Ph.D. - Linguistics
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Item A comparison of grammaticality evaluation measurements : testing native speakers of English and Korean(1993) Masterson, Deborah AnnItem A computational model for the testing of linguistic hypotheses concerning language change(1992) Lindsey, Francis Lynn Jr.This dissertation describes a computational program designed for the modeling of language change. It differs from most other work in computational linguistics in that its goal is the examination of scientific hypotheses rather than their efficient implementation. At the heart of the program (called FLRN) is an implementation of the lexicase (Starosta 1988) syntactic framework. In the discussion of this implementation, a formalization of regular morphology is provided for the theory. A simple parser is set up using a combination of lexicase filters and a performance (phrase structure) grammar learned through experience. The language learning portion of the program includes a minimum number of general learning abilities: classification, simplification, and analogical reasoning or generalization. Hypotheses concerning language change may be placed in either a FOCUS module (for claims about perceptual strategies, and limitations), a pragmatic module (for claims related to discourse and situation), or an all powerful GUIDE module (for claims concerning universals of language or learning). A comparison of the output of the program and observed linguistic structures provides a measure of the effectiveness of the claims in accounting for language change. The study includes examples of FLRN's use to model a simple language learner and a change from postpositions to prepositions in the Chinese languages.Item A description of Hiligaynon phrase and clause constructions([Honolulu], 1972) Wolfenden, Elmer PaulItem A diachronic view of case-marking systems in Greek : a localistic-lexicase analysis(1979) Acson, VeneetaItem A grammar of Akuntsú, a Tupían language([Honolulu] : [University of Hawaii at Manoa], [December 2014], 2014-12) Aragon, Carolina CoelhoThis dissertation presents a description of the main aspects of Akuntsú grammar, as spoken by five monolingual people who live in the Southeast region of Rondônia state, Brazil. Akuntsú people have until recently been an isolated indigenous group, now the only survivors of genocide. Akuntsú is a critically endangered language. This study presents an analysis of the phonology and morphosyntax of the language. It takes a functional approach to describing the structures of the language and the function that each grammatical component serves. This study is based on fieldwork research carried out since 2004, where the analyses were grounded on several texts. This dissertation introduces aspects of the Akuntsú people and culture in chapter 1; In chapter 2, I describe Akuntsú phonology and relevant aspects of phonological processes found in this language; grammatical categories and word-structures are introduced in chapter 3; nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, ideophones, particles and interjections are discussed in chapter 4, 5, 6 and 7; and simple clause types in chapter 8. Typologically, Akuntsú has been revealed interesting phonological and morphological traits. The stop consonants in Akuntsú have unusual surface representations, such as a voiceless-voiced consonant cluster, which alternate intervocalically and under stress assignment; the morpheme used in the related Makuráp, Tuparí and Mekéns languages (members of the Tuparían subfamily) identified as a genitive classifier to signal possession of animals is, in Akuntsú, replaced by kinship terms, as though possessed animals were now treated as sons or daughters. This lost of the genitive classifier shows that the drastic social changes they have suffered in being reduced to five members is indeed reflected in a particular linguistic construction. Aside from these linguistic traits, languages spoken in Rondônia state in Brazil, such as Akuntsú, have importance, both for their linguistic diversity and for their location in a region, which is claimed to be the main area of the Tupían homeland. The description of Akuntsú, makes it possible to further contribute to linguistic science, especially to the study of historical linguistics in the area.Item A grammar of Baba Malay with sociophonetic considerations([Honolulu] : [University of Hawaii at Manoa], [December 2014], 2014-12) Lee, Huiying NalaBaba Malay, the home language of Peranakans, was formed via early intermarriage between Hokkien-speaking male traders and Malay-speaking indigenous women in the Malay Peninsula. The language is endangered, with less than 1,000 speakers in Singapore, and less than 1,000 speakers in Malacca, Malaysia. This dissertation describes the language's sociohistorical background, its current circumstances of endangerment, and provides information regarding the phonology, parts of speech, and syntax of Baba Malay as it is spoken in Singapore. The language has 19 consonants and 8 vowels, of which [ɛ] occurs only in a refined style of speaking. Acoustic investigation of the vowel system shows that that [ɛ] is falling out of use, especially among less proficient speakers. A matched guise task is conducted to show the associations that listeners form between this changing variant and the speakers who produce this variant. Results show that younger listeners in particular perceived forms with [ɛ] as being more emblematic of the Peranakan culture and community than corresponding coarse speech forms that do not use [ɛ]. This is consequential for language change. Results from a post-matched guise survey also indicate that Peranakans are very concerned about language loss. Beyond this extended phonological investigation, the language's basic clausal word order is Subject Verb Object, where Subject is optional. Topicalization also occurs frequently in the language. The basic phrasal word orders in Baba Malay are Noun Adjective, Genitive Noun, and Preposition Noun. Relative clauses occur prenominally and postnominally. Other than presenting a traditional description of Singapore Baba Malay, this grammar also highlights differences between Singapore Baba Malay and Malacca Baba Malay, and addresses whether Baba Malay is a genetic dialect of Malay, a mixed language, or a creole. Comparison between Singapore Baba Malay and Malacca Baba Malay shows that Malacca Baba Malay is more influenced by standard Malay, particularly where lexicon is concerned. Investigation into the issue of classification shows that BM should be classified as a creole. This dissertation includes vocabulary and texts; the audio files associated with these texts are archived at Kaipuleohone.Item A Grammar of Enxet Sur(2021) Elliott, John Alexander; Campbell, Lyle; LinguisticsItem A grammar of Irarutu, a language of West Papua, Indonesia, with historical analysis([Honolulu] : [University of Hawaii at Manoa], [August 2014], 2014-08) Jackson, Jason A. J.Irarutu is an Austronesian language that has been classified in the literature as a member of the South Halmahera-West New Guinea subgroup. Some differences with other languages of that subgroup can be attributed to extensive historical contact with speakers of one or more neighboring Trans-New Guinea phylum languages. The Irarutu language is considered endangered. It is spoken fluently by fewer than 6000 speakers on the Bomberai Peninsula in West Papua, Eastern Indonesia, but the total ethnic population is closer to 10,000 people. Nearly all Irarutu speakers know Indonesian, the national language, due to the education system, mass media, and economic factors. This has caused language use to decline, particularly among younger people. This dissertation provides background information (Ch. 1) and describes Irarutu phonology and morphophonology (Ch. 2), morphology and syntax (Ch. 3), and historical phonology as well as diagnostics for classifying the language (Ch. 4). Supplementary materials are provided in several appendices. The phoneme inventory has fifteen consonants and seven vowels, including a labiopalatal high vowel. In the dialect described in this dissertation, voiced stops are phonetically prenasalized. Consonant clusters abound. Deletion is the strong form of a process called 'vowel reduction' that contributes to the complexity of Irarutu consonant clusters. Despite the relatively complex vowel system, native speakers feel that their language has a very consonantal character. Irarutu has SVO word-order, prepositions, and most modifiers follow their heads, but possessors precede possessed nouns. Furthermore, a contrast between between alienable and inalienable possession is expressed morphologically. There are no case markers, but several verbalizing morphemes, including subject markers, an active verb marker fi-, and an infinitival/habitual marker na-are used in the language. Serial verb constructions are frequent in naturalistic language data. Topicalization, negation, and politeness are achieved through the use of clitics, =ro 'topic', =ti 'negative', =o 'polite'. It is hoped that the present grammar helps this particular language continue to be spoken in the future, by boosting awareness of the language outside of its traditional location and providing resources for its maintenance. Documentation materials of Irarutu can be accessed at the University of Hawaiʻi's digital language archive, Kaipuleohone.Item A grammar of Manam(1980) Lichtenberk, Frantisek; LinguisticsItem A grammar of the eastern old Japanese dialects([Honolulu] : [University of Hawaii at Manoa], [May 2011], 2011-05) Kupchik, John EverittThis dissertation is the first complete grammar of the Eastern Old Japanese (EOJ) dialects written in a modern descriptive linguistic framework, and the first ever in the English language. The EOJ dialects were spoken in the modern Kantō area of Japan during the Nara period (8th century CE), and are recorded in books 14 and 20 of the Man'yōshu poetry anthology. These dialects differ in many striking ways from the Nara dialect of Western Old Japanese, which is the main language of the ancient Japanese texts. The first half of the dissertation is the first comprehensive attempt to reconstruct the phonology of all eleven attested provincial speech varieties, and many new dialect-specific phonological mergers and shifts are presented based on a new hypothesis of innovative orthographic practices by the scribes. The second half is the grammar proper, with all noun, adjective, and verb morphology described in detail and once again examined independently in each of the eleven provinces. The complex system of particles is also described in detail, in a similar fashion. The dissertation concludes with a new dialect taxonomy firmly rooted in the study of shared linguistic innovations across the provinces. Also included are three appendices. Among these is a new, fully annotated EOJ corpus that was compiled based on the comparative analysis of four primary Man'yōshu manuscripts, using the oldest extant manuscript, the Genryaku Kōhon, as the main source. No previous linguistic study on EOJ has used the Genryaku Kōhon as the primary source, and this dissertation argues that many important features of the dialects are lost when other manuscripts, such as the Nishi Honganji-Bon, are taken as primary.