A Morphosyntactic Analysis of Patient-Subject Constructions in Chinese

The exact nature and derivation of patient-subject constructions (PSC) in Chinese are still at dispute in literature. Based on the restriction of manner adverbial modification and the nonexistence of the manner reading of zenme ‘how’ observed in Chinese PSC, a morphosyntactic analysis has been provided. We argue that the seeming action verb V in PSC is not a real main verb, but a verbal root to be introduced into the derivation after syntax via external morphological merger. The real main verb of PSC in syntax is a covert light verb ∅BEC, which selects a nominal phrase (NP) as its specifier (Spec) and a resultative phrase (RP) as its complement. BECP is further selected by an aspect (Asp) head le. To satisfy the extended projection principle (EPP), the NP at [Spec, BECP] moves to the [Spec, TP] in syntax. After syntax, the resultative (R) head-moves to ∅BEC at the phonological form (PF) to satisfy the phonological requirement of ∅BEC, forming R-∅BEC; then, a bare verbal root merges with R-∅BEC at PF to denote the manner of the change of state. Due to the phonological requirement of le, V-R-∅BEC head-moves to le, producing the right order of PSC. The two elided forms of PSC can be derived similarly. This research suggests that covert light verbs and morphology may play an interactive role in the derivation of some “typical” constructions in Chinese.

Word Formation at the Syntax-Morphology Interface: Denominal Adjectives in Bulgarian

A major goal in the study of the interface between syntax and morphology (understood as part of the PF component) is to understand mismatches between syntactic representations and the corresponding morphological representations. Denominal adjectives in Bulgarian provide one such mismatch. In morphology, they are composed of a nominal component D adjoined to an adjectivizing head F. In syntax, however, the nominal component D behaves like a nominal phrase occupying the specifier of F. Denominal adjectives in Bulgarian thus present both a structural mismatch whereby a syntactic specifier-head relation is mapped to head adjunction at PF and a mismatch between the syntactic and morphological category of denominal adjectives. I analyze these mismatches as the result of a morphological (postsyntactic) operation, which converts nominal phrases into denominal adjectives postsyntactically, as part of the word formation process that combines the nominal phrases with adjectivizing morphology. The proposal is an extension of the theory of the syntax-morphology mapping developed within Distributed Morphology ( Embick and Noyer 2001 , et seq.) on the basis of Marantz’s (1984) Morphological Merger and relies on the implementation of Morphological Merger developed by Harizanov (2014a) in the context of cliticization, itself an elaboration of Matushansky’s (2006) and Nevins’s (2011) proposals.

On some mysteries, asymmetries and derivation of potential de construction in Chinese

In this paper, some mysteries and asymmetries of the Chinese potential de construction are investigated. It is shown that a morphosytnactic approach is conducive to accounting for these puzzles. First we explore the possibility of taking de and its negative counterpart -bude as functional heads (cf. Tsai 2001; T. Wu 2004). It is proposed that bude could be a functional head with the negative potential (i.e. impossible/impermissible) meaning. This could be evidenced by both empirical data and theoretical deduction. It is argued that bu in V-bu-R, which is distinct from the normal pre-verbal negative morpheme bu, is actually bude. This helps to explain why the negative potential meaning is involved in V-bu-R. Meanwhile, V-de/bude and V-de/bu-R are both assumed to be formed through Morphological Merger (cf. Marantz 1988; Embick & Noyer 2001, 2007, etc.). Meanwhile, we have discussed some asymmetries observed between V-de/bude and V-de/bu-R and some paradigmatic asymmetries between potential V-de construction and its negative potential V-bude construction. It is assumed that these syntactic asymmetries may be due to some morphological operations related to de and bude.

Introduction

This chapter begins with a discussion of the problematic nature of the ‘word’ and the fact that there is no simple definition for this concept in either the morphosyntax or in the phonology. It then systematically surveys all of the presuppositions held by the authors in this volume that may impact the construction of a word, and examines operations such as head and phrasal movement, and post-syntactic processes such as morphological merger or phonological leaning (as well as operations conceived by various authors: glomming, (super)squishing, and head banging) and their implications for the syntax–phonology interface at the word level. This is followed by an overview of Chapters 2–13, and concludes by summarizing the points of consensus found in the various chapters, as well as discussing an open question on prefix–suffix asymmetries and how they might be resolved through a closer examination of the syntax–phonology interface.

The Structure of Words at the Interfaces

This volume contains chapters that treat the question ‘What is a word?’ in various ways. The lens through which this question is asked and answered is coloured by a discussion of where in the grammar wordhood is determined. All of the authors in this work take it as given that structures at, above, and below the ‘word’ are built in the same derivational system; there is no lexicalist grammatical subsystem dedicated to word building. This type of framework foregrounds the difficulty in defining wordhood. Questions like whether there are restrictions on the size of structures that distinguish words from phrases, or whether there are combinatory operations that are specific to one or the other, are central to the debate. The chapters herein do not all agree. Some propose wordhood to be limited to entities defined by syntactic heads, others propose that phrasal structure can be found within words. Some propose that head movement and adjunction (and Morphological Merger, as its mirror image) are the manner in which words are built, while others propose that phrasal movements are crucial to determining the order of morphemes word-internally. All chapters point to the conclusion that the phonological domains that we call words are read off of the morphosyntactic structure in particular ways. It is the study of this interface, between the syntactic and phonological modules of Universal Grammar, that underpins the totality of the discussion in this volume.

Some Peculiar Forms of Old English Verbs

In late Old English it became common to find strange verb forms of which had less frequently appeared in earlier texts. It is clear that Old English paradigms started to modify their shapes, though their structure had never been completely established in the first place due to limited data. This article discusses some examples of Old English verbs which show a morphological merger in addition to phonetic, syntactic, or semantic resemblance, e.g., between wendan and gewendan, þyncan and þencan, læran and leornian, (ge)witan and (ge)wītan, blissian and bletsian, and biddan, (be)beodan, and forbeodan, so as to show the natural selection of Old English verbs in the process of lexical conflict.

Mid-Infrared Spectral Assessment of Early-type Galaxies with Star Formation

Mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectra from ~5 to 14 μm of five, nearby (< 70 Mpc) elliptical galaxies are presented that were observed with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The sample galaxies have a main stellar component that is typical for normal, passively evolving ellipticals; however, they are rich in cold gas and dust and have morphological-merger signatures from which a time order of the galaxies since the merger or accretion events can be estimated. The presented results are significant because (1) emission due to Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) and associated species is detected for the first time in these galaxies and (2) the detected mid-IR spectra are independently exploited as a probe of current or recent star-formation that, in this case, is assumed to be triggered by the merger. As shown in exemplary spectra of the early-age merger NGC 3656, the strength of the PAH emission is more centrally peaked in the earlier-age mergers, suggesting that the PAH data are indeed probing star-formation that is correlated with the time since the mergers and systematically depletes the centrally located gas, becoming weaker and more flatly distributed as the merger evolves.

Verb movement in Japanese revisited

This paper argues for verb movement in Japanese. In Taro-ga sushi-o mo tabe-ta 'Taro also ate sushi,' for example, we claim that tabe 'eat' actually moves past mo 'also,' as in [Taro-ga sushi-o t tabe mo tabe-ta]. This analysis is supported by the interpretation of the adjunct clitic mo. We further claim that the verb-movement operation, coupled with the so-called Morphological Merger, successfully accounts for various data involving su-support (analogous to do-support in English). As a consequence, the present analysis has an important implication for the language typology on verb movement.

Movement Operations after Syntax

We develop a theory of movement operations that occur after the syntactic derivation, in the PF component, within the framework of Distributed Morphology.The theory is an extension of what was called Morphological Merger in Marantz 1984 and subsequent work.A primary result is that the locality properties of a Merger operation are determined by the stage in the derivation at which the operation takes place: specifically, Merger that takes place before Vocabulary Insertion, on hierarchical structures, differs from Merger that takes place post—Vocabulary Insertion/linearization.Specific predictions of the model are tested in numerous case studies.Analyses showing the interaction of syntactic movement, PF movement, and rescue operations are provided as well, including a treatment of Englishdo-support.