Proposes that the theory of focus not only accounts for the definiteness restriction with respect to material extraposed from the noun phrase, but also contributes crucially to an explanation for the variable acceptability of sentences containing extractions from extraposed prepositional phrases. (58 references) (JL)

Argues that a classifier language can have a plural morpheme within a nominal expression, suggesting that -men in Mandarin Chinese is best analyzed as a plural morpheme, in contrast to a regular plural on an element in N, such as the English -s. The paper makes a prediction about the structures of nominal expressions in classifier and…

Proposes a Korean information-retrieval system that can alleviate syntactic term mismatches by segmenting compound nouns as well as by normalizing noun phrases and which can provide appropriate similarity measurements. Discusses weighting phrasal terms and describes experimental results that considered recall and precision. (Author/LRW)

Looks at infinitival relative clauses, such as "Mary is the person to ask," and their distribution in spoken English. Analyzes the correlation between the function of the antecedent in the relative clause and the function of the whole postmodified noun phrase in the matrix clause. (Author/JL)

Challenges assumptions regarding dative alternation and proposes an account in terms of one general constraint of what makes a verb a possible verb, which operates over verb-specific conceptual information. Central to the proposal is the assumption that the different forms of dative verbs do not only encode different conceptual representations of…

The advantages of analyzing the Yoruba prefix "oni-" as two morphemes, "o-" and "ni-" are discussed, and it is shown why it is better to analyze it as an inseparable, single morpheme rather than two separate morphemes. "Oni-" is the only class-maintaining prefix in Yoruba, and is the only prefix attached to a noun to form another noun. Evidence is…

A study of Dakota Sioux presents evidence for Possessor Ascension. In this construction, a nominal that is semantically a possessor is syntactically not a constituent of the noun phrase but a constituent of the clause. The report first discusses the universal characterization of Possessor Ascension in the framework of relational grammar, and…

Discusses the general problem of the formal correspondence between predicates and phrases, introducing the principle that the fundamental units of a lexicon are phrases rather than words. Shows that the novelty of this approach consists in an integration of lexicon and syntax and poses particular problems where the noun is concerned. (MES)

Four experiments demonstrated that the comprehension of novel compound nouns involves the recognition of a general relationship between two categories. They reinforce earlier findings that the process of creating meanings may be equally as efficient as the process of selecting meanings. (33 references) (Author/LB)

In many languages, the article cannot occur when a possessive phrase is present in the noun phrase (NP). Argues that these patterns can be understood in terms of economic motivation because possessed NPs are very likely to be definite. Shows how the performance motivation of economy creates the competence pattern in diachronic change. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the bare-noun phrase (NP) complementation pattern of the Spanish verb "tener" (have). Shows that the maximality of the complement NP is dependent upon three factors: (1) idiosyncratic valence requirements; (2) encyclopedic knowledge related to possession; and (3) contextualized semantic construal. (Author/VWL)

The Welsh verbal noun, a form spanning two grammatical categories much as the English "-ing" form does, is examined from the points of view of its dual role in Welsh grammar; its occurrence in the history of the Celtic language family; periphrastic tense constructions with "bod" ("be"), "gwneud"…

Examination of a small segment of French morphology involving the role of the final consonant illustrates the applicability of the natural morphology approach to linguistic analysis. Representative examples of modern French adjectival, verbal, and nominal word forms are subjected to analysis in terms of iconic, non-iconic, and counter-iconic…

Presents a computer interpretation of the consistencies as well as inadequacies of grammar rules in changing singular forms to plural. A correlative algorithm is discussed for the purpose of enhancing the present logical system of changing singulars to plurals. (TR)

"Bu" can negate noun phrases. This article attempts to determine what the parent structures are from which noun-bu-noun is derived, to describe the general property of N-bu-N, to examine the conditions under which N-bu-N is used, and to contrast it with other structures of similar usage. (Author/PJM)