Research

This dissertation shows that there are syntactic constraints involved in the aspectual interpretation of the VP that involve the internal structure of the verbal complements. Although a simple compositional semantics would predict certain interpretations, the syntactic computational system has its own mechanisms, and the relevant configurations do not always obtain. Consequently, certain readings end up being blocked. Chapter 1 defines the relevant output conditions for aspectual interpretation based on the semantic work of Verkuyl (1995) and Krifka (1989), and proposes a syntactic configuration within the Minimalist Program for Linguistic Theory (Chomsky 1993) at which aspect is calculated. Chapter 2 shows that two classic cases of apparent grammaticalization of aspect, Finnish and Slavic can be reduced to independently needed elements in the grammar: A-quantifiers and movement to AgrO for Case checking. Chapter 3 examines Accusative Clitic Doubling in Spanish and provides a new analysis which accounts for the aspectual interpretations of the construction. Chapter 4 proposes a theory of Determiner Transparency in which definite determiners in relative clauses, certain kinds of adjectives and demonstratives do not select for their head NP and as a result, durative reading of the VP predicate are obtained if the head is non-quantized. Chapter 5 extends the analysis to "type" expressions, measure phrases and possessives (genitives). Chapter 6 provides an aspectual analysis of the copula verbs 'ser' and 'estar' in BrazilianPortuguese, and argues against their being the grammaticalization of the stage-level and individual-level distinction.

A dissertation on syntactic change in Middle English and its consequences for theories of clause structure.

This dissertation is concerned with movement operations within the Minimalist Program (Chomsky 1995). Exploring the copy theory of movement, it focusses on two issues: (i) why can traces not be phonetically realized?; and (ii) what is the theoretical status of the operation Move in a system where syntactic objects are derivationally assembled? I propose that a chain cannot surface with more than one link phonetically realized because it cannot be linearized in accordance with Kayne's (1994) Linear Correspondence Axiom. Assuming that the head of a chain and its trace(s) are nondistinct copies, they induce violations of the irreflexivity and asymmetry conditions on linear order, canceling the derivation. Deletion of all but one chain link in the phonological component (Chain Reduction) is forced upon nontrivial chains in order to permit their linearization. The choice of the links to be deleted is determined by economy considerations regarding the elimination of formal features in the phonological component. Assuming that only the chain link which is in the checking domain of a head H is affected by a checking relation with H, the head of a chain will always have fewer formal features (if any) to be eliminated in the phonological component than its trace(s). Deletion of traces for purposes of linearization is thus more economical than deletion of the head of a chain because it requires fewer subsequent applications of deletion of formal features. As for the status of Move, I propose that it is not an operation of the computational system, but is rather a description of the interaction of the independent operations Copy, Merge, Form Chain, and Chain Reduction. Evidence for this proposal is provided by instances of "sideward movement", where a given constituent C of a syntactic object K is copied and merges C with a syntactic object L, unconnected to K. Under this analysis of movement, the linearization of chains in the phonological component constrains sideward movement in such a way that it makes it possible to subsume the core properties of parasitic gap and across-the-board extraction constructions under the properties of standard movement.

Does UG guide language learning in adulthood?

A dissertation on topic-marking constructions in Korean.

This dissertation is concerned with a range of syntactic phenomena related to sentential complementation in Modern Greek and the consequences they have for the Theory of Grammar. Two types of complements are examined: (i) factive complements and their pattern of wh-extraction, and (ii) subjunctive complements and their implications for the theory of control and the licensing of case. In particular, evidence from the syntax of Modern Greek - more specifically, from the distribution of an A'-bound pronoun - is drawn against an operator approach to factive complements. It is argued that the strong islandhood observed in Modern Greek factive complements is due to the fact that they are not real complements of the subcategorizing verb but independent clauses standing in a paratactic relation to an empty nominal complement of the matrix predicate. The crosslinguistic variation attested with respect to extraction is attributed to the ability of languages such as English to form certain types of A'-chains which evidently are impossible in Modern Greek. Furthermore, upon investigation of the so-called subjunctive complements in Modern Greek it is shown that the position of their understood subject may be occupied sometimes by a pronominal pro and sometimes by an anaphoric PRO. The licensing of the two empty categories is derived through the aspectual and tense properties of these constructions. It is claimed that the presence of PRO in these configurations and the set of anaphoric properties it diplays provides evidence that the distribution of this category can be derived on a case theoretic account, along the lines of Bouchard (1984) or Chomsky and Lasnik (1991), and does not depend on the notion of government as in Chomsky (1981).

A dissertation on the syntax and parsing of Korean.

This thesis is concerned with developing a syntax for coordinate structures which is compatible with both the syntactic behaviour of conjunction structures and with their semantics. It argues that coordinate structures are asymmetrical, hierarchical structures that conform with X-bar theory. The conjunction head projects a phrase which is adjoined to the first conjunct. This provides an account of a number of syntactic asymmetries in conjunct ordering including agreement and binding asymmetries and provides a principled analysis of Across-the-Board extraction as instances of parasitic gaps. It further argues that the Coordinate Structure Constraint cannot be a syntactic constraint, but rather must be a condition on conjoining identical semantic categories. This provides an account of unlike category coordination which is shown to be freely possible if semantic identity is preserved and no independent syntactic constraints are violated, a result which follows from the adjunct nature of the coordinate structure. In order to account for the semantic identity, it is proposed that at Logical From, each conjunct is a predicate in an identification relation with the conjunction head, which raises to take scope over all the conjuncts. Assuming theta role assignment at LF, only the conjunction head receives a theta role; none of the conjuncts does. Because each conjunct is in a predication relation with the conjunction head at LF, the semantic identity constraint follows directly. The fact that the conjuncts do not receive a theta role accounts for their inability to act as antecedents for reflexive binding and for the fact that modal adverbs can appear inside conjoined NPs. The proposed analysis assimilates coordinate structures directly to plurals, and argues that a consequence of the proposed LF is that all natural language conjunction and disjunction is group forming rather than propositional. All semantic ambiguities between distributed and collective coordination can then be derived with the appropriate logical representation for plurals in general, rather than having a separate semantics altogether for coordination.

A new dissertation on Chinese syntax.

Discusses two cononical systactic phenomena of nonstandard English dialects: Pleonastic negation (e.g., He ain't got no mone) and null copula sentences (e.g., He sick) in terms of Government Binding Theory.