No abstract

In this study, we investigate the expression of speed—one of the principal dimensions of manner—in relation to the expression of space in Estonian, a satellite-framed and morphology-rich language. Our multivariate and extensive corpus analysis is informed by asymmetries attested in languages with regard to expressing space (the goal-over-source bias) and speed (the fast-over-slow bias) where we attempt to explicitly link the two. We demonstrate moderate speed effects in the data in that fast motion verbs tend to combine with Goal, and slow motion verbs with Location and Trajectory expressions, making verbs of fast motion similar to goal verbs in their clausal behaviour. We also show that semantic congruency (i.e., expressing semantic information repeatedly in motion clauses) overrides the goal-over-source bias. That is, although verbs also occur in diverse patterns, they often combine with semantic units that mirror their meaning: goal verbs tend to combine with Goal, source verbs with Source, and manner verbs with Manner expressions. Such semantic congruency might serve as a tool for construal and, thus, is an important issue for future research.

Kokkuvõte. Artiklis analüüsime eesti keele demonstratiivide referentsiaalseid omadusi sellistes konstruktsioonides, kus demonstratiivid kuuluvad definiitse määratlejana nimisõnafraasi koosseisu. Otsime vastust küsimusele, mille poolest erinevad demonstratiivadverb (nt siin, seal) ning demonstratiivpronoomen (see, too), kui need esinevad määratlejana koos kohakäändes nimisõnafraasiga (vrd siin koolis ja selles koolis). Oleme püstitanud hüpoteesi, et demonstratiivadverbid seostuvad ruumitähendust väljendavate substantiividega, demonstratiivpronoomenid esinevad aga nende substantiividega, mille referent on mitteruumiline. Uurimuse andmestik pärineb 2017. aasta eesti keele ühendkorpusest, kust oleme võtnud 100 lauset iga demonstratiivi kohta igas kohakäändes, seega kokku 2400 lauset. Materjali analüüsime kvantitatiivselt (tingimuslike otsustuspuude ja juhumetsadega) ning kvalitatiivselt. Uurimuse tulemused kinnitavad, et substantiivi semantilised omadused, täpsemalt substantiivi semantiline klass ning konkreetsus, on seotud määratleja valikuga. Kohatähenduses substantiividega esineb määratlejana sagedamini demonstratiivadverb, mittekoha tähenduses substantiivide määratlejana kasutatakse aga demonstratiivpronoomenit. Mittekohta tähistavate substantiivide korral mõjutab määratleja valikut omakorda sõna konkreetsus. Seega on võimalik demonstratiivseid määratlejaid eesti keeles kasutada referenti looval viisil. Abstract. Helen Hint, Piia Taremaa, Maria Reile, Renate Pajusalu: Demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adverbs as determiners in Estonian: why are we in “here world” in “this situation”? We investigate the variation of definite determiner constructions in Estonian: noun phrases with a demonstrative pronoun (see ‘this’, too ‘that’) or demonstrative adverb (siin ‘here’, seal ‘there’) as a determiner are contrasted. The question is what differentiates the use of a demonstrative pronoun and a demonstrative adverb if used in a determiner position in an NP. The data from Estonian National Corpus 2017 were tagged for semantic class of a noun, noun concreteness, and verb type. We collected 100 clauses for each sub-construction (six spatial cases crossed with four determiner forms), 2400 clauses in total. For statistical analysis, we used conditional random forests and inference trees. We show that nouns expressing spatial meaning prefer demonstrative adverbs as determiners, while non-spatial nouns combine with demonstrative pronouns. Spatiality-wise polysemous nouns exhibit more varied preferences. Adverbial determiners are more probably used with concrete nouns, and abstract nouns co-occur with pronominals. Overall, the frequency of demonstrative adverbs as NP attributes confirms that demonstrative adverbs are productive determiners in Estonian.

No abstract

Recent decades have witnessed an increasing interest in motion events resulting in thorough knowledge about expressions of manner. However, the individual dimensions of manner of motion have been investigated less extensively. In this study, we focus on one particular dimension of manner: speed. By analysing the Estonian language and applying corpus methods, we show that speed is one of the core dimensions of manner. In Estonian, speed can be expressed with motion verbs and various types of manner modifiers. Speed modifiers can have a function of compensation (providing information that is not present in the verb), specification (providing additional details), and/or intensification (strengthening the meaning conveyed by the verb). Moreover, compared to slow motion, the expression of fast motion in modifiers is more frequent and more diverse in terms of semantic distinctions and morphosyntactic realisations. Drawing on these results, we frame a hypothesis of the fast-over-slow bias.