Transcript English Adjectival Inflection

Beyond the Lemma:
Inflection-Specific Constructions in English
Sally Rice and John Newman
University of Alberta
AACL 2008
BYU
14 March 2008
Bertrand Russell’s Emotive Conjugations
singular
1
I’m
tenacious
2
you’re
stubborn
3
he’s
pigheaded
inflection-specific
meaning and behavior
(idiosyncracies of meaning, form, collocation, genre, and distribution)
Form Idiosyncracies in a Typical
Athapaskan Verb Paradigm
Form Idiosyncracies in a Typical
Athapaskan Verb Paradigm
Form Idiosyncracies in another Typical
Athapaskan Verb Paradigm
TAM-Based Idiosyncracies of some Basic Verbs
Rice & Newman 2005
VVB-verb
VVZ-verbs
VVI-(to) verb
VVD-verbed
VVG-(be) verbing
VVN-(have) verbed
GET
SAY
KNOW
GO
SEE
THINK
COME
WANT
MEAN
LOOK
PUT
TAKE
TELL
LIKE
MAKE
GIVE
NEED
KEEP
THANK
SUPPOSE
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
SUBJ x TAM Idiosyncracies in BNCall
Rice & Newman 2005
GO
INF
1.SG
2
3.SG
1.PL
3.PL
PRES
PAST
PROG
PERF
I need to
I
I
I am/was
I have/had
go
go
went
going
gone
you need to
you
you
you are/were
you have/had
go
go
went
going
gone
s/he/it need to
s/he/it
s/he/it
s/he/it is/was
s/he/it has/had
go
goes
went
going
gone
we need to
we
we
we are/were
we have/had
go
go
went
going
gone
they need to
they
they
they are/were
they have/had
go
go
went
going
gone
SUBJ x TAM Idiosyncracies in BNCall
Rice & Newman 2005
GO
INF
PRES
PAST
PROG
PERF
1.SG
6%
3%
2%
4%
0%
2
2%
10 %
0%
3%
0%
3.SG
13 %
4%
10 %
15 %
2%
1.PL
6%
0%
1%
2%
0%
3.PL
2%
6%
1%
2%
3%
SUBJ x TAM Idiosyncracies in BNCall
Rice & Newman 2005
GO
INF
PRES
PAST
PROG
PERF
1.SG
6%
3%
2%
4%
0%
2
2%
10 %
0%
3%
0%
3.SG
13 %
4%
10 %
15 %
2%
1.PL
6%
0%
1%
2%
0%
3.PL
2%
6%
1%
2%
3%
SUBJ x TAM Idiosyncracies in BNCCC
Rice & Newman 2005
THINK
INF
1.SG
2
3.SG
1.PL
3.PL
PRES
PAST
PROG
PERF
I need to
I
I
I am/was
I have/had
think
think
thought
thinking
thought
you need to
you
you
you are/were
you have/had
think
think
thought
thinking
thought
s/he/it needs to
s/he/it
s/he/it
s/he/it is/was
s/he/it has/had
think
thinks
thought
thinking
thought
we need to
we
we
we are/were
we have/had
think
think
thought
thinking
thought
they need to
they
they
they are/were
they have/had
think
think
thought
thinking
thought
SUBJ x TAM Idiosyncracies in BNCCC
Rice & Newman 2005
THINK
INF
PRES
PAST
PROG
PERF
1.SG
80 %
93 %
82 %
65 %
75 %
2
10 %
2%
2%
8%
11 %
3.SG
7%
0%
5%
9%
10 %
1.PL
2%
2%
7%
12 %
0%
3.PL
1%
3%
4%
6%
4%
SUBJ x TAM Idiosyncracies in BNCCC
Rice & Newman 2005
THINK
INF
PRES
PAST
PROG
PERF
1.SG
80 %
93 %
82 %
65 %
75 %
2
10 %
2%
2%
8%
11 %
3.SG
7%
0%
5%
9%
10 %
1.PL
2%
2%
7%
12 %
0%
3.PL
1%
3%
4%
6%
4%
rid
allow
RID
frequency per million
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
VVB-base
VVZ-3sg.pres
20
10
0
VVB
VVZ
VVI
VVD
VVG
VVN
VVG
VVN
VVI-inf
VVD-past
ALLOW
frequency per million
VVG-prog
VVN-perf part
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
VVB
VVZ
VVI
VVD
rid
allow
RID
frequency per million
1/2 get rid of
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
VVB-base
VVZ-3sg.pres
20
10
0
VVB
VVZ
VVI
VVD
VVG
VVN
VVI-inf
VVD-past
ALLOW
frequency per million
VVG-prog
VVN-perf part
2/3 not be allowed to VP
2/3 be allowed (to have) NP
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
VVB
VVZ
VVI
VVD
VVG
VVN
Inflectional idiosyncracies of EAT and DRINK
Newman & Rice 2003
DRINK - Spoken BNC
EAT - Spoken BNC
drink
eat
30%
30%
drinks
eats
25%
eating
drank
ate
20%
drinking
25%
20%
drunk
eaten
15%
15%
10%
10%
5%
5%
0%
0%
1s
1p
2s/p
3s
3p
UNSPEC
UNIN
1s
1p
EAT - Written BNC
30%
eat
eats
UNSPEC
UNIN
UNSPEC
UNIN
drinks
drinking
20%
ate
15%
3p
drink
25%
eating
20%
3s
DRINK - Written BNC
30%
25%
2s/p
drank
15%
eaten
10%
10%
5%
5%
drunk
0%
0%
1s
1p
2s/p
3s
3p
UNSPEC
UNIN
1s
1p
2s/p
3s
3p
Distributional idiosyncracies of A, Aer, Aest
Newman & Rice 2006
AJ0, AJC, and AJS in the BNC
7,000,000
6,346,759
6,000,000
5,000,000
4,000,000
3,000,000
2,000,000
1,000,000
196,473
91,616
AJC
AJS
0
AJ0
Distributional idiosyncracies of A, Aer, Aest
Newman & Rice 2006
800
700
comp
600
sup
500
400
300
200
100
ai
l
fr
fe
eb
le
sl
en
de
r
pl
ai
n
im
tr
le
an
sl
im
th
in
w
ea
k
0
Distributional idiosyncracies of A, Aer, Aest
Newman & Rice 2006
2000
1800
1600
1400
comp
1200
sup
1000
800
600
400
200
0
simple
fine
tiny
mere
pure
slight
Collocational idiosyncracies of A, Aer, Aest
Newman & Rice 2006
SLIGHT
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
increase
smile
variations
angle
the
improvement
modifications
acidity
breeze
change
frown
difference
delay
changes
shrug
exaggeration
distal
bow
figure
decrease
pause
differences
movement
variation
rise
LL
SLIGHTEST
100+
hint
bit
movement
idea
doubt
sign
chance
interest
intention
provocation
suspicion
difference
thing
inclination
touch
breeze
flicker
inkling
trace
notice
degree
sound
nod
suggestion
encouragement
LL
50+
Collocational idiosyncracies of A, Aer, Aest
Newman & Rice 2006
SLIGHT
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
increase
smile
variations
angle
the
improvement
modifications
acidity
breeze
change
frown
difference
delay
changes
shrug
exaggeration
distal
bow
figure
decrease
pause
differences
movement
variation
rise
LL
SLIGHTEST
100+
hint
bit
movement
idea
doubt
sign
chance
interest
intention
provocation
suspicion
difference
thing
inclination
touch
breeze
flicker
inkling
trace
notice
degree
sound
nod
suggestion
encouragement
LL
50+
Collocational idiosyncracies of A, Aer, Aest
Newman & Rice 2006
SLIGHT
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
increase
smile
variations
angle
the
improvement
modifications
acidity
breeze
change
frown
difference
delay
changes
shrug
exaggeration
distal
bow
figure
decrease
pause
differences
movement
variation
rise
LL
SLIGHTEST
100+
hint
bit
movement
idea
doubt
sign
chance
interest
intention
provocation
suspicion
difference
thing
inclination
touch
breeze
flicker
inkling
trace
notice
degree
sound
nod
suggestion
encouragement
LL
50+
Really idiosyncratic gradable As
rath(e)
rather
rathest
nigh
near
next
nearest
forme
former
first
foremost
late
later
last
latest
Really idiosyncratic gradable As
rath(e)
rather
rathest
nigh
near
next
nearest
forme
former
first
foremost
late
later
last
latest
inflection-specific
meaning and behavior
(idiosyncracies of meaning, form, collocation, genre, and distribution)

Commitment to usage-based approaches like CG, RCG
language-specific
construction-specific
inflection-specific
Application of corpus linguistic methodologies and mindset
Inflectional Islands
Syntactic (constructional), semantic, and collocational
properties tend to inhere in individual inflections of a
lexical item in a register-specific manner. These
properties may not extend across all the inflections
(the paradigm) to characterize the lemma as a whole.
English Pronominal Inflection
searched BNC and CAE with Mark Davies’ corpus tool:
Variation in English Words and Phrases: http://view.byu.edu
tracked person & case distribution/skew for pronouns
examined frequencies and collocations
English Pronominal Inflection
NOM
ACC/
OBL
POSS
DET
IND
POSS
REFLEX
1SG
I
me
my
mine
myself
2
you
you
your
yours
yourself/ves
3SG.M
he
him
his
his
himself
3SG.F
she
her
her
hers
herself
3SG.N
it
it
its
its
itself
1PL
we
us
our
ours
ourself/ves
3PL
they
them
their
theirs
themself/ves
English Pronominal Inflection
NOM
ACC/
OBL
POSS
DET
IND
POSS
REFLEX
1SG
I
me
my
mine
myself
2
you
you
your
yours
yourself/ves
3SG.M
he
him
his
his
himself
3SG.F
she
her
her
hers
herself
3SG.N
it
it
its
its
itself
1PL
we
us
our
ours
ourself/ves
3PL
they
them
their
theirs
themself/ves
1SG
CAE-all
I
me
my
mine
myself
BNC-all
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2
CAE-all
you
your
yours
yourself
yourselves
BNC-all
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
3SG.M
CAE-all
he
him
his
himself
BNC-all
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
3SG.F
CAE-all
she
her
hers
herself
BNC-all
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
3SG.N
CAE-all
it
its
itself
BNC-all
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1PL
CAE-all
we
us
our
ours
ourself
ourselves
BNC-all
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
3PL
CAE-all
they
them
their
theirs
themself
themselves
BNC-all
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
English Pronominal Inflection
NOM
ACC/
OBL
POSS
DET
IND
POSS
REFLEX
1SG
I
me
my
mine
myself
2
you
you
your
yours
yourself/ves
3SG.M
he
him
his
his
himself
3SG.F
she
her
her
hers
herself
3SG.N
it
it
its
its
itself
1PL
we
us
our
ours
ourself/ves
3PL
they
them
their
theirs
themself/ves
Top 20 Collocates for Pro + V (=NOM)
1
I 'M
62445
YOU KNOW
42476
HE WAS
75662
SHE WAS
39264
IT IS
142865
WE HAVE
30245
THEY WERE
40046
2
I DO
47772
YOU 'RE
36885
HE HAD
47230
SHE HAD
30008
IT WAS
136052
WE ARE
21666
THEY ARE
39210
3
I WAS
45934
YOU CAN
31729
HE SAID
34772
SHE SAID
19729
IT 'S
118777
WE 'RE
18637
THEY 'RE
24724
4
I THINK
41311
YOU HAVE
24286
HE 'S
32097
SHE 'S
17095
IT WOULD
25998
WE CAN
16832
THEY HAD
19298
5
I 'VE
36430
YOU 'VE
21710
HE IS
18298
SHE COULD
11282
IT HAS
19707
WE 'VE
16287
THEY HAVE
18103
6
I HAVE
33274
YOU ARE
21497
HE WOULD
15356
SHE WOULD
8961
IT WILL
16878
WE WERE
14300
THEY DO
12024
7
I 'LL
27035
YOU DO
20689
HE COULD
14269
SHE 'D
8622
IT HAD
14340
WE DO
11261
THEY CAN
10749
8
I MEAN
24233
YOU WANT
13026
HE HAS
14061
SHE DID
8259
IT DOES
11587
WE 'LL
10879
THEY WOULD
10516
9
I AM
21973
YOU WILL
12034
HE DID
13540
SHE IS
6834
IT MAY
10993
WE HAD
10317
THEY 'VE
9314
10
I HAD
21668
YOU 'LL
11825
HE 'D
11575
SHE HAS
4967
IT CAN
10574
WE WILL
7997
THEY WILL
8891
11
I WOULD
19128
YOU SEE
11655
HE SAYS
8385
SHE FELT
4153
IT COULD
8183
WE COULD
6656
THEY COULD
8242
12
I 'D
18772
YOU COULD
10885
HE WILL
5835
SHE THOUGHT
4139
IT 'S
7703
WE SHOULD
5857
THEY DID
7014
13
I KNOW
18747
YOU WERE
10300
HE DOES
5436
SHE KNEW
3949
IT SEEMS
7498
WE WOULD
5664
THEY 'D
5452
14
I CAN
17646
YOU THINK
9901
HE WENT
4990
SHE SAYS
3698
IT SHOULD
7262
WE SHALL
5030
THEY MAY
4956
15
I DID
17503
YOU 'D
8521
HE LOOKED
4864
SHE LOOKED
3681
IT MIGHT
6345
WE NEED
4998
THEY 'LL
4716
16
I COULD
16097
YOU GET
8161
HE CAN
4526
SHE WENT
2984
IT MUST
6097
WE DID
4907
THEY SHOULD
4630
17
I SAID
14632
YOU SHOULD
7156
HE KNEW
4141
SHE ASKED
2559
IT DID
5823
WE MUST
4799
THEY SAY
3086
18
I THOUGHT
13281
YOU WOULD
7116
HE TOOK
4089
SHE SAW
2472
IT SEEMED
4340
WE 'D
4475
THEY WANT
3065
19
I CA
10034
YOU CA
6759
HE THOUGHT
4038
SHE DOES
2435
IT 'LL
4128
WE KNOW
4262
THEY MIGHT
2941
20
I WANT
YOU MAY
6225
HE 'LL
3982
SHE WANTED
2370
IT COMES
2847
WE GOT
3188
THEY MUST
2877
9280
Top 20 Collocates for Pro + V (=NOM)
1
I 'M
62445
YOU KNOW
42476
HE WAS
75662
SHE WAS
39264
IT IS
142865
WE HAVE
30245
THEY WERE
40046
2
I DO
47772
YOU 'RE
36885
HE HAD
47230
SHE HAD
30008
IT WAS
136052
WE ARE
21666
THEY ARE
39210
3
I WAS
45934
YOU CAN
31729
HE SAID
34772
SHE SAID
19729
IT 'S
118777
WE 'RE
18637
THEY 'RE
24724
4
I THINK
41311
YOU HAVE
24286
HE 'S
32097
SHE 'S
17095
IT WOULD
25998
WE CAN
16832
THEY HAD
19298
5
I 'VE
36430
YOU 'VE
21710
HE IS
18298
SHE COULD
11282
IT HAS
19707
WE 'VE
16287
THEY HAVE
18103
6
I HAVE
33274
YOU ARE
21497
HE WOULD
15356
SHE WOULD
8961
IT WILL
16878
WE WERE
14300
THEY DO
12024
7
I 'LL
27035
YOU DO
20689
HE COULD
14269
SHE 'D
8622
IT HAD
14340
WE DO
11261
THEY CAN
10749
8
I MEAN
24233
YOU WANT
13026
HE HAS
14061
SHE DID
8259
IT DOES
11587
WE 'LL
10879
THEY WOULD
10516
9
I AM
21973
YOU WILL
12034
HE DID
13540
SHE IS
6834
IT MAY
10993
WE HAD
10317
THEY 'VE
9314
10
I HAD
21668
YOU 'LL
11825
HE 'D
11575
SHE HAS
4967
IT CAN
10574
WE WILL
7997
THEY WILL
8891
11
I WOULD
19128
YOU SEE
11655
HE SAYS
8385
SHE FELT
4153
IT COULD
8183
WE COULD
6656
THEY COULD
8242
12
I 'D
18772
YOU COULD
10885
HE WILL
5835
SHE THOUGHT
4139
IT 'S
7703
WE SHOULD
5857
THEY DID
7014
13
I KNOW
18747
YOU WERE
10300
HE DOES
5436
SHE KNEW
3949
IT SEEMS
7498
WE WOULD
5664
THEY 'D
5452
14
I CAN
17646
YOU THINK
9901
HE WENT
4990
SHE SAYS
3698
IT SHOULD
7262
WE SHALL
5030
THEY MAY
4956
15
I DID
17503
YOU 'D
8521
HE LOOKED
4864
SHE LOOKED
3681
IT MIGHT
6345
WE NEED
4998
THEY 'LL
4716
16
I COULD
16097
YOU GET
8161
HE CAN
4526
SHE WENT
2984
IT MUST
6097
WE DID
4907
THEY SHOULD
4630
17
I SAID
14632
YOU SHOULD
7156
HE KNEW
4141
SHE ASKED
2559
IT DID
5823
WE MUST
4799
THEY SAY
3086
18
I THOUGHT
13281
YOU WOULD
7116
HE TOOK
4089
SHE SAW
2472
IT SEEMED
4340
WE 'D
4475
THEY WANT
3065
19
I CA
10034
YOU CA
6759
HE THOUGHT
4038
SHE DOES
2435
IT 'LL
4128
WE KNOW
4262
THEY MIGHT
2941
20
I WANT
YOU MAY
6225
HE 'LL
3982
SHE WANTED
2370
IT COMES
2847
WE GOT
3188
THEY MUST
2877
9280
Percent Attraction of Pro to Pro + CAN Frame
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
CAE_ALL
0.5
BNC_ALL
0
he
BNC_CONV
she
it
Attraction of “he” = (no. of “he+CAN” in construction over total no. of “he” in corpus) x100,
following Schmid 2000)
Percent Attraction of Pro to Pro + WILL Frame
6
5
4
3
2
CAE_ALL
1
BNC_ALL
0
BNC_CONV
he
she
it
Attraction of “he” = (no. of “he+WILL” in construction over total no. of “he” in corpus) x100,
following Schmid 2000)
Collostructional Analysis of 3SG + CAN/WILL
PRO_CAN
words
she
he
it
word.freq
33724
48224
65159
obs.freq
885
1005
717
exp.freq
321.83
460.2
621.81
faith
0.0262
0.0208
0.011
relation
attraction
attraction
attraction
coll.strength
151.13
110.28
4.12
PRO_WILL
words
it
he
she
word.freq
65159
48224
33724
obs.freq
3341
1948
1434
exp.freq
778.57
576.22
402.96
faith
0.0513
0.0404
0.0425
relation
attraction
attraction
attraction
coll.strength
infinitessimal
infinitessimal
infinitessimal
Collostructional analysis based on attraction/repulsion of “she/he/it” to the construction “Pro +
CAN” or “Pro + WILL” [size of corpus = number of verbs (V*)]; Stefanowitsch & Gries 2003
PRO like to vs. PRO hope to (BNC-cc)
you like to
I hope to
PRO like to vs. PRO hope to (BNC-cc)
toΙ
There are 2793 different types in your collocation database for "<stext>#(like to)". (You r
que ry "<stext>#(like to)" returned 3740 matches in 613 different texts)
No.
Word
Total No. in
spoken texts
As collocate
In No. of
texts
Log-likelihood value
1
you
268545
431
220
737.20883083344
2
it
253519
5
5
125.27388036251
3
I
304612
164
109
39.460833609104
4
he
75322
6
6
19.445653378963
5
we
107938
48
38
4.8472927808762
6
they
96638
41
35
3.0970354676247
7
us
10940
5
4
0.58065050840378
you like to
There are 384 different types in your collocation database for "<stext>#(hope to)". (You r
que ry "<stext>#(hope to)" returned 139 matches in 91 different texts)
I hope to
No.
Word
Total No. in
spoken texts
As collocate
In No. of
texts
Log-likelihood value
1
I
304612
43
33
147.14156740904
2
we
107938
27
17
118.43150603771
3
you
268545
14
13
20.752273321152
4
they
96638
8
8
17.752799034119
5
she
42851
1
1
0.37365126609802
6
he
75322
1
1
0.012729406356812
English Pronominal Inflection
NOM
ACC/
OBL
POSS
DET
IND
POSS
REFLEX
1SG
I
me
my
mine
myself
2
you
you
your
yours
yourself/ves
3SG.M
he
him
his
his
himself
3SG.F
she
her
her
hers
herself
3SG.N
it
it
its
its
itself
1PL
we
us
our
ours
ourself/ves
3PL
they
them
their
theirs
themself/ves
Top 20 Collocates for V + Pro (=ACC?)
1
TELL ME
5295
DO YOU
27589
TOLD HIM
3817
TOLD HER
3113
IS IT
2
TOLD ME
5040
ARE YOU
13944
SEE HIM
2286
MADE HER
2333
DO IT
3
LET ME
4642
DID YOU
10819
TELL HIM
2192
SEE HER
1828
THINK IT
4
GIVE ME
2809
THANK YOU
9597
GAVE HIM
1915
TOOK HER
1462
5
GAVE ME
1697
HAVE YOU
9447
LET HIM
1777
WAS HER
1439
6
ASKED ME
1377
TELL YOU
6985
GIVE HIM
1776
SHOOK HER
7
MADE ME
1357
CAN YOU
6549
MADE HIM
1622
TELL HER
8
WANT ME
1227
WOULD YOU
5765
ASKED HIM
1336
9
SEE ME
1204
THINK YOU
4964
SAW HIM
1287
10
HELP ME
1178
GIVE YOU
4235
GET HIM
11
EXCUSE ME
989
SEE YOU
3777
12
MAKE ME
908
WILL YOU
3284
13
GET ME
905
KNOW YOU
14
TELLING ME
864
TOLD YOU
15
ASK ME
849
16
TAKE ME
800
17
TOOK ME
18
MAKES ME
19
20
14725
LET US
2943
GIVE THEM
2175
8271
TELL US
2006
PUT THEM
1977
6942
GIVE US
1620
GET THEM
1694
WAS IT
5637
HELP US
1037
SEE THEM
1622
'S IT
4770
TOLD US
1028
MAKE THEM
1589
1426
MAKE IT
4578
TELLS US
808
TELL THEM
1415
1406
SAID IT
3739
GIVES US
558
LET THEM
1362
GAVE HER
1404
DOES IT
3475
GAVE US
547
TAKE THEM
1332
PUT HER
1383
THOUGHT IT
3222
TAKE US
436
TOLD THEM
1215
999
LET HER
1229
DID IT
3104
MAKE US
403
HELP THEM
1073
ASK HIM
981
GIVE HER
1124
MADE IT
2887
JOIN US
368
HAVE THEM
1038
SEEN HIM
897
TAKE HER
1055
GET IT
2796
SEE US
361
KEEP THEM
1032
2935
MAKE HIM
892
LEFT HER
1016
PUT IT
2726
ENABLE US
354
USE THEM
1001
2502
TAKE HIM
850
SAW HER
976
KNOW IT
2715
GIVEN US
333
GAVE THEM
797
HELP YOU
2278
LEFT HIM
841
HAD HER
973
SAYS IT
2573
TOOK US
330
GOT THEM
739
THOUGHT YOU
2081
TOOK HIM
839
ASKED HER
934
SEE IT
2514
TELLING US
325
MADE THEM
735
788
COULD YOU
1988
PUT HIM
778
GET HER
914
THINK IT
2506
ALLOW US
315
WANT THEM
716
759
WANT YOU
1805
HELP HIM
723
MAKE HER
859
DOING IT
2432
GET US
313
TOOK THEM
636
BELIEVE ME
731
WERE YOU
1760
HEARD HIM
645
SEEN HER
730
DO IT
2431
WANT US
277
FIND THEM
613
TELLS ME
678
MEAN YOU
1555
FOUND HIM
635
HELD HER
717
MAKES IT
2283
BRINGS US
267
BRING THEM
596
Top 20 Collocates for V + Pro (=ACC?)
1
TELL ME
5295
DO YOU
27589
TOLD HIM
3817
TOLD HER
3113
IS IT
2
TOLD ME
5040
ARE YOU
13944
SEE HIM
2286
MADE HER
2333
DO IT
3
LET ME
4642
DID YOU
10819
TELL HIM
2192
SEE HER
1828
4
GIVE ME
2809
5
GAVE ME
1697
6
ASKED ME
1377
7
MADE ME
1357
8
WANT ME
1227
9
SEE ME
1204
10
HELP ME
1178
11
EXCUSE ME
989
12
MAKE ME
908
13
GET ME
905
14
TELLING ME
864
15
ASK ME
16
TAKE ME
17
TOOK ME
788
COULD YOU
18
MAKES ME
759
WANT YOU
19
BELIEVE ME
731
WERE YOU
20
TELLS ME
678
MEAN YOU
THANK YOU
9597
THINK IT
14725
LET US
2943
GIVE THEM
2175
8271
TELL US
2006
PUT THEM
1977
6942
GIVE US
1620
GET THEM
1694
GAVE HIM
1915
TOOK HER
1462
5637
HELP US
1037
SEE THEM
1622
9447
LET HIM
1777
WAS HER
1439
'S IT
4770
TOLD US
1028
MAKE THEM
1589
TELL YOU
6985
GIVE HIM
1776
SHOOK HER
1426
MAKE IT
4578
TELLS US
808
TELL THEM
1415
CAN YOU
6549
MADE HIM
1622
TELL HER
1406
SAID IT
3739
GIVES US
558
LET THEM
1362
WOULD YOU
5765
ASKED HIM
1336
GAVE HER
1404
DOES IT
3475
GAVE US
547
TAKE THEM
1332
THINK YOU
4964
SAW HIM
1287
PUT HER
1383
3222
TAKE US
436
TOLD THEM
1215
GIVE YOU
4235
GET HIM
999
LET HER
1229
3104
MAKE US
403
HELP THEM
1073
SEE YOU
3777
ASK HIM
981
GIVE HER
1124
MADE IT
2887
JOIN US
368
HAVE THEM
1038
WILL YOU
3284
SEEN HIM
897
TAKE HER
1055
GET IT
2796
SEE US
361
KEEP THEM
1032
KNOW YOU
2935
MAKE HIM
892
LEFT HER
1016
PUT IT
2726
ENABLE US
354
USE THEM
1001
TOLD YOU
2502
TAKE HIM
850
SAW HER
976
KNOW IT
2715
GIVEN US
333
GAVE THEM
797
849
HELP YOU
2278
LEFT HIM
841
HAD HER
973
SAYS IT
2573
TOOK US
330
GOT THEM
739
800
THOUGHT YOU
2081
TOOK HIM
839
ASKED HER
934
SEE IT
2514
TELLING US
325
MADE THEM
735
1988
PUT HIM
778
GET HER
914
THINK IT
2506
ALLOW US
315
WANT THEM
716
1805
HELP HIM
723
MAKE HER
859
DOING IT
2432
GET US
313
TOOK THEM
636
1760
HEARD HIM
645
SEEN HER
730
DO IT
2431
WANT US
277
FIND THEM
613
1555
FOUND HIM
635
HELD HER
717
MAKES IT
2283
BRINGS US
267
BRING THEM
596
HAVE YOU
WAS IT
THOUGHT IT
DID IT
Top 20 Collocates for V + Pro (=ACC?)
1
TELL ME
5295
DO YOU
27589
2
TOLD ME
5040
ARE YOU
13944
3
LET ME
4642
DID YOU
10819
4
GIVE ME
2809
THANK YOU
9597
GAVE HIM
5
GAVE ME
1697
HAVE YOU
9447
LET HIM
6
ASKED ME
1377
TELL YOU
6985
GIVE HIM
1776
7
MADE ME
1357
CAN YOU
6549
MADE HIM
1622
TELL HER
8
WANT ME
1227
WOULD YOU
5765
ASKED HIM
1336
GAVE HER
9
SEE ME
1204
THINK YOU
4964
SAW HIM
1287
PUT HER
10
HELP ME
1178
GIVE YOU
4235
GET HIM
999
11
EXCUSE ME
989
SEE YOU
3777
ASK HIM
12
MAKE ME
908
WILL YOU
3284
SEEN HIM
13
14
GET ME
TELLING ME
905
KNOW YOU
TOLD HIM
3817
TOLD HER
3113
IS IT
SEE HIM
2286
MADE HER
2333
DO IT
TELL HIM
2192
SEE HER
1828
THINK IT
1915
TOOK HER
1462
WAS IT
5637
1777
WAS HER
1439
'S IT
4770
1426
MAKE IT
4578
TELLS US
808
TELL THEM
1415
1406
SAID IT
3739
GIVES US
558
LET THEM
1362
1404
DOES IT
3475
GAVE US
547
TAKE THEM
1332
1383
THOUGHT IT
3222
TAKE US
436
TOLD THEM
1215
LET HER
1229
DID IT
3104
MAKE US
403
HELP THEM
1073
981
GIVE HER
1124
MADE IT
2887
JOIN US
368
HAVE THEM
1038
897
TAKE HER
1055
GET IT
2796
SEE US
361
KEEP THEM
1032
1001
SHOOK HER
14725
LET US
2943
GIVE THEM
2175
8271
TELL US
2006
PUT THEM
1977
6942
GIVE US
1620
GET THEM
1694
HELP US
1037
SEE THEM
1622
TOLD US
1028
MAKE THEM
1589
2935
MAKE HIM
892
LEFT HER
1016
PUT IT
2726
ENABLE US
354
USE THEM
864
TOLD YOU
2502
TAKE HIM
850
SAW HER
976
KNOW IT
2715
GIVEN US
333
GAVE THEM
797
15
ASK ME
849
HELP YOU
2278
LEFT HIM
841
HAD HER
973
SAYS IT
2573
330
GOT THEM
739
16
TAKE ME
800
THOUGHT YOU
2081
TOOK HIM
839
ASKED HER
934
SEE IT
2514
TELLING US
325
MADE THEM
735
17
TOOK ME
788
COULD YOU
1988
PUT HIM
778
GET HER
914
THINK IT
2506
ALLOW US
315
WANT THEM
716
18
MAKES ME
759
WANT YOU
1805
HELP HIM
723
MAKE HER
859
DOING IT
2432
GET US
313
TOOK THEM
636
19
BELIEVE ME
731
WERE YOU
1760
HEARD HIM
645
SEEN HER
730
DO IT
2431
WANT US
277
FIND THEM
613
20
TELLS ME
678
MEAN YOU
1555
FOUND HIM
635
HELD HER
717
MAKES IT
2283
BRINGS US
267
BRING THEM
596
TOOK US
Top 20 Collocates for V + Pro (=ACC?)
1
TELL ME
5295
DO YOU
27589
TOLD HIM
3817
TOLD HER
3113
IS IT
2
TOLD ME
5040
ARE YOU
13944
SEE HIM
2286
MADE HER
2333
DO IT
3
LET ME
4642
DID YOU
10819
TELL HIM
2192
SEE HER
1828
THINK IT
4
GIVE ME
2809
THANK YOU
9597
GAVE HIM
1915
TOOK HER
1462
5
GAVE ME
1697
HAVE YOU
9447
LET HIM
1777
WAS HER
1439
6
ASKED ME
1377
TELL YOU
6985
GIVE HIM
1776
7
MADE ME
1357
CAN YOU
6549
MADE HIM
1622
TELL HER
8
WANT ME
1227
WOULD YOU
5765
ASKED HIM
1336
9
SEE ME
1204
THINK YOU
4964
SAW HIM
1287
HELP ME
1178
GIVE YOU
4235
GET HIM
10
11
EXCUSE ME
14725
LET US
2943
GIVE THEM
2175
8271
TELL US
2006
PUT THEM
1977
6942
GIVE US
1620
GET THEM
1694
WAS IT
5637
HELP US
1037
SEE THEM
1622
'S IT
4770
TOLD US
1028
MAKE THEM
1589
1426
MAKE IT
4578
TELLS US
808
TELL THEM
1415
1406
SAID IT
3739
GIVES US
558
LET THEM
1362
GAVE HER
1404
DOES IT
3475
GAVE US
547
TAKE THEM
1332
PUT HER
1383
THOUGHT IT
3222
TAKE US
436
TOLD THEM
1215
999
LET HER
1229
DID IT
3104
MAKE US
403
HELP THEM
1073
SHOOK HER
989
SEE YOU
3777
ASK HIM
981
GIVE HER
1124
MADE IT
2887
JOIN US
368
HAVE THEM
1038
12
MAKE ME
908
WILL YOU
3284
SEEN HIM
897
TAKE HER
1055
GET IT
2796
SEE US
361
KEEP THEM
1032
13
GET ME
905
KNOW YOU
2935
MAKE HIM
892
LEFT HER
1016
PUT IT
2726
ENABLE US
354
USE THEM
1001
14
TELLING ME
864
TOLD YOU
2502
TAKE HIM
850
SAW HER
976
KNOW IT
2715
GIVEN US
333
GAVE THEM
797
15
ASK ME
849
HELP YOU
2278
LEFT HIM
841
HAD HER
973
SAYS IT
2573
TOOK US
330
GOT THEM
739
16
TAKE ME
800
THOUGHT YOU
2081
TOOK HIM
839
ASKED HER
934
SEE IT
2514
TELLING US
325
MADE THEM
735
17
TOOK ME
788
COULD YOU
1988
PUT HIM
778
GET HER
914
THINK IT
2506
ALLOW US
315
WANT THEM
716
18
MAKES ME
759
WANT YOU
1805
HELP HIM
723
MAKE HER
859
DOING IT
2432
GET US
313
TOOK THEM
636
19
BELIEVE ME
731
WERE YOU
1760
HEARD HIM
645
SEEN HER
730
DO IT
2431
WANT US
277
FIND THEM
613
20
TELLS ME
678
MEAN YOU
1555
FOUND HIM
635
HELD HER
717
MAKES IT
2283
BRINGS US
267
BRING THEM
596
Top 10 Collocates for P + Pro (=OBL)
1
TO ME
2
FOR ME
3
TO YOU
8915
TO HIM
7461
FOR YOU
8414
WITH ME
5093
WITH YOU
4
AT ME
2910
5
OF ME
6
ON ME
7
ABOUT ME
8
9
10
14600
11203
OF HER
19396
OF IT
16420
OF US
8404
OF THEM
23034
WITH HIM
7264
TO HER
15849
ABOUT IT
10772
TO US
4500
TO THEM
7270
5177
FOR HIM
7088
IN HER
14569
WITH IT
7716
FOR US
4151
FOR THEM
6731
OF YOU
4700
AT HIM
6228
WITH HER
10556
TO IT
7598
WITH US
2594
WITH THEM
5619
1840
ABOUT YOU
1487
OF HIM
3554
ON HER
9030
FOR IT
6858
BETWEEN US
782
BETWEEN THEM
3399
1596
ON YOU
1319
ON HIM
2136
AT HER
9006
IN IT
6595
FROM US
724
ON THEM
2564
900
LIKE YOU
1091
ABOUT HIM
1888
FOR HER
8080
ON IT
6376
ON US
695
IN THEM
1754
FROM ME
811
FROM YOU
971
BEHIND HIM
1759
FROM HER
4813
AT IT
3457
IN US
567
AT THEM
1653
LIKE ME
776
AT YOU
850
FROM HIM
1411
INTO HER
2958
FROM IT
1944
AT US
490
ABOUT THEM
1640
IN ME
766
IN YOU
683
AGAINST HIM
1330
ABOUT HER
2900
INTO IT
1842
BY US
488
FROM THEM
1356
Top 10 Collocates for P + Pro (=OBL)
1
TO ME
2
FOR ME
3
TO YOU
8915
TO HIM
7461
FOR YOU
8414
WITH ME
5093
WITH YOU
4
AT ME
2910
5
OF ME
6
ON ME
7
ABOUT ME
8
9
10
14600
11203
OF HER
19396
OF IT
16420
OF US
8404
OF THEM
23034
WITH HIM
7264
TO HER
15849
ABOUT IT
10772
TO US
4500
TO THEM
7270
5177
FOR HIM
7088
IN HER
14569
WITH IT
7716
FOR US
4151
FOR THEM
6731
OF YOU
4700
AT HIM
6228
WITH HER
10556
TO IT
7598
WITH US
2594
WITH THEM
5619
1840
ABOUT YOU
1487
OF HIM
3554
ON HER
9030
FOR IT
6858
BETWEEN US
782
BETWEEN THEM
3399
1596
ON YOU
1319
ON HIM
2136
AT HER
9006
IN IT
6595
FROM US
724
ON THEM
2564
900
LIKE YOU
1091
ABOUT HIM
1888
FOR HER
8080
ON IT
6376
ON US
695
IN THEM
1754
FROM ME
811
FROM YOU
971
BEHIND HIM
1759
FROM HER
4813
AT IT
3457
IN US
567
AT THEM
1653
LIKE ME
776
AT YOU
850
FROM HIM
1411
INTO HER
2958
FROM IT
1944
AT US
490
ABOUT THEM
1640
IN ME
766
IN YOU
683
AGAINST HIM
1330
ABOUT HER
2900
INTO IT
1842
BY US
488
FROM THEM
1356
Distributional Idiosyncracies (CAEall + BNCall)
OF + PRO
TO + PRO
45%
40%
40%
35%
35%
30%
30%
25%
25%
20%
20%
15%
15%
10%
10%
5%
5%
0%
0%
1SG
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
3SG.N
1PL
1SG
3PL
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
3SG.N
1PL
3PL
1PL
3PL
prep + PRO
FOR + PRO
WITH + PRO
25%
20%
18%
20%
16%
14%
12%
15%
10%
8%
10%
6%
4%
5%
2%
0%
0%
1SG
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
3SG.N
1PL
3PL
1SG
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
3SG.N
Reliance of “to+me” (= no. of “to+me” in corpus over total no. of PREP+PRO in corpus) x100,
following Schmid 2000)
English Pronominal Inflection
NOM
ACC/
OBL
POSS
DET
IND
POSS
REFLEX
1SG
I
me
my
mine
myself
2
you
you
your
yours
yourself/ves
3SG.M
he
him
his
his
himself
3SG.F
she
her
her
hers
herself
3SG.N
it
it
its
its
itself
1PL
we
us
our
ours
ourself/ves
3PL
they
them
their
theirs
themself/ves
Top 20 Collocates for Pro’s NP (=GEN)
1
MY FATHER
3501
YOUR LIFE
1492
HIS HEAD
7218
HER EYES
5268
ITS WAY
1507
OUR LIVES
979
THEIR WAY
2900
2
MY MOTHER
3335
YOUR MOTHER
1333
HIS WIFE
7153
HER HEAD
5135
ITS MEMBERS
1080
OUR WAY
766
THEIR LIVES
2233
3
MY LIFE
2704
YOUR FATHER
1276
HIS EYES
6075
HER HUSBAND
4503
ITS NAME
825
OUR SOCIETY
530
THEIR CHILDREN
2083
4
MY MIND
2104
YOUR MIND
1205
HIS FACE
5056
HER MOTHER
4278
ITS USE
667
OUR WORK
484
THEIR WORK
1829
5
MY HEAD
1749
YOUR NAME
1158
HIS FATHER
4959
HER FACE
4097
ITS HEAD
619
OUR HOUSE
446
THEIR PARENTS
1253
6
MY WIFE
1289
YOUR HEAD
1094
HIS HAND
3868
HER FATHER
3222
ITS PLACE
567
OUR MEMBERS
444
THEIR HEADS
1130
7
MY LORD
1284
YOUR HANDS
922
HIS LIFE
3735
HER HAND
2616
ITS KIND
466
OUR UNDERSTANDING
424
THEIR FAMILIES
1083
8
MY HUSBAND
1246
YOUR HAIR
836
HIS MOTHER
3500
HER MIND
2346
ITS POSITION
455
OUR TIME
419
THEIR HOME
1023
9
MY EYES
1203
YOUR BODY
830
HIS HANDS
3322
HER LIFE
2266
ITS EFFECT
414
OUR CHILDREN
405
THEIR HANDS
958
10
MY WAY
1131
YOUR EYES
801
HIS WAY
2888
HER VOICE
2118
ITS ABILITY
384
OUR COUNTRY
368
THEIR TIME
919
Distributional Idiosyncracies (AECall + BNCall)
MOTHER
CHILD/CHILDREN
9%
7%
8%
6%
7%
6%
5%
5%
4%
4%
3%
3%
2%
2%
1%
1%
0%
1SG
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
1PL
3PL
0%
1SG
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
1PL
3PL
my KINTERM
FATHER
SON
8%
3%
7%
2%
6%
5%
2%
4%
1%
3%
2%
1%
1%
0%
0%
1SG
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
1PL
3PL
1SG
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
1PL
3PL
Reliance of “my+mother” (= no. of “my+mother” in corpus over total no. of PRO.POSS+NN* in
corpus) x100, following Schmid 2000)
3SG Distributional Idiosyncracies (BNCall)
3SG's KITH and KIN
8000
7000
3SG.M
6000
3SG.F
5000
3SG.N
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
H
AN
B
US
D
W
IF
E
TH
A
F
ER
O
M
TH
ER
ER
H
T
O
R
B
ER
T
S
SI
N
SO
G
AU
D
R
TE
H
EN
I
FR
D
N
IE
R
F
S
D
1SG Distributional Idiosyncracies by Genre
50
45
40
35
I
30
me
25
my
20
15
10
5
my
0
me
Diary
Dem
Fic
I
News
Acad
1PL Distributional Idiosyncracies by Genre
10
9
8
7
we
6
us
5
our
4
3
2
1
our
0
us
Diary
Dem
Fic
we
News
Acad
Our Manifesto
de-lemmatize!
inflected forms have a life of their own (Tao 2001, 2003)
put lemmas aside (as done earlier with syntactic rule in favor of constructions)
substitute words-in-context or WICs (intersection of genre, register, & inflection)
aim low!
find the “hierarchy of lower-level structures...[that] specify
the actual array of subcases and specific instances that
support and give rise to the higher-level generalization” RWL,
Concept, Image, & Symbol, 1991:281-282
Thank you.
[email protected]
[email protected]
THE VERB
ISLAND HYPOTHESIS
THE INFLECTIONAL
ISLAND HYPOTHESIS
Tomasello 1992, 2004
Rice & Newman 2005
V
<<<
V
inflection
>>>
inflection

children tend to use
uninflected verb roots before
inflected forms

adults use particular inflected
forms of individual verbs on a
register-specific basis

verb inflections are mastered
on a verb-by-verb basis

verb inflections adhere to
verbs on a verb-by-verb basis

generalization is gradual

particularization is gradual

initially, particular verbs
“strand” inflections

eventually, inflections “strand”
particular verbs
The Inflectional Island Hypothesis
Rice & Newman 2005

uneven distribution of inflection

lexical items may have “weighted” inflectional profiles

weightings may be universal (experientially motivated) or languagespecific

inflectional categories are lexically & pragmatically meaningful
(and not just
part of grammatical house-keeping or concord relationships)

especially “weighty” inflected items (WICs) may idiomaticize and
grammaticalize
Distributional Idiosyncracies (AECall + BNCall)
PRO.POSS + HEAD
PRO.POSS + EYES
7%
7%
6%
6%
5%
5%
4%
BNC
4%
BNC
3%
AEC
3%
AEC
2%
2%
1%
1%
0%
0%
1SG
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
1PL
3PL
1SG
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
1PL
3PL
my BODY PART
PRO.POSS + HANDS
PRO.POSS + HEART(S)
4%
5%
3%
4%
4%
3%
3%
2%
BNC
3%
BNC
2%
AEC
2%
AEC
2%
1%
1%
1%
1%
0%
0%
1SG
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
1PL
3PL
1SG
2
3SG.M
3SG.F
1PL
3PL
lemmas
• argument structure(s)
words in
context
(WICs)
• syntactic constructions
• lexical meaning
inflected forms
+
• distribution patterns (usage)
• collocations & N-grams
• pragmatic associations
“have a life of their own”
Thompson & Hopper 2001:44
• incipient grammaticalization &
idiomaticization
WICs
locus of lexicalization and grammaticalization
active in borrowings and morphological realignment
spawn psychological associations, induce priming effects

Corpus-based constructionists approaches allow us to leave
the paradigm behind.

Paradigms (lemmas) have value for some purposes, but they
often end up straight-jacketing an analysis.

The conceit of the paradigm tends to distract linguists from
looking at the lexical semantics of inflected forms in their
own right.

Some items do escape the shackles of the paradigm and
actually become lexical items in their own right (as in
Russellian conjugations).