30 Word classes and neurolinguistics
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Domenica Romagno
Abstract
This chapter focuses on certain critical aspects of the typology and nature of major word classes, such as verbs, adjectives, and nouns, and on the neurocognitive basis of their processing. Cognitive neuropsychological and neuroimaging data on the representation and organisation of word classes in the brain are presented and discussed in relation to the description and problems raised by word class distinction in the languages of the world, including both formal and functional dimensions, both from a Romance typological perspective, as well as from a wider cross-linguistic perspective. A model is proposed to provide a unifying account of long-debated theoretical, typological, and neurocognitive issues regarding word classes. It is shown how this model, in which linguistics and cognitive neuroscience benefit from each other, can contribute to the understanding of: 1) the internal structure and the implementation of the categorisation principle underlying the representation of word classes and, in particular, their structural classification in Romance; 2) the role of word class-specific information in the neurocognitive architecture of language; 3) the problem of hierarchising the defining criteria for word classes.
Abstract
This chapter focuses on certain critical aspects of the typology and nature of major word classes, such as verbs, adjectives, and nouns, and on the neurocognitive basis of their processing. Cognitive neuropsychological and neuroimaging data on the representation and organisation of word classes in the brain are presented and discussed in relation to the description and problems raised by word class distinction in the languages of the world, including both formal and functional dimensions, both from a Romance typological perspective, as well as from a wider cross-linguistic perspective. A model is proposed to provide a unifying account of long-debated theoretical, typological, and neurocognitive issues regarding word classes. It is shown how this model, in which linguistics and cognitive neuroscience benefit from each other, can contribute to the understanding of: 1) the internal structure and the implementation of the categorisation principle underlying the representation of word classes and, in particular, their structural classification in Romance; 2) the role of word class-specific information in the neurocognitive architecture of language; 3) the problem of hierarchising the defining criteria for word classes.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Manuals of Romance Linguistics V
- Table of Contents VII
- Abbreviations XI
- Introduction 1
-
I. Romance word classes: theoretical and historical foundations
- 1 Theoretical foundation for a classification of words 13
- 2 How to classify words 41
- 3 Word classes in the history of Western grammar 69
- 4 Parts of speech in the Romance grammars of the Renaissance 97
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II. Word classes in the major Romance languages
- 5 Nouns 117
- 6 Adjectives 147
- 7 Determiners 177
- 8 Pronouns 207
- 9 Quantifiers 237
- 10 Negation and negative expressions 265
- 11 Verb classes 297
- 12 Auxiliary verbs 325
- 13 Grammatical categories of the verb 345
- 14 Verbal categories expressing syntactic dependencies 367
- 15 Adverbs 401
- 16 Focalisers 431
- 17 Modal particles 449
- 18 Prepositions 471
- 19 Conjunctions 499
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III. Word classes in smaller Romance varieties
- 20 Word classes in Occitan 527
- 21 Word classes in Sardinian 549
- 22 Word classes in Romansh 575
- 23 Word classes in Ladin 607
- 24 Word classes in Northern Italian dialects 633
- 25 Word classes in Southern Italian dialects 661
- 26 Word classes in Romance-related Creoles 689
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IV. Romance word classes and their interfaces: new horizons
- 27 Word classes and psycholinguistics 725
- 28 Word classes and learner varieties 743
- 29 Word classes and corpus linguistics 769
- 30 Word classes and neurolinguistics 797
- 31 Exploring the behaviour of connectives within a textometric perspective 819
- Index 843
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Manuals of Romance Linguistics V
- Table of Contents VII
- Abbreviations XI
- Introduction 1
-
I. Romance word classes: theoretical and historical foundations
- 1 Theoretical foundation for a classification of words 13
- 2 How to classify words 41
- 3 Word classes in the history of Western grammar 69
- 4 Parts of speech in the Romance grammars of the Renaissance 97
-
II. Word classes in the major Romance languages
- 5 Nouns 117
- 6 Adjectives 147
- 7 Determiners 177
- 8 Pronouns 207
- 9 Quantifiers 237
- 10 Negation and negative expressions 265
- 11 Verb classes 297
- 12 Auxiliary verbs 325
- 13 Grammatical categories of the verb 345
- 14 Verbal categories expressing syntactic dependencies 367
- 15 Adverbs 401
- 16 Focalisers 431
- 17 Modal particles 449
- 18 Prepositions 471
- 19 Conjunctions 499
-
III. Word classes in smaller Romance varieties
- 20 Word classes in Occitan 527
- 21 Word classes in Sardinian 549
- 22 Word classes in Romansh 575
- 23 Word classes in Ladin 607
- 24 Word classes in Northern Italian dialects 633
- 25 Word classes in Southern Italian dialects 661
- 26 Word classes in Romance-related Creoles 689
-
IV. Romance word classes and their interfaces: new horizons
- 27 Word classes and psycholinguistics 725
- 28 Word classes and learner varieties 743
- 29 Word classes and corpus linguistics 769
- 30 Word classes and neurolinguistics 797
- 31 Exploring the behaviour of connectives within a textometric perspective 819
- Index 843
