LINGUIST List 6.1746

Thu Dec 14 1995

Qs: locative Phrases, proverbial Competence, Child Language

Editor for this issue: Ljuba Veselinova <lveselinemunix.emich.edu>

Directory

1. , Re:Informant check
2. "Alan S. Kaye", Proverbial Competence
3. klaus freyberg, Child Language

Dear Sirs;

I am a student in the fourth year of Seinan Gakuin University. Now I
am doing research for my graduation thesis. I will be glad if you
would help me.

I am interested in the locality of Locative phrases based on Rizzi's
"Relativized Minimality". I made interrogative sentenses which have
two wh-elements. I would like to do Informat check because I cannot
judge the acceptability of those sentenses precisely. I numbered the
sentenses from (1) to (6), and each number includes two sentenses.
Would you compare and judge which sentense is more acceptable? Please
put "*" when you consider a sentense as ungramatical, and put "?" or
"??" when you feel that a sentense is strange.

(1) ( ) a. Where did you wonder how to put the books t ?
		(-- I wondeeed how to put the books on the shelf.)
 ( ) b. How did you wonder where to put the books t ?	
 (-- I wondered where to put the books at random.

(2) ( ) a. Where did you wonder how to play the guitar t ?
		(-- I wondered how to play the guitar in his room.)	
	 	( ( ) b.
 How did you wonder where to play the guitar t ?
 (-- I wondered where to play the guitar to my heart content.)

(3) ( ) a. Where did you wonder how to treat Mary t ?
		(-- I wondered how to treat mary in the classroom.)
 ( ) b. How did you wonder where to treat Mary t ?
	 (-- I wondered where to treat Mary kindly.

(4) ( ) a. Where did you wonder how to study English t ?
		( -- I wondered how to study English in the library.)
 ( ) b. How did you wonder where to study English t ?
		(-- I wondered where to study English in a loud voice.)

(5) ( ) a. Where did you wonder what to put t ?
		(-- I wondered what to put under the chair.)
 ( ) b. What did you wonder where to put t ?
		(-- I wondered where to put the vase.)

(6) ( ) a. Where did you wonder what to buy t ?
 (-- I wondered what to buy in that shop.)
 ( ) b. What did you wonder where to buy t ?
 (-- I wondered where to buy a cup.)

Thank you very much. I look forward to your early reply.

Sincerely Yours,

Maki Irie
Student of Seinan Gakuin University

Part of communicative competence is a knowledge of proverbs (which I
take it is a linguistic universal). Thus many English speakers, e.g.,
have heard the following proverb (and therefore know it): "You pays
your money and you takes your choice." This is given, in fact, in the
Oxford Dictionary of Quo- tations, 1979, 3rd ed., p. 9. What I would
like to know is how many English speakers have heard a variation of
this proverb in which the word "chances" (not "choices") has replaces
"choice." I deem this to be a proverbial sub-categorization, and I
hope to find out other examples of this in English and in other
languages. I would like to think that native speaker's change
proverbs according to well-defined rules ("chances" is also
monosyllabic and begins with a voiceless affricate, etc.).

I will post a summary of examples and interesting reasons explaining
the phenomenon. Does anyone know of any research on this (about any
language)? Has anyone every heard any other change with this proverb
or any other English proverb? My preliminary hypothesis is that
variations in proverbs are universal.

Alan Kaye
Linguistics
Calif. State University, Fullerton --- akayefullerton.edu

I'm a german philosopher and very intersetd on Child Language (esp.
emotional terms). Who researchs on this theme and can send further
details ? Thanks, Klaus Freyberg; Lueckstr. 44; 10317 Berlin
(Germany)