The syntax and semantics of split constructions : a comparative study / Alastair Butler and Eric Mathieu.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Butler, Alastair, 1975-

Contributor:

Mathieu, Eric, 1967-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Grammar, Comparative and general--Syntax.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Semantics.

Pragmatics.

Physical Description:

xii, 223 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire ; New York : Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.

Summary:

This book takes a comparative look at constructions where an operator is structurally detached from its noun restrictor. The main concern is the fact that such constructions are more limited than their non-split counterparts: if a scopal element intervenes the resulting sentence is ungrammatical. But why should the relation between the operator and its restriction be so constrained when a non-split alternative gives a well-formed structure? The current consensus is that such effects can be linked to weak island phenomena and thus receive a common analysis. This view is adopted, but with a novel take on the link: it is argued that all constructions exhibiting weak islands are really split constructions. With this syntactic basis a semantics is motivated that provides an explanation for the cut in the data: ungrammatical structures are shown to yield Logical Form representations that cannot be evaluated. The approach has a wide empirical coverage and a conceptual simplicity.

Contents:

1.2 The Central Problem 6

1.3 Previous Approaches 10

1.3.1 Syntactic Views 10

1.3.2 Pragmatic Views 21

1.3.3 Semantic Views 23

1.4 Our Proposal: needing visible usage information 27

2 WH Constructions 33

2.2 French WH-in-situ 33

2.2.1 Why French WH-in-situ are Split Constructions 34

2.2.2 Previous Accounts 38

2.3 WH-in-situ in Other Languages with Intervention Effects 47

2.3.1 Korean 47

2.3.2 German 50

2.4 WH-adjuncts and Other WH-phrases with Restricted Scope 53

2.5 Partial WH Constructions in German 55

3 Negative Constructions 61

3.2 The Phenomena 61

3.3 Previous Accounts 66

3.3.1 Semantic/Pragmatic Views 66

3.3.2 Syntactic Views 72

3.4 French N-words: what are they? 81

3.5 Towards a Split Construction Analysis 87

4 Interfacing Syntax and Semantics 91

4.2 Logical Tools 92

4.2.1 Propositional Logic 93

4.2.2 Predicate Logic 95

4.2.3 Predicate Logic with Anaphora 99

4.2.4 Predicate Logic with Barriers 105

4.3 PLB and Constraints on Syntactic Dependencies 113

4.3.1 A Word on Notation 114

4.3.2 A(rgument) Movement 115

4.3.3 Binding Dependencies 119

4.3.4 A-Movement 121

4.3.5 Strong Crossover 126

5 The Account 129

5.2 Additions to PLB 129

5.2.1 Usage Information 130

5.2.2 PPIs 131

5.2.3 A Neg(ation) Operator with Domain Widening 132

5.2.4 A Q(uestion) Operator 133

5.3 Deploying Neg and wid 134

5.3.1 French N-words 135

5.3.2 NPIs 139

5.4 Deploying Q and wh 144

5.4.1 Combien Constructions 144

5.4.2 French WH-in-situ 150

5.4.3 Korean 153

5.4.4 German Multiple WH Questions 154

5.4.5 French Multiple WH Questions 155

5.4.6 English 156

5.4.7 Chinese 158

5.4.8 WH-adjuncts and Other Scope Restricted WH-phrases 160

5.4.9 German Partial WH Constructions 163.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 195-210) and indexes.

ISBN:

1403921121

OCLC:

54415610