Congruence in Codeswitching and the Nature of Lexical Entries

9319780 Myers-SCotton将这个项目抽象为一个研究空间内代码切换的结构性约束的项目。具体地说，调查人员将收集和分析特定语言对中自然出现的语言中的星际代码切换，其中一些在美国，另一些在非洲或欧洲。之所以选择语言对，是因为它们的词项结构的明显差异将检验本文包含的假设。虽然这项研究将进一步加深我们对语码转换的了解，但它更重要的是它将提供关于词汇在某种普遍意义上的性质的信息。这种信息可以从语码转换数据中获得，因为包含语码转换的句子的存在似乎取决于所涉及的语言之间关于词汇-概念结构和谓词-论元结构的兼容性。语码转换中这些兼容性的发挥，反过来又为关于语言结构的关键理论主张的可行性提供了一个独特的可用“经验窗口”。该提案的八个假设扩展了语码转换的矩阵语言框架模型(Myers-SCott1993b)中的分析。在该模式下，参与语码转换的一种语言(矩阵语言)在构建语码转换话语时更具优势。不太占优势的语言被称为嵌入式语言。在该模型中，内容类别和功能类别之间的区别也是至关重要的。虽然该模型成功地预测了嵌入语言材料在由矩阵语言准备的句子框架中的形式，但它没有足够的约束来解释为什么会出现一个选项而不是另一个选项，以及嵌入语言材料采取的形式。该提案中的假设提供了必要的限制。这项研究将为词汇抽象特征的性质，包括语义内容，以及它们与实际发生形式的关系提供证据或反对理论。此外，这一结果可能会为心理语言学中的语言产出建模提供动机，特别是关于心理词典中词条的性质。最后，该项目有一个具体的目标。它将为各种代码交换数据提供一个大规模的计算机化数据库。预计收集初步分析、数据库录入、正式分析和介绍这项研究的结果将需要三年时间。***

9319780 MYERS-SCOTTON ABSTRACT This a project to investigate the structural constraints on intrasentential codeswitching. Specifically, the investigators will collect and analyze intrasentential codeswitching in naturally-occurring languages in particular language pairs, some in the United States and others in Africa or Europe. The language pairs have been selected because apparent differences in the structure of their lexical items will test the hypotheses contained herein. While this study will further our knowledge about intrasentential codeswitching, it is more important for the information it will provide about the nature of lexical entries in some universal sense. This information becomes available from codeswitching data because the existence of sentences containing codeswitching seems to depend on compatibilities between the languages involved regarding Lexical-Conceptual Structures and Predicate-Argument Structures. The playing out of these compatibilities in codeswitching, in turn, provides a uniquely available 'empirical window' on the viability of key theoretical claims about the structure of language. The proposal's eight hypotheses extend the analysis found in the Matrix Language Frame Model of codeswitching (Myers-Scotton 1993b). Under this model, one of the languages participating in codeswitching is more dominant (the Matrix Language) in structuring codeswitching utterances. The less dominant language is called the Embedded Language. The distinction between content and functional categories is also critical in this model. While that model successfully predicts the form of Embedded Language material in sentential frames prepared by the Matrix Language, it is not sufficiently constrained to explain why one option rather than another occurs and the form which Embedded Language material takes. The hypotheses in this proposal provide necessary constraints. This research will provide evidence for or agai nst theories about the nature of the abstract features of lexical entries, including semantic content, and their relation to actually occurring forms. In addition, the results may provide motivations for language production modeling in psycholinguistics, especially in regard to the nature of lemma entries in the mental lexicon. Finally, the project has a material objective. It will provide a large-scale computerized data base of diverse codeswitching data. It is expected that collecting preliminary analysis, data base entry, formal analysis, and a presentation of the results of this study will require three years. ***