LINGUIST List 5.227

Fri 25 Feb 1994

Qs: Aslian languages, Afrikaans & Hungarian, Transformations

Editor for this issue: <>

Directory

1. , Aslian languages and authors.
2. , Qs: Afrikaans, Hungarian
3. , RE: 5.138 Transformations

 1)
I need references(*) to Aslian languages and dialects of the Malay
Peninsula. I am particularly interested in the Senoic or Central
Aslian group which includes languages like Temiar and Semai and
their dialects (*: except those in Oceanic Linguistics No.13).

 2)
I would appreciate any information (location, e-mail, etc) on how
could contact either one of the following two Austroasiatic linguists
 Geoffrey Benjamin or Gerard Diffloth

Thanks-- gafosmail.cog.jhu.edu

 A student of mine would appreciate references on the
 following two topics:

 1. the history and structure of Afrikaans, especially
 differences from Dutch and how/when these arose

 2. the genetic affiliation of Hungarian (what's the status
 of the Uralic-Altaic connection these days?)

 Thanks in advance, Catherine

Message 3: RE: 5.138 Transformations

Bill Bennett's comments on the ambiguity of

 The wall was sprayed with paint

are apposite - though he has taken a different line from mine in this same
posting.

I think it is likely that almost all, if not *all* 'past participle' forms
which can be used adjectivally will exhibit this ambiguity. This comes up with
reasonable frequency in my classes - both translation as well as linguistics -
and I put it to my students that there is a difference, though rather grey,
between:

 The letter was beautifully written. (adj)

and

 The letter was written beautifully. (verb)

in that the first would refer to the content of the letter, and the second to
the calligraphy. If anything the first remains ambiguous, the second, not.
The categorial assignments of written are clear. If the "modifier" (not used
in a strict linguistic sense because I want to use one term to refer to both
'beautifully's, and terminology varies so much between different schools!)
cannot follow the participle, it must be an adjective. So to apply to Bill
Bennett's type of example:

 *The cake was eaten half

and perhaps more explicitly

 *The book was thumbed well.

But does anyone have a clear judgement or unambiguous examples of the first.

Mark Hilton
University of Westminster
hiltonmuk.ac.westminster