Linguistic terminology terms | LETTER - V
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Definition
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Valency refers to the capacity of a verb to take a specific number and type of arguments (noun phrase positions).
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Discussion
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The terminology comes from chemistry, in which the valency of a chemical element is its capacity for combining with a fixed number of atoms of another element—for example, hydrogen can bond with only one other element, and is called monovalent.
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Verbs can be divided into classes based on their valency (how many arguments or ‘valents’ they can take). In some languages, these classes may have distinctive morphosyntactic characteristics, such as unique case marking patterns, or restrictions on tense/aspect/modality marking.
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Examples
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Here are some examples of possible verb classes based on valency:
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Verb class
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# of arguments
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Example (English)
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Univalent, agentive
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1 agent
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dance
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Univalent, patientive
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1 patient
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die
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Divalent (or Bivalent)
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2
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kill, eat
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Trivalent
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3
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give, put
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What is a verb? (Linguistics)
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Definition
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A verb is a member of the syntactic class of words that
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Kinds
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Here are some kinds of verbs:
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Generic
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A verb is a kind of
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Definition
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Here are two senses for
verb phrase:
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In traditional terminology, a verb phrase is a phrase that
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In generative grammar, a verb phrase is a syntactic unit that corresponds to the
predicate
. In addition to the verb, this includes auxiliaries,
objects
,
object complements
, and other constituents apart from the
subject
.
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Generic
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A verb phrase is a kind of
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What is a verbal adjective?
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Definition
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A verbal adjective is an adjective which is similar to a
verb
in form and meaning.
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Examples (English)
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A very
arguable
case
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A much
argued
case
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A
trying
set of circumstances
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Generic
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A verbal adjective is a kind of
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Definition
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A verbal noun is a noun that is morphologically related to a
verb
and similar to it in meaning.
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Examples (English)
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Generic
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A verbal noun is a kind of
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What is a verbal particle?
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Definition
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A verbal particle is a member of a closed class of particles which co-occur with some verbs to form phrasal verbs. In some languages, verbal particles are identical to certain adpositions.
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Example (English)
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Example (Akan)
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The item
gyee...so
‘answered’ is a verbal particle, as in the following:
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Kofi gyee Kwame so
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Kofi received Kwame on
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‘Kofi answered Kwame.’
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Generic
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A verbal particle is a kind of
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What is a verticality schema?
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Definition
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A verticality schema is an image schema that involves “up” and “down” relations.
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Examples
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Standing upright
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Climbing stairs
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Viewing a flagpole
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Watching water rise in a tub
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Generic
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A verticality schema is a kind of
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What is a visual evidential?
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Definition
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A visual evidential is a sensory evidential signaling that the
speaker
's evidence for the truth of his or her statement is derived from the speaker’s own sight.
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Generic
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A visual evidential is a kind of
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Definition
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Vocative case is a case that marks a
noun
whose
referent
is being addressed.
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Example (Latin)
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Generic
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Vocative case is a kind of
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Definition
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A vocoid is a sound made with an open oral cavity such that there is little audible friction in the mouth.
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It has the potential to be analyzed phonemically as a vowel.
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Instances
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Here is a diagram of the vocoids. A language will use only some of these:
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A vocoid may also be a glide or syllabic sonorant, such as the following:
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Definition
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Voice is a grammatical category that expresses the semantic functions attributed to the
referents
of a clause. It indicates whether the
subject
is an
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actor
-
patient, or
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recipient.
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Examples (English)
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Kinds
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Here are some kinds of voice:
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Generic
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Voice is a kind of
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What is a voiceless vowel?
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Definition
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A voiceless vowel is a vowel that is produced with no vibration of the vocal folds.
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What is volitive modality?
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Definition
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Volitive modality is a deontic modality that expresses the speaker’s attitude of hope, wish, or fear concerning the
proposition
expressed by the
utterance
.
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Kinds
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Here are some kinds of volitive modality:
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Generic
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Volitive modality is a kind of
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Definition
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A vowel is a sound made when the impedance of the air through the vocal tract is minimal and the vocal tract is completely open.
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Definition
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Vowel harmony is a type of assimilation which takes place when vowels come to share certain features with contrastive vowels elsewhere in a word or phrase (
Crystal 1992
168 ).
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Example
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A front vowel in the first syllable of a word would require the presence of a front vowel in the second syllable.
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What is a vowel modification?
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Definition
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A vowel modification is an addition or alteration to the basic way that a
vowel
is articulated.
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