Lexical DPs Research Articles

The Featural Life of Nominals

We introduce a novel locality violation and its repair in Southeastern Sierra Zapotec: an object pronoun cannot cliticize when the subject is a lexical DP. We develop an account in which pronouns and lexical DPs interact with the same probe because they share featural content. In particular, we suggest that the Person domain extends to include nonpronominal DPs, so that all nominals are specified for a feature we call [δ] (to resonate with DP), while all and only personal pronouns are specified for [π]. This account aims to unify the locality violation with the Weak Person-Case Constraint (PCC), as well as parallel constraints based on animacy, and requires a departure from Chomsky’s (2000, 2001) classical system of featural covariation (Agree). A functional head must be able to overprobe—that is, interact with more than one goal, even if its requirements appear to be met. We introduce a probe activation model for Agree in which, after applying once, the operation can apply again, subject to certain restrictions. We compare probe activation with two other systems recently proposed to account for overprobing: Deal’s (2015, 2022) “insatiable probes” and Coon and Keine’s (2021) “feature gluttony.” Neither can account for the locality pattern in Zapotec.

Complementizer Agreement and the Position of the Subject in Jordanian Arabic

Objectives: The study aims to investigate the distribution of complementizer agreement in relation to the position of the subject in Jordanian Arabic. Methods: To achieve the objectives of the study, several sentences that manifest complementizer agreement were constructed and presented to 20 native speakers of Jordanian Arabic in written and spoken form. We then asked the informants to read each sentence aloud and judge whether it is acceptable or unacceptable. Results: The interaction of complementizer agreement with the position of the subject in Jordanian Arabic shows that complementizer agreement is sensitive to the active Case requirement for goals (Chomsky 2000, 2001). The distribution of complementizer agreement with coordinated subjects in JA shows that complementizer agreement with a lexical DP is subject to a syntactic locality condition, whereas complementizer agreement with a subject that includes a pronominal element is subject to an adjacency condition, suggesting that a unified analysis of complementizer agreement cannot be maintained. Conclusion: The paper concludes that complementizer agreement in Jordanian Arabic is the result of the operation Agree (Chomsky 2000, 2001), whereby the complementizer functions as a probe with uninterpretable Φ-features that Agrees with a goal with matching interpretable Φ-features.

Nominative subjects of infinitives in Hungarian subject-control predicates: Postsyntactic copying and the overt realization of <em>PRO</em>

In Hungarian, the focused subject of the infinitival complement of a subject-control verb appears as a pronoun or lexical DP in nominative case. I propose that this nominative form realizes PRO at PF, but does not exist at Syntax, where PRO is caseless. PRO is overtly realized by postsyntactic copying of the phi-feature of case (and other material) from the controlling nominative matrix subject.

Stages rather than ages in the acquisition of movement structures: Data from sentence repetition and 27696 spontaneous clauses

This study explored the order of acquisition of various types of syntactic-movement and embedding structures in Hebrew, using a sentence-repetition task, in which 60 children aged 2;2-3;10 repeated 80 sentences (with a total of 4800 sentences), and an analysis of the spontaneous speech of 61 children aged 1;6-6;1 (27,696 clauses). The sentence repetition task revealed a set order of acquisition of the various types of syntactic movement: A-movement is acquired first, then A-bar-movement, and finally movement of the verb to C. The analysis of spontaneous speech revealed the same order: A-movement of the object of unaccusative verbs to subject position appears first, together with simple SV sentences; then, wh-questions appear, then relative clauses and topicalization, which appear together with embedding of finite clauses, and lastly, V-to-C movement. Previous studies have shown that Hebrew speakers under age six have difficulty comprehending and producing sentences with A-bar-movement in which a lexically-restricted object crosses over a lexically-restricted subject. And indeed, whereas children produced A-bar structures very early (wh-questions from age 1;6, relative-clauses and topicalization from age 2;6), until age 5;8 these structures never included a lexical DP crossing over another lexical DP. Both tasks indicated that the order of structure acquisition is fixed, creating Guttman scales between structures, but different children acquire the same structure at very different ages. It seems that whereas the syntactic path and the stages of structure acquisition along it are constant between children, each child walks this path in their own pace.

A Minimalist-Based Approach of Tense and Subject Features in Standard Arabic and Yemeni Arabic

The present study is an investigation of the syntactic issues of Tense and Subject features in SA and YA. This study is cast within the MP advocated by Chomsky (1993, 1995). The main objective of the study is to examine the structural properties of the subject in SA and YA and its relationship with its verb. More specifically, the study shows that the subject in SA and YA has two forms, namely lexical noun, and suffixed pronoun. Therefore, the suffixed morphemes within the verb have been proved to be real pronoun subjects of the verb whether they occur alone within the verb or followed by a lexical DP as the case in some of YA sentences. Based on empirical evidence, the preverbal DP was affirmed to be a topic that occupies the [Spec TopP] while the post-verbal DP, which occurs after a suffixed pronoun, was proved to be a noun in apposition that occupies a position below VP.

Notes on Expletive There

Abstract Sentences with the verb exist and with a lexical DP in subject position show no definiteness effect. This suggests that the definiteness effect is keyed in English to the presence of expletive there. More strongly put, a definiteness effect is invariably found whenever expletive there (or a counterpart of it in other languages, whether pronounced or not) is present. This effect may in some languages be limited to the case of unstressed pronouns. Expletive there and its counterparts originate within the associate (in a way that accounts for the expletive being there, and not then). In part, this conclusion is driven by anti-homophony. Freeze noted that English is exceptional in having expletive there in subject position. The proposal will be that this is related to English allowing preposition-stranding under A-movement. The definiteness effect itself results from a blocking effect, probably not specific to existential sentences, that certain determiners such as the impose on the movement of expletive there from its DP-internal position up to a sentential subject position.

Age of Onset and Dominance in the Choice of Subject Anaphoric Devices: Comparing Natives and Near-Natives of Two Null-Subject Languages.

Several studies have highlighted the role of cross-linguistic influence in determining the over-use of overt subject pronouns in near-native speakers of a null-subject language as Italian. In this work we inquire on the role of factors different from cross-linguistic influence in the choice of anaphoric devices in near-natives, such as age of onset of exposure and dominance. In order to do so, comparing the productions of two groups of natives speakers, we first single out two null-subject languages, Italian and Greek, which do not differ significantly as far as subject anaphoric devices are concerned and thus instantiate a suitable language combination to investigate the role of factors other than cross-linguistic influence in bilingual speakers of these two languages (Study 1). In Study 2, we compare the productions of a group of native speakers and two groups of near-native speakers in Italian: Greek-Italian bilinguals from birth and L2ers of Italian with Greek as an L1. Results reveal that over-use of overt pronouns in near-natives occurs in the absence of cross-linguistic influence and that age of onset of exposure is a relevant factor: while bilinguals from birth do not differ from native speakers, L2ers over-use overt pronouns compared to both native speakers and bilinguals from birth. In order to establish whether dominance is a possible factor determining bilinguals’ choice of subject anaphoric devices, in Study 3, we compare two groups of Greek-Italian bilinguals from birth: bilinguals living in Greece (whose predominant language is Greek) and bilinguals living in Italy (whose predominant language is Italian). Results reveal no effect of dominance in the production of overt subject pronouns. We found, however, an unexpected effect in the predominant language of one group: bilinguals living in Greece produce significantly more null pronouns and less lexical DPs in Greek compared to bilinguals living in Italy. We interpret this effect as stemming from the need to differentiate the two languages that these bilingual speakers have to handle in everyday life. Interestingly, this effect is found in the predominant language rather than in the non-predominant one.

The Matching Analysis of relative clauses: an argument from antipronominal contexts

This paper provides a novel argument for the Matching Analysis of relative clauses. The argument is based on antipronominal contexts in German. Antipronominal contexts are syntactic environments that require lexical DPs and therefore bar pronouns. It is argued that the behavior of relative clauses in antipronominal contexts in German points to two conclusions. First, relative pronouns contain a phonologically invisible NP that is identical to the NP contained in the head noun. Second, the two NPs are not connected via movement. Since only the Matching Analysis takes the two NPs to be base-generated, it is concluded that the Matching Analysis represents the correct structure for relative clauses.

Against the universal phasehood of nP: Evidence from the morphosyntax of book titles

Languages vary as to whether DPs used as book titles (such as Alice in Wonderland, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, etc.) can be assigned case and trigger agreement. In languages where they do participate in case and agreement relations, book (and movie) titles form a subsystem with very peculiar properties. I argue that when used as a title, any XP gets embedded in a new nP which projects a DP. Phasehood properties of nPs vary across languages, which leads to the variation in the agreement properties of book titles. However, even in languages that normally require lexical DP titles to trigger agreement and be assigned case, personal pronouns and other functional are exempt from this. I argue that this is related to the fact that participation in case assignment and agreement makes the index and the phi-features of a pronoun visible on the LF thus creating an interpretational conflict.

Prescriptive infinitives in the modern North Germanic languages: An ancient phenomenon in child-directed speech

The prescriptive infinitive can be found in the North Germanic languages, is very old, and yet is largely unnoticed and undescribed. It is used in a very limited pragmatic context of a pleasant atmosphere by adults towards very young children, or towards pets or (more rarely) adults. It has a set of syntactic properties that distinguishes it from the imperative: Negation is pre-verbal, subjects are pre-verbal, subjects are third person and are only expressed by lexical DPs, not personal pronouns. It can be found in modern child language corpora, but probably originated beforead500. The paper is largely descriptive, but some theoretical solutions to the puzzles of this construction are proposed.

Overt Subjects in Raising and Control Complements and the Null Subject Parameter

This paper argues that control and raising (non-inflected) infinitives have overt subjects in European Portuguese, in conformity with Szabolcsi’s (2009) generalization: (1) the overt subjects of control complements can only be pronouns; the overt subjects of raising complements can be pronouns or lexical DPs. It is shown that (1) constitutes a strong case in favour of a non-raising approach to Obligatory Control. Relying on the observation that all of the Romance Null Subject Languages comply with (1), we present an Agree-based theory of Obigatory Control that aims to capture the association between this phenomenon and the Null Subject Property.

Interface conditions and code-switching: Pronouns, lexical DPs, and checking theory

The ban on code-switching between a (subject) pronoun and a verb, but not between a lexical DP and a verb, is an enduring puzzle in research on bilingual code-switching. In this paper, we propose an account of these code-switching facts by positing that pronouns and lexical DPs take advantage of different checking strategies: While lexical DPs check features in [Spec, TP], pronouns undergo D-to-T movement. In the latter case, a mixed-language complex head results, a construction which crashes at PF, as predicted by the PF Disjunction Theorem.

The rise of lexical subjects in English infinitives

This paper attempts to account for the changing distribution of lexical subjects in English infinitives within the framework of the Minimalist Program, paying special attention to the role of the infinitival morpheme and the change in the category and formal features of the infinitive marker to. First, it is argued that from Old English to the 16th century, when the infinitival morpheme was present, the external argument of bare infinitives could be realized either as a lexical DP or the infinitival morpheme; then, the loss of the infinitival morpheme led to the situation that bare infinitives obligatorily have lexical subjects, as we see in bare infinitive complements to causative verbs in Present-day English. Next, focusing change in the category and formal features of the infinitive marker to, the following development of to-infinitives is proposed: (i) in Old English, to as a preposition had an inherent Case feature licensing the infinitival morpheme, which in turn functioned as the external argument of to-infinitives; (ii) in Early Middle English, to came to have a structural Case feature with the optional EPP feature, giving rise to to-infinitives with lexical subjects that are licensed by to; (iii) in Late Middle English, to began to lose its structural Case feature and have the feature specification with the EPP feature only as a functional category, giving rise to to-infinitives with lexical subjects that are licensed by the matrix v, as in the case Present-day English; (iv) this specification became the only possibility after the loss of the infinitival morpheme in the 16th century, at least for the types of to-infinitives investigated here.

Severing the Distribution of PRO from Case

Abstract. Deriving the distribution of PRO in a principled manner is a central task for the theory of control. Traditionally, Case has been identified as the key to this problem: PRO was argued to bear no Case at all, or some special (‘‘null’’) Case. I argue that PRO bears standard case like normal lexical DPs; clear evidence comes from languages with case‐concord (Russian, Hungarian, Icelandic). Moreover, PRO (and obligatory control) may occur in finite clauses (Hebrew, Balkan languages). Conclusion: PRO's distribution must be completely divorced from Case, possibly because abstract Case does not exist. The alternative is to tie the distribution of PRO to the specific values of [T] and [Agr] on the I0and C0heads of the embedded clause (Landau 2004). A feature‐based algorithm predicts the distribution of PRO in a variety of clausal complements. It is shown that the system naturally explains some intriguing correlations between obligatory control and agreement in Basque and Welsh complementation structures.

On the morpho-syntax of possessive constructions

Possessive constructions in English, Spanish, and French differ in several ways. This article considers variation in word order, in the expression of agreement, and in the appearance of a preposition. The article generalizes to Spanish and French Bernstein & To r t o r a ’s (2005) analysis of English possessive constructions, particularly the idea that the prenominal possessive constructions are distinct from the postnominal ones. All three languages display a prenominal possessive form that cannot co-occur with an article, supporting the idea that these forms must (eventually) occupy a DP-internal position. Postnominal possessive constructions display various patterns crosslinguistically. That of is required in English is consistent with the idea (see Kayne, 1993) that the movement assumed is DP internal. This also applies to Spanish and French possessive constructions with lexical DPs, which display de. In Spanish, no preposition appears with postnominal possessive pronouns, which display properties of predicative adjectives. The analysis assumes a reduced relative structure with a possessive adjective and suppressed C (not D). In French, à appears with a non-possessive pronoun. Nevertheless, there is some support for the idea that the French construction is derived parallel to the English one.

Deriving the Complementarity Effect: Relativized minimality in Breton agreement

Breton φ-agreement is characterized by the Complementarity Effect, which allows pro-dropped but not lexical DPs to control φ-agreement. We contrast verbal and prepositional systems: a lexical DP co-occurs with the root form of a preposition, but with a 3rd.sg. ( frozen agreement) form of a verb. We argue that frozen agreement arises through φ-relativized locality: the Breton vP independently shows nominal properties, and thus intervenes for agreement. The φ-probe of T Agrees with the vP for 3rd.sg. rather than the vP-internal subject. In the prepositional system on the other hand, lexical DPs occur with bare stems and φ-inflection spells out affixed pronouns. The mechanics predict that in verbal constructions where the subject originates outside the vP, it is local enough to control the agreement of T, which correctly yields Have under a prepositional analysis as the sole verb immune to the Complementarity Effect. Finally, we propose a typology of Complementarity Effects in agreement depending on the interaction of intervention (frozen agreement) and syntactic incorporation past the intervener.