i .
 *I received a parcel i itself i.

 It was John i himself i who received the prise.
 *It was a man i himself i who received the prise.

 b. Related to the above, could you tell me whether the reflexive has 
been raised to the position it actually occupies in the surface 
structure? If the answer is in the affirmative, I would like to know 
where the reflexive originates in the deep structure and whether its 
movement has been forced by some other factors?

2) Many linguists working within the framework of generative grammar 
would invoke learning principles such as the Subset Principle and 
Markedness to argue for the operation of UG in SLA while at the same 
time maintaining that such principles do not constitute a part of the 
grammar. Isn't this a contradiction?

Thank you very much for your help.

Yours sincerely

Bechir Manai

 I'm collecting examples of *mosaic rhyme* for use in my aural-oral
training classes, and am wondering if anybody has any handy you'd be
willing to share.

 Mosaic rhyme is the matching of a one word with a rhyme consisting
of more than one word. Examples:

 1. 'We *toss 'em*, they're *awesome*' (pizza restaurant slogan)

 2. 'Eat, drink and *remarry*.' (not an outright rhyme, but it is
modeled after the phrase
 'Eat, drink, and *be merry*.') (seen on a humorous sign sold in
a souvenir shop)

 3. 'What do you get when you kiss a guy?
 You get enough germs to catch pneu*monia*
 After you do, he'll never *phone ya*...'
 (Burt Bacharach, "I'll never fall in love again")

 Some rhymes work in one dialect (e.g. Midwestern US), not in
another (e.g. RP; this may of course work the other way around;
'awesome foursome' - a feminine rather than mosaic rhyme - is an
example of something that works in RP but not Midwestern US); I'm
interested in anything at all that works in *some* dialect of
English. Silly rhymes are fine - even preferred! - since mosaic rhyme
is often used for (or inadvertently creates!) comic effect anyway. A
Web search turned up very little. Anything you happen to have would be
much appreciated. I'll post a summary if there are enough responses.

 Thanks!!!


 Karen Steffen Chung
 National Taiwan University
 karchungccms.ntu.edu.tw