Papers by Rezvan Motavalian
Language Sciences, 2010
The goal of this paper is to investigate the syntax and semantics of obligatory control predicate... more The goal of this paper is to investigate the syntax and semantics of obligatory control predicates in Persian. After reviewing present syntactic approaches to control, the facts of Persian are shown to lead to the conclusion that it is not possible to identify the controller in Persian on purely syntactic grounds. Rather, the properties of obligatory control constructions in this language provide evidence for the necessity of considering semantic factors in the proper analysis of this construction. These properties are shown to follow a semantic treatment along the lines of Jackendoff and Culicover (2003) and Culicover and Jackendoff (2005). We propose that in Persian obligatory control constructions, the control predicate licenses an event complement with the controller being the argument to which the control predicate assigns the role of actor for the action stated in the complement clause. Classes of exceptions, not to be discussed in this paper, may be treated as coercion in the sense of Sag and Pollard (1991), Pollard and Sag (1994); followed by Jackendoff and Culicover (2003) and Culicover and Jackendoff (2005), in which internal conventionalized semantic materials, not present in syntax, are added.
This study aims to comparatively investigate the semantic frames of motion verbs in Persian and E... more This study aims to comparatively investigate the semantic frames of motion verbs in Persian and English within the framework of the frame semantics theory (Fillmore 1977; 1982; 1985). As far as motion verbs are concerned, it is obvious that Manner is considered as one of the motion components expressed by either the verb or any element other than the verb. In English — a satellite-framed language (Talmy 2000b) — Manner is shown by motion verbs, whereas in Persian it is typically indicated by non-verbal elements, although there are also some verbs via which Manner is encoded. Within this study, thirty English verbs of manner were selected from among the ones Levin (1993) has introduced and then the verbs were translated into Persian and looked up through the Persian Corpus of Bijankhan to achieve their contexts of use. Next, FrameNet was asked for the semantic frame each verb evoked. Thereafter, comparing the semantic frames in the two languages, it was revealed that not every verb o...
International Journal of Language Studies
Recently, transitivity has been viewed in light of the principles of functional typology and has ... more Recently, transitivity has been viewed in light of the principles of functional typology and has been regarded as a prototypical phenomenon rather than a black and white category. It is agreed that in its realization, different syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic aspects play a role. Drawing on the prototypical approach, this paper aims at giving an explanatory account of the linguistic expression of transitivity in Persian. It investigates those properties of transitive prototype which are structurally relevant in Persian as well as their importance in the structural coding of transitivity in Persian clauses. To do this, sentences from every day conversation as well as films are extracted and investigated based on their structural coding and the parameters that are important in this coding. The results show that prototypical transitivity is mainly marked on direct object in this language and that object individuation, object affectedness as well as aspect are the most crucial factors, correlating with each other and affecting the morphosyntactic coding of transitive clauses, among which only object individuation has been the focus of Iranian linguists. It is concluded that among other parameters introduced in the literature (cf., Hopper & Thompson, 1980) and other prototypically based approaches to transitivity, volitionality does not play a significant role in this regard. Despite the previous works done on the distribution of ‘râ’ and the lack of agreement regarding this morpheme, this article indicates that its main function is to mark highly individuated and affected object in high transitive sentences, a conclusion that resounds claims made by Salmani Nodoushan and Mohiyedin Ghomshei (2014).
Journal of Society of Surgeons of Nepal, 2017
Male breast cancer constitutes less than 1% of all breast carcinomas whereas Paget’s disease acco... more Male breast cancer constitutes less than 1% of all breast carcinomas whereas Paget’s disease accounts for less than 1% of entire breast cancers. Unawareness and misdiagnosis lead to delayed presentation at a higher grade making the prognosis worse than females. Genetics and hormonal factors are strongly linked to its occurrence. Investigations, diagnosis, staging and management strategies for male breast cancers are concluded from studies done in female cases. We present a case of a 65 years literate gentleman who presented with fungating right breast mass with bleeding ulcer who underwent modified radical mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy.
Journal of Society of Surgeons of Nepal, 2017
Introduction: Breast cancers in less than 40 years of age group usually present with aggressive b... more Introduction: Breast cancers in less than 40 years of age group usually present with aggressive biology and has poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to see clinic-pathological and hormone receptors of breast cancers in young women and compare with less than 40 year age group.Methods: Prospective analysis of 97 breast cancer in patients less than 40 years out of total 373 patients (26%) over a period of 8 years (2007 Jan to 2014 Dec) was carried out at the Department of Surgery, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.Result: Among the young women diagnosed with breast cancer, the mean age was 34.5±6.2 years. Mean tumour size was larger in younger women (5±2.5 vs 4.5±2.4 cm). Locally advanced disease was higher in younger patients (55% vs 47%). Lymphatic and vascular invasions were higher (63% vs 35% and 40% vs 25%). Grade II and III tumours was higher (56% vs 25%). ER, PR and HER2 positivity was detected in 46.9%, 48.9% and 28.9% respectively. Significant lower...
در ترجمۀ ماشینی فارسی به انگلیسی یکی از مشکلات بحثبرانگیز و قابل تأمل، مقولۀ افعال مرکب جداشدنی... more در ترجمۀ ماشینی فارسی به انگلیسی یکی از مشکلات بحثبرانگیز و قابل تأمل، مقولۀ افعال مرکب جداشدنی است. در زبان فارسی افعال مرکب چه به لحاظ تعداد و چه به لحاظ کاربرد نسبت به افعال ساده دامنۀ گستردهتری دارند. بنابراین بهنظر میرسد بهبود هرچند جزئی نیز در ترجمۀ این قبیل افعال در کل کار تأثیر زیادی خواهد داشت. از آنجا که فراهم آوردن فهرستی جامع از افعال مرکب جداشدنی در زبان فارسی بهعنوان نخستین و اساسیترین گام مؤثر میتواند در حل این مشکل نقش مهمی ایفا کند؛ ابتدا در پژوهش حاضر در این راستا فرهنگ ظرفیت فعل پایگاه دادگان که مشتمل بر 4282 فعل مختلف بود توسط نگارندگان به دقت مورد بررسی قرار گرفت و با استفاده از پیکرۀ وب بیش از 1500 فعل از این فهرست بهعنوان فعل مرکب جداشدنی تشخیص داده شد. سپس، بازآرایی نحوی بر روی 500 جملۀ مختلف حاوی افعال مرکب جداشدنی اعمال شد و جملات به دو صورت پیش پردازش نشده و پیش پرداز شده، برای ترجمه به ماشین ترجمۀ موزز دیکودر داده شد. البته گفتنی است که این ماشین ترجمه پیش از آن توسط پیکرۀ موازی میزان آموزش داده شد. معیار بلو قبل از اعمال پیشپردازش 16 بود و...
Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2017
The aim of this article is to establish the present perfect functions syntactically and semantica... more The aim of this article is to establish the present perfect functions syntactically and semantically in Persian. Taking the definition of perfect, typically functioning to express anteriority or perfect aspect, the authors analyzed this construction in Persian in terms of function, meaning, and usage. Using functional-typological approach, the category of perfect was analyzed in regards to form, composition, meaning, expression, and its specific uses in Persian in order to determine its fundamental functions and meanings. From a synchronic point of view, the resultative, experiential and current-relevance meanings of this construction could be covered from the compound verb form. The discussion on the meanings of the Persian compound form of present perfect was based on the analysis of its occurrences in contemporary spoken standard texts, including movies, talk shows, and TV serials as well as written texts and the authors’ intuitions, in rare cases. Fundamental to the present stud...
Language Sciences, 2010
The goal of this paper is to investigate the syntax and semantics of obligatory control predicate... more The goal of this paper is to investigate the syntax and semantics of obligatory control predicates in Persian. After reviewing present syntactic approaches to control, the facts of Persian are shown to lead to the conclusion that it is not possible to identify the controller ...
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Papers by Rezvan Motavalian