Clausal Domain Research Articles

Information Structure in Somali. Evidence from the syntax-phonology interface

The correspondence between grammatical categories and prosodic events is widely acknowledged in the literature and a number of recent works have investigated the syntax–prosody interface and its relation to information structure. In this area of research, this paper provides an analysis of broad and narrow Focus constructions in Somali, based on a corpus of semi-spontaneous conversations between three native speakers of Somali.Evidence is thus provided for a partition of the utterance into two major domains, one including the so-called Verbal Complex and the other the left periphery of the sentence – two interpretive domains that basically correspond to the vP- and CP-phase, consistent with Minimalist claims (Chomsky 2008). From a cartographic viewpoint, prosodic investigation supports the existence of a hierarchical organization of discourse-grammar categories in the C-domain. However, some internal refinement is required. In particular, functional heads concerning Focus and (different types of) Topic are shown to be fully part of the C-domain, while Fin(iteness)P – the functional projection connected with tense and agreement specifications (cf. Rizzi 1997) – belongs to the clausal domain. A reconsideration of what counts as the Complement of C (used as a cover term of the CP-phase) is therefore needed. Finally, intonation strongly supports a cleft-like analysis of narrow Focus constructions in languages like Somali. In particular, evidence is given for a predicative merge of the focused DP in a Small Clause construction and for the topicalized status of the (presupposed) relative DP. Attention is also paid to the intonation of yes-no questions, showing the necessity of different functional projections to activate interrogative force, according to scopal requirements.

The Ellipsis and Hierarchy in Nominals

Within the tradition of the so-called cartographic approach to syntax(cf. Rizzi 1997; Cinque 1994, 1999; Ntelitheos 2003, 2004), the fundamental proposition is that a universally ordered set of functional heads (e.g., topic or focus) occupies independent positions with distinct semantic or pragmatic properties. Recent research on the structure of DP assumes the existence of some functional categories within nominals. For example, Ntelitheos (2003, 2004) argues that the parallelism between the clausal and nominal domains extends over the left periphery of CP/DP. In their view, nominals contain a left periphery just as clauses do, and the left peripheral projections are structurally lower than DP, as in [ DP D [ FocP/TopP Foc/Top[ NumP Num [ NP N]]]]. To be specific, their ideas are motivated by either the NP-internal morphology of topic or focus, or the DP-internal movement to Spec of TopP or FocP. In this light, this paper explores the nominal periphery of English, based on nominal ellipsis. I argue that focus and contrastivity are necessary conditions for the licensing of nominal ellipsis.

Reformulating the Determiner Phrase Analysis

AbstractDeveloped in the 1980s, the Determiner Phrase (DP) analysis stimulated a lot of interest in the internal structure of nominal phrases and in the study of correspondences between nominal and clausal structure. Research across a range of languages has uncovered correspondences in areas such as agreement morphology, syntactic movement, and argument structure, some of which are reviewed here. Nominal phrases and clauses also match up in terms of their semantic function: both can serve as predicates or arguments. The issue of exactly what distinguishes a nominal argument from a nominal predicate has received a lot of attention, leading in particular to proposals about the underlying role of the definite article (and determiner elements in general). This article reviews some of these issues and proposals and suggests a reformulation that appeals to the feature ‘person’, a feature found in both the nominal and clausal domains.

Kurdish Ezafe construction: Implications for DP structure

In this paper, we will try to shed new light on the ‘ Ezafe’ construction in Kurdish. 1 1 The Kurdish dialect under discussion is called ‘ Sorani’ which is spoken in the Kurdish areas across the border of Iran and Iraq limited to Kurdistan and Azarbaijan-e Gharbi provinces in Iran and Suleymania and Arbil provinces in Iraq. The following abbreviations are used in this paper: 1 = first person, 2 = second person, 3 = third person, ACC = accusative, CMPR = comparative, CONJ = conjunction, DEF = definite(ness), EZ = Ezafe, GEN = genitive, INDEF = indefinite(ness), INFX = interfix, MS = masculine, NOM = nominative, PASS = passive, PL = plural, PrC = predicate construction, PsC = possessive construction, RC = relative clause, RP = relative pronoun, SG = singular. Drawing on historical facts and tracing the Ezafe back to its origins on the one hand, and the unified relation of adjectives and possessors to the head nouns, namely modification, on the other hand, we will argue for the existence of the predicate phrase which Ezafe realizes its head above the NP. The occurrence of the Ezafe will be attributed to the presence of such a functional head which serves to turn a property expression, assigned to the modifier constituent XP, into a propositional function which in turn needs to be saturated by an argument, that is the head noun. Extending the syntactic realization of predication from clausal domain to nominal domain is part of a broader project, which aims at further assimilation of the structure of DPs to clauses.

Possessor Raising in Nuu-chah-nulth

Nuu-chah-nulth possessor raising is semantically unrestricted and affects only subjects: subject agreement matches the person and number of the possessor (rather than the possessed subject), and the possessive-marking clitic attaches to the head of the clause (rather than to the possessum). Nuu-chah-nulth possessor raising is analyzed as a syntactic dependency between the possessive clitic in the main clause and the base-generated possessor position within DP. A Possessive Phrase can appear in either the DP or the clausal domain, and the possessive clitic may be generated in either position. When the possessive clitic is generated in the main clause, a possessor may raise out of subject position via feature-driven movement; the Minimal Link Condition prevents such movement from occurring out of object position. Résumé

Two types of restructuring—Lexical vs. functional

This paper presents and discusses criteria for distinguishing between lexical and functional heads in the clausal domain, with special focus on restructuring configurations (a.k.a. reanalysis, clause union, coherence). Using these criteria, I show that even under the narrowest understanding of the term restructuring, German has both functional and lexical restructuring verbs. This proposal contrasts with the view recently advanced by Cinque on the basis of Italian under which all restructuring verbs are functional (as opposed to lexical) heads residing within a highly articulated IP. The two approaches are compared, and it is shown that a universalist interpretation of Cinque's position is untenable.

Adverb Placement: A Case Study in Antisymmetric Syntax

This monograph investigates a number of central issues in the Syntax of Adverbs with special reference to Greek in the light of Kayne's (1994) Antisymmetry Hypothesis. It examines the conditions on the placement of the various adverb types, their licensing requirements, and their relation to adjectives. The author advances an analysis according to which adverbs are licensed as Specifiers of functional projections in the clausal domain. As such, they enter a matching relation with the relevant features of the respective functional head. Adverbs are either directly merged at the relevant functional projection (for instance Aspectual and Speaker Oriented adverbs) or alternatively they are moved to this position from the complement domain of the verb (for instance manner adverbs). Furthermore, the volume examines the phenomenon of Adverb Incorporation. It is proposed that Incorporation is obligatory for those VP internal Adverbs which are 'structuraly non-complex' in Chomsky's 1995 terms. Finally, the similarities and differences between adverbs and adjectives, clausal and nominal structure are investigated and a number of asymmetries between the two are highlighted.

Predication in Nominal Phrases

The main theoretical subject of this paper is the symmetry between nominal and verbal projections. It is demonstrated that predication exists in the nominal domain, in a way quite similar to predication in the clausal domain. An analysis of predication in a configurational way – such that the subject and the predicate together constitute a small clause – makes it possible to provide detailed analyses of complex nominal constructions involving predication, and predicate inversion in particular. This paper focusses on three construction types from Dutch: the N-VAN-EEN-N construction (EEN BEER VAN EEN KEREL ’a bear of a guy‘), the WAT-VOOR construction (WAT VOOR EEN KEREL ’what kind of guy‘), and the WAT-EEN exclamative (WAT EEN KEREL ’what a guy‘). Another aspect of symmetry concerns the fact that the nature of the functional projections in the nominal domain is not significantly different from that of functional projections in the clausal domain. For instance, it is argued that copular elements and complementisers are not peculiar to the clausal domain, but that these are found in the nominal domain as well.

Foreword

In this paper, we will try to shed new light on the ‘Ezafe’ construction in Kurdish.1 Drawing on historical facts and tracing the Ezafe back to its origins on the one hand, and the unified relation of adjectives and possessors to the head nouns, namely modification, on the other hand, we will argue for the existence of the predicate phrase which Ezafe realizes its head above the NP. The occurrence of the Ezafe will be attributed to the presence of such a functional head which serves to turn a property expression, assigned to the modifier constituent XP, into a propositional function which in turn needs to be saturated by an argument, that is the head noun. Extending the syntactic realization of predication from clausal domain to nominal domain is part of a broader project, which aims at further assimilation of the structure of DPs to clauses.