LINGUIST List 9.641

Sat May 2 1998

Qs: Icelandic, Word order, Verb freq, Double object

Editor for this issue: Brett Churchill <brettlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Joong-Sun Sohn, Looking for an Icelandic
2. Anjum P. Saleemi, Word Order Query
3. Marcia Bronstein, verb form frequency
4. bingfu, double object and dative structures

I am looking for a native Icelandic speaker for 
my dissertation research that is purely linguistic (it's about reflexive 
marking). I heard there is one on KU campus, but I could not find the person. Iprefer speakers living in the vicinity of Lawrence, Kansas (Wichita, Topeka, 
Kansas City, ect.), but not necessary. If you know one, please let me 
know.
 
Thank you.

Joong-Sun Sohn
Linguistics Department
University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS 66045
U.S.A.

Hi!

This is just a typological/data question. Could someone out there tell me
if there is any known language which has the following word order: STVOC,
where (to state the obvious) S stands for Subject, T for Tense, V for
verb, and C for Complementizer. In other words, can a language be
head-initial in respect of T and V but head-final in respect of C? Would
be grateful for any information bearing on this issue.

Anjum Saleemi
Brain & Cognitive Sciences/
Linguistics and Philosophy
MIT

Can anyone direct me to published or unpublished studies of verb
tense/form frequency in written English? I'm looking for research
on frequency rates of tense, aspect or other verb features in any
corpus type, as I conduct my own studies.

For example -- in a particular body of English texts, rate 
of one structure such as present perfect or a variety of 
structures, rate of verbs with future meaning, rates of modals
categorized according to surface structure or function.

Any structural or semantic design is of interest to me.

Thanks in advance for your replies and I will summarize.

Marcia Bronstein, Montgomery College, Takoma Park, Maryland, USA 20912
marciabumd5.umd.edu

Query: double object and dative structures

	It seems all double object structures can shift to dative 
structures, but the reverse does not always hold, as shown in examples
below. 

	 (1)	a.	I give it to John.
		b.	*I give John it.

 	 (2)	a.	I give it to him.
		b.	*I give him it.

	Now, I would like to know:

1. Are there any counterexamples that only double object holds?
(in zero context, i.e. '?Mary threw John the ball. But he wasn't
looking' does not count).

2. As I know, this asymmetric shift relation holds true of Chinese
corresponding opposition.
 I would like to know to what extent this asymmetry is universal.
Specifically, how does your native language behave in this aspect?

If responses are sufficient to draw a conclusion, I will make a
summary.

Thanks!
Bingfu LU
USC