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Garden-path Sentence
A garden-path sentence is a grammatically correct sentence that starts in such a way that a reader's most likely interpretation will be incorrect; the reader is lured into a parse that turns out to be a dead end or yields a clearly unintended meaning. ''Garden path'' refers to the saying " to be led down r upthe garden path", meaning to be deceived, tricked, or seduced. In ''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage'' (1926), Fowler describes such sentences as unwittingly laying a " false scent". Such a sentence leads the reader toward a seemingly familiar meaning that is actually not the one intended. It is a special type of sentence that creates a momentarily ambiguous interpretation because it contains a word or phrase that can be interpreted in multiple ways, causing the reader to begin to believe that a phrase will mean one thing when in reality it means something else. When read, the sentence seems ungrammatical, makes almost no sense, and often requires rereading so that its m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sentence (linguistics)
In linguistics and grammar, a sentence is a Expression (linguistics), linguistic expression, such as the English example "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." In traditional grammar, it is typically defined as a string of words that expresses a complete thought, or as a unit consisting of a Subject (grammar), subject and Predicate (grammar), predicate. In non-functional linguistics it is typically defined as a maximal unit of syntactic structure such as a Constituent_(linguistics), constituent. In functional linguistics, it is defined as a unit of written texts delimited by writing, graphological features such as upper-case letters and markers such as periods, question marks, and exclamation marks. This notion contrasts with a curve, which is delimited by phonologic features such as pitch and loudness and markers such as pauses; and with a clause, which is a sequence of words that represents some process going on throughout time. A sentence can include words grouped meaning ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychonomic Society
The Psychonomic Society is an international scientific society of over 4,500 scientists in the field of experimental psychology. The mission of the Psychonomic Society is to foster the science of cognition through the advancement and communication of basic research in experimental psychology and allied sciences. It is open to international researchers, and almost 40% of members are based outside of North America. Although open to all areas of experimental and cognitive psychology, its members typically study areas such as learning, memory, attention, motivation, perception, categorization, decision making, and psycholinguistics. Its name is taken from the word psychonomics, meaning "the science of the laws of the mind". History The Psychonomic Society was founded by a group of experimental psychologists during a meeting in Chicago, Illinois, USA in December 1959. The main goal was to create a society that would support open communication about psychological science with minimal s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paraprosdokian
A paraprosdokian (), or par'hyponoian, is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence, phrase, or larger discourse is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists, such as Groucho Marx. Etymology "Paraprosdokian" derives from Greek '' παρά'' "against" and '' προσδοκία'' "expectation". The noun ''prosdokia'' occurs with the preposition ''para'' in Greek rhetorical writers of the 1st century BCE and the 1st and 2nd centuries CE, with the meaning "contrary to expectation" or "unexpectedly." While the word is now in wide circulation, "paraprosdokian" (or "paraprosdokia") is not a term of classical (or medieval) Greek or Latin rhetoric; it was first attested in 1896. Double meaning Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Donkey Sentence
In semantics, a donkey sentence is a sentence containing a pronoun which is semantically bound but syntactically free. They are a classic puzzle in formal semantics and philosophy of language because they are fully grammatical and yet defy straightforward attempts to generate their formal language equivalents. In order to explain how speakers are able to understand them, semanticists have proposed a variety of formalisms including systems of dynamic semantics such as Discourse representation theory. Their name comes from the example sentence "Every farmer who owns a donkey beats it", in which "it" acts as a donkey pronoun because it is semantically but not syntactically bound by the indefinite noun phrase "a donkey". The phenomenon is known as donkey anaphora. Examples The following sentences are examples of donkey sentences. * ("Every man who owns a donkey sees it") — Walter Burley (1328), *Every farmer who owns a donkey beats it. *If a farmer owns a donkey, he beats it. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dangling Modifier
A dangling modifier (also known as a dangling participle, illogical participle or hanging participle) is a type of ambiguous grammatical construct whereby a grammatical modifier could be misinterpreted as being associated with a word other than the one intended. A dangling modifier has no subject and is usually a participle. A writer may use a dangling modifier intending to modify a subject while word order may imply that the modifier describes an object, or vice versa. An example of a dangling modifier appears in the sentence "Turning the corner, a handsome school building appeared". The modifying clause ''Turning the corner'' describes the behavior of the narrator, but the narrator is only implicit in the sentence. The sentence could be misread, with the ''turning'' action attaching either to the ''handsome school building'' or to nothing at all. As another example, in the sentence "At the age of eight, my family finally bought a dog", the modifier ''At the age of eight'' is dan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dangling Else
The dangling else is a problem in programming of parser generators in which an optional else clause in an if–then(–else) statement can make nested conditional statements ambiguous. Formally, the reference context-free grammar of the language is ambiguous, meaning there is more than one correct parse tree. Description In many programming languages, one may write conditionally executed code in two forms: the if-then form, or the if-then-else form. (The else clause is optional.): if a then s if b then s1 else s2 Ambiguous interpretation becomes possible when there are nested statements; specifically when an if-then-else form replaces the statement s inside the above if-then construct: if a then if b then s1 else s2 In this example, s1 gets executed if and only if a is true ''and'' b is true. But what about s2? One person might be sure that s2 gets executed whenever a is false (by attaching the ''else'' to the first ''if''), while another person might be sure that s2 gets e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Comparative Illusion
In linguistics, a comparative illusion (CI) or Escher sentence is a comparative sentence which initially seems to be acceptable but upon closer reflection has no well-formed, sensical meaning. The typical example sentence used to typify this phenomenon is ''More people have been to Russia than I have''. The effect has also been observed in other languages. Some studies have suggested that, at least in English, the effect is stronger for sentences whose predicate is repeatable. The effect has also been found to be stronger in some cases when there is a plural subject in the second clause. Overview of ungrammaticality Escher sentences are ungrammatical because a matrix clause subject like ''more people'' is making a comparison between two sets of individuals, but there is no such set of individuals in the second clause. For the sentence to be grammatical, the subject of the second clause must be a bare plural. Linguists have marked that it is "striking" that, despite the grammar o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo
"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" is a Grammaticality, grammatically correct sentence (linguistics), sentence in English Language, English that is often presented as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs through lexical ambiguity. It has been discussed in literature in various forms since 1967, when it appeared in Dmitri Borgmann's ''Beyond Language: Adventures in Word and Thought''. The sentence employs three distinct meanings of the word ''buffalo'': *As an noun adjunct, attributive noun (acting as an adjective) to refer to a specific place named Buffalo, such as the city of Buffalo, New York; *As the verb ''to buffalo'', meaning (in American English) "to bully, harass, or intimidate" or "to baffle"; and *As a noun to refer to the animal (either the Bubalina, true buffalo or the bison). The plural is also ''buffalo''. A semantically equivalent form preserving the original word order i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeugma And Syllepsis
In rhetoric, zeugma (; from the Ancient Greek , , lit. "a yoking together"Liddell, H. G. & al. ''A Greek-English Lexicon''"" Perseus Project. Retrieved 24 January 2013.) and syllepsis (; from the Ancient Greek , , lit. "a taking together"''Random House Dictionary''"Syllepsis" 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.) are figures of speech in which a single phrase or word joins different parts of a sentence. Definition In current usage, there are multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions for zeugma and syllepsis. This article categorizes these two figures of speech into four types, based on four definitions: Type 1 Grammatical syllepsis (sometimes also called ''zeugma''): where a single word is used in relation to two parts of a sentence although grammatically or logically applying to only one. By definition, grammatical syllepsis will often be grammatically "incorrect" according to traditional grammatical rules. However, such solecisms are sometimes not errors but intentional ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antanaclasis
In rhetoric, antanaclasis (; from the , ''antanáklasis'', meaning "reflection", from ἀντί ''anti'', "against", ἀνά ''ana'', "up" and κλάσις ''klásis'' "breaking") is the literary trope in which a single word or phrase is repeated, but in two different senses. Antanaclasis is a common type of pun, and like other kinds of pun, it is often found in slogans.Corbett and Connors, 1999. p.62-63 Examples *I'm not a ''businessman'', I'm a ''business, man'' — Lyrics by Jay-Z from " Diamonds From Sierra Leone" by Kanye West. *Your argument is ''sound'', nothing but ''sound''. — Benjamin Franklin. The word ''sound'' in the first instance means "solid" or "reasonable". The second instance of ''sound'' means "noise".My English Pages. Retrieved 09 June, 2018. https://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/writing-antanaclasis.phpCorbett and Connors, 1999. p.63 *Although we're ''apart'', you're still ''a part'' of me. — Lyrics from "Blueberry Hill" by Fats Domino. *I used ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Language Transfer
Language transfer is the application of linguistic features from one language to another by a bilingual or multilingual speaker. Language transfer may occur across both languages in the acquisition of a simultaneous bilingual. It may also occur from a mature speaker's first language (L1) to a second language (L2) they are acquiring, or from an L2 back to the L1. Language transfer (also known as L1 interference, linguistic interference, and crosslinguistic influence) is most commonly discussed in the context of English language learning and teaching, but it can occur in any situation when someone does not have a native-level command of a language, as when translating into a second language. Language transfer is also a common topic in bilingual child language acquisition as it occurs frequently in bilingual children especially when one language is dominant. Types of language transfer When the relevant unit or structure of both languages is the same, linguistic interference ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discourse
Discourse is a generalization of the notion of a conversation to any form of communication. Discourse is a major topic in social theory, with work spanning fields such as sociology, anthropology, continental philosophy, and discourse analysis. Following work by Michel Foucault, these fields view discourse as a system of thought, knowledge, or communication that constructs our world experience. Since control of discourse amounts to control of how the world is perceived, social theory often studies discourse as a window into Power (social and political), power. Within theoretical linguistics, discourse is understood more narrowly as linguistic information exchange and was one of the major motivations for the framework of dynamic semantics. In these expressions, denotations are equated with their ability to update a discourse context. Social theory In the humanities and social sciences, discourse describes a formal way of thinking that can be expressed through language. Discourse i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
