Project description
Cross-linguistic study of radically truncated clauses in morphosyntax
Radically truncated clauses are minimal sentences formed early in sentence construction, lacking common elements such as tense and agreement. They consist only of the minimal verb phrase (VP), which includes the verb and its core arguments. These clauses occur mainly in informal contexts and have often been overlooked in linguistic studies. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MicroGram project will systematically investigate the morphosyntax of radically truncated clauses through a data-driven, cross-linguistic approach. It will collect and analyse a substantial amount of data from various typologically distinct languages, potentially leading to insightful theoretical conclusions. It will address linearisation, case assignment, the size of nominal arguments, and the trade-off between grammaticality, communicative efficiency, and morphosyntactic expressibility.
Objective
The main objective of this project is to explore in a systematic, data-driven and cross-linguistic fashion the morphosyntax of a recently discovered, unique clause type: radically truncated clauses (Halm 2021 ). Such clauses are radically minimal because, exceptionally, they are spelled out (i.e. uttered) at a very early stage of the derivation (i.e. sentence-building), prior to receiving almost all of the clausal layers that a sentence is supposed to have on top of the minimal verb phrase (VP) itself. In radically truncated clauses, layers of
tense, agreement, mood, modality, aspect, voice and dedicated higher functional projections such focus or negation are missing: what remains is the minimal VP: the verb itself, its internal argument (an object or an unaccusative subject) and verbal particles (if they exist and are VP-internal in a given language). This minimal VP itself can be the target of adjunction (topicalization, quantifier raising and the adjunction of adverbial adjuncts) resulting in larger structures.
Such truncated clauses have so far been neglected since they are only produced in specific, colloquial registers (live speech under intense time pressure, electronic communications), and such registers were difficult to observe and gather data on before the advent of widespread electronic text-based communication. My objective is i) to systematically collect and rigorously analyse a large amount of data on this construction from a set of typologically distinct languages and ii) to develop insightful theoretical conclusions from this large body of new empirical evidence.
The theoretical questions where the study of radically truncated clauses is likely to be illuminating include linearization (or word order, more generally), case assignment, the exact size of nominal arguments, and the tradeoff between grammaticality, communicative efficiency and morphosyntactic effability.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project has not yet been classified with EuroSciVoc.
Be the first one to suggest relevant scientific fields and help us improve our classification service
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
1010 Wien
Austria
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.