DOCSLIB.ORG

IP Internal Movement and Topicalization.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
IP Internal Movement and Topicalization.Pdf IP Internal Movement and Topicalization Pei-Jung Kuo B.A., National Taiwan Normal University, 2000 M.A., National Taiwan Normal University, 2003 M.A., University of Connecticut, 2008 A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut 2009 UMI Number: 3367364 Copyright 2009 by Kuo, Pei-Jung INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI® UMI Microform 3367364 Copyright 2009 by ProQuest LLC All rights reserved. This microform edition 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 Pei-Jung Kuo 2009 IP Internal Movement and Topicalization Pei-Jung Kuo, Ph.D. University of Connecticut, 2009 Abstract In this dissertation, I investigate the phenomenon of internal topicalization cross- linguistically, using Chinese as a starting point. Internal topicalization refers to constructions in which a topic phrase is placed between the subject and the verb (in contrast to external topicalization, which involves a topic in the CP domain). I argue that internal topics do not occupy a fixed position (such as the specifier of a topic phrase, which is the case with external topic), but can occur in any projection of the IP domain—the location of internal topics can range from Spec ModalP to Spec vP. This proposal explains, among others, why multiple Left Dislocation internal topics are not possible, why only DP internal topics are allowed, and why animate nominals cannot be internal topics. I also show that an animate internal topic is only possible when it is accompanied by a differential object marker, which, I argue, can be realized by various prepositional and verbal forms in Chinese. Furthermore, I propose that certain seemingly independent and unrelated optional movement constructions to the IP domain in Chinese can be subsumed under the premise of internal topicalization. These optional movements include object preposing, the Chinese BA construction, possessor raising, light verb constructions and the descriptive Y-de construction. A detailed investigation of the syntactic and information structure properties of these constructions shows important similarities, which receive an explanation if these Pei-Jung Kuo - University of Connecticut, 2009 constructions involve the same kind of operation—internal topicalization. I show that internal topicalization offers a new approach to several long-standing puzzles of the syntactic behavior of these constructions. Finally, I extend my proposals based on Chinese to similar constructions in other languages, in particular, possessor raising in Korean and Japanese, and light verb constructions in Japanese. Although there are also different proposals regarding these constructions, I pursue the idea of a unified explanation of all these constructions by resorting to internal topicalization, which promotes the idea that topicalization is a pervasive phenomenon cross-linguistically. APPROVAL PAGE Doctoral of Philosophy Dissertation IP Internal Movement and Topicalization Presented by Pei-Jung Kuo, B.A., M.A. Major Advisor Zeljko Boskovic Major Advisor Sksi'Wurmbrand Associate Advisor Associate Advisor Mamoru Saito University of Connecticut 2009 ii Acknowledgement Although it is true that I am at the final stage of completing my Ph.D. degree (because I am writing this now!), everything in the fast five years seems an unbelievable dream and I am still not quite used to the new title of a Doctor. Six years ago, I applied to UConn, a school I didn't even know where it was. (Later it turned out that this does not matter too much since UConn is in the middle of nowhere anyway.) The only thing that I knew from my former advisor is that UConn was very friendly to Asian students. Well, today I do have empirical evidence to say that this is true! First I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my two major advisors: Zeljko Boskovic and Susi Wurmbrand. This thesis could not have been done without their help. My most memorable impression about Zeljko is that once I could not answer a question about phases in his class, and after class I was asked to reread five of Chomsky's articles five times for each! But I would like to say that without his strict requirements, I could not have finished any part of this thesis today. Zeljko is not only a very good scholar but also a very good teacher. Over these years, I enjoyed his Syntax II and Comparative Syntax seminars so much that I kept going back as an auditor. His unique and energetic teaching style added a lot of fun to these classes (though I admit that I still have difficulty decoding his handwriting). In addition to his teaching, I would especially like to thank him for his crystal-clear comments on my various papers. Sometimes being hesitant, I appreciate that he could give me direct advice so that I would not argue for a disaster. I remembered that my first syntax class at UConn was taught by Susi. One day, in Syntax I, she showed us some Icelandic data and asked us what the generalization was (the answer was V2 phenomenon). I was totally speechless (but said 'What the ***' in my mind) iii because I had never seen a language and a phenomenon like that before. But now I can proudly say that not only do I know what V2 phenomenon is, I'm also discussing Icelandic Object Shift in this thesis! I thank Susi for her detailed instructions and very patient explanations in all the classes that she has taught. For a slow person like me, I did benefit a lot. I would also like to say that I enjoyed the independent studies that I have taken with Susi for the past two years. We tried to find the related issues to the proposal of internal topicalization, and we made it! Writing a dissertation is a sometimes boring and discouraging process, but Susi always encouraged me and tried to cheer me up. Her encouragement dug my potential and made me more confident in myself. (Yes, I can do it!). I would also like to thank my two other committee members: Jonathan Bobaljik and Mamoru Saito. From my first general paper to my dissertation, Jonathan always gave me a lot of useful comments and I was always amazed by how knowledgeable he is. I also learned from him that we should not take a presupposed position and should examine things from different perspectives (but I also admit that this is sometimes annoying because my proposal then might not work). It is a pity that Mamoru can only show up at UConn once a year for seven to ten days. I really wish that he could have been in Storrs more often. The discussions with Mamoru about the similarities/differences between Japanese and Chinese always inspired me to read more relevant literatures and polish my analysis. I also enjoyed all his lectures about light verbs, scrambling, and ellipsis. One of my chapters is in fact inspired by his lectures about light verbs! Other faculty members also played important roles in enhancing my linguistics knowledge in my UConn life here. Thanks to William Snyder and Diane Lillo-Martin on Acquisition, Yael Sharvit and Kimiko Nakanishi on Semantics, and Andrea Calabrese and iv Harry van der Hulst on Phonology. Many thanks to other faculty, including Mona Anderson, Jon Gajewski, Keiko Murasugi, Jairo Nunes, and Daiko Tatahashi, for being nice bosses when I worked for them or for sparing their time to discuss linguistic issues with me. Thanks to David Michaels for setting up the TA award so that I had a chance to win it. Also, thanks to Carole Boster for her wannest care. Of course I will not forget to thank our beloved program assistant, Catalina Ritton, for helping me with those complicated forms and administrative stuff. Not only did I have great teachers here, I also made many good friends in our department. I would like to thank my roommate Nina Radkevich especially, who always helped me in decoding Zeljko's handwriting and listened to my complaints about various things. Also thanks to my mini UConn Corpus: the Chinese group (aka "the gossip group"), including Johnny Hsu-Te Cheng, Chris I-Ta Hsieh, and Ting Xu; the Japanese group, including Masahiko Aihara, Masahiko Takahashi and Toshiko Oda; and the Korean group: Jungmin Kang. I thank them all for being bugged by me regularly for judgments and the time-consuming brainstorming activities for some relevant data. I would also like to thank all my colleagues that I have met in the department. Thanks to Duk-Ho An, Ana Bastos-Gee, Miguel Rodriguez-Mondonedo and Serkan Sener for solving my time-to-time linguistic questions. Thanks to Karen O'Brien, Jean Crawford, and Cynthia Zocca for helping me proofread my papers. Also many thanks to all my other colleagues: Jeffrey Bernath, Carlos Buesa Garcia, Miloje Despic, Natasha Fitzgibbons, Zhanna Glushan, Jong Un Park, Elena Koulidobrova, Nilufer Sener, Oksana Tarasenkova, Lyn Shan Tieu, and many others. Thank you all for your friendship and accompanies. Because of you, I had a very good time here. v I would also like to thank other Chinese linguists that I have met so far in my life.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Government and Binding Theory.1 I Shall Not Dwell on This Label Here; Its Significance Will Become Clear in Later Chapters of This Book
    Introduction: The Chomskian Perspective on Language Study Contents Introduction 1 Linguistics: the science of language 2 The native speaker: grammaticality and acceptability 2.1 Descriptive adequacy 2.2 Grammaticality and acceptability 2.3 The grammar as a system of principles 3 Knowledge of language 3.1 The poverty of the stimulus 3.2 Universal grammar 3.3 Parameters and universal grammar 3.4 Language learning and language acquisition 3.5 The generative linguist 4 The new comparative syntax 4.1 Principles and parameters: a recapitulation 4.2 The pro-drop properties 4.3 Relating the properties 4.4 Agreement and pro-drop 5 Purpose and organization of the book 5.1 General purpose 5.2 Organization 6 Exercises Introduction The aim of this book is to offer an introduction to the version of generative syntax usually referred to as Government and Binding Theory.1 I shall not dwell on this label here; its significance will become clear in later chapters of this book. Government-Binding Theory is a natural development of earlier versions of generative grammar, initiated by Noam Chomsky some thirty years ago. The purpose of this introductory chapter is not to provide a historical survey of the Chomskian tradition. A full discussion of the history of the generative enterprise would in itself be the basis for a book.2 What I shall do here is offer a short and informal sketch of the essential motivation for the line of enquiry to be pursued. Throughout the book the initial points will become more concrete and more precise. By means of footnotes I shall also direct the reader to further reading related to the matter at hand.
    [Show full text]
  • On Binding Asymmetries in Dative Alternation Constructions in L2 Spanish
    On Binding Asymmetries in Dative Alternation Constructions in L2 Spanish Silvia Perpiñán and Silvina Montrul University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 1. Introduction Ditransitive verbs can take a direct object and an indirect object. In English and many other languages, the order of these objects can be altered, giving as a result the Dative Construction on the one hand (I sent a package to my parents) and the Double Object Construction, (I sent my parents a package, hereafter DOC), on the other. However, not all ditransitive verbs can participate in this alternation. The study of the English dative alternation has been a recurrent topic in the language acquisition literature. This argument-structure alternation is widely recognized as an exemplar of the poverty of stimulus problem: from a limited set of data in the input, the language acquirer must somehow determine which verbs allow the alternating syntactic forms and which ones do not: you can give money to someone and donate money to someone; you can also give someone money but you definitely cannot *donate someone money. Since Spanish, apparently, does not allow DOC (give someone money), L2 learners of Spanish whose mother tongue is English have to become aware of this restriction in Spanish, without negative evidence. However, it has been noticed by Demonte (1995) and Cuervo (2001) that Spanish has a DOC, which is not identical, but which shares syntactic and, crucially, interpretive restrictions with the English counterpart. Moreover, within the Spanish Dative Construction, the order of the objects can also be inverted without superficial morpho-syntactic differences, (Pablo mandó una carta a la niña ‘Pablo sent a letter to the girl’ vs.
    [Show full text]
  • Circumstantial Evidence for Syntactic Head Movement
    Circumstantial Evidence for Syntactic Head Move ment Bartosz Wiland University of Pozna 1. Introduction Recently, a number of analyses have advanced a thesis that syntactic heads are immobile and that head movement does not exist in grammar (cf. Mahajan 2001, 2003; Müller 2004, a.o.) or is severely restricted (e.g. Koopman and Szabolcsi 2000, Nilsen 2003). Such approaches take dislocation of the head X0 to be an instance of a remnant movement of the XP-constituent, preceded by vacating movements of other members of the XP. Detrimental to the claim that head movement does not exist is a scenario in which a dislocation of X0 is followed by a remnant movement of the XP-constituent. Such a derivational scenario is outlined in (1). 0 0 0 (1) a. [YP Y [P [XP X ZP]]] 0 0 0 b. [YP Y [P X + [XP tX0 ZP]]] 0 0 0 c. [YP [XP tX0 ZP][Y Y [P X + tXP ]]] The only possibility of dislocating the head X0 before remnant XP-fronting (in (1c)) is by X0-movement (in (1b)). In this paper, I argue that the derivational scenario in (1) is attested in Polish and it allows us to explain the interpretive contrast between (2a–d) and (2e). (2) a. Jan znowu pos a Marii ksi k . (repetitive) Ja n-NOM again sent Mary-DAT book-ACC b. Jan znowu Marii pos a ksi k . (repetitive) Ja n-NOM again Mary-DAT sent book-ACC c. Jan znowu ksi k pos a Marii. (repetitive) Jan-NOM again book-ACC sent Mary-DAT d.
    [Show full text]
  • 3.1. Government 3.2 Agreement
    e-Content Submission to INFLIBNET Subject name: Linguistics Paper name: Grammatical Categories Paper Coordinator name Ayesha Kidwai and contact: Module name A Framework for Grammatical Features -II Content Writer (CW) Ayesha Kidwai Name Email id [email protected] Phone 9968655009 E-Text Self Learn Self Assessment Learn More Story Board Table of Contents 1. Introduction 2. Features as Values 3. Contextual Features 3.1. Government 3.2 Agreement 4. A formal description of features and their values 5. Conclusion References 1 1. Introduction In this unit, we adopt (and adapt) the typology of features developed by Kibort (2008) (but not necessarily all her analyses of individual features) as the descriptive device we shall use to describe grammatical categories in terms of features. Sections 2 and 3 are devoted to this exercise, while Section 4 specifies the annotation schema we shall employ to denote features and values. 2. Features and Values Intuitively, a feature is expressed by a set of values, and is really known only through them. For example, a statement that a language has the feature [number] can be evaluated to be true only if the language can be shown to express some of the values of that feature: SINGULAR, PLURAL, DUAL, PAUCAL, etc. In other words, recalling our definitions of distribution in Unit 2, a feature creates a set out of values that are in contrastive distribution, by employing a single parameter (meaning or grammatical function) that unifies these values. The name of the feature is the property that is used to construct the set. Let us therefore employ (1) as our first working definition of a feature: (1) A feature names the property that unifies a set of values in contrastive distribution.
    [Show full text]
  • Wh-Concord in Okinawan = Syntactic Movement + Morphological Merger
    University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics Volume 22 Issue 1 Proceedings of the 39th Annual Penn Article 20 Linguistics Conference 2016 Wh-Concord in Okinawan = Syntactic Movement + Morphological Merger Kunio Kinjo Yohei Oseki Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl Recommended Citation Kinjo, Kunio and Oseki, Yohei (2016) "Wh-Concord in Okinawan = Syntactic Movement + Morphological Merger," University of Pennsylvania Working Papers in Linguistics: Vol. 22 : Iss. 1 , Article 20. Available at: https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol22/iss1/20 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/pwpl/vol22/iss1/20 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Wh-Concord in Okinawan = Syntactic Movement + Morphological Merger Abstract The main purpose of this paper is to provide a novel account for Wh-Concord in Okinawan based on the Copy Theory of Movement and Distributed Morphology. We propose that Wh-Concord interrogatives and Japanese-type wh-interrogatives have exactly the same derivation in the syntactic component: the Q- particle -ga, base-generated as adjoined to a wh-phrase, undergoes movement to the clause-final position. The two types of interrogatives are distinguished in the post-syntactic component: only in Wh-Concord, the -r morpheme on C0 triggers Morphological Merger, which makes it possible to Spell-Out lower copy of -ga. It is shown that the proposed analysis correctly predicts three descriptive generalizations on the distribution of -ga in
    [Show full text]
  • Derivational Economy in Syntax and Semantics
    Derivational Economy in Syntax and Semantics Željko Bošković and Troy Messick Summary Economy considerations have always played an important role in the generative theory of grammar. They are particularly prominent in the most recent instantiation of this approach, the Minimalist Program, which explores the possibility that Universal Grammar is an optimal way of satisfying requirements that are imposed on the language faculty by the external systems that interface with the language faculty which is also characterized by optimal, computationally efficient design. In this respect, the operations of the computational system that produce linguistic expressions must be optimal in that they must satisfy general considerations of simplicity and efficient design. Simply put, the guiding principles here are do something only if you need to; and if you do need to, do it in the most economical/efficient way. These considerations ban superfluous steps in derivations and superfluous symbols in representations. Under economy guidelines, movement takes place only when there is a need for it (with both syntactic and semantic considerations playing a role here), and when it does take place, it takes place in the most economical way: it is as short as possible and carries as little material as possible. Furthermore, economy is evaluated locally, on the basis of immediately available structure. The locality of syntactic dependencies is also enforced by minimal search and by limiting the number of syntactic objects and the amount of structure that are accessible in the derivation. This is achieved by transferring parts of syntactic structure to the interfaces during the derivation, the transferred parts not being accessible for further syntactic operations.
    [Show full text]
  • Syntactic Movement 24.900/R02
    October 19, 2018 Syntactic movement 24.900/R02 Syntactic movement Introduction to Linguistics, Instructor: Prof. Adam Albright Section R02, Suzana Fong ([email protected]) Recitation #6, October 19, 2018 1 Overview and recap Recall: this is the structure that we have for sentences: (1) CP 0 C C IP 0 NP I I VP 0 (modifier(s)) V V (XP) Where XP is the complement of the verb; it can be an NP, a PP, or a CP. This gives us a neat structure to capture the linear order of English interrogative sentences: (2) Yes/No question (closed-ended question) (3) Constituent question (open-ended question) a. The dog will eat the watermelon. a. Rosa has criticized Ana. b. Will the dog eat the watermelon? b. Who has Rosa cricitized ? Hypothesis: auxiliaries and interrogatives phrases (what, which picture, etc) are born in the position that their non- interrogative counterparts occupy and then they are moved to C and Spec-CP, respectively. ² Movement: an operation that takes a constituent (phrase or head) and places it elsewhere in the sentence. ² Consequence of movement: constituents can be interpreted in one position (e.g. complement of VP), but pro- nounced in another (e.g. Spec-CP). This property of languages is called displacement. 1/10 October 19, 2018 Syntactic movement 24.900/R02 Formalizing movement (4) a. Take an element α (word or phrase) and move it to an eligible higher position P. i. P must be empty (no overt morpheme). ii. P must be a suitable host for the type of element (heads to heads/argument positions, phrases to modifier positions) b.
    [Show full text]
  • SYNTACTIC VS. POST-SYNTACTIC MOVEMENT* Susi Wurmbrand
    SYNTACTIC VS. POST-SYNTACTIC MOVEMENT* Susi Wurmbrand University of Connecticut 1. Introduction This paper addresses the question of where word order variation that has no semantic effect is represented. The case I will concentrate on is multiple verb constructions in West Germanic, which involve complex patterns of re-ordering of the verbal elements involved. As an illustration consider (1): while Dutch allows either order between a modal and the selected infinitive (in this construction), the infinitive has to precede the modal in German, whereas the modal has to precede the infinitive in Afrikaans. Importantly, all sentences in (1) have the same meaning and re-ordering has no semantic effect. (1) John can work tomorrow. a. dat Jan morgen werken kan / kan werken Dutch that Jan tomorrow work can / can work b. dass Hans morgen arbeiten kann / *kann arbeiten German that John tomorrow work can / can work c. dat Jan môre *werk kan / kan werk Afrikaans that Jan tomorrow work can / can work In this paper I will pursue the idea that semantically vacuous word order changes are not part of syntax proper, but rather occur in a post-syntactic (PF) component. The mechanism suggested for this re-ordering will be language and construction specific inversion of sister nodes. I will present two preliminary arguments for this view: i) morphological operations feed verb cluster re-ordering; ii) only the word orders that cannot be derived by simple inversion of sister nodes show semantic/pragmatic effects. 2. Re-ordering tools Before discussing various options that have been suggested to derive the word order differences in verb clusters, it is important to note that some re-ordering mechanism is necessary and that the different word orders cannot be just the result of different base structures.
    [Show full text]
  • A PROLOG Implementation of Government-Binding Theory
    A PROLOG Implementation of Government-Binding Theory Robert J. Kuhns Artificial Intelligence Center Arthur D. Little, Inc. Cambridge, MA 02140 USA Abstrae_~t For the purposes (and space limitations) of A parser which is founded on Chomskyts this paper we only briefly describe the theories Government-Binding Theory and implemented in of X-bar, Theta, Control, and Binding. We also PROLOG is described. By focussing on systems of will present three principles, viz., Theta- constraints as proposed by this theory, the Criterion, Projection Principle, and Binding system is capable of parsing without an Conditions. elaborate rule set and subcategorization features on lexical items. In addition to the 2.1 X-Bar Theory parse, theta, binding, and control relations are determined simultaneously. X-bar theory is one part of GB-theory which captures eross-categorial relations and 1. Introduction specifies the constraints on underlying structures. The two general schemata of X-bar A number of recent research efforts have theory are: explicitly grounded parser design on linguistic theory (e.g., Bayer et al. (1985), Berwick and Weinberg (1984), Marcus (1980), Reyle and Frey (1)a. X~Specifier (1983), and Wehrli (1983)). Although many of these parsers are based on generative grammar, b. X-------~X Complement and transformational grammar in particular, with few exceptions (Wehrli (1983)) the modular The types of categories that may precede or approach as suggested by this theory has been follow a head are similar and Specifier and lagging (Barton (1984)). Moreover, Chomsky Complement represent this commonality of the (1986) has recently suggested that rule-based pre-head and post-head categories, respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • Malagasy Extraposition: Evidence for PF Movement
    Nat Lang Linguist Theory https://doi.org/10.1007/s11049-021-09505-2 Malagasy extraposition Evidence for PF movement Eric Potsdam1 Received: 28 August 2018 / Accepted: 23 January 2021 © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V. part of Springer Nature 2021 Abstract Extraposition is the non-canonical placement of dependents in a right- peripheral position in a clause. The Austronesian language Malagasy has basic VOXS word order, however, extraposition leads to VOSX. Extraposed constituents behave syntactically as though they were in their undisplaced position inside the predicate at both LF and Spell Out. This paper argues that extraposition is achieved via movement at Phonological Form (PF). I argue against alternatives that would derive extraposi- tion with syntactic A’ movement or stranding analyses. Within a Minimalist model of grammar, movement operations take place on the branch from Spell Out to PF and have only phonological consequences. Keywords Malagasy · Extraposition · Movement · Phonological Form · Word order 1 Introduction Extraposition—the non-canonical placement of certain constituents in a right- peripheral position—has been investigated in detail in only a small number of lan- guages. There is a considerable literature for English, SOV Germanic languages Ger- man and Dutch, and the SOV language Hindi-Urdu. The construction has not been widely explored in other, typologically distinct languages. This lacuna means that we have probably not seen the full range of options and have also not tested pro- posed analyses in the widest possible way. The goal of this paper is to investigate in some detail extraposition in Malagasy, an Austronesian language with basic VOXS word order spoken by approximately 17 million people on the island of Madagascar.
    [Show full text]
  • I PREPOSITION STRANDING and PIED-PIPING in YORUBA FOCUS CONSTRUCTIONS by © Joseph Ajayi a Thesis Submitted to the School Of
    PREPOSITION STRANDING AND PIED-PIPING IN YORUBA FOCUS CONSTRUCTIONS by © Joseph Ajayi A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts Department of Linguistics Memorial University of Newfoundland July 2019 St John’s Newfoundland i ABSTRACT The thesis examines P-stranding and pied-piping in focus constructions in Yoruba language, one of the Benue-Congo languages spoken in Western part of Nigeria. This research is unique given the fact that while existing literature and theories on P-stranding and pied-piping have solely hammered cross- linguistic differences, the thesis discovers intra-linguistic features of P-stranding and pied-piping in Yoruba. According to literature, a language is either a P-stranding or pied-piping one. On the contrary, Yoruba exhibits both P-stranding and pied-piping features in similar environments in focus constructions. It is discovered that a number of prepositions can only strand while some others can solely pied-pipe. The thesis further examines another behavioral patterns of prepositions in Yoruba focus constructions. Interestingly and quite strangely, it is discovered that some prepositions drop, or pied-pipe with the occurrence of resumptive pronouns in Yoruba focus. These multifarious behavioral patterns of prepositions in Yoruba focus pose a great challenge as to how to account for these patterns within the existing literature and theories which rather deal with P-stranding as cross-linguistic affairs. The thesis, however, tackles this challenge by extracting two different theories to account for these preposition features in Yoruba focus as each of the theories (Abels 2003 Phase Theory and Law 1998 Incorporation Thoery) cannot, in isolation, capture the features.
    [Show full text]
  • A Theory of Generalized Pied-Piping Sayaka Funakoshi, Doctor Of
    ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: A Theory of Generalized Pied-Piping Sayaka Funakoshi, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Dissertation directed by: Professor Howard Lasnik Department of Linguistics The purpose of this thesis is to construct a theory to derive how pied-piping of formal features of a moved element takes place, by which some syntactic phenomena related to φ-features can be accounted for. Ura (2001) proposes that pied-piping of formal-features of a moved element is constrained by an economy condition like relativized minimality. On the basis of Ura’s (2001) proposal, I propose that how far an element that undergoes movement can carry its formal features, especially focusing on φ-features in this thesis, is determined by two conditions, a locality condition on the generalized pied-piping and an anti-locality condition onmovement. Given the proposed analysis, some patterns of so-called wh-agreement found in Bantu languages can be explained and with the assumption that φ-features play an role for binding, presence or absence of WCO effects in various languages can be derived without recourse to A/A-distinctions.¯ ATHEORYOFGENERALIZEDPIED-PIPING by Sayaka Funakoshi Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2015 Advisory Committee: Professor Howard Lasnik, Chair/Advisor Professor Norbert Hornstein Professor Omer Preminger Professor Steven Ross Professor Juan Uriagereka c Copyright by ! Sayaka Funakoshi 2015 Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor Howard Lasnik for his patience, support and encouragement.
    [Show full text]