Copular clauses : specification, predication and equation / Line Mikkelsen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mikkelsen, Line.

Series:

Linguistik aktuell ; Bd. 85.

Linguistik aktuell = Linguistics today, 0166-0829 ; v. 85

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Grammar, Comparative and general--Clauses.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Syntax.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Verb phrase.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (220 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam ; Philadelphia, PA : J. Benjamins, 2005.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This book is concerned with a class of copular clauses known as specificational clauses, and its relation to other kinds of copular structures, predicational and equative clauses in particular. Based on evidence from Danish and English, I argue that specificational clauses involve the same core predication structure as predicational clauses - one which combines a referential and a predicative expression to form a minimal predicational unit - but differ in how the predicational core is realized syntactically. Predicational copular clauses represent the canonical realization, where the referential expression is aligned with the most prominent syntactic position, the subject position. Specificational clauses involve an unusual alignment of the predicative expression with subject position. I suggest that this unusual alignment is grounded in information structure: the alignment of the less referential DP with the subject position serves a discourse connective function by letting material that is relatively familiar in the discourse appear before material that is relatively unfamiliar in the discourse. Equative clauses are argued to be fundamentally different.

Contents:

Copular Clauses

Editorial page

Title page

LCC data

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

Part I. STRUCTURE

2. PREDICATE TOPICALIZATION

2.1 Introduction

2.1.1 Heggie's proposal

2.1.2 Predicate topicalization in English

2.2 Predicate topicalization in Danish

2.2.1 Evidence for predicate topicalization in Danish

2.2.2 The pragmatic functions of predicate topicalization

2.3 Predicate topicalization vs. specification

2.3.1 Negation

2.3.2 Pronominal form

2.3.3 Reflexives

2.3.4 Negative polarity items

2.4 Taking stock

2.5 Further evidence

2.5.1 Word order

2.5.2 Polar questions

2.5.3 Embedding

2.6 Conclusion

3. ALTERNATIVE STRUCTURES FOR SPECIFICATIONAL CLAUSES

3.1 Predicate raising

3.2 Subject raising from symmetric small clause

3.3 "Transitive" structure

3.4 Conclusion

Part II. MEANING

4. DECOMPOSING COPULAR CLAUSES

4.1 Synopsis

4.2 Partee's theory of noun phrase interpretation

4.3 Methodological issues

4.4 Consequences for the live syntactic options

4.5 Two alternative semantic analyses

5. DETERMINING THE SUBJECT TYPE

5.1 Pronominalization as a test for semantic type

5.1.1 Pronominal form and semantic type

5.1.2 It and that as property anaphors

5.1.3 Determining the antecedent

5.2 Three environments

5.2.1 Tag questions

5.2.2 Left-dislocation

5.2.3 Question-answer pairs

5.3 Further evidence from Danish

5.3.1 Replicating the contrast in the domain of humans

5.3.2 Pronominal contrasts in the domain of inanimates

5.3.3 Pronominalization and predicate topicalization

5.4 Loose ends

5.4.1 Uncertain reference

5.4.2 An alternative interpretation of tag questions

5.4.3 Some differences between it and that

6. THE TYPE OF THE PREDICATE COMPLEMENT

6.1 Introduction.

6.2 Possible predicate complements

6.3 VP ellipsis as a test for semantic type

6.3.1 Some complicating factors

6.3.2 VP anaphora in Danish

7. CONSEQUENCES AND EXTENSIONS

7.1 Possible specificational subjects

7.1.1 Group I: Definite descriptions, possessive DPs, and partitive DPs

7.1.2 Group II: Quantificational DPs, pronouns, and names

7.1.3 Group III: Indefinites

7.2 Truncated clefts

7.2.1 Truncated and full clefts

7.2.2 Determining the subject type

7.2.3 Determining the antecedent

7.2.4 Some consequences and advantages

Part III. USE

8. ASPECTS OF USE

8.1 Topic-focus structure

8.2 Inversion structures

8.3 The discourse function of inversion

8.3.1 Discourse-familiarity

8.3.2 Birner's discourse condition on inversion

8.3.3 Discourse-familiarity in specificational clauses

8.3.4 Discourse-familiarity and definiteness

8.4 Discourse-familiarity and topic

9. AN INTEGRATED ANALYSIS

9.1 Where we are

9.2 A Minimalist analysis

9.2.1 Starting assumptions

9.2.2 The predicational core

9.2.3 Deriving predicational clauses

9.2.4 Deriving specificational clauses

9.2.5 The markedness of specificational clauses

9.2.6 Discussion

9.3 Interpreting the structures

10. CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

INDEX

The series Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today.

Notes:

Revision of the author's disseration (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz, 2004.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9786612156427

9781282156425

128215642X

9789027294135

9027294135

OCLC:

290496424