LINGUIST List 4.733

Tue 21 Sep 1993

Qs: Resultative, Genitive, Grammar check, Electronic lexicon

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1. Nancy Goss, Q: Resultative Constructions
2. Kathleen Kelly, the genitive
3. , grammar checking
4. , electronic dictionaries

I am beginning to conduct research for my dissertation and would like to
know if any languages besides English, Chinese, Dutch and Italian have the
following or similar types of resultative structures.

English: He hammered the metal flat (small clause result)
 He swept the room clean

Chinese: Ta qide ma hen lei (small clause result)
 he rode horse very tired
 "He rode the horse until he/the horse was tired"

 Ta qilei-le ma (compound verb structure)
 He rode-tired horse
 "He rode the horse until he/horse was tired"

I use small clause result as a description rather than as a representation
of my opinion on actual syntactic structure.

I assume that all languages can express results. I am primarily interested
in examining the constructional variation that languages exhibit in expressing
resultatives. I am also interested in restrictions on verb types that can
occur as the matrix verb in these constructions.

Other information I am interested in is whether these result constructions
look similar to causative constructions in a particular language or whether
they are systematically differentiated. Also, what are the coreference
possibilities between the arguments of the matrix verb and what the result
refers to.

Any pieces of information that you can provide would be extremely helpful.
Please send your responses to me, I will post a summary.

Nancy Goss, U of Delaware
gossbrahms.udel.edu

I came across a cite to an article in draft by B. H. Partee, titled
<Compositionality>; does anyone know of such an article, and if it ever
appeared? I'm working on what I'm calling the <apostrophe-less>
genitive--farmers market, visitors parking, etc., and this article is, I
have gathered, an analysis of some of the underlying rules for the
genitive. Also, does anyone know of work on the lack of apostrophes in
certain constructions such as the above? I've been reading
T-grammarians, but so far, no one has addressed this issue. Thanks.
Kathleen Ann Kelly. kakellyneu.edu

I am working in a research and development projekt concerning grammar
checking in Swedish. I know there are people out there who work with
or know about similar projekts. I want to encourage those of you to
share that knowledge with me. I need it desperately.

Rickard Domeij
Royal Institute of Technology, SWEDEN
domeijnada.kth.se

I am looking for electronic dictionaries and thesauruses that are free to
use in research. My interest concerns dictionaries between (to and from)
English and other european languages, and thesauruses for those languages.
Dictionaries between Swedish and other languages are of great interest too.

I would be very greatful if someone could help.

Rickard Domeij
Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
domeijnada.kth.se