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Divide et Impera - Separating Operators from their Variables Cynthia Levart Zocca DeRoma, Ph.D. University of Connecticut, 2011 This dissertation investigates the role of lexical decomposition in several syntactic and semantic issues. Two phenomena in particular are discussed: Wh in situ in Wh-Movement languages and the behavior of even in English and Brazilian Portuguese. For the first phenomenon, I propose that separating Wh-phrases into two parts that can move independently from one another can explain crosslinguistic differences between, among others, French and Brazilian Portuguese with respect to the syntactic contexts that allow for Wh in situ. I also investigate different strategies for establishing syntactic covert relations and argue that Agree and Unselective Binding are the two strategies that are needed to explain Wh in situ in Brazilian Portuguese. Next, I look at the same phenomenon from a semantic/pragmatic point of view and conclude that, in a Wh-Movement language like Brazilian Portuguese, Wh in situ is only possible when the speaker assumes that the presupposition of the question is part of the Common Ground. I also discuss some crosslinguistic variation in this respect. I then move to a semantic phenomenon, i.e. the behavior of even in English and Brazilian Portuguese. More specifically, I investigate the behavior of even under a predicate like glad. I show that in this case a lexical- decomposition analysis is not necessary or enough to explain the facts adequately. On the other hand, I propose that the distribution of stressed any can be accounted for if we assume that it can be decomposed into any itself and a silent even. Divide et Impera - Separating Operators from their Variables Cynthia Levari Zocca DeRoma B.A., Universidade de Sao Paulo, 1997 M.A., Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 2003 M.A., University of Connecticut, 2007 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut 2011 UMI Number: 3492060 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT Dissertation Publishing UMI 3492060 Copyright 2012 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Cynthia Levari Zocca DeRoma 2011 APPROVAL PAGE Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Divide et Impera - Separating Operators from their Variables Presented by Cynthia Levari Zocca, B.A, M.A. Major Advisor iLM Zeljko Boskovic Associate Advisor Jonathan Davie&d Bobalji k Associate Advisor HoJ g x Yael Sharvit University of Connecticut 2010 11 Acknowledgements As Depeche Mode wisely put it, "words are very unnecessary, they can only do harm". Unfortunately, words is all I've got to thank the people who made the completion of this dissertation possible. I know I'm forgetting some names here, and I apologize in advance... First of all, I'd like to thank my advisor, Zeljko Boskovic, not only for sharing his knowledge with me, but also for being so patient. I know I wasn't an easy student to work with. Zeljko, however, never let this show. He was supportive, encouraging, and extremely available all along, from my first days in Storrs to the completion of this dissertation. Another monument of patience that was essential for my academic life is Jonathan Bobaljik, who is also a member of my committee. He has taught me much more than Linguistics, he has become my role model of scientific appropriacy and integrity. I thank him for that, in addition to thanking him for his invaluable role in the writing of this dissertation. My third committee member has a lot to be thanked for as well. Yael Sharvit was my first formal semantics teacher, and I owe to her almost everything I know about it. When I first started the work that led to this dissertation, I had no idea that semantics would play such an important role in it. Yael has been indispensable in guiding me through the maze that formal semantics was (and still is!) to me. I'd like also to thank all the faculty members in the Linguistics department. First of all I'd like to thank William Snyder not only taught me acquisition and the little bit of statistics that I know, but he also had a very important role in the support system I needed to overcome some bad times. Thanks also go to Diane Lillo-Martin, Andrea Calabrese, Jon Gajewski, Harry van der Hulst, and Susi Wurmbrand, who have, each in their own way, played an essential role in my development as a linguist. Special thanks also go Jairo Nunes and Mary Kato, who have introduced me to the magical world of generative syntax and were my first mentors in the field. For funding me during my years in Storrs, I thank the University of Connecticut's Graduate School and the Linguistics Department. Thanks also go to the University Writing Center, the University of Connecticut American English Institute, and the Institute for Teaching and Learning for extra sources of funding. I would also like to thank Catherine Ross and Keith Barker from the Institute for Teaching and Learning for their special role in my graduate education, having introduced me to the International Teaching Assistant program and faculty development initiatives. Thanks also to Anne Halbert for all her help and support. Of course none of this would have been possible without my friends, who have been my family here in Storrs. First of all, I'd like to thank my classmates, some of whom are not even in Storrs anymore, but whose presence was crucial for helping me understand and survive Linguistics. Even if we did not worked together too often, their presence alone made things a lot easier. Thanks to the people who started this journey with me, Oksana Tarasenkova, Nilufer Sener, Takuro Tanaka, Shigeki Taguchi, Nazareth Palacin-Mencia, and Ognjen Radic. Thanks also to all the other students in the department who have been here the same time as me, and I hope I remembered everyone: Masahiko Aihara, Duk-ho An, Ana Bastos, Jeffrey Bernath, Carlos Buesa Garcia, Hsu-Te iii Johnny Cheng, Hang Yee Winnie Cheung, Inkie Chung, Jean Crawford, Miloje Despic, Sarah Felber, Natasha Fitzgibbons, Benjamin Girard-Bond, Zhanna Glushan, Mary Goodrich, Corina Goodwin, Elaine Grolla, Simona Herdan, I-Ta Chris Hsieh, Takako Iseda, Jungmin Kang, Helen Koulidobrova, Pei-Jung Kuo, Mariana Lambova (in memoriam), Liu Yu-Rui, Beata Moskal, Irina Monich, Fumikazu Niinuma, Masashi Nomura, Toshiko Oda, Koichi Ohtaki, Nina Radkevich, Natasha Rakhlin, Lara Reglero, Jose Riqueros Morante, Miguel Rodriguez-Mondonedo, Jelena Runic, Tsuyoshi Sawada, Serkan Sener, Yoshiyuki Shibata, Eric Shortt, Masahiko Takahashi, Lyn Tieu, Neda Todorovic, Alexandre Vaxman, Julio Villa-Garcia, Sandy Wood, and Ting Xu. Special thanks go to Ana and Zhanna for being my housemates and putting up with me outside as well as inside the department. I'd also like to thank some Brazilian linguists from other departments, who were also in the US for some time and have shared many of the joys and frustrations of living away from Brazil. More specifically, thanks to Cristina Ximenes and Marcelo Ferreira. Times here would have been much harder without having met people from other departments. Special in this categories are the "Physics people" (Go Psi Stars!): Phil, Ila, Marko, Philippe, Ken, Marco, Erin, Tank, Drew, JC, Brad, Sam, Jimmy James, Adolfo, Ting, Nolan, Margo, Chris, Tom (and Charity), Rob, and Pete. Marco and Andrew in particular deserve my thanks for having shared so much of their lives with me and having helped me through some truly bad times. I also thank Andrew for helping me stay sane in Ithaca for the last year! Of course, I also have friends who are neither linguists nor physicists, some of whom I name here: Jim Lin, Jadranka, Ellie, John Haga, Karla, Kate, Lisa, Tsi-Tsi, Selini, Kathy, Rob, Tom, and many others. For their help navigating some of the bureaucracy involved in getting a PhD, I thank Judy Marcus and especially Catalina Ritton. Thank you also to everyone at the International Teaching Assistant Program in the Center for Teaching Excellence at Cornell University - Kim, Stew, Jody, and Derina - for being so understanding in a year when I had to juggle a full-time job and a dissertation to write. I extend my thanks to everyone in the CTE as well, Theresa, Richard, David, and Leslie. There were also people in Brazil who, in spite of the distance, have always been there for me. Obrigada a todos pela forca! Voces sabem quern sao! In special, I want to thank Marcello Marcelino for so much I don't even know how to put it in words. No distance will ever separate us, big bro! In the final stages of my dissertation writing I met someone who changed my life and is changing my last name too. To my husband Matt, thank you so much for being who you are. Your love has been decisive in my life. I also want to thank my family in Brazil for their unconditional support at all stages in my life. Vovo, De, Claudio, Fernando, Carol, obrigada pelo apoio. Obrigada tambem Leila, Wilson, Marcelo, Wilsinho, Rosinha, Ivan, Cris e Junior. As I worked on my final revisions, I had some very special company: Little Matt, my future little bilingual.