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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6"x9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and teaming 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA UIVQ 800-521-0600 THE SYNCHRONY AND DIACHRONY OF THE ENGUSH PREPOSITIONAL PASSIVE: FORM, MEANING, AND FUNCTION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Gwang-Yoon Go, B. A., M. A. $ * * * * The Ohio State University 2000 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Professor Brian D. Joseph, Advisor Professor Alan Brown ( Advisor Professor Robert Kasper Linguistics Graduate Program UMI Number. 9982567 UMI* UMI Microform9982567 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and teaming Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Copyright by Gwang-Yoon Go 2000 ABSTRACT The English language has been examined by scholars more than practically any other language, and both its synchronic and diachronic aspects are relatively well-known. Despite this intense scholarly activity, though, there are some areas of the syntax of English that remain as puzzles. One such area is the prepositional passive (P-Passive), in which the passive subject corresponds to the object of a preposition (P) in the active (e.g.. He was laughed at). This syntactic construction is noteworthy in many respects. In particular, it is cross- linguistically rare and even in English, it is not found before Middle English (ME). Furthermore, many non-syntactic factors affect the P-Passive, thus presenting analytic challenges to most current syntactic theories. For these reasons, the P-Passive and the changes it has undergone constitute an important topic in English synchronic and diachronic linguistics which can provide valuable insights into the general nature of language, and into the form and causes of language change. This study, which is aimed at showing how form, meaning, and function interact with one another in the synchrony and diachrony of language, pursues the following two primary goals: (a) to present an overall picture of the changes in the English P-Passive, showing the effects of various system-internal and system-external factors in bringing them about, and (b) to provide a new analysis of this syntactic construction in contemporary English which incorporates both formal and functional aspects of the construction. Specifically, this study proposes that the advent of the prepositional passive was a long-term, multi-faceted morphosyntactic change that was eventually triggered by a ii ‘subject-requirement constraint’ and the consequent obligatoriness of NP-movement out of PP in passive structures, which resulted in the syntactically-triggered incorporation of P into verb (V). In particular, it is shown that although both the P-Passive and the so- called reanalysis of V and P, in their periphrastic forms, began to develop in ME, their advent cannot be considered innovative purely within the ME period because they already had OE antecedents in disguised forms, which played significant roles in their emergence. As for the P-Passive in contemporary English, a set of new proposals are made to deal with not only the P-Passive type involving a complement PP (e.g.. It was looked into) but also the type involving an adjunct PP (e.g.. The bed was slept in). In particular, this study argues against both the Reanalysis Hypothesis and the No-Reanalysis Hypothesis about the unification of V and P into a single structural unit and proposes obligatory syntactic incorporation of P into V which is triggered by passive morphology. This study also explains what really determines the passivization possibilities of prepositional objects by proposing one formal and two functional factors (i.e., complementhood, affectedness, and characterization). Finally, a set of formally adequate formulations of the proposals made for the P-Passive are provided within the Head- Driven Structure Granunar framework, showing that the alternative account can be given a coherent treatment within a current theoretical framework. In conclusion, the results of this research demonstrate the interdependence between various components of the grammar by showing that a typical ‘syntactic’ change is not purely syntactic in nature, but rather requires input from practically every domain of the grammar in order to be fully understood. Further, the analysis proposed for the P-Passive in contemporary English illustrates how formal and functional factors interact with each other to form a major syntactic construction and to determine its grammaticality and acceptability. ui Dedicated to my parents IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS God has always been behind every up and down in my life, working in all things for my good and demonstrating the truthfulness of His Word that God has chosen to use the foolish and weak things of the world to shame the wise and strong things. I wish to thank those through whom God has helped me with my study at Ohio State University (OSU). First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my academic advisor, Brian Joseph. Throughout my study at OSU, he has guided and inspired me with his sincere attitude to learning and profound scholarship, making himself my role model as a scholar and as a person. Without his insightful guidance, patient and generous help, and constant encouragement, this thesis would not have been possible. I have greatly benefited from other dissertation committee members. Robert Kasper has always been readily available when I needed him and provided many helpful comments and suggestions on various aspects of this thesis. Alan Brown has helped me with Old English data and many valuable comments on literary issues. My thanks also go to other faculty members in the linguistics department at OSU who have taught me various areas of linguistics: Mary Beckman, Peter Culicover, David Dowty, Richard Janda, Keith Johnson, Robert Levine, David Odden, Carl Pollard, Craige Roberts, Don Winford, and Arnold Zwicky. In particular, Peter Culicover helped me recognize certain interesting issues resulting in a couple of conference papers related to this thesis. I have been more than generously supported by the linguistics department and OSU. The department has provided me not only with teaching and research associateships but also with all necessary travel funds and other expenses for attending numerous conferences inside and outside America. OSU and the graduate school awarded me a University Fellowship, a PEGS/SGAES Summer Dissertation Fellowship, and a Presidential Fellowship. Thanks are also due to my colleagues and friends at OSU; Ken Bame, Allison Blodgett, Mary Bradshaw, Mike Calcagno, Chan Chung, Nick Cipollone, Wesley Davidson, Karin Golde, Anthony Gonsalves, Craig Hilts, Tsan Huang, Martin Jansche, Hyeon-Seok Kang, So-Young Kang, Arlene Keeling, Steve Keiser, Hyeree Kim, No-Ju Kim, Sun-Hee Lee, Laurie Maynell, Moutoni Nashiombe, Panayiotis Pappas, Charlotte Schaengold, Mi-Sun Seo, Thomas Stewart, Nathan Vaillette, Peter Wagner, Pauline Welby, Philip Neal Whitman, Eun-Jung Yoo, Kyuchul Yoon, and Jae-Hak Yoon. I am especially grateful to two of my best friends, Steve Keiser and Craig Hilts. They have continued to be my most patient and generous supporters in the department and always been more than willing to help me out in many academic and nonacademic matters. I also owe much to the members of the department’s weekly prayer meeting: Mike Cahill, Shelome Gooden, Robert Kasper, Steve Keiser, Andy Saperstein, Charlotte Schaengold, Stephen Winters, and Peggy Wong. They have helped me stay closer to God and their prayer and brotherly love have made my otherwise often painful life more than enjoyable and thankful. I was fortunate to get acquainted with and learn from linguists and scholars outside the department: Hyunkee Ahn, David Denison, Eung-Cheon Hah, Kyoung-Min Han, Sungshim Hong, Nicholas Howe, Kyu-Han Kang, Hakan Kuh, Jeong-Hoon Lee, Jung- Min Lee, Byung-Jin Lim, Young-Bae Park, and Joseph Salmon. In particular, David Denison gave me many encouraging conunents on various aspects of my work and, along with Hakan Kuh and Joseph Salmon, kindly wrote a recommendation letter for the Presidential Fellowship. vi I am also indebted to my former teachers at Seoul National University: Professors Byung-Tae Cho, Choon-Hak Cho, In-Sook Kim, Suk-San Kim, Byung-Gun Lee, Sang- Oak Lee, Nahm-Sheik Park, and Dong-Whee Yang. In particular, I would like to express my special thanks to Professors Choon-Hak Cho, In-Sook Kim, Sang-Oak Lee, and Nahm-Sheik Park for their kind consideration and encouragement Finally, my appreciation goes to my family. I wish to thank my parents for their overwhelming love and trust.