Sentences with Object-oriented Adverbials and the Syntax-Semantics Interface

SOOAs refer to the phenomenon that the state adjective in the adverbial position is semantically associated with the object. In this paper this fact will be accounted for by invoking the properties of a pre-syntactic level of semantic representation and its interplay with syntax proper. It will be argued that the object-oriented adverbial is not derived from the attributive; in effect, it is base-generated in the complement position. A model of projection of arguments that allows for this will be proposed. It will be shown that the other special properties of SOOAs follow from the way the verb’s object and complement are represented at the pre-syntactic level. In particular, it will be shown that the underlying structure must satisfy both the requirement of the syntactic system and the requirement of the semantic system. The presence of any symbol in a representation is conditional. The theta-roles of internal arguments are assigned by the predicate, which is locally constrained, whereas the theta-roles of external arguments are assigned by the maximal projection of the predicate, viz. VP. When an external argument occurs, there is an empty predicate position in the representation, for there is an asymmetry between the conceptual system and the syntactic system. Derivation involves Move-α and Generalized Transformation. Different use of derivation methods gives rise to various forms of constructions in Chinese. Similarly, different semantic orientations result from different distributions. The state adjective is base-generated in the position behind the object because its nature is to serve the function of the complement of the object. It co-occurs with the object in the embedded VP because they are closely related to each other in terms of semantics. There is no overt predicate between the object and the state adjective. The state adjective occurs in other positions, which is the result of movement. Movement falls into two types, viz. object movement and state adjective movement. Object movement is prior to state adjective movement. In order to satisfy the requirement of feature checking, the object moves to the position NP. Then the state adjective moves to the major predicate and merges with it so as to maintain its semantic association with the state adjective and to serve the function of the complement. It follows that the difference between Chinese SOOAs and English as well as German SOOAs lies in the distance of movement of state adjectives. In Chinese, there are causative markers, resultative markers, and manner markers that can license the state adjective in the landing sites and help to maintain its semantic association with the object while in English and German there are no such markers. As a consequence, the object in Chinese-type SOOAs does not move while the state adjective moves out of the embedded VP to the empty verb position where the manner marker is inserted. The major predicate moves to the same position and merges with the newly-formed syntactic object ADJ-MANN. Furthermore, Chinese-type SOOAs allow the state adjective to precede the major predicate as the manner marker can license the state adjective. In contrast, in English-type SOOAs, neither the state adjective nor the object moves. Moreover, English-type SOOAs do not allow the state adjective to come before the major predicate because there is no manner marker to license it.

Cyclic Expansion in Agree: Maximal Projections As Probes

When we couple the cyclic expansion of a probe’s domain assumed in Cyclic Agree (Rezac 2003, 2004, Béjar and Rezac 2009) with the lack of formal distinction between heads, intermediate projections, and phrases emphasized in Bare Phrase Structure (Chomsky 1995a,b) an interesting prediction arises. Maximal projections should be able to probe through the same mechanisms that allow intermediate projections to probe in familiar cases of Cyclic Agree. I argue that this prediction is borne out. I analyze agreeing adjunct C in Amahuaca (Panoan; Peru) as a maximal projection that probes its c-command domain in second cycle Agree. This account derives C’s simultaneous sensitivity to DPs within its own clause and in the clause to which it adjoins. Therefore, I conclude that Amahuaca provides evidence that maximal projections can be probes. The account also yields insight into the syntax of switch-reference in Panoan and beyond.

Specifier appears in time

As regards the previous research conducted on the topic of de construction, it is doubted whether adjectival and adverbial phrases in Mandarin need a specifier. Thus, I seek a new perspective on de pattern for its syntactic role when it appears together with adjectives and adverbs. Since my view on the syntactic category of de may differ from many previous studies, I will adopt Chomsky’s X-bar theory and assume that de may be the specifier of the maximal projection adjectival phrase (AP) and adverbial phrase (AdvP). A crosslinguistic analysis will be provided and a discussion on how de functions within the phrase is set up. In addition, I suggest a hypothesis that the internal structure of AP and AdvP may be more flexible due to an effect created by the occurrence of de and the force may cause a semantic emphasis shift to the modifiers.

The Word gid in Najdi Arabic: An Evidentiality Head

This research paper investigates the word gid which is used in Najdi Arabic, a dialect spoken in Najd region in Arabic peninsula. This particle is analyzed syntactically using the recent assumptions of the minimalist program (Chomsky 1993, 1995, and subsequent work). As for the findings, it turns out that gid functions as a head that instantiates its maximal projection above TP and under CP. So, this word is not a property of TP domain nor a CP domain. Due to the fact that this word is only used when a speaker is certain of the propositional content of his/her utterance, we argue that gid is an evidential head that scopes over the tense layer. Furthermore, we argue that gid has an EPP feature, hence the specifier position of the functional phases headed by it must be filled by some element which is the subject. This accounts for the fact that subject must precede gid in declarative sentences. Additionally, gid has [PAST] feature which is uninterpretable and hence must be deleted before the derivation is handed over to the LF following the general lines of feature deletion of Chomsky (1995 and 2005). We argue that the deletion of [PAST] feature is conducted through an Agree operation that is established between gid and the verb. This is why gid comes exclusively with past tense. Otherwise [PAST] feature on gid remains active, leading to the ungrammaticality of the given sentence.

Relativas livres e interrogativas parciais: paralelos e diferenças

In this paper we analyse parallelisms and differences between free relatives, true embedded wh interrogatives, and improper embedded wh interrogatives. While free relatives are DPs which contain a CP, embedded wh interrogatives, both true and improper interrogatives, are CPs. In the last years and in the framework of the Minimalist Program, this different categorial nature has been deduced from formal labelling conditions, mainly related to the nature of head or maximal projection of the moved wh constituent. In this paper, while not rejecting the importance of the difference between head and maximal projection of the wh constituent, we show that the DP or CP nature of the embedded constituent and its [+int] or [+decl] status must be sanctioned by the selection requirements of the matrix predicate.

Construcciones consecutivas ponderativas en español: focalización, correlativos y correlatos adjuntos

This paper deals with the complex sentences in Spanish formed by the correlation tanto(s)~tanta(s)... que (i.e. Comí tanto que me sentó mal ‘I ate so much that I felt bad’). In opposition to the majority of the previous analyses, which treat que as an adjacent of the quantified phrase with tanto, we will argue that tanto... que is not a functional group nor a maximal projection lexically generated, but a long-distance correlation that is semantically and pragmatically conditioned. In particular, we will defend that tanto is an evaluative scalar quantifier that behaves like correlatives do: it maximizes the meaning of its clause and is pragmatically significant (it marks contrastive focus by means of intensive accent and intonation and may give rise to an informative structure of topic-comment). In addition, the clause with que behaves like the typical correlates: it is always postposed to the correlative and it rejects recursive operations (like coordination). As occurs in the comparative correlatives from some Germanic languages and the relative correlatives in languages like Hindi, the clause with que is an adjunct of the first clause. Lastly, and following Dayal’s work on relative correlatives in Hindi (1995), we will suggest that tanto is a two-place quantifier linking a propositional variable, instantiated by the clause with que.

Russell Crowe and Maximal Projections in Noah (2014)

This chapter examines the biblical patriarch Noah as played by Russell Crowe in Darren Aronofsky’s Noah (2014). Starting from the foundation of Richard Dyer’s idea of a “star text” in which actors bring echoes of their old roles to new performances and thereby engage viewers on multiple levels, this chapter frames Crowe’s performance in Noah as what the author terms a “maximal projection.” Crowe brings his role as Maximus Decimus Meridius, the soldier who becomes a gladiator during the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus, to his later role as Noah. Through the repetition of things such as physical gestures, bodily movements, interactions with characters, and even sometimes dialogue, Crowe performs what the author terms “star-peats.”

Suppletion is local

Bobaljik (2012) proposes that the insertion of suppletive vocabulary items can be sensitive to features within the same maximal projection, but not across a maximal projection boundary. Among heads (X0 nodes), this condition restricts suppletion to synthetic formations and excludes suppletion in analogous analytic formations. In Hiaki, however, the number of a subject DP can trigger verbal suppletion in certain intransitive verbs. The verbs in question, however, can be shown by language-internal diagnostics to be unaccusative. Suppletion, then, is in fact triggered by an element within the maximal projection of the suppleting verb. The analysis supports the position that internal arguments are base-generated as sisters to their selecting verb (Kratzer 1996; Marantz 1997; Harley 2014). Further, we see that the locality condition does not distinguish between word-internal and word-external triggers of suppletion, but is rather a condition of structural locality, showing that morphological structure is, in a fundamental way, syntactic.

Strategies of participle agreement with conjoined subjects in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian

In this paper, we demonstrate that Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS), like Slovenian, has three distinct strategies of subject-predicate agreement when the subject consists of conjoined noun phrases: 1. agreement with the maximal projection – a Boolean Phrase (&P), 2. agreement with the conjunct which is closest to the participle, and 3. agreement with the conjunct which is hierarchically the highest. In order to test the initial hypothesis that there are three agreement strategies, we conducted a controlled experimental study of the morphosyntax of agreement between conjoined subjects and participles in BCS, which consisted of an oral production experiment and a written production experiment. These experiments revealed a high presence of default agreement and closest conjunct agreement in the language. 50% of preverbal conjoined phrases elicited the default masculine agreement and 95% of postverbal conjoined noun phrases elicited the closest conjunct agreement. However, the bulk of the analysis focused on the possibility of treating the highest conjunct agreement (HCA) as a legitimate agreement strategy. 7% of all of the agreement forms in the subject preverbal (SV) examples demonstrated HCA. These figures increased to 13% if individual conditions were considered. Last conjunct agreement (LCA) for subject postverbal (VS) examples, on the other hand, was only present in 1% of the examples. For this reason, we classified them as performance errors and refuted LCA as an agreement strategy. These results are contrary to Bošković’s findings (2009), in which he does not acknowledge HCA as a legitimate strategy, however, our results do confirm the findings of Marušič et al. (2015).