External Argument Research Articles

On coming the pub in the North West of England: accusative unaccusatives, dependent case, and preposition incorporation

Some English dialects in the North West of England allow the complements of certain motion verbs to surface with no visible preposition to, producing strings like John came the pub with me, which are ungrammatical in other dialects of English. This paper offers a detailed description of this understudied construction, showing that the Goal argument has a mixture of direct object properties and PP object properties. To explain this mixture of properties, it is proposed that the Goal argument in this construction is introduced in a PP headed by a silent preposition TO, but subsequently moves into spec-vP, the final position of direct objects, receiving accusative case there. Since some of the verbs that enter into this construction are unaccusative, this analysis reinforces a conclusion regarding accusative case already reached in the dependent case literature: assignment of accusative must be decoupled from the assignment of an external argument theta-role, contra classical formulations of Burzio’s Generalization.

On the notion of subject for subject-oriented adverbs

This article investigates the nature of predication of so-called subject-oriented adverbs in English. It is noted that there are both conceptual and empirical issues to be addressed. On the conceptual side, there is no consensus in previous studies on what exactly the notion of subject is for these adverbs and why these adverbs have an orientation to the subject. On the empirical side, there are circumstances in which some of the adverbs seem to be construed with the object argument of the verb. This article focuses on these problems through an examination of the adverbs occurring in locative, passive, unaccusative, and resultative constructions. It is argued that when these adverbs seem to be associated with the object, they are predicated of a phonetically empty pronoun that occurs as the subject of a small clause, controlled by the object. Moreover, it is indicated that subject-oriented adverbs occurring in different positions across different constructions are all parasitically predicated of DPs that are introduced by a functional head in primary predication. Given the proposal made in recent studies that predication relationships between lexical categories and their external arguments in general are mediated by a functional head, it is claimed that subject-oriented adverbs also need to be supported by such a head to be associated with DPs. Thus, it is concluded that the notion of subject for these adverbs and their orientation are derived from the general theory of predication.

Wie was die Gaius, die adressant van 3 Johannes? Enkele kantaantekeninge

Who was Gaius, the recipient of 3 John? A few side notes A survey is presented of both internal as well as external arguments used to identify the recipient of 3 John, namely, Gaius. Apart from what can be learned from 3 John itself, little is known about this early christian figure. In the letter itself the author is clear about the loving relationship between him and Gaius as well as Gaius’ behaviour in truth, which makes him a prototype of the ideal Johannine leader. Nevertheless, he cannot be positively identified with any of the early Christians who were also known by the common Roman name of Gaius.

Voice Mismatches in Sloppy VP-Ellipsis

This squib argues against Merchant’s (2008) analysis of voice mismatches in VP-deletion and pseudogapping by pointing out that it makes a false prediction when extended to sentences in which more than one VP-deletion operation applies.

Lexical causatives and causative alternation in Basque

After offering a brief survey of the features of causative sentences in Basque, mainly on the basis of Dixon's (2000) criteria, the paper deals with Basque lexical causatives, which can be used as either causative or unaccusative verbs. The proposed analysis assumes that lexical decomposition is carried out directly according to syntactic principles (Hale & Keyser 1993, Baker 1997, McGinnis 2000), and that different types of causative sentence (morphological vs lexical causatives) correspond to different types ofphrase (VoiceP vs VP) selected by the Cause head (Pylkkannen 2001, 2002; Meggerdoomian 2002). The paper shows that in Basque lexical causatives the Cause head selects one of the predicates BECOME or GO only. Other intransitive verbs are excluded from lexical causativization, even those which are superficially similar verbs of change because they are absolutive monadic verbs (reflexive verbs like orraztu 'comb', verbs of happening like gertatu 'happen', or verbs of activity like jostatu 'play'). Three types of lexical causative are distinguished and analyzed following lexical decomposition: verbs of change of (physical) state, verbs of change of place and psychological causatives. Since Basque, unlike Finnish or Japanese, shows a strict correlation between causation and the existence of an external argument, it is assumed that in Basque as in English, the Cause and Voice heads conflate in lexical causatives (Pylkannen 2002).

Deconstructing switch-reference

This paper develops a new view on switch-reference, a phenomenon commonly taken to involve a morphological marker on a verb indicating whether the subject of this verb is coreferent with or disjoint from the subject of another verb. I propose a new structural source of switch-reference marking, which centers around coordination at different heights of the clausal structure, coupled with distinct morphological realizations of the syntactic coordination head. Conjunction of two VPs has two independent consequences: First, only a single external argument is projected; second, the coordinator head is realized by some marker A (the ‘same subject’ marker). Conjunction of two vPs, by contrast, leads to projection of two independent external arguments and a different realization of the coordination by a marker B (the ‘different subject’ marker). The hallmark properties of this analysis are that (i) subject identity or disjointness is only indirectly tied to the switch-reference markers, furnishing a straightforward account of cases where this correlation breaks down; (ii) switch-reference does not operate across fully developed clauses, which accounts for the widely observed featural defectiveness of switch-reference clauses; (iii) ‘same subject’ and ‘different subject’ constructions differ in their syntactic structure, thus accommodating cases where the choice of the switch-reference markers has an impact on event structure. The analysis is mainly developed on the basis of evidence from the Mexican language Seri, the Papuan language Amele, and the North-American language Kiowa.

Belief ascriptions and social externalism

I outline Brandom’s theory of de re and de dicto belief ascriptions, which plays a central role in Brandom’s overall theory of linguistic communication, and show that this theory offers a surprising, new response to Burge’s (Midwest Stud 6:73–121, 1979) argument for social externalism. However, while this response is in principle available from the perspective of Brandom’s theory of belief ascription in abstraction from his wider theoretical enterprise, it ceases to be available from this perspective in the wider context of his inferential role semantics and his doctrines of scorekeeping and of the expressive role of belief ascriptions in discourse. In this wider context, Brandom’s theory of belief ascriptions implies that Burge’s argument trivially fails to have the disquieting implications for psychological explanations that it is widely taken to have. Yet since this is not trivially so, Brandom’s theory apparently provides a false picture of our practice of interpreting belief ascriptions. I then argue that Brandom might as well accept the alternative picture of interpreting belief ascriptions that Burge’s argument presupposes: even in the context of his overall project, Brandom’s take on our practice of interpreting them does not afford belief ascriptions with the discursive significance Brandom claims they have.

External arguments and the Mirror Principle: On the distinctness of Voice and v

Evidence from the Uto-Aztecan language Hiaki (Yaqui) shows that the internal structure of the verb phrase is tripartite, made up of (at least) VoiceP, vP and a lexical projection (√P or VP). The interaction of applicative and causative morphology, the existence of two kinds of causatives, and the interaction of passive and verbalizing morphology show that the external-argument introducing projection VoiceP (Kratzer, 1996) must be distinct from the verbalizing head vP (Marantz, 1997), as first proposed by Pylkkänen (2002) and subsequently by Cuervo (2003), Collins (2005), Alexiadou et al. (2006), Merchant (2008) and Harley (2009), among many others. This result stands in opposition to earlier proposals in which a single projection, vP, serves both to verbalize and to introduce the external argument, as in Chomsky (1995), Marantz (1997), and Harley (1995). It also challenges the conclusions of Coon and Preminger (2010), who give explicit arguments for the identity of external-argument-introducing Voice and verbalizing v.

Kena Adversative Passives in Malay, Funny Control, and Covert Voice Alternation

This paper investigates the syntax of kena adversative passives in Malay. First, we establish the relation between kena passives and sentences with kena meaning 'have to' as a passive-active pair. These two constructions have been considered unrelated. A close examination of kena passive sentences in relation to their active counterparts reveals that kena is actually not a passive marker but a member of a class of predicates giving rise to funny control, a phenomenon whereby the external argument of these predicates is associated with either the internal or the external argument of the passive clause they embed. This enables a principled syntactic explanation for why kena is used in the two relevant constructions. We argue that voice, both active and passive, is indicated covertly in kena sentences when the lower verb bears no morphological voice marker. It is suggested that "covert voice alternation" is one of the typologically common voice alternations, and it enables us to understand the seemingly manifold voice systems of Austronesian languages in the Malay Archipelago in a more connected manner.

Nuclear complex predicates in Niuean

This paper presents the rich array of nuclear complex predicates in Niuean, an Oceanic (Polynesian) language of the Tongic subgroup. Niuean exhibits closed class secondary elements such as pre-verbs and light verbs and post-verbal directionals and completion verbs. In addition, there is a wide range of open class secondary elements denoting resultative, depictive, and modificational meanings, as well as many ‘duplicates’ where both predicates have essentially the same meaning, and exocentric noun-adjective compound predicates. After the various types of complex predicates are presented, they are grouped into four categories, according to their argument-sharing properties: external argument shared, internal argument shared, no arguments shared, and all arguments shared. Based on these properties, and on word order, a structural analysis is developed. It is argued that the secondary predicates are merged in one of four different positions in the structure, taking an IP, vP, VP, or V complement. Due to two types of VP movement independently posited for Niuean (rollup VP movement and predicate fronting), each of these merge positions results in a surface V+V juxtaposition structure, but each merge position correlates with different semantic, word order, and argument-sharing properties for the resulting complex predicate.

Making it mental: in search for the golden mean of the extended cognition controversy

This paper engages the extended cognition controversy by advancing a theory which fits nicely into an attractive and surprisingly unoccupied conceptual niche situated comfortably between traditional individualism and the radical externalism espoused by the majority of supporters of the extended mind hypothesis. I call this theory moderate active externalism, or MAE. In alliance with other externalist theories of cognition, MAE is committed to the view that certain cognitive processes extend across brain, body, and world—a conclusion which follows from a theory I develop in “Synergic Coordination: an argument for cognitive process externalism.” Yet, in contradistinction with radical externalism, and in agreement with the internalist orthodoxy, MAE defends the view that mental states are situated invariably inside our heads. This is done, inter alia, by developing a novel hypothesis regarding the vehicles of content (in “Extended cognition without externalized mental states”, and by criticizing arguments in support of mental states externalism (in “Reflections and objections”). The result, I believe, is a coherent theoretical alternative worthy of serious consideration.

Subjects in Acehnese and the nature of the passive

This article reexamines a controversial construction in Acehnese (Lawler 1977 versus Durie 1988). I demonstrate that the construction is a passive, even though a verbal prefix bears the features of the agent rather than the surface subject. I analyze the prefix as a morphological realization of the functional head that introduces the external argument; the features borne by this head are not agreement, but rather interpretable features that restrict the external argument position. Important consequences are that Acehnese does not counterexemplify the universality of grammatical relations (contra Durie 1988 and subsequent), and that Acehnese provides clear morphological evidence for the presence in passives of the functional head that introduces the external argument.*

Two Types of External Argument Licensing – The Case of Causers*

Abstract. This article argues that the thematic licensing of causer arguments is not a strictly lexical property but depends on the event configuration within the verbal phrase. The central observation leading to this conclusion is that three morphosyntactically different types of causer‐DPs are subject to the same licensing condition: they are licit only in the context of a bi‐eventive, resultative event structure. This licensing constellation is not only provided by lexically bi‐eventive verbs, but also by overt syntactic composition of a mono‐eventive verb with a secondary result predicate where the mono‐eventive verb does not license causers on its own. The latter constellation argues against coding causer‐roles in a verb’s lexical entry. Instead, it argues for an account that assumes event decomposition of lexically resultative verbs and some version of a configurational θ‐theory. Concentrating on existing syntactic versions of such an account, it is shown that they need to be updated to cover the set of data presented in this paper. A central claim put forward is the need to dissociate the verbal layers introducing causative‐resultative event structure (which acts as thematic licenser of causers) from those layers introducing external arguments syntactically (formal licensers). Concerning the latter, it is shown that causers, although thematically external arguments, are not necessarily introduced by a Voice projection on top of the verbal predicate.

ByPhrases in Passives and Nominals

Abstract. A longstanding claim in the literature holds thatbyphrases are special in the passive, receiving certain external argument roles thatbyphrases in nominals cannot, such as the role of experiencer. This paper challenges this long‐standing claim and shows thatbyphrases are not special in the passive: they can receive all of the θ‐roles that they can in verbal passives. They are banned from certain nominals for the same reason they are banned from certain VP types like unaccusatives and sporadic advancements:byphrases require the syntactic and semantic presence of an external argument.Byphrases can receive a uniform analysis, whether they occur with verbs or in nominals. The analysis proposed here involves syntactic word formation, with syntactic heads effecting passivization and nominalization. It also relies on syntactic selection for selectional features and proposes a theory of such features. The conception of grammar that emerges is one without lexical rules, where passivization and nominalization take place in the syntax.

Gigerenzer’s ‘external validity argument’ against the heuristics and biases program: an assessment

Gigerenzer’s ‘external validity argument’ plays a pivotal role in his critique of the heuristics and biases research program (HB). The basic idea is that (a) the experimental contexts deployed by HB are not representative of the real environment and that (b) the differences between the setting and the real environment are causally relevant, because they result in different performances by the subjects. However, by considering Gigerenzer’s work on frequencies in probability judgments, this essay attempts to show that there are fatal flaws in the argument. Specifically, each of the claims is controversial: whereas (b) is not adequately empirically justified, (a) is inconsistent with the ‘debiasing’ program of Gigerenzer’s ABC group. Therefore, whatever reason we might have for believing that the experimental findings of HB lack experimental validity, this should not be based on Gigerenzer’s version of the argument.

Ergatives, antipassives and the overt light v in Hindi

This paper investigates the nature of ergative case assignment in a type of complex verb construction in Hindi. This construction involves a verbal complex that contains a main verb stem followed by a light verb. It is shown that the ergative case assignment in this construction depends crucially on the light verb. The evidence presented in the paper is highly suggestive of a view of vP shells in which the external argument introducing little v is a distinct head from the case assigning little v. Furthermore, a study of a range of lexical exceptions to the canonical ergative case assignment patterns in Hindi provides an argument that ergative case in Hindi is an inherent case.

Harmonic Analysis in Discrete Dynamical Systems

In this paper we review several contributions made in the field of discrete dynamical systems, inspired by harmonic analysis. Within discrete dynamical systems, we focus exclusively on quadratic maps, both one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D), since these maps are the most widely used by experimental scientists. We first review the applications in 1D quadratic maps, in particular the harmonics and antiharmonics introduced by Metropolis, Stein and Stein (MSS). The MSS harmonics of a periodic orbit calculate the symbolic sequences of the period doubling cascade of the orbit. Based on MSS harmonics, Pastor, Romera and Montoya (PRM) introduced the PRM harmonics, which allow to calculate the structure of a 1D quadratic map. Likewise, we review the applications in 2D quadratic maps. In this case both MSS harmonics and PRM harmonics deal with external arguments instead of with symbolic sequences. Finally, we review pseudoharmonics and pseudoantiharmonics, which enable new interesting applications.

Introduction

Introduction Ileana Paul This issue addresses questions surrounding predication. Predication is typically defined as making a claim or statement—that is, saying something that is truth-evaluable. The canonical manner of achieving predication would appear to be the sentence, made up of a noun phrase (NP), e.g., [NP Sandy] and a verb phrase (VP), e.g., [VP plays the fiddle]. Two central questions arise concerning this basic view of predication. The first has to do with what varieties predication comes in. The second is about various ways of achieving predication. It helps to situate these questions if we begin with some (simplified) history of philosophy. Predication, according to Aristotle, is a matter of form. Predication involves a subject, a predicate, and a special way of putting them together, namely conjoining them into a sentence. This connects closely with our initial gloss of predicating as making a claim: Aristotle noted that one cannot make a claim with a name alone (e.g., Sandy) nor with just a predicate (e.g. , plays the fiddle). Nor is it sufficient to have a list of subjects and predicates. Rather, one needs all three just noted ingredients: the subject, the predicate, and their combination within a unitary sentence. The conception of predication also connects closely to the idea that the sentence is the canonical means of expressing predication: in the "old logic", this is true by definition. The philosopher and mathematician Gottlob Frege introduced a rather more abstract understanding of predication. The traditional view in Aristotle's "old logic" ties predication closely to a particular form: a subject-predicate sentence. In the "new logic" of the 19th century, in contrast, it was recognized that predication is about a certain kind of content. More specifically, the essence of predication, for Frege, is [End Page 173] that it results in content that is capable of being true or false. For example, while combining the name Sandy with the predicate plays the fiddle may create something that expresses a predication, this is not what predication is. More specifically, and still simplifying, for Frege the essence of predication was a matter of a function applying to an argument, yielding a truth-evaluable proposition: for example, the person Sandy being input into the unsaturated function λx.plays-the-fiddle(x). A final historical view, familiar from Strawson (1950), understands predication as a kind of action. Predicating is something that speakers do. Frege's conception of predication as a kind of content already permits our twin questions to arise. One can ask whether there exists a variety of function-argument applications that yield truth-evaluable contents, and if so what they are. For instance, there is the application of a first-order function to an object; but maybe there is also the application of a second-order function to a first-order one. And so on. One can equally ask whether there is more than one formative that expresses predication: Does it, for example, always require a sentence consisting of a subject and predicate? Strawson's conception opens up still further the range of ways of achieving predication. Maybe, in particular, an agent can predicate without using a formative that is capable of expression predication: for example, pointing at Sandy and saying "fiddler" (see Stainton 2006). Indeed, maybe an agent can predicate without using a formative at all, but rather a gesture, even a raised eyebrow. Given this brief history, one can situate the recent debates in linguistics. There have been a number of proposals about how predication can be achieved in natural language. Williams (1980, 1983, 1987) argues that predication takes place via thematic role assignment. More precisely, a given head (e.g., V) assigns thematic roles to its arguments, but one role is assigned outside of the maximal projection (e.g., VP). The subject is the external argument of the head, and it is this external thematic role assignment that expresses predication. Rothstein demurs. She notes the existence of pleonastic (non-thematic) subjects: here we seem to have predication but without thematic role assignment (see Rothstein 1983, 1995, 2001). She, however, retains the aim of capturing Frege's content-conception of predication in terms of natural language syntax...

Passives in the history of Greek: Evidence for the role of the passive suffix

The article examines a change in passive constructions in the diachrony of Greek: the use of the nonactive suffix as a specialized marker of passive constructions is a later development in Greek, starting from Late Hellenistic/ Early Byzantine. Evidence is provided mainly by examples of active passives and nonactive transitives in Ancient Greek but not in later periods. The historical data provide arguments in favor of an analysis that postulates the presence of the external argument in passive constructions in the same position as in transitive constructions, and blocking by the nonactive suffix either of (a) one of the internal arguments (Ancient Greek) or (b) the internal argument in the accusative case (Late Hellenistic/Early Byzantine).

The typology of morphological ergativity in Neo-Aramaic

Morphological ergativity is attested in all Neo-Aramaic dialects of the North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) group, which comprises over a hundred different dialects spoken by Jewish and Christian communities originating in the border areas of Turkey/Iraq/Iran. Historically, Aramaic (Semitic) is nominative-accusative, and ergativity developed through contact with ergative Iranian languages, especially Kurdish, which is spoken by the Muslim population of the region. Ergativity developed in the perfective aspect only, and is marked by verb-agreement rather than Case. We divide NENA dialects into three types according to their degree of ergativity, reflected by differences in the distribution of the ergative marking of intransitive verbs. In dialects exhibiting the highest degree of ergativity, which we call Split-S, the ergative marker is restricted to transitive and unergative verbs, and is not found with unaccusative verbs. In a second type of dialect, which we call Dynamic-Stative, the ergative marker is also optionally found with unaccusative verbs. Dialects exhibiting the lowest degree of ergativity, Extended-Ergative, mark all intransitive subjects as ergative. This is surprising from the perspective of theories of ergativity, since it contradicts Marantz's Generalization, and suggests that ergative Case is not inherent but structural, and, specifically, that it is assigned by v and not by T. We show that the parametric variation between the different dialects reduces to the distribution of v. v is obligatory in Extended-Erg dialects, and assigns ergative Case to its argument if it has one, or to the internal argument otherwise. In Dynamic-Stative dialects, the presence of v is optional. In Split-S dialects – v is obligatorily missing; this is nevertheless compatible with verbs having an external argument, since ergative languages allow the merge of the external argument as an adjunct.