Download or read book Minimalist Syntax for Quantifier Raising Topicalization and Focus Movement A Search and Float Approach for Internal Merge written by Jun Abe and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-10-21 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume examines how the displacement property of language is characterized in formal terms under the Minimalist Program and to what extent this proposed characterization of it can explain relevant displacement properties. The birth of the Principles and Parameters Approach makes it possible to simplify transformational rules so radically as to be reduced to the single rule Move. The author proposes that Move, as conceived as a special case of Merge, named internal Merge, under the Minimalist Program requires two prerequisite operations: one is to “dig” into a structure to find a target of Merge, called Search, and the other is to make this target reach the top of the structure, called Float. The author argues that these two different operations are constrained by “minimal computation.” Due to the nature of how they apply, these operations are constrained by this economy condition in such a way that Search must be minimal and Float obeys Minimize chain links, which requires that this operation cannot skip possible landing sites. The author demonstrates that this mechanism of minimal Search and Float deals with a variety of phenomena that involve quantifier raising, such as rigidity effects of scope interaction, the availability of cumulative readings of plural relation sentences and pair-list readings of multiple wh-questions. Also demonstrated in this volume is that the same mechanism properly captures the locality effects of topicalization, focus movement, and ellipsis with contrastive focus.
Download or read book Wh In Situ Licensing in Questions and Sluicing written by Jun Abe and published by John Benjamins Publishing Company. This book was released on 2022-07-15 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book addresses the question of how in-situ wh-phrases are licensed from a minimalist perspective in which the basic assumptions about narrow syntax need to be reduced to the bare minimum. I propose that in-situ wh-phrases are licensed by way of either minimal Search or covert internal Merge: while in-situ wh-adjuncts are uniformly licensed by covert internal Merge, in-situ wh-arguments have a choice between the two options, depending on whether the licensing C head is overtly manifested. I also discuss sluicing, an ellipsis construction with a remnant wh-phrase, and address the question of how the remnant wh-phrase is licensed. I support the in-situ approach to sluicing, advocated in my previous book The In-Situ Approach to Sluicing (John Benjamins), according to which the remnant wh-phrase stays in situ. I argue against the more standard analysis, endorsing the main claim of this previous book that island repair by ellipsis is a myth.
Download or read book Deconstructing Language Structure and Meaning written by Mihaela Tănase-Dogaru and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2021-07-01 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume brings together a number of researchers working on generative syntax and semantics, language acquisition and phonology to explore various theoretical frameworks, ranging from generative grammar and formal semantics to more descriptive approaches. The contributions gathered here investigate various aspects in the syntax, semantics, phonology and acquisition of Romanian in comparison with other (mainly Romance) languages. The book will be of interest to linguists who are keen on keeping up with the latest advances in the field of Romance studies, as well as those whose research bears on languages such as Hungarian, German, and Maltese, among others.
Download or read book Minimalist Essays written by Cedric Boeckx and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2006-01-01 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Minimalism Program is many things to many researchers, and there are by now many alternative versions of it. Central to all is the fundamental question: to what extent is the human language faculty an optimal solution to minimal design specifications. Taken as a whole, the volume outlines the main features of Minimalism, its historical and conceptual sources, and provides an illustration of minimalist theorizing by looking at several properties of the syntactic component of grammar. Some contributions concentrate on what kind of computational tools are made available in a minimalist syntactic component, and how the computational system interacts with external and interface domains of the mind/brain. Other contributions specifically focus on direct empirical gains that emerge from adopting minimalist guidelines.
Download or read book Working Minimalism written by Samuel David Epstein and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Essays present explicit syntactic analyses that adhere to programmatic minimalist guidelines. The essays in this book present explicit syntactic analyses that adhere to programmatic minimalist guidelines. Thus they show how the guiding ideas of minimalism can shape the construction of a new, more explanatory theory of the syntactic component of the human language faculty. Contributors Zeljko Boskovic, Samuel David Epstein, Robert Freidin, Erich M. Groat, Norbert Hornstein, Hisatsugu Kitahara, Howard Lasnik, Roger Martin, Jairo Nunes, Norvin Richards, Juan Uriagereka, Amy Weinberg Current Studies in Linguistics No. 32
Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of Generative Syntax written by Marcel den Dikken and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2013-07-25 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Syntax – the study of sentence structure – has been at the centre of generative linguistics from its inception and has developed rapidly and in various directions. The Cambridge Handbook of Generative Syntax provides a historical context for what is happening in the field of generative syntax today, a survey of the various generative approaches to syntactic structure available in the literature and an overview of the state of the art in the principal modules of the theory and the interfaces with semantics, phonology, information structure and sentence processing, as well as linguistic variation and language acquisition. This indispensable resource for advanced students, professional linguists (generative and non-generative alike) and scholars in related fields of inquiry presents a comprehensive survey of the field of generative syntactic research in all its variety, written by leading experts and providing a proper sense of the range of syntactic theories calling themselves generative.
Download or read book Local Instability written by Dennis Ott and published by Walter de Gruyter. This book was released on 2012-08-31 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This monograph argues for a novel approach to split topicalization and quantifier float in German, based on the premise that syntactic structure-building proceeds solely via free application of Merge. Following recent developments in the pursuit of a more principled theory of syntax, it is argued that the stipulative notion of ‘projection’ ought to be dispensed with: syntactic objects created by Merge are not headed, and endocentricity arises due to a simple search algorithm. When this algorithm fails, specifically in symmetric {XP,YP} structures, an unlabeled constituent results; where a label is required, such structures are locally unstable. It is argued that both split topics and floated quantifiers are the result of this kind of local instability: when an exocentric predication structure is merged in argument or adjunct position, XP must be displaced at the phase level to allow for determination of a label. It is this symmetry-breaking movement that yields the ‘split constituent’ in surface form. Based on careful empirical scrutiny of two recalcitrant problems for syntactic theory, the present work adduces substantial support for a ‘minimalist’ grammatical architecture devoid of phrase-structural residue.
Download or read book An Introduction to Syntactic Analysis and Theory written by Dominique Sportiche and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-09-30 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An Introduction to Syntactic Analysis and Theory offersbeginning students a comprehensive overview of and introduction toour current understanding of the rules and principles that governthe syntax of natural languages. Includes numerous pedagogical features such as‘practice’ boxes and sidebars, designed to facilitateunderstanding of both the ‘hows’ and the‘whys’ of sentence structure Guides readers through syntactic and morphological structuresin a progressive manner Takes the mystery out of one of the most crucial aspects of theworkings of language – the principles and processes behindthe structure of sentences Ideal for students with minimal knowledge of current syntacticresearch, it progresses in theoretical difficulty from basic ideasand theories to more complex and advanced, up to date concepts insyntactic theory
Download or read book Discourse Configurational Languages written by Katalin É Kiss and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1995 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Comprising eleven studies on languages with designated structural topic and focus positions, this volume includes an introduction surveying the empirical and theoretical problems involved in the description of this language type. Focusing on languages outside the traditional Indo-European group, the essays look at Chadic, Somali, Basque, Catalan, Old Romance, Greek, Hungarian, Finnish, Korean, and Quechua. The papers provide interesting new empirical data, as well as a variety of means and alternatives of representing them structurally. At the same time, they address important theoretical questions in the framework of generative theory. This is the first study to apply methods of comparative syntax to the study of topic and focus.
Download or read book Copular Clauses written by Line Mikkelsen and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2005-10-13 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is concerned with a class of copular clauses known as specificational clauses, and its relation to other kinds of copular structures, predicational and equative clauses in particular. Based on evidence from Danish and English, I argue that specificational clauses involve the same core predication structure as predicational clauses — one which combines a referential and a predicative expression to form a minimal predicational unit — but differ in how the predicational core is realized syntactically. Predicational copular clauses represent the canonical realization, where the referential expression is aligned with the most prominent syntactic position, the subject position. Specificational clauses involve an unusual alignment of the predicative expression with subject position. I suggest that this unusual alignment is grounded in information structure: the alignment of the less referential DP with the subject position serves a discourse connective function by letting material that is relatively familiar in the discourse appear before material that is relatively unfamiliar in the discourse. Equative clauses are argued to be fundamentally different.
Download or read book Portus written by Jun Abe and published by VIZ Media LLC. This book was released on 2007-10-09 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the game ends, the real horror begins!; Warning: studies show that playing “Portus may result in a sudden, premature, and particularly violent death.; Can Asami play “Portus or will “Portus play her?; When the game “Portus is over, you really are dead. Asami's best friend Chiharu has stopped coming to school and isn't answering her phone. It seems she's found something that's a little more addictive than the school art club. But when Chiharu mysteriously commits suicide, all Asami finds in her room is a strange video game called Portus. With the help of two of her teachers, Asami hopes to solve the mystery behind her friend's macabre death and the bizarre game itself. But is she prepared for the horrors of entering the twisted world of Portus, a game where, if you lose, there is no option to continue? A frightening vision of modern manga horror, Jun Abe's Portus might put you off video games for the rest of your life.
Download or read book Core Syntax written by David Adger and published by Oxford University. This book was released on 2003 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fast-track introduction to syntax assumes no prior knowledge of linguistic theory. It is designed for specialist undergraduates and for those coming to linguistics for the first time as graduates.
Download or read book Analysing English Sentences written by Andrew Radford and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-02-12 with total page 541 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a concise introduction to work in syntactic theory, drawing on the key concepts of Chomsky's Minimalist Program.
Download or read book The Cambridge Handbook of Spanish Linguistics written by Kimberly L. Geeslin and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2018-08-23 with total page 1098 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written for both researchers and advanced students, this Handbook provides a state-of-the-art survey of the field of Spanish linguistics. Balancing different theoretical perspectives among expert scholars, it provides an in-depth examination of all sub-fields of research in Hispanic linguistics, with a focus on recent advances.
Download or read book A Phase based Approach to Russian Free Word Order written by Marina Dyakonova and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Nominal Syntax at the Interfaces written by Giuliana Giusti and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2015-10-28 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume offers a new perspective on the syntax of nominal expressions in various European languages, arguing that articles do not directly and biunivocally realise semantic definiteness. The first two chapters provide an accessible introduction to recent developments in generative syntax, namely the cartographic and minimalist approaches, by focusing on the “imperfect” parallels between clauses and nominal expressions. The third chapter shows that feature sharing is not the result of a unique syntactic process, but, rather, the consequence of Merge, which creates syntactic structure instantiating two types of relation: Selection and Modification. It argues for three different ways of transferring features: Agreement allows for an argument (an independent phase, selected by a head) to re-enter the computation as part of the predicate of the new phase. It targets Person features and is not involved in the feature sharing triggered by modification. Concord copies the features of N (notably gender, number and case, where this is present). It is the result of Modification and can coexist with Agreement. Finally, Projection is triggered by multiple internal mergers of the head, bundled with all its interpretable and uninterpretable features, which may be realized in different segments. The fourth chapter focuses on the nature of determiners such as articles, demonstratives, quantifiers, possessive adjectives and pronouns, personal pronouns and proper names, and shows that only articles have the properties to be attributed to “functional heads” because they are a segment of a scattered nominal head. The rest of the volume is devoted to the analysis of syntactic phenomena, such as double definiteness, expletive articles, and weak and strong adjectival inflection, by means of the proposal that (scattered) nominal or adjectival heads concord with their modifiers. This approach reinterprets head movement in a fashion that makes it compatible with minimalist requirements, provides an explanation for the apparent optionality of head movement, eliminates the typology of head movements by adjunction or substitution, and gives an original answer to the doubts raised about the legitimacy of the very notion of “functional category”.
Download or read book Multiple Wh fronting written by Cedric Boeckx and published by John Benjamins Publishing. This book was released on 2003-01-01 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Typological differences in the formation of multiple "Wh"-questions are well-known. One option is fronting all "Wh"-phrases to the sentence periphery. The contributions to this volume all explore this option from a number of perspectives. Topics covered include finer investigations of the classic multiple "Wh"-fronting languages (such as the South Slavic languages Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian), extensions to less well studied languages (Basque, Malagasy, Persian, Yiddish), explorations for languages that don t obviously fall into this category (German, Hungarian), peripheral effects (optionality of fronting, Superiority vs. Anti-Superiority etc.), interface issues (with semantics, pragmatics, and phonology), and simply theoretical approaches aiming to capture the mechanisms involved in multiple "Wh"-fronting strategies. The theoretical framework adopted throughout is the Minimalist Program, viewed from different angles. This volume brings together some of the leading experts on the syntax of "Wh"-questions and offers up-to-date analyses of the topic. It will be indispensable for scholars investigating multiple "Wh"-questions, and will find an appropriate audience in advanced students and faculty alike.
