Language Formation by Adults

Zygmunt Frajzyngier, Ph.D. (1968), University of Warsaw, is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He has published many books on African languages and syntax and semantics from a cross-linguistic perspective. Most recently he published, with Marielle Butters, The emergence of grammatical functions (2020, Oxford University Press).Natalia Gurian, Ph.D. (2009), Lomonosov Moscow State University, Institute of Asian and African Studies, is Associate Professor at the Department of Education in Oriental Languages and Oriental Studies, School of Education, Far Eastern Federal University (Russia).Sergei Karpenko, Ph.D. (2007), Barnaul State Pedagogical University, is Associate Professor at Department of Romance and German Languages, Far Eastern Federal University (Russia).Recent publication by the authors together: Frajzyngier, Zygmunt; Natalia Gurian; and Sergei Karpenko (2020). Language contact: Sino-Russian in Handbook of language contact, 2nd ed. R. Hickey (ed.). Wiley Online Library, pp. 689-715.

• AcknowledgmentsAbbreviations1 Introduction1 The aim of the work2 The languages3 The importance of this study4 Previous research5 Sino-Russian idiolects are not ‘new varieties’6 Previous research on Sino-Russian7 Methodology8 The data9 A note about glossing convention2 Phonology1 Previous scholarship on phonology2 Segmental structure, constraints and rules of Mandarin3 Segmental structure, constraints and rules of Russian4 The Sino-Russian segmental inventory5 Resolution of features and phonotactic constraints6 Phonotactics7 The dental sonorants: r, l and n distinction8 Stress assignment9 Conclusions and implications about phonology3 Other formal means of coding1 Introduction to formal means2 The category ‘word’3 Pauses4 Linear orders as a coding means5 Free grammatical morphemes6 Conclusions regarding the formal means of coding in Sino-Russian4 Lexicons of the Sino-Russian idiolects1 Aim of the chapter2 Lexical categories3 Number of words and number of different words in the texts4 Lexical convergence5 The choice of lexical items6 Conclusions about lexical items5 The emergence of phrasal categories1 The importance of the chapter2 The emergence of the noun phrase3 The emergence of prepositional phrases4 Numeral phrases5 Verb phrases (lack of)6 The role of pauses in defining the phrasal structure7 Conclusion about the emergence of phrasal categories6 The noun phrase1 The defining features and the formal means of coding within the noun phrase2 Inceptive coding of number3 Modification of one noun by another4 Modification by a pronoun5 Modification by a property concept6 Modification by a quantifier7 Conclusions about noun phrase7 System of reference1 Introduction2 The formal coding means3 Introduction of new entities in discourse4 Coding an unknown member of a set5 Reference left to listener’s computation6 Switch reference within discourse: the function of pronouns7 Deixis8 Anaphora9 Unspecified entity10 Locative anaphora11 Conclusions about the system of reference8 Antecedent-follow up relation1 The role of pauses2 The antecedent-comment distinction3 Utterance-internal pauses4 Discourse connection5 Non-propositional addressee and presentative function6 Conclusions9 Modality1 Introduction2 Assertive modality3 Interrogative modality4 Negation5 Imperative: Expectation of the immediate implementation6 Obligation without the expectation of implementation7 Optative or purpose function8 Prohibitive modality9 Conclusions about modality10 Aspectual system1 Aspectual systems in Russian and in Mandarin2 Punctual aspect3 Progressive aspect4 Conclusions about the emergence of aspect11 Tense system1 Introduction2 Emergence of a future tense3 The emergence of the past tense4 Time in relation to another time5 Conclusion about tense system12 Non-verbal predications1 Introduction2 The role of linear order in verbless predications3 Identificational predication4 Possessive predication5 Equational predication6 Attributive predication7 Quantifier as a predicate8 Existential predication9 Conclusions about verbless clauses13 Relations between the verbal predicate and noun phrases1 Theoretical issues2 Position of the verbal predicate3 Omission of the predicate4 Clauses without noun phrases5 Number of arguments in a Sino-Russian clause6 The order of arguments in the clause7 The semantic role of the single noun phrase in a verbal clause8 Argument versus adjunct distinction9 Coding of semantic relations of noun phrases10 Locative complements11 Do the categories subject and object exist in Sino-Russian idiolects?12 Conclusions regarding the relations between the verbal predicate and noun phrases14 Situating the Event in Here and Now15 Adverbs of Manner1 The Importance of the Chapter2 Adverbs of Manner in Sino-Russian Idiolects3 Conclusions Concerning the Position of Adverbs16 Comment clause1 The category comment clause2 The functions of the comment clause3 The emergence of the comment clause as a function4 Conclusions about the comment clause17 Topicalization1 Introduction2 Topicalization through the use of prepositions3 Topicalization and the role of the pause4 Topicalization of noun phrases and prepositional phrases5 Topicalization through the use of the demonstrative ʹɛta6 Conclusions about topicalization18 Relations between propositions1 Introduction2 Default propositional relation3 Unexpected follow-up4 Discourse connection5 Conclusions about relationship between propositions19 Complementation1 Introduction2 Complements of verbs of saying3 Complements of cognitive verbs4 Modality of obligation and wish in complement clause5 Complements of the verbs of liking and loving6 Complements of verbs of perception7 Complements of volitional verbs8 Complements of cognitive verbs9 Purpose clause10 Reason clause11 Relative clause12 Conclusions about complementation and subordination20 Comparative predications1 Introduction2 Equal comparison3 Unequal comparison4 Conclusions about comparative constructions21 Summary and implications1 The scope of the chapter2 The coding means3 The functions4 Implications for linguistic theory and methodology5 Understanding the Sino-Russian idiolects6 Sino-Russian idiolects and language contact7 The grammar formation process8 Lexical items and lexical categories9 Open questions22 Sample of texts1 Boris: Bread and sausage2 Ivan3 Lida4 Sveta about her work5 Sveta about the New Year celebration6 Sveta about food7 Sveta about Russians8 Sveta about food9 Anonymous10 Nina11 Sveta ‘Wolf and rabbit’12 Lyuda13 Slava14 Egor15 Andrey16 Konstantin. Narration of the ‘Pear story’.17 Fedya about himself18 Anna about herself19 Anna about language learning20 Anna’s Pear StoryReferencesIndex