News & Events
Topic: Research Seminar: "Referentiality and Syntactic Variability"
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Posted - 08/03/2010 : 11:40:47
Department of Chinese, Translation and Linguistics
Research Seminar
Referentiality and Syntactic Variability
Presented by
Professor Liu Zhengguang
Dean, College of International Studies, Hunan University
Date: 16 March 2010, Tuesday Time: 4:30 - 6:00 pm Venue: B2625 (2/F, Blue Zone), Academic Building, CityU
Language: English
Abstract
This paper approaches the issue of the relationship between semantics and syntax from the perspective of the influence of the referentiality of nouns, verbs, deixis and tense on syntactic variability. Findings show object nouns will become implicit arguments or might be incorporated into verbs when they indicate generic meaning; verbs will have no referentiality and will be reduced in their syntactic distributions and argument control when denoting states, either physical or mental; deixis will become prop pronouns and act as dummy arguments and can be used non-pronounally when they lose their referential meaning through grammaticalization; tense will not refer to the time of action and lose its restrictions on tense concord in case of the subjectification to denote the speaker or writer’s attitude. The study proves that semantics plays a vital role in the realization of syntactic forms.
Speaker
Liu Zhengguang is a professor of English and Dean of the College of International Studies, Hunan University. He has been teaching in Hunan University since 1992. He received his Ph.d in linguistics in 2004 from Beijing Foreign Studies University. His research interests include the interface between syntax and semantics, language acquisition, pragmatics. He won the national second prize in Teaching Achievement in 2009. Professor Liu Zhengguang is currently Deputy Chair of China Association of Cognitive Linguistics, Deputy Chair of the Foreign Languages Ph.D Forum in China.
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Enquiry: LTenquiry@cityu.edu.hk