Form-meaning mismatch: Difference between revisions
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A '''form-meaning mismatch''' is a natural mismatch between the grammatical form and its expected meaning. There is often an expectation of a one-to-one relationship between meaning and form, and indeed, many [[Traditional grammar|traditional]] definitions are based on such an assumption. For example, <blockquote>Verbs come in three tenses: past, present, and future. The past is used to describe things that have already happened (e.g., ''earlier in the day, yesterday, last week, three years ago''). The present tense is used to describe things that are happening right now, or things that are continuous. The future tense describes things that have yet to happen (e.g., ''later, tomorrow, next week, next year, three years from now'').<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-01-24|title=Verb Tenses|url=https://www.grammarly.com/blog/verb-tenses/|access-date=2021-03-25|website=Verb Tenses—–How to Use Them Correctly {{!}} Grammarly|language=en}}</ref> </blockquote>While this accurately captures the typical behaviour of these three tenses, it's not unusual for a futurate meaning to have a [[present tense]] form (''I'll see you before I <u>go</u>'') or a past tense form (''If you <u>could</u> help, that would be great''). |
A '''form-meaning mismatch''' is a natural mismatch between the grammatical form and its expected meaning. There is often an expectation of a one-to-one relationship between meaning and form, and indeed, many [[Traditional grammar|traditional]] definitions are based on such an assumption. For example, <blockquote>Verbs come in three tenses: past, present, and future. The past is used to describe things that have already happened (e.g., ''earlier in the day, yesterday, last week, three years ago''). The present tense is used to describe things that are happening right now, or things that are continuous. The future tense describes things that have yet to happen (e.g., ''later, tomorrow, next week, next year, three years from now'').<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-01-24|title=Verb Tenses|url=https://www.grammarly.com/blog/verb-tenses/|access-date=2021-03-25|website=Verb Tenses—–How to Use Them Correctly {{!}} Grammarly|language=en}}</ref> </blockquote>While this accurately captures the typical behaviour of these three tenses, it's not unusual for a futurate meaning to have a [[present tense]] form (''I'll see you before I <u>go</u>'') or a past tense form (''If you <u>could</u> help, that would be great''). |
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== Subject-agent mismatches == |
== Examples == |
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=== Subject-agent mismatches === |
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The subject of a sentence is often defined as a noun phrase that denotes "the doer of the action".<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Huddleston|first=Rodney|title=A student's introduction to English grammar|last2=Pullum|first2=Geoffrey K.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2005|location=Cambridge}}</ref><sup>[p. 69]</sup><blockquote>a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that usually comes before a main verb and represents the person or thing that performs the action of the verb, or about which something is stated.<ref>{{Cite web|title=subject {{!}} meaning of subject in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English {{!}} LDOCE|url=https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/subject|access-date=2021-03-25|website=www.ldoceonline.com}}</ref></blockquote>But in many cases, the subject does not express the expected meaning of doer.<ref name=":1" /><sup>[p. 69]</sup> |
The subject of a sentence is often defined as a noun phrase that denotes "the doer of the action".<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Huddleston|first=Rodney|title=A student's introduction to English grammar|last2=Pullum|first2=Geoffrey K.|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2005|location=Cambridge}}</ref><sup>[p. 69]</sup><blockquote>a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that usually comes before a main verb and represents the person or thing that performs the action of the verb, or about which something is stated.<ref>{{Cite web|title=subject {{!}} meaning of subject in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English {{!}} LDOCE|url=https://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/subject|access-date=2021-03-25|website=www.ldoceonline.com}}</ref></blockquote>But in many cases, the subject does not express the expected meaning of doer.<ref name=":1" /><sup>[p. 69]</sup> |
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=== Dummy subjects === |
==== Dummy subjects ==== |
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[[Dummy pronoun|Dummy]] ''there'' in ''<u>there</u>'s a book on the table'', is the grammatical subject, but ''there'' isn't the doer of the action or the thing about which something is stated. In fact is has no semantic role at all. The same is true of ''it'' in ''<u>it</u>'s cold today''.<ref name=":1" /><sup>[p. 252]</sup> |
[[Dummy pronoun|Dummy]] ''there'' in ''<u>there</u>'s a book on the table'', is the grammatical subject, but ''there'' isn't the doer of the action or the thing about which something is stated. In fact is has no semantic role at all. The same is true of ''it'' in ''<u>it</u>'s cold today''.<ref name=":1" /><sup>[p. 252]</sup> |
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=== Raising objects === |
==== Raising objects ==== |
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In the case of [[Raising (linguistics)|object raising]], the object of one verb can be the "doer of the action" of another verb. For example, in ''we expect <u>JJ</u> to arrive at 2:00'', ''JJ'' is the object of ''expected'', but ''JJ'' is also the person who will be doing the arriving.<ref name=":1" /><sup>[p. 221]</sup> |
In the case of [[Raising (linguistics)|object raising]], the object of one verb can be the "doer of the action" of another verb. For example, in ''we expect <u>JJ</u> to arrive at 2:00'', ''JJ'' is the object of ''expected'', but ''JJ'' is also the person who will be doing the arriving.<ref name=":1" /><sup>[p. 221]</sup> |
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== Definiteness == |
=== Definiteness === |
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From a semantic point of view, a [[Definiteness|definite]] NP is one that is identifiable and activated in the minds of the [[Grammatical person|first person]] and the addressee. From a grammatical point of view in English, definiteness is typically marked by definite determiners, such as ''this''. “The theoretical distinction between grammatical definiteness and cognitive identifiability has the advantage of enabling us to distinguish between a discrete (grammatical) and a non-discrete (cognitive) category”<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Lambrecht|first=Knud|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9780511620607/type/book|title=Information Structure and Sentence Form: Topic, Focus, and the Mental Representations of Discourse Referents|date=1994-09-08|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-38056-0|edition=1|doi=10.1017/cbo9780511620607}}</ref><sup>[p. 84]</sup> |
From a semantic point of view, a [[Definiteness|definite]] NP is one that is identifiable and activated in the minds of the [[Grammatical person|first person]] and the addressee. From a grammatical point of view in English, definiteness is typically marked by definite determiners, such as ''this''. “The theoretical distinction between grammatical definiteness and cognitive identifiability has the advantage of enabling us to distinguish between a discrete (grammatical) and a non-discrete (cognitive) category”<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Lambrecht|first=Knud|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/9780511620607/type/book|title=Information Structure and Sentence Form: Topic, Focus, and the Mental Representations of Discourse Referents|date=1994-09-08|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-38056-0|edition=1|doi=10.1017/cbo9780511620607}}</ref><sup>[p. 84]</sup> |
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So, in a case such as ''I met <u>this guy from Heidleberg</u> on the train'', the underlined NP is grammatically definite but semantically indefinite;<ref name=":0" /><sup>[p. 82]</sup> there is a form-meaning mismatch. |
So, in a case such as ''I met <u>this guy from Heidleberg</u> on the train'', the underlined NP is grammatically definite but semantically indefinite;<ref name=":0" /><sup>[p. 82]</sup> there is a form-meaning mismatch. |
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== Number agreement == |
=== Number agreement === |
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[[Grammatical number]] is typically marked on nouns in English, and present-tense verbs show [[Agreement (linguistics)|agreement]] with the subject. But there are cases of mismatch, such as with a singular [[collective noun]] as the subject and plural agreement on the verb (e.g., ''The team are working hard'').<ref name=":1" /><sup>[p. 89]</sup> |
[[Grammatical number]] is typically marked on nouns in English, and present-tense verbs show [[Agreement (linguistics)|agreement]] with the subject. But there are cases of mismatch, such as with a singular [[collective noun]] as the subject and plural agreement on the verb (e.g., ''The team are working hard'').<ref name=":1" /><sup>[p. 89]</sup> |
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In some cases, the mismatch may be apparent rather than real due to a poorly chosen term. For example, plural in English suggest more than one, but non-singular may be a better term. We use plural marking for things less than one (e.g., ''0.5 calor<u>ies</u>'') or even for nothing at all (e.g., ''zero degree<u>s</u>'').<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC World Service {{!}} Learning English {{!}} Learn it|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv354.shtml|access-date=2021-03-26|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> |
In some cases, the mismatch may be apparent rather than real due to a poorly chosen term. For example, plural in English suggest more than one, but non-singular may be a better term. We use plural marking for things less than one (e.g., ''0.5 calor<u>ies</u>'') or even for nothing at all (e.g., ''zero degree<u>s</u>'').<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC World Service {{!}} Learning English {{!}} Learn it|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv354.shtml|access-date=2021-03-26|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> |
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== Gender == |
=== Gender === |
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In some cases, the [[Grammatical gender|gender]] of a word appears to be a mismatch with its meaning. For example, in German, das Fräulein means the unmarried woman. A woman is naturally feminine in terms of [[Gender|social gender]], but the word here is neuter gender.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fräulein|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/german-english/fraulein|access-date=2021-03-26|website=dictionary.cambridge.org|language=en}}</ref> |
In some cases, the [[Grammatical gender|gender]] of a word appears to be a mismatch with its meaning. For example, in German, das Fräulein means the unmarried woman. A woman is naturally feminine in terms of [[Gender|social gender]], but the word here is neuter gender.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fräulein|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/german-english/fraulein|access-date=2021-03-26|website=dictionary.cambridge.org|language=en}}</ref> |
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== Effects == |
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=== Language change === |
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Form-meaning mismatches can lead to language change. An example of this is the split of the nominal gerund construction in English and a new “non-nominal” reference type becoming the most dominant function of the verbal gerund construction.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Liesbet Heyvaert|date=2014|title=Category change and form-meaning mismatch: the history of English gerund constructions.|url=http://rgdoi.net/10.13140/2.1.4940.3683|language=en|doi=10.13140/2.1.4940.3683}}</ref> |
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=== Language learning === |
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<blockquote>The syntax-semantics interface is one of the most vulnerable aspects in L2 acquisition. Therefore, L2 speakers are found to either often have incomplete grammar, or have highly variable syntactic-semantic awareness and performance.<ref>{{Citation|last=Han|first=Weifeng|title=Syntax-Semantics Interface and the Form-Meaning Mismatch Between L1 and L2|date=2020|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-981-15-2452-3_4|work=Universal Grammar and the Initial State of Second Language Learning|pages=27–35|place=Singapore|publisher=Springer Singapore|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-981-15-2452-3_4|isbn=978-981-15-2451-6|access-date=2021-03-26}}</ref></blockquote> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Revision as of 21:57, 26 March 2021
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2021) |
A form-meaning mismatch is a natural mismatch between the grammatical form and its expected meaning. There is often an expectation of a one-to-one relationship between meaning and form, and indeed, many traditional definitions are based on such an assumption. For example,
Verbs come in three tenses: past, present, and future. The past is used to describe things that have already happened (e.g., earlier in the day, yesterday, last week, three years ago). The present tense is used to describe things that are happening right now, or things that are continuous. The future tense describes things that have yet to happen (e.g., later, tomorrow, next week, next year, three years from now).[1]
While this accurately captures the typical behaviour of these three tenses, it's not unusual for a futurate meaning to have a present tense form (I'll see you before I go) or a past tense form (If you could help, that would be great).
Examples
Subject-agent mismatches
The subject of a sentence is often defined as a noun phrase that denotes "the doer of the action".[2][p. 69]
a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that usually comes before a main verb and represents the person or thing that performs the action of the verb, or about which something is stated.[3]
But in many cases, the subject does not express the expected meaning of doer.[2][p. 69]
Dummy subjects
Dummy there in there's a book on the table, is the grammatical subject, but there isn't the doer of the action or the thing about which something is stated. In fact is has no semantic role at all. The same is true of it in it's cold today.[2][p. 252]
Raising objects
In the case of object raising, the object of one verb can be the "doer of the action" of another verb. For example, in we expect JJ to arrive at 2:00, JJ is the object of expected, but JJ is also the person who will be doing the arriving.[2][p. 221]
Definiteness
From a semantic point of view, a definite NP is one that is identifiable and activated in the minds of the first person and the addressee. From a grammatical point of view in English, definiteness is typically marked by definite determiners, such as this. “The theoretical distinction between grammatical definiteness and cognitive identifiability has the advantage of enabling us to distinguish between a discrete (grammatical) and a non-discrete (cognitive) category”[4][p. 84]
So, in a case such as I met this guy from Heidleberg on the train, the underlined NP is grammatically definite but semantically indefinite;[4][p. 82] there is a form-meaning mismatch.
Number agreement
Grammatical number is typically marked on nouns in English, and present-tense verbs show agreement with the subject. But there are cases of mismatch, such as with a singular collective noun as the subject and plural agreement on the verb (e.g., The team are working hard).[2][p. 89]
The pronoun you triggers plural agreement regardless of whether it refers to one person or more (e.g., You are the only one who can do this).[5]
Some words, such as everyone, have singular argeement even though they refer to more than one person (e.g., Everyone has arrived. They're all here.)[2][p. 90]
In some cases, the mismatch may be apparent rather than real due to a poorly chosen term. For example, plural in English suggest more than one, but non-singular may be a better term. We use plural marking for things less than one (e.g., 0.5 calories) or even for nothing at all (e.g., zero degrees).[6]
Gender
In some cases, the gender of a word appears to be a mismatch with its meaning. For example, in German, das Fräulein means the unmarried woman. A woman is naturally feminine in terms of social gender, but the word here is neuter gender.[7]
Effects
Language change
Form-meaning mismatches can lead to language change. An example of this is the split of the nominal gerund construction in English and a new “non-nominal” reference type becoming the most dominant function of the verbal gerund construction.[8]
Language learning
The syntax-semantics interface is one of the most vulnerable aspects in L2 acquisition. Therefore, L2 speakers are found to either often have incomplete grammar, or have highly variable syntactic-semantic awareness and performance.[9]
References
- ^ "Verb Tenses". Verb Tenses—–How to Use Them Correctly | Grammarly. 2017-01-24. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
- ^ a b c d e f Huddleston, Rodney; Pullum, Geoffrey K. (2005). A student's introduction to English grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ "subject | meaning of subject in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE". www.ldoceonline.com. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
- ^ a b Lambrecht, Knud (1994-09-08). Information Structure and Sentence Form: Topic, Focus, and the Mental Representations of Discourse Referents (1 ed.). Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/cbo9780511620607. ISBN 978-0-521-38056-0.
- ^ "Definition of YOU". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ "BBC World Service | Learning English | Learn it". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ "Fräulein". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 2021-03-26.
- ^ Liesbet Heyvaert (2014). "Category change and form-meaning mismatch: the history of English gerund constructions". doi:10.13140/2.1.4940.3683.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Han, Weifeng (2020), "Syntax-Semantics Interface and the Form-Meaning Mismatch Between L1 and L2", Universal Grammar and the Initial State of Second Language Learning, Singapore: Springer Singapore, pp. 27–35, doi:10.1007/978-981-15-2452-3_4, ISBN 978-981-15-2451-6, retrieved 2021-03-26