Articles
Abstract: One of the most fascinating aspects of Finnish grammar is the number of different information structure marking devices speakers have at their disposal, using syntax, prosody and morphology. The present article empirically investigates the interplay of syntax and prosody by analysing semi-spontaneous speech with variable word order and comparing it to scripted speech. The main object of attention lies in a detailed analysis of the phonetic correlates of new and focused words obtained in an experiment eliciting localisation expressions. While speakers of the scripted data used standard SVO word order, participants in our study were free to choose the most suitable word order. Speakers made extensive use of syntactic marking of information structure when this option was available, while prosodic marking was more pervasive when syntactic variability was excluded. Based on this interplay, we suggest a link between discourse coigurationality and prosodic phrasing, arguing that both conspire for an optimal marking of information structure.
Keywords: Finnish, information structure, prosody, syntax
Abstract: The present paper examines the adjectivality of past passive participles in Finnish. ADJECTIVALITY is understood as the degree to which participles display properties typical of adjectives on the morphosyntactic and semantic level, as different from ADJECTIVISATION, which concerns the distance in morphosyntax and semantics a participle shows compared to its verbal counterpart. It is demonstrated that varying conclusions might be reached depending on which of the two approaches is adopted. This article studies the adjectivality of participles in the predicative position and shows that when used predicatively, participles demonstrate features comparable to those of lexical adjectives which have not been addressed in studies focusing on the attributive use of participles. Other morpohosyntactic criteria of adjectivality examined in this paper include: displaying gradable properties, serving as a derivative basis for adverbs and forming antonyms. In terms of semantics, the key feature in explaining the adjectivality of participles is boundedness. It is argued that adjectivally used Finnish past passive participles designate properties which sometimes bear a relatively distant relation to the events included in the meaning of their verbal counterparts. Varying interpretations in the domain of boundedness between adjectivally and verbally used participles are taken to illustrate these differences in event-relatedness. This paper also suggests that several Finnish past passive participles be recognised as separate dictionary entries.
Keywords: adjectivality, boundedness, event-relatedness, Finnish, past passive participle