scholarly journals The Syntax of Multiple Determination in Arabic: An anti- residual relative clause/close-apposition account

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saleh Jarallah AlQahtani
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clause ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Definite Article ◽  
Determiner Phrase ◽  
Specific Analysis ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Multiple Determination ◽  
Linguistic Phenomenon ◽  
Attributive Adjectives

This paper aims to give an account of the multiple determination (determiner spreading) phenomenon in Arabic. Determiner spreading is the syntactic representation and phonological realization of multiple determiners within the same determiner phrase. As a cross-linguistic phenomenon, determiner spreading has been investigated in other languages (e.g., Scandinavian and Greek); different accounts have been proposed. For Scandinavian languages, determiner spreading has been analyzed as a representation of different semantic interpretations. As far as Greek is concerned, some analyses have been proposed; however, two prominent ones have received considerable attention in the literature: (i) a residue of a reduced relative clause and (ii) an instantiation of close appositions. Contrary to those analyses, this paper claims that none of the two analyses is suitable for Arabic; thus, a language-specific analysis is required. To analyze determiner spreading in Arabic, the current paper posits the following research question: What is the linguistic purpose of the multiple determiners found in Arabic determiner phrases? Answering the research question, the paper claims that, in addition to its indispensable role in establishing agreement between nouns and adjectives within the Arabic determiner phrase, determiner spreading demarcates syntactic and semantic phrase boundaries. The paper takes Minimalist Program and Distributed Morphology as a theoretical framework to argue that attributive adjectives are projection of an agreement phrase headed by the definite article ʔal or by the indefinite phonological marker `nunation: -n’. This proposal requires no syntactic movements in the syntax proper. The ultimate linear order is achieved in the phonological components.

scholarly journals The Syntax of Multiple Determination in Arabic: An anti- residual relative clause/close-apposition account

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 325-338
Author(s):  
Saleh Jarallah AlQahtani
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clause ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Definite Article ◽  
Determiner Phrase ◽  
Specific Analysis ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Multiple Determination ◽  
Linguistic Phenomenon ◽  
Attributive Adjectives

This paper aims to give an account of the multiple determination (determiner spreading) phenomenon in Arabic. Determiner spreading is the syntactic representation and phonological realization of multiple determiners within the same determiner phrase. As a cross-linguistic phenomenon, determiner spreading has been investigated in other languages (e.g., Scandinavian and Greek); different accounts have been proposed. For Scandinavian languages, determiner spreading has been analyzed as a representation of different semantic interpretations. As far as Greek is concerned, some analyses have been proposed; however, two prominent ones have received considerable attention in the literature: (i) a residue of a reduced relative clause and (ii) an instantiation of close appositions. Contrary to those analyses, this paper claims that none of the two analyses is suitable for Arabic; thus, a language-specific analysis is required. To analyze determiner spreading in Arabic, the current paper posits the following research question: What is the linguistic purpose of the multiple determiners found in Arabic determiner phrases? Answering the research question, the paper claims that, in addition to its indispensable role in establishing agreement between nouns and adjectives within the Arabic determiner phrase, determiner spreading demarcates syntactic and semantic phrase boundaries. The paper takes Minimalist Program and Distributed Morphology as a theoretical framework to argue that attributive adjectives are projection of an agreement phrase headed by the definite article ʔal or by the indefinite phonological marker `nunation: -n’. This proposal requires no syntactic movements in the syntax proper. The ultimate linear order is achieved in the phonological components.

The Concept of Explanatory Adequacy

2016 ◽  
pp. 96-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luigi Rizzi
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Generative Grammar ◽  
Language Learner ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Parametric Models ◽  
The Other ◽  
History Of ◽  
Explanatory Adequacy ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Linguistic Phenomenon

This chapter illustrates the technical notion of ‘explanatory adequacy’ in the context of the other forms of empirical adequacy envisaged in the history of generative grammar: an analysis of a linguistic phenomenon is said to meet ‘explanatory adequacy’ when it comes with a reasonable account of how the phenomenon is acquired by the language learner. It discusses the relevance of arguments from the poverty of the stimulus, which bear on the complexity of the task that every language learner successfully accomplishes, and therefore define critical cases for evaluating the explanatory adequacy of a linguistic analysis. After illustrating the impact that parametric models had on the possibility of achieving explanatory adequacy on a large scale, the chapter addresses the role that explanatory adequacy plays in the context of the Minimalist Program, and the interplay that the concept has with the further explanation ‘beyond explanatory adequacy’ that minimalist analysis seeks.

Resumptivity and two types of A′‑dependencies in the Minimalist Program

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-78
Author(s):  
Victor Junnan Pan
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clause ◽  
Diagnostic Tests ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Locality Condition ◽  
Sharp Distinction ◽  
Crossover Effects ◽  
Locality Constraint ◽  
Left Dislocation ◽  
Semantic Properties

This paper examines the derivation of two types of A′-dependencies — relative clauses and Left-Dislocation structures — in the framework of Minimalist Program based on Mandarin data. Relatives and LD structures demonstrate many distinct syntactic and semantic properties when they contain a gap and a resumptive pronoun respectively. A thorough study of the relevant data reveals that when a gap strategy is adopted, island effects and crossover effects are always observed, irrespective of whether the relevant gap is embedded within a relative clause or within an LD structure; on the contrary, when the resumptive strategy is adopted, a sharp distinction is observed between these two structures. A resumptive relative clause gives rise to island effects and crossover effects systematically; by contrast, a resumptive LD structure never gives rise to these effects. In the Minimalist Program, island effects and crossover effects are not exclusively used as diagnostic tests for movement since the operation Agree is also subject to locality constraints. I will argue that a relative clause containing either a gap or an RP and an LD structure with gap are derived by Agree and they are subject to the locality condition whereas a resumptive LD structure is derived by Match that is an island free operation and it is not subject to the locality constraint. Multiple Transfer and multiple Spell-Out are possible in an Agree chain, but not in a Matching chain. The choice of the derivational mechanism depends on the interpretability of the formal features attached to the Probe and to the Goal in the relevant A′-dependencies.

scholarly journals Las oraciones de relativo y la definitud de su antecedente expreso

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-77
Author(s):  
Janusz Pawlik
Keyword(s):  
Noun Phrase ◽  
Relative Clause ◽  
Definite Article ◽  
Spanish Speaker ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Definite Reference

The paper is concerned with the (in)definite reference of a noun phrase which is the head of a relative clause in Spanish. Speaker and hearer do not share any knowledge of the referent on the basis of previous mention (anaphora) or situational uses. There is something about the relative clause which makes a first-mention definite article possible. We take an insight into the contents of the description conveyed by such relatives.

Parsing in the Minimalist Program: On SOV Languages and Relativization

2008 ◽  
Vol 53 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 237-252
Author(s):  
Sandiway Fong
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Goal Theory ◽  
Main Design ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
To Come ◽  
Design Challenges ◽  
Linguistic Basis

AbstractI examine computational issues in the processing of SOV languages in the probe-goal theory of the Minimalist Program. A theory that minimizes search, such as the probe-goal theory, provides a strong linguistic basis for the investigation of efficient parsing architecture. For parsing, two main design challenges are presented: (i) how to limit search while incrementally recovering structure from input without the benefit of a pre-determined lexical array, and (ii) how to come up with a system that not only correctly resolves parsing ambiguities, but does so with mechanisms that are architecturally justified. I take as the starting point an existing probe-goal parser with features that allow it to compute syntactic representation without recourse to derivation history search. I extend this parser to handle pre-nominal relative clauses of the sort found in SOV languages. I provide a unified computational account of facts on possessor (and non-possessor) relativization and processing preferences in Turkish, Japanese, and Korean.

scholarly journals LEFT BRANCH EXTRACTION OUT OF THE DETERMINER PHRASE IN SAUDI NORTHERN REGION DIALECT OF ARABIC: A NEW PERSPECTIVE

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 17-35
Author(s):  
Khalaf M.J. AlShammiry
Keyword(s):  
Northern Region ◽  
The Other ◽  
Definite Article ◽  
Left Periphery ◽  
Determiner Phrase ◽  
Base Position ◽  
Left Branch ◽  
The Subject ◽  
New Perspective

To my knowledge, Left Branch Extraction (LBE) out of the Determiner Phrase (DP) is not previously attested in Modern Standard Arabic ( MSA) or any of the Arabic dialects. In Saudi Northern Region dialect of Arabic (SNRDA), the wh-degree question kam “how many/much” can appear at the left periphery of the clause leaving the noun and other postnominal modifiers in the base position, in both the subject and the object positions. In this paper, I will argue for a new perspective for the syntactic phenomenon LBE in which the extracted element is a full DP, not part of a DP as previous studies assume, that moves leaving the other DP in situ. That is to say, I will argue that there are two DPs in the argument position; one of those two DPs is the numeral and the other is all that comes after the numeral including the overt noun and its postnominal modifiers. It is only the wh-item kam “how many/how much”, which moves to the left periphery of the clause. My argument is supported, besides other things, by morpho-syntactic similarities between the numeral and the noun, for example both participating in topic and focus constructions and both use of pro-clitic h- and the use of the definite article al- “the” with other pre-nominal modifier like the quantifier kil “all” and baadh “some. This paper is unique in that it provides a new perspective on LBE in a dialect of Arabic which is rarely discussed.

scholarly journals Grammatical and Syntactical Functions of Auxiliaries in English and Urdu

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (35) ◽  
pp. 34-50
Author(s):  
Asif Aziz ◽  
Tahir Saleem ◽  
Binish Maqsood ◽  
Zanib Ameen
Keyword(s):  
Semantic Content ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
English Text ◽  
Diverse Range ◽  
Sharp Difference ◽  
Syntactic Position ◽  
Syntactic Representation ◽  
Question Formation ◽  
And Gender ◽  
And Behavior

The current study investigates grammatical and syntactical functions of auxiliaries in Urdu and English to draw certain distinctions regarding the behavior, syntactic representation and semantic content auxiliaries add to the main verbs (Vs) through the X-bar theory as a theoretical framework within the minimalist program (MP). The data of the current research were collected from authentic sources (Urdu and English text books and grammars) to consider a diverse range of possible usage of Urdu and English auxiliaries. 200 sentences extracted from textbooks and grammars were analyzed grammatically in terms of morphology, and syntax (through tree-representation and their movement). The findings indicate sharp differences related to the syntactic position of auxiliaries in Urdu and English. In Urdu, auxiliaries always occupy their position after the main verbs in a sentence and their position is fixed and also have the ability to mark number (singular & plural) and gender (masculine & feminine). In contrast, English auxiliaries can only mark number. Another sharp difference is observed in the question formation process. In Urdu, unlike English, auxiliaries cannot be moved from its latent position towards the specifier position at the beginning of the sentence to construct question structures, because, if it happens, the sentence is considered ungrammatical which may result in the violation of MP. The findings of the study would prove helpful for understanding the semantic, grammatical and syntactical nature and behavior of auxiliaries comparatively in Urdu and English.

Reconstruction in relative clauses and the copy theory of traces*

2005 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 5-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Cecchetto
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clause ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Variable Binding ◽  
Current Formulation ◽  
The Status ◽  
Copy Theory ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Condition C ◽  
The One

In this paper, after discussing the status of the copy theory of traces in the current formulation of the minimalist program and the evidence for the “No-Tampering” Condition from which the copy theory of traces follows, I focus on a specific case study, namely reconstruction effects concerning the head of a relative clause. The common wisdom in the literature is that reconstruction of the relative clause head can be observed by using variable binding as a diagnostic, while the diagnostic based on Condition C gives opposite results. This split has led some researchers to propose that relative clauses are structurally ambiguous, because they would receive both a raising analysis (which explains variable binding reconstruction) and a non-raising analysis (which explains the absence of Condition C reconstruction). One of the goals of this paper is showing that it is not necessary to postulate that relative clauses are structurally ambiguous. In order to do that, I first show that the description in the literature is partly inaccurate. If some methodological problems raised by the use of transitive nouns are avoided, it can be shown that variable binding reconstruction occurs only when the relative clause modifies the subject of an equative sentence. This suggests that variable binding reconstruction of the relative clause head is not an ordinary case of reconstruction like the one found in canonicalwhchains but should be treated as a case of indirect binding, which is known to be sensitive to the identificational (as opposed to predicational) character of the sentence. I then show that, if this perspective is taken, the absence of Condition C effects can be explained without positing a structural ambiguity. The final result of the investigation is that, despite the initially puzzling evidence, the copy theory of traces can successfully explain the reconstruction pattern of the relative clause head.

scholarly journals Clause Structure and Word Order in Ákè

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-131
Author(s):  
Waheed Ayisa Jayeola
Keyword(s):  
Word Order ◽  
Minimalist Program ◽  
Determiner Phrase ◽  
Clause Structure ◽  
Verb Phrase ◽  
Variable Position ◽  
Feature Checking ◽  
Independent Existence

Ákè is by historical and linguistic facts a dialect of Edo which has not received significant linguistic attention. This neglect informs an inquiry into the in ternal structure and organization of its basic clause. This paper studies data of everyday usage of competent speakers of Ákè and argues that it displays a subject-verb-object order. The study provides a not too elaborate description of the nominal and verbal constructions in Ákè and reduces the description to analysis using the X-bar theory as conceived within the Minimalist Program. It therefore states that nominal phrases can be analysed as a projection of Determiner Phrase (DP) because independent existence is not a requirement for considering an element as the head of a projection. The variable position which the head D occupies in the superficial syntax of Ákè is analysed as the effect of movement for feature checking. In the spirit of the Minimalist Program, this study recognizes the head of the clause as Tense (T), which could be overt or null and predicts that it dominates Negative Phrase (NegP) as Neg is assumed to c-select the Verb Phrase (VP).  

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