English Ellipsis Research Articles

Topical Referents for Individuals and Possibilities

No abstract.

Cross-linguistic semantics

Rooth & Partee (1982) and Rooth (1985) have shown that the English-specific rule-by-rule system of PTQ can be factores out into function application plus two transformations for resolving type mismatch (type lifting and variable binding). Building on these insights, this article proposes a universal system for type-driven translation, by adding two more innovations: local type determination for gaps (generalizing Montague 1973) and a set of semantic filters (extending Cooper 1983). This system, dubbed Cross-Linguistic Semantics (XLS), is shown to account for various phenomena — including scope relations in English and Greenlandic Eskimo, internally headed relative clauses in Lakhota, serial verbs in Yoruba and VP ellipsis in English.

Perspectives on Phrase Structure: Heads and Licensing

Part 1 Heads: a case for emerging functional categories, J. Kornfilt two functional categories in noun phrases - evidence from modern Hebrew, E. Ritter on the position of subjects, H. Contreras phrase structure of ellipsis in English, A. Lobeck alignment of arguments in adjective phrases, T. Stowell. Part 2 Licensing: syntactic licensing and sub-categorization, S.D. Rothstein adjunct-predicate licensing and D-structure, T.R. Rapoport a phrase structure theory for tertiaries, T. Ernst relative clauses, licensing and the nature of derivation, D. Lebeaux generalized transformations and the D-structure position of adjuncts, M. Speas.

Strong agreement and identification: evidence from ellipsis in English

The A. proposes that ellipted constituents in English DP (N' ellipsis), CP (sluicing), and IP (VP ellipsis) are empty, non-NP pronominals, licensed and identified under the same condition that constrains nonarbitrary NP pro