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Feature Clusters Chapter 2 Feature Clusters 1. Introduction The goal of this Chapter is to address certain issues that pertain to the properties of feature clusters and the rules that govern their co-occurrences. Feature clusters come as fully specified (e.g. [+c+m] associated with people in (1a)) and ‘underspecified’ (e.g. [-c] associated with acquaintances in (1a)). Such partitioning of feature clusters raises the question of the implications of notions such as ‘underspecified’ and ‘fully specified’ in syntactic and semantic terms. The sharp contrast between the grammaticality of the middle derivation in (1b) and ungrammaticality of (1c) takes the investigation into rules that regulate the co-realization of feature clusters of the base-verb (1a). Another issue that is discussed in this Chapter is the status of arguments versus adjuncts in the Theta System. This topic is also of importance for tackling the issue of middles in Chapter 4 since – intriguingly enough – whereas (1c) is not an acceptable middle derivation in English, (1d) is. (1a) People[+c+m] don’t send expensive presents to acquaintances[-c] (1b) Expensive presents send easily. (1c) *Expensive presents send acquaintances easily. (1d) Expensive presents do not send easily to foreign countries. In section 2 of this Chapter, the properties of feature clusters with respect to syntax and semantics are examined. Section 3 sets the background for Section 4 by addressing the issue of conditions on thematic roles that have been assumed in the literature. Section 4 deals with conditions that govern the co-occurrences of feature clusters in the Theta System. The discussion in section 4 will necessitate the discussion of adjunct versus argument status of certain phrases. This issue is addressed in Section 5. Finally, in the light of the findings presented in Section 4, Section 6 views the Cluster Distinctness Constraint through a slightly different prism than standardly assumed. Section 7 sums up the major points of this Chapter. 38 Chapter 2 2. The Input of Feature clusters to the Syntax and the Semantics Recall that verbs in the Theta System are coded in terms of their theta roles. Theta roles are formally coded in terms of two binary features: +/-c (cause change) and +/- m (mental state). The system operates with eight feature clusters that fall into two groups.31 Four of them are fully specified (i.e. [+c+m], [+c-m], [-c+m], and [-c-m]) and four of them are underspecified (i.e. [+c], [+m], [-c], and [-m]). Recall that the information carried by the feature clusters is relevant for both syntax and semantics. In what follows, I will explore the impact of feature clusters, paying particular attention to what the notions ‘fully specified’ and ‘underspecified’ mean in syntactic and semantic terms. 2.1 The Input of Feature clusters to Syntax Recall further that in order to be legible to the CS, thematic roles in the ‘Theta System’ are formally coded. Notice that the requirement for the formal coding of θ- roles is of absolute necessity for the conception of the CS in Generative Grammar. One of the core claims in the work of Generative Grammar from the 1950s is that syntactic operations are blind to semantics. The syntax takes something of the right type and builds it into the positions of the right type – it never cares about the meaning. The famous argument that no language has a rule of ‘Red Extraposition’ (cf. Bresnan (1972)) that would take a word or a phrase that includes the concept of redness, without caring whether it is an adjective, a verb, or a noun, and move it to the end of the sentence is a good illustration of what the ‘blindness’ or autonomy of syntax means. Prior to pursuing the issue of the input of feature clusters to syntax, a note of clarification is needed. Following the assumptions of the Minimalist Program (cf. Chomsky (1995)), the CS contains only two transformational operations: Merge and Move. The input of θ-roles to the CS should be understood as having effect on Merge, not Move. The fact that feature clusters have no impact on Move is absolutely a desirable outcome. For instance, a wh-phrase will undergo movement (overtly or covertly) regardless of the θ-role that it is associated with.32 As for Merge, the feature clusters have impact in so much as the value of clusters is relevant for the mapping indices. As already said (cf. Chapter 1, section 2.2.3), ideally, one would want linking rules (i.e. rules that ‘instruct’ the operation of Merge) to be predictable and explicable in terms of the verb’s semantic-selection 31 As already said, the system actually allows for nine feature clusters. I introduce the ninth – the empty list cluster - in Chapter 4. For ease of presentation, I ignore it at this point. 32 The same is standardly assumed of NP-movement as well; there are no instances of ‘theta- driven NP-movement’. Feature Clusters 39 (i.e. θ-roles). One would also want to preserve the assumption that the CS is blind to the semantic content of the theta roles. Since the theta roles in the Theta System are formally coded - decomposed in terms of primitive features /c and /m with +/- values, this basic assumption that the CS (i.e. syntax) is blind to the semantic content of the feature clusters is preserved in the Theta System. As already noted in Chapter 1, merging in the Theta System is determined purely based on the +/- values of the cluster. All [+] clusters ([+c+m], [+c] and [+m]) merge externally. All [-] clusters ([-c-m], [-c], and [-m]) merge internally. Finally, the mixed clusters ([-c+m] and [+c-m]) are allowed, in principle, to merge both externally and internally. Let us take a look at the examples in (2) and (3). (2a) Max[-c+m] worries about something (2b) Something worries Max[-c+m] (3a) I cut the bread with this knife[+c-m] (3b) This knife[+c-m] cut the bread The entries giving rise to (2a) and (2b) both contain a [-c+m] role.33 This same role merges externally in (2a) and internally in (2b). The same is true of the examples in (3). In (3a), the Instrument merges internally whereas in (3b) it merges externally. By allowing the mixed clusters to merge, in principle, both externally and internally, the varying syntactic realizations of Experiencers (2) and Instruments (3) are captured in the Theta System. Recall that they are mixed clusters that do not get an index and will consequently merge externally provided nothing rules it out.34 It is important to notice that the way verbal concepts are formally coded in the Theta System reflects the view of the ‘epistemological priority’ (Chomsky (1995)) of the primitives of semantic-selection (i.e. theta roles) over the primitives of c-selection (i.e. syntactic categories) as proposed by Pesetsky (1982). The position of Pesetsky (1982), (1995) and Chomsky (1995) is that – just like in the instances of linking - most instances of c-selection must be explained as a consequence of s-selection and principles of UG. It is, indeed, generally assumed that – to a large extent - the c- selection can be reduced to s-selection. For those instances that do not seem to be so easily reducible to s-selection, various proposals have been made in the literature. For instance, contra Grimshaw (1981), Pesetsky (1982) argues that it is not necessary to specify that ask c-selects a DP or CP (4), whereas wonder c-selects only a CP (5). 33 The issue of the experiencer-verbs will not be addressed in this study. The reader is referred to Reinhart (2001) and Reinhart (2002) for an elaborate presentation and discussion of experiencer-verbs. 34 For an in-dept account, the reader is referred to Reinhart (2002). 40 Chapter 2 (4a) Max asked [what time it was] (4b) Max asked [the time] (5a) Max wondered [what time it was] (5b) *Max wondered [the time] On Pesetsky’s (1982) account, the differences between ask and wonder follow from a Case difference. Namely, whereas ask assigns ACC case, wonder does not. Consequently, the difference can be stated in terms of Case properties, rather than in terms of c-selection. The view is perfectly in line with the standardly accepted assumption that whereas NPs must receive Case, clauses do not. I will show that the issue can be elegantly handled in the Theta System. In the Theta System, the Case properties of wonder and ask are deducible from s-selection (i.e. the information carried by the feature clusters). Let us start by establishing the relevant grids. As for the external role, both ask and wonder require the participant associated with this role to be sentient. Notice, however, that the external argument of wonder is different from the external argument of ask. Whereas agentive adverbs like deliberately or intentionally are licensed to occur with ask, they are not licensed to occur with wonder. I find the adverbial test quite revealing since in many approaches volitionality is among the defining properties of Agents, even volitionality alone as in Dowty (1979).35 (6a) I deliberately/intentionally asked the question. (6b) I *deliberately/*intentionally wondered about the question. Based on the acceptability of (6a) and the unacceptability of (6b), one can conclude that the external argument of ask is a [+c+m] role, whereas the external argument of wonder is not. Notice that the external argument establishes no causal relation with the predicate wonder. Consequently, it cannot be a [+c] role. As already said, it requires the participant to which it is assigned to be ‘mentally involved’ or ‘sentient’.
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