Clause structure and word order in Hebrew and Arabic : an essay in comparative Semitic syntax / Ur Shlonsky.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Shlonsky, Ur.

Series:

Oxford studies in comparative syntax

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hebrew language--Clauses.

Hebrew language.

Hebrew language--Word order.

Arabic language--Clauses.

Arabic language.

Arabic language--Word order.

Hebrew language--Grammar, Comparative.

Arabic language--Grammar, Comparative.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Syntax.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Physical Description:

x, 289 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, 1997.

Summary:

Clause Structure and Word Order in Hebrew and Arabic employs Chomsky's Government and Binding Approach to examine clausal architecture and verb movement in Hebrew and in several varieties of Arabic. Author Ur Shlonsky establishes an analysis of a number of syntactic configurations in Hebrew and then extends this analysis to certain aspects of Arabic clausal syntax. Through this comparative lens, Shlonsky aims to resolve a number of problems in Semitic syntax. His discussion leads to modifications in the formulation of some syntactic parameters, and his results generate novel and important conclusions concerning the patterning of negation, verb movement, the nature of participles, and the gamut of positions available to clausal subjects.

Contents:

1.2 Clause Structure 2

1.2.1 The Functional Layer 3

1.2.2 The Operator Layer 5

1.2.3 Support Theory and Checking Theory 6

1.3 Elements of Hebrew and Arabic Clausal Syntax 7

1.3.1 Word Order and Verb Movement 7

1.3.2 The System of Tenses and Agreement 9

1.3.3 Clausal Negation 12

1.3.4 A Note on Pet and Accusative Case 17

Part I Verb Movement and Clausal Architecture 21

2 The Active Participle and the Syntax of the Present Tense 25

2.1.1 Benoni Inflection 26

2.1.2 Categorial Ambiguity of the Benoni 27

2.2 The Verbal Benoni 28

2.3 The Benoni as a Participle 30

2.3.1 The Benoni in Complex Tenses 31

2.3.2 The Benoni in Complement Small Clauses 34

2.3.3 The Benoni in Adjunct Small Clauses 35

2.3.4 The Benoni in Semi-relatives 36

2.3.5 The Benoni in Another Type of Negative Structure 37

2.4 The Benoni as a Present Tense Verb 38

2.4.1 The Auxiliary 'Be' and the Benoni 39

2.4.2 Clausal Adjuncts and Participial (Small Clause) Adjuncts 40

2.4.3 Relative Clauses 41

2.4.4 lo Negation in Present Tense Sentences 42

3 Participles and Auxiliaries 43

3.1 The Benoni Raises beyond AgrPartP 43

3.1.1 Subject Inversion in Present Tense Sentences 43

3.1.2 Inversion in Relative Clauses 44

3.1.3 Copula Inversion (CI) 44

3.2 Weak Auxiliaries and Raised Participles 46

3.3 CI with Nonverbal Predicates and the Nature of [F] 48

3.4 CI in a Cross-Linguistic Perspective 52

3.5 Benoni-Raising: A Second Look 54

3.6 The "Bare" Benoni Present Tense 55

4 Negation in the Present Tense 58

4.2 Properties of Peyn 58

4.3 Peyn as a Neg[superscript 0] 60

4.4 The Position of NegP in the Clausal Hierarchy 61

4.4.1 Peyn and AgrsP 61

4.4.2 Peyn and TP 64

4.5 Peyn and Verb Movement 65

4.6 The Scope of Verb Movement in Hebrew 69

4.6.1 Benoni Movement 69

4.6.2 Verb Movement in Hebrew: A Synoptic View 71

4.7 Subject Positions 72

4.8 Subjects under Peyn, their Traces, and the Complementizer-Trace Effect 76

4.8.1 Overt Wh-Movement Under Peyn 76

4.8.2 Wh in-situ Under Peyn 78

4.8.3 Quantifier-Raising Under Peyn 78

4.8.4 Focus-Movement Under Peyn 80

5.2 Existential/Locative Predicates under Peyn 82

5.3 Copular Sentences and Benoni Verbs 87

5.3.1 Negation in Copular Sentences 91

6 Arabic Negation and Arabic Clause Structure 94

6.2 laa Negation and Clausal Hierarchy 94

6.2.1 The Arabic Imperfect 96

6.2.2 laa and Its Tense Variants 103

6.3 Two Other Negative Structures 105

6.3.1 Participial Negation 105

6.3.2 Neutral Neg 107

6.4 A Typology of Negative Heads 108

Part II Null Subjects and Inversion 109

7 Null Subjects 111

7.2 The Distribution of Null Subjects 112

7.2.1 Null Subjects and Pro 112

7.2.2 Personal and Impersonal Pronouns 112

7.2.3 The Theory of Pro 114

7.2.4 Referential Pro in Hebrew 116

7.2.5 The Internal Structure of Pronouns 119

7.2.6 Nonreferential Pro 123

7.2.7 The Internal Structure of Nonreferential Pronouns 124

7.2.8 Reconsideration of the Feature Identification Procedure 125

7.3 The Position of Null Subjects 128

7.4 Null Subjects in Peyn sentences 129

7.4.1 Expletives, Extraposition, and Sentential Subjects 130

7.4.2 Two Types of Pro[subscript arb] 134

7.4.3 Atmospheric Pro 137

7.5 Null Subjects in Agreeing Peyn Sentences 140

8 Subject-Verb Inversion 144

8.2 Two Strategies of Inversion 145

8.3 Triggered Inversion (TI) 146

8.3.1 The Nature and the Position of the Trigger 146

8.3.2 Triggered Inversion as Movement of I to C 148

8.3.3 The Position of the Subject under TI 155

8.4 Free Inversion (FI) and VP-Subjects 163

Part III The Pronominal System 175

9 Semitic Clitics 177

9.2 Properties of Semitic Clitics 178

9.3 The Incorporation Analysis 181

9.3.1 Is Subject Agreement a Clitic? 183

9.3.2 Clitics and Agreement in Berber 185

9.4 Semitic Clitics as Agr[superscript 0] Elements 187

9.4.1 Extensions and Consequences 188

9.4.2 On the Absence of Clitic Clusters 192

9.4.3 Predictions Concerning Clitic Doubling 194

10 Pronouns 204

10.1 The Internal Structure and Distribution of "Unattached" Pronouns 204

10.2 Pronouns Weak and Strong 209

10.2.1 The Weak-Strong Distinction 211

10.2.2 Subject Pronouns 214

10.3 The Syntax of Hebrew Weak Pronouns Reconsidered 217

10.3.1 Weak Pronouns Can Appear Higher than AgrOP 217

10.3.2 Weak Pronouns Can Appear in Spec/AgrO 218

10.3.3 The Nature of Hebrew Weak Pronouns 219

10.3.4 Indirect Object Weak Pronouns and Pronoun Clustering 222

Appendix Nonpronominal Incorporation 229.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 268-277) and index.

ISBN:

0195108663

0195108671

OCLC:

35209352