Generative Syntax: A Cross-Linguistic Approach Michael Barrie Sogang University May 30, 2021 2 Generative Syntax: A Cross-Linguistic Introduction ľ 2021 by Michael Barrie is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ (한국어: https: //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.ko) by-nc-sa/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA. This license requires that reusers give credit to the creator. It allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, for noncommercial purposes only. If others modify or adapt the material, they must license the modified material under identical terms. Contents 1 Foundations of the Study of Language 13 1.1 The Science of Language .................................... 13 1.2 Prescriptivism versus Descriptivism .............................. 15 1.3 Evidence of Syntactic Knowledge ............................... 17 1.4 Syntactic Theorizing ....................................... 18 Key Concepts .............................................. 20 Exercises ................................................. 21 Further Reading ............................................ 22 2 The Lexicon and Theta Relations 23 2.1 Restrictions on lexical items: What words want and need ................ 23 2.2 Thematic Relations and θ-Roles ................................ 25 2.3 Lexical Entries .......................................... 33 Key Concepts .............................................. 34 Exercises ................................................. 35 Further Reading ............................................ 38 Interchapter A: Noun Incorporation 38 Further Reading ............................................ 43 3 Phrase Structure and Constituency 45 3.1 Review of Phrase Structure ................................... 45 3.2 Constituency Tests ........................................ 49 3.2.1 Pro-forms ......................................... 50 3.2.2 Stand Alone ....................................... 52 3.2.3 Coordination Tests ................................... 52 3.2.4 Movement Tests ..................................... 54 3.3 C-Command: A New Relation ................................. 62 3 4 CONTENTS 3.4 Bare Phrase Structure ...................................... 63 3.5 The Content of Lexical Categories .............................. 66 3.5.1 Noun Phrases ...................................... 66 3.5.2 Verb Phrases ....................................... 69 3.5.3 Adpostional Phrases .................................. 71 3.5.4 Adjective Phrases .................................... 71 3.5.5 Adverbial Phrases .................................... 72 Key Concepts .............................................. 73 Exercises ................................................. 74 Further Reading ............................................ 77 Interchapter B: Applicatives 78 Further Reading ............................................ 82 4 Developments of Phrase Structure 83 4.1 DP Theory ............................................ 83 4.1.1 The Structure of Pronouns .............................. 88 4.1.2 Classifiers (advanced) .................................. 91 4.2 Tense Phrases–TP ........................................ 92 4.3 CP–The Complementizer Phrase ............................... 97 4.3.1 Topics and Focus .................................... 99 4.3.2 Embedded Topics and Focus (advanced) ...................... 101 4.4 Ditransitive Constructions ................................... 103 4.5 Light Verbs ............................................ 108 4.6 Argument Structure Alternations ............................... 111 4.6.1 Dative Shift ....................................... 111 4.6.2 Spray-Load Alternations ................................ 112 4.6.3 Benefactive Alternation ................................ 113 4.7 Light Verbs in Other Languages ................................ 113 Key Concepts .............................................. 115 Exercises ................................................. 116 Further Reading ............................................ 121 Interchapter C: Discourse Configurationality 121 Further Reading ............................................ 126 5 The Architecture of Grammar 127 5.1 Principles and Parameters ................................... 127 CONTENTS 5 5.1.1 The Pro-Drop Parameter ............................... 128 5.2 Minimalism and The Model of Grammar .......................... 131 5.2.1 Bare Phrase Structure and Merge .......................... 131 5.2.2 Move ............................................ 133 5.3 Head Movement and Phrasal Movement ........................... 133 5.3.1 V-to-T Movement .................................... 136 5.3.2 T-to-C Movement .................................... 140 5.4 Parameterization and Word Order .............................. 145 Key Concepts .............................................. 156 Exercises ................................................. 157 Further Reading ............................................ 160 Interchapter D: Verb-Initial Languages 161 Further Reading ............................................ 164 6 Case Theory 165 6.1 Case and the Distribution of DPs ............................... 165 6.1.1 Nominative Case ..................................... 167 6.1.2 Accusative Case ..................................... 168 6.1.3 Case Assignment .................................... 168 6.2 The Case Filter .......................................... 169 6.3 Passivization ........................................... 171 6.4 Alternative Types of Passives ................................. 174 6.4.1 Inherent Case ...................................... 174 6.4.2 “Get”-Passives ...................................... 174 6.4.3 Middle Voice ....................................... 175 6.4.4 Impersonal Passives ................................... 176 6.4.5 SE in Romance ..................................... 177 6.4.6 Mandarin: The Ba-Construction ........................... 177 Key Concepts .............................................. 179 Exercises ................................................. 180 Further Reading ............................................ 183 Interchapter E: Verb Second in Germanic 184 Further Reading ............................................ 189 7 Case Alignment Systems 191 7.1 Unaccusativity .......................................... 191 6 CONTENTS 7.2 Ergativity ............................................. 202 7.3 Split Intransitivity ........................................ 207 Key Concepts .............................................. 212 Exercises ................................................. 213 Further Reading ............................................ 215 Interchapter F: Second Positions Clitics 216 Further Reading ............................................ 219 8 Wh-Movement and Relative Clauses 221 8.1 Wh-Movement .......................................... 221 8.1.1 Multiple Wh-Questions ................................. 231 8.1.2 Wh-Movement and Successive Cyclicity ....................... 232 8.2 Cross-Linguistic Patterns of Wh-Movement ......................... 241 8.2.1 Wh-in-situ ........................................ 241 8.2.2 Multiple wh-movement ................................. 249 8.3 Relative Clauses ......................................... 251 8.3.1 Accessibility Hierarchy ................................. 257 8.3.2 Internally-Headed Relative Clauses .......................... 258 8.4 Restrictions on wh-movement ................................. 260 8.4.1 Complex DP Constraint ................................ 260 8.4.2 Subject Constraint ................................... 260 8.4.3 Wh-Island Constraint .................................. 261 8.4.4 Resumptive Pronouns .................................. 261 8.5 Phases and Constraining Wh-Movement ........................... 262 8.5.1 Relative Clauses and Islands ............................. 269 8.5.2 Cross-Over Effects (advanced) ............................ 270 Key Concepts .............................................. 274 Exercises ................................................. 275 Further Reading ............................................ 279 Interchapter G: Romance Clitics 279 Further Reading ............................................ 283 9 The Syntax of Infinitives 285 9.1 Introduction ............................................ 285 9.2 Diagnostics for Raising and Control .............................. 288 9.2.1 Idiom Tests ........................................ 288 CONTENTS 7 9.2.2 Expletive Subjects .................................... 290 9.2.3 Voice Transparency ................................... 291 9.3 Deriving the Structure of Control and Raising/ECM ................... 292 9.4 Types of Control and Raising ................................. 301 9.4.1 Further Types of Control ............................... 302 9.4.2 Wanna-Contraction ................................... 304 9.5 Control in Other Languages .................................. 305 9.5.1 Balkan Languages .................................... 305 9.5.2 Portuguese Inflected Infinitives ............................ 305 9.5.3 Serial Verb Constructions ............................... 307 Key Concepts .............................................. 309 Exercises ................................................