The Hidden Structure of Thai Noun Phrases
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The Hidden Structure of Thai Noun Phrases A dissertation presented by Peter Spiros Eric Jenks to The Department of Linguistics in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the subject of Linguistics Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts September 2011 c 2011 - Peter Spiros Eric Jenks All rights reserved. Thesis advisor Author Maria Polinsky Peter Spiros Eric Jenks The Hidden Structure of Thai Noun Phrases Abstract This dissertation investigates the structure and interpretation of noun phrases in Thai and other classifier languages, focusing particular attention on whether Thai contains the same articu- lated functional architecture as languages with articles. I argue that while bare nouns in Thai do not project DP, noun phrases which include classifiers do, and that this DP functions as a phase for cyclic spell-out. It is argued that Thai DPs involve the obligatory movement of the NP, accounting for their noun-initial word order. A uniform analysis of clausal modification within the noun phrase is provided, driven by an analysis of the particle thˆıi as a complementizer that derives properties from clauses, with the use of thˆıi in relative clauses being one instance of this use. The analysis of Thai bare nouns as NPs and thˆıi as a relative complementizer are reconciled with a head-movement analysis of Thai relative clauses, motivated by empirical considerations. Under this analysis, noun-complement clauses are analyzed as modifiers, on par with relative clauses. The property-operator analysis of thˆıi is suggested to extend to its occurrence in clefts and infinitival clauses as well. A further construction is investigated in which modifiers do not combine directly with nouns, but instead follow classifiers, resulting in a definite interpretation. This construction provides ev- idence for a null determiner in Thai, which is argued to take modifiers as complements, either as CPs or as small clauses. The general prohibition against bare classifiers in Thai, alleviated by the presence of modifiers following classifiers, is argued to follow from a structural economy constraint which prefers definite bare nouns to definite bare classifiers. It is argued that this constraint can also iii Abstract iv provide a principled account for which classifier languages do and do not allow bare classifiers to occur with nouns. The ability of quantifiers and their accompanying classifiers to appear discontinuously from their associated noun, or quantifier float, is the final major topic of this dissertation. Scope facts lend themselves to an analysis of quantifier float as a byproduct of Quantifier Raising, the normal movement of quantificational noun phrases to their scope position. Thus, quantifier float is analyzed as movement of the entire DP, with the quantifier and noun occurring in different positions due to the conflicting semantic transparency requirements. A generalization about the availability of quantifier float in classifier languages is presented: only languages in which quantifiers follow nouns allow rightward quantifier float. In light of the proposed analysis, this generalization provides evidence that DP is a phase even in languages that lack articles. Contents Title Page .......................................... i Abstract ........................................... iii Table of Contents ...................................... v Acknowledgments ...................................... viii Dedication .......................................... xii 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Thai Basics ...................................... 3 1.2 Theoretical Assumptions ............................... 8 1.3 Overview of the Dissertation ............................. 12 2 Thai Clause Structure 16 2.1 The Thai VP ...................................... 17 2.1.1 Ditransitives and applicatives ........................ 17 2.2 External Arguments .................................. 23 2.2.1 Causatives .................................. 23 2.2.2 Adversative passives ............................. 25 2.3 Aspect ......................................... 28 2.3.1 Evidence for a non-uniform analysis of aspect markers ........... 29 2.3.2 Aspect markers and VP-movement ...................... 34 2.3.3 Adjuncts, specifiers, and heads ........................ 40 2.4 Modality ........................................ 46 2.4.1 Postverbal modals and VP-movement .................... 49 2.5 Tense ......................................... 51 2.5.1 Prospectivity versus futurity ......................... 52 2.6 Adverbs ........................................ 57 2.6.1 Rightward adjunction and focus ....................... 57 2.6.2 Adverb mobility and topicalization ..................... 59 2.7 Summary ....................................... 61 3 Thai Noun Phrase Structure 62 3.1 Bare Nouns ...................................... 63 3.1.1 Bare nouns as kinds ............................. 64 v Contents vi 3.1.2 Deriving different interpretations of bare nouns ............... 69 3.1.3 The scopelessness of bare nouns ....................... 73 3.2 Classifiers ....................................... 76 3.2.1 A taxonomy for numeratives ......................... 77 3.2.2 Classifier semantics .............................. 80 3.2.3 Classifiers as functional categories and NP-movement ........... 84 3.3 Number and Lexical Plurals ............................. 97 3.3.1 The plural vagueness of bare nouns in Thai ................. 99 3.3.2 Overt markers of plurality in Thai ...................... 101 3.3.3 Collectives .................................. 105 3.3.4 Plural reduplication .............................. 108 3.4 Quantifiers ....................................... 110 3.4.1 Numerals ................................... 113 3.4.2 Other quantifiers selecting classifiers ..................... 121 3.4.3 Quantifiers without classifiers ........................ 124 3.5 Deixis ......................................... 128 3.6 Summary ....................................... 135 4 Generalized Clausal Modification 138 4.1 Thˆıi as a Relative Complementizer .......................... 141 4.1.1 The syntax and semantics of relative clauses ................. 143 4.1.2 Evidence for movement ........................... 146 4.1.3 Evidence for reconstruction ......................... 149 4.1.4 Reprojection and head-raising relatives ................... 152 4.1.5 The optionality of thˆıi in subject relative clauses .............. 161 4.2 Noun Complement Clauses as Propositional Modifiers ............... 163 4.2.1 Noun-complement clauses are not complements ............... 164 4.2.2 Propositional arguments ........................... 168 4.2.3 Propositional properties ........................... 171 4.2.4 NCCs as modifiers .............................. 173 4.2.5 The ordering restriction on NCCs and relatives ............... 177 4.3 Other Environments for Thˆıi ............................. 178 4.3.1 Verb complement clauses with thˆıi ...................... 179 4.3.2 Contrastive clefts ............................... 180 4.3.3 Infinitives as properties ............................ 183 4.4 Against Thˆıi as a Marker of Predicate Inversion ................... 186 4.4.1 Problems with the derivation ......................... 187 4.4.2 The productivity of thˆıi ............................ 192 4.5 Summary ....................................... 195 5 The Classifier-Modifier Construction 198 5.1 The Nature of the CMC ................................ 201 5.1.1 Classifiers as functional heads ........................ 201 5.1.2 Modifiers after classifiers ........................... 203 5.1.3 Definiteness, specificity, and singularity ................... 207 Contents vii 5.1.4 Summary ................................... 211 5.2 Intruders: Two False Cases of the CMC ....................... 211 5.2.1 Noun-adjective compounds .......................... 211 5.2.2 Deictic modifiers again ............................ 214 5.3 The D-CP analysis of the CMC ............................ 216 5.3.1 Earlier analyses of the CMC ......................... 217 5.3.2 The null determiner .............................. 218 5.3.3 The internal structure of the CMC ...................... 224 5.3.4 Economy and bare classifiers ......................... 233 5.4 Classifiers Across Languages ............................. 242 5.4.1 Definiteness, bare nouns, and bare classifiers ................ 243 5.4.2 Null determiners with bare classifiers .................... 252 5.4.3 A null determiner in Mandarin Chinese ................... 257 5.5 Summary ....................................... 261 6 Quantifier Float and Quantifier Scope 263 6.1 Basic Properties of Quantifier Float in Thai ..................... 265 6.1.1 Locality constraints on the host ....................... 266 6.1.2 The quantifiers that float ........................... 268 6.1.3 The position of floated quantifiers ...................... 272 6.2 Against Stranding and Adverbial Approaches .................... 274 6.2.1 The stranding analysis ............................ 275 6.2.2 The adverb analysis .............................. 277 6.3 Quantifier Float and Scope .............................. 278 6.3.1 Quantifiers and negation ........................... 279 6.3.2 Scope ambiguity and multiple attachments sites for negation ........ 281 6.4 Quantifier Float as Quantifier Raising ........................ 289 6.4.1 The position of raised quantifiers ....................... 289 6.4.2 QP movement ................................. 293 6.4.3 A toy theory of specifier directionality .................... 295 6.5