Mauwake reference grammar

This dissertation provides a synchronic grammatical description of Mauwake, a Papuan (Trans-New Guinea) language of about 2000 speakers on the North Coast of the Madang Province in Papua New Guinea. The theoretical background is that of Basic Linguistic Theory (BLT), used extensively in analysing and writing descriptive grammars. The chapters from morphology to clause level are described from form to function; in the later chapters the function is taken more often as the starting point. Any theory-specific terminology is kept to the minimum and formalisms have been avoided in accordance with BLT principles. Mauwake has a classic 5-vowel system and 14 consonant phonemes. With its simple phonology it is a typical representative of the Madang North Coast languages. For a Papuan language there are relatively few morphophonological alternations. Nouns are either alienably or inalienably possessed. There is no obligatory number marking in nouns or noun phrases. Pronouns have several different forms: five for case and three for other functions. The dative pronouns are treated as [+human] locatives, and they have also grammaticalised as possessives. The verbal morphology is agglutinative and mainly suffixal. Unusual features include two distributive suffixes, and the interaction of the derivational benefactive and the inflectional beneficiary suffixes. The applicative suffix has either transitivising or causative but not benefactive function. The switch-reference system distinguishes between simultaneous and sequential action, as well as same or different subject in relation to the following clause. There are several verbs denoting coming and going, and they may combine with one of three prefixes to indicate bringing and taking. Mauwake is a nominative-accusative type language, and the basic constituent order in a clause is SOV. Subject and object are the only syntactic arguments. There is no indirect object, but a clause can have two or even three objects. A nominalised clause with a finite verb functions as a relative clause or a complement clause; one with a nominalised verb has several different functions. Functional domains described include modality, negation, deixis, quantification, possession and comparison. As there are four negators, Mauwake has more variation in negative expressions than is usual in Papuan languages. Clause chaining is the preferred strategy for joining clauses into sentences, but coordination and subordination of finite clauses are also common. The form of a complement clause depends on whether it is of the fact, action or potential type. Tail-head linkage is used as a cohesive device between sentences. The discourse-level features described are topic and focus.

Aquisição da factividade: complementação infinitiva e extração-QU no português brasileiro

O fenômeno da factividade, no âmbito da linguística, em sentido amplo, está relacionado à propriedade que certos itens lexicais ou determinados predicadores gramaticais possuem de introduzir um pressuposto, que pode estar implícito ou explícito. No domínio verbal, Kiparsky e Kiparsky (1971) remetem a um conjunto de verbos, os quais admitem uma sentença como complemento e cujo uso pressupõe a veracidade da proposição aí expressa. Em termos aquisicionais, não há consenso acerca da idade em que factividade estaria dominada. Hopmann e Maratsos (1977), por exemplo, propuseram que seu domínio se daria a partir dos 6 anos. Para Abbeduto e Rosenberg (1985), no entanto, isso ocorreria mais cedo, por volta dos 4 anos de idade. Já Schulz (2002; 2003), defende uma aquisição gradual, que se daria por estágios e se estenderia até os 7;0 anos de idade. Léger (2007), por sua vez, afirma que o domínio da factividade, especificamente dos semifactivos, só se daria após os 11 anos. Scoville e Gordon (1979), por fim, propõem que só por volta dos 14 anos a criança seria capaz de dominar a factividade em todos os seus aspectos. Essa falta de consenso corrobora a ideia de uma aquisição gradual, uma vez que esse fenômeno envolve vários aspectos: identificação de uma subclasse de verbos, uma interpretação semântica específica, uma subcategorização sintática variável entre as línguas e um comportamento característico no que diz respeito ao movimento-QU. Esta dissertação tem como objetivo geral contribuir para os estudos sobre aquisição da factividade, particularmente no que diz respeito ao português, debruçando-se mais especificamente sobre dois aspectos pouco explorados na literatura da área: uma questão de variação translinguística, que diz respeito à possibilidade de se admitirem complementos não-finitos factivos em português, e a questão da interpretação de interrogativas-QU em contextos factivos, com propriedades características de ilha fraca. O quadro obtido é discutido frente às análises linguísticas propostas para os verbos/ predicados factivos, que têm considerado uma distinção sintática (KIPARSKY E KIPARSKY, 1971; MELVOLD, 1991; SCHULZ, 2003; AUGUSTO, 2003; LIMA, 2007), com repercussões de ordem lógico/ semântica (LEROUX E SCHULZ, 1999; SCHULZ, 2002; 2003)

Alternância no uso dos modos indicativo e subjuntivo em orações subordinadas substantivas: uma comparação entre o português do Brasil e o francês do Canadá

The purpose of this work is to analyze the use of the indicative mood, instead of the subjunctive prescribed by the normative grammar, in complement clauses introduced by the conjunction que in Brazilian Portuguese. Contexts of use of the subjunctive according to grammatical prescription, and contexts of fluctuation on the use of that verbal mood were analyzed, in an attempt to investigate what interferes on the choice of the mood by the user of the language. This study is based on North-American Functional Linguistics theoretical perspective, oriented to analyzing language in use, in the light of the principles of grammaticalization and markedness. The results obtained support that the contexts that favor the indicative over the subjunctive are those composed by a complement clause functioning as a direct object the unmarked clause of all complement clauses and by a verb on the main sentence that belongs to the semantic field of low certainty, corresponding to the epistemic sub-mode the unmarked category of the deontic sub-mode. The results indicate that pragmatics and semantics factors influence the language user on the choice of the verbal mood. This research also presents comparative data on the use of the indicative mood in place of the subjunctive in Brazilian Portuguese and Canadian French, aiming to providing suggestions on language teaching

História de uma completiva: origem e desenvolvimento do complemento oracional introduzido por se do português

O propósito deste trabalho é investigar o percurso histórico da oração completiva iniciada pela conjunção se do português, que também introduz, nessa e em outras línguas românicas, uma oração adverbial condicional. Com base em registros de filólogos e romanistas, demonstra-se que a similaridade existente entre essas orações é resultado de gramaticalização da oração condicional que, no latim, passou a funcionar como oração completiva, em razão da extinção das partículas interrogativas que passaram a ser substituídas pela conjunção condicional latina si. Como oração completiva, a oração com se submete-se à gramaticalização, integrando-se à oração matriz de um modo que, conforme proposta de Hopper e Traugott (1993) e de Lehmann (1988), é próprio a construções completivas. A forma que tem essa oração de se gramaticalizar, incorporando-se à oração matriz, é, entretanto, diferente do que é previsto ocorrer a uma completiva introduzida por que, uma diferença que se deve, sobretudo, ao significado hipotético que a completiva com se preserva de sua fonte histórica. Demonstra-se, por fim, que, do português arcaico ao português contemporâneo, a gramaticalização do complemento oracional introduzido por se não se configura em mudança diacrônica, já que essa gramaticalização é atestada desde períodos mais remotos, em textos do século XIV.

Motivações funcionais da gradação entre construções encaixadas nominais e verbais

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Gramaticalização das construções com orações completivas: o caso do complemento oracional introduzido por se

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Percurso diacrônico de completivas introduzidas por 'como' no português

As a more extensive issue, this paper deals with the polysemy attested in all Romance languages between interrogative pronouns and subordination markers in complex sentences. It investigates, specifically, the behavior of objective complement clauses introduced by “como” (“how”) in constructions in which they occur as equivalent to the meaning of prototypical declarative complement clause introduced by the conjunction “que” (“that”). It analyzes complement clauses introduced by “como” and “que” occurring in representative Portuguese texts from the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries. The results of the comparative analysis between the two forms of clausal complement show that in archaic Portuguese “como” was used primarily to introduce complement clauses of factive verbs. When the complement clause is introduced by “como”, the content that is presupposed as true due to the meaning of matrix verb has reinforced this factuality. In the passage from the archaic to the modern period, there was a drastic decrease in the frequency of occurrences of complement clauses with “como”, which are replaced by the form of completive introduced by the conjunction “que” in the context of factual constructions. In contemporary Portuguese, this replacement is fully established. Complement clauses with “como” remain rare and limited to specific contexts in which “como” maintains its reinforcement function of factual meaning.

Did John really promise Mary to leave?

This paper contrasts finite and non-finite complement constructions containing the matrix verb promise. Using data from the British National Corpus, I show that when no explicit mention is made of the promissee the non-finite form of complement is overwhelmingly preferred to its finite counterparts. The exact opposite is the case when the promissee is mentioned between the matrix verb and the complement clause. In addition, the promiser in the x promise y to infinitive construction is almost always pronominal. I suggest that these two facts, the dispreference for the to infinitive form of complement when the promissee is mentioned and the pronominal encoding of the promiser in such cases, are both related to the very rarity of this form of construction in English. Data is adduced showing that another rare construction, the so-called possessive -ing construction, also occurs with a disproportionate number of pronominal subjects. It is suggested that the preference for pronominal subjects in these constructions may be related to a wish to reduce the overall processing complexity of the predications in question.

Determinants of knowledge transfer and learning in hybrid public private alliances

This paper uses the case study of a hybrid public-private strategic alliance as data to complement and contrast with the traditional views on knowledge transfer and learning between alliance partners. In particular, the paper explores whether the concept of competitive collaboration conceptualized by Hamel (1991) in his seminal work holds true for all forms of strategic alliances. Conceptualizing the knowledge boundaries of organisations in alliances as a ‘collaborative membrane’, we focus attention on the permeability of these boundaries rather than the actual location of the boundaries. In this vein, we present a case study of a major public sector organization that illustrates how these principles have allowed it to start rebuilding its internal capabilities adopting a more collaborative stance and ensuring their knowledge boundaries are highly porous as they move more major projects into hybrid public private alliance contracts.

Enhancing road safety for young drivers : how Graduate Driver Licensing initiatives can complement "anti-hooning" legislation

Street racing and associated (hooning) behaviours have attracted increasing concern in recent years. While New Zealand and all Australian jurisdictions have introduced “antihooning” legislation and allocated significant police resources to managing the problem, there is limited evidence of the road safety implications of hooning. However, international and Australian data suggests that drivers charged with a hooning offence tend to be young males who are accompanied by one or more peers, and hooning-related crashes tend to occur at night. In this regard, there is considerable evidence that drivers under the age of 25 are over-represented in crash statistics, and are particularly vulnerable soon after obtaining a Provisional licence, when driving at night, and when carrying peer-aged passengers. The similarity between the nature of hooning offenders, offences and crashes, and road safety risks for young drivers in general, suggests that hooning is an issue that may be viewed as part of the broader young driver problem. Many jurisdictions have recently implemented a range of evidence-based strategies to address young driver road safety, and this paper will present Queensland crash and offence data to highlight the potential benefit of Graduated Driver Licensing initiatives, such as night driving restrictions and peer-aged passenger restrictions, to related road safety issues, including hooning. An understanding of potential flow-on effects is important for evaluations of anti-hooning legislation and Graduated Driver Licensing programs, and may have implications for future law enforcement resource allocation and policy development.

Cracking the code : a checklist to complement CRAs for first year Justice students

It is well recognised in the literature on first year higher education that there is a need for Universities to provide further support and development in student learning skills and engagement. Assessment and feedback is an area with differing expectations and understandings among academics and students (e.g. AUSSE, CEQ). Consistency and explicitness in academic feedback is fundamental in assisting students in their transition to university education and learning. This poster captures the progress of an 18 month funded by the Faculty of Law Teaching and Learning Grant scheme (QUT). The project sought to develop and trial an assessment checklist/diagnostic tool to accompany Criteria Referenced Assessment sheets for students within the School of Justice, Law Faculty, Queensland University of Technology (QUT).The checklist was trialled across four units in the School of Justice (Law faculty) amongst an estimated cohort of over 600 students undertaking single and dual degrees.

Timing and emplacement dynamics of newly recognised mass flow deposits at ~ 8–12 ka offshore Soufrière Hills volcano, Montserrat : how submarine stratigraphy can complement subaerial eruption histories

This contribution describes two mass movement deposits (total volume ~0.5 km3) identified in seven marine cores located 8 to 15 km offshore southern Montserrat, West Indies. The deposits were emplaced in the last 35 ka and have not previously been recognised in either the subaerial or distal submarine records. Age constraints, provided by radiocarbon dating, show that an explosive volcanic eruption occurred at ca 8–12 ka, emplacing a primary eruption-related deposit that overlies a large (~0.3 km3) reworked bioclastic and volcaniclastic flow deposit, formed from a shelf collapse between 8 and 35 ka. The origin of these deposits has been deduced through the correlation of marine sediment cores, component analysis and geochemical analysis. The 8–12 ka primary volcanic deposit was likely derived from a highly-erosive pyroclastic flow from the Soufrière Hills volcano that entered the ocean and mixed with the water column forming a water-supported density current. Previous investigations of the eruption record suggested that there was a hiatus in activity at the Soufrière Hills volcano between 16 and 6 ka. The ca 8–12 ka eruptive episode identified here shows that this hiatus was shorter than previously hypothesised, and thus highlights the importance of obtaining an accurate and completemarine record of events offshore from volcanic islands and incorporating such data into eruption history reconstructions. Comparisons with the submarine deposit characteristics of the 2003 dome collapse also suggests that the ~8–12 ka eruptive episode was more explosive than eruptions from the current eruptive episode.

Cracking the Code: a Checklist to Complement CRAs for First Year Justice Students

Project overview, promotional poster and how to access and use the checklist (student guide)

The role of endogenous scabies mite complement inhibitors in the development of Streptococcus pyogenes skin infections

This project expands upon the discovery that scabies mites produce protein molecules that interfere with the human complement cascade, disrupting a critical component of the early stages of the host immune response. This is believed to provide an optimal environment for the development of commonly associated secondary bacterial infections. The thesis investigated the effect of two distinct scabies mite proteins, namely SMS B4 and SMIPP-S I1, on the in vitro proliferation of Group A Streptococcus in whole human blood. Additionally, in vitro immunoassays were performed to determine if complement mediated opsonisation and phagocytosis were also disrupted.