Adjectives, Number and Interfaces : Why Languages Vary / Denis Bouchard.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bouchard, Denis, author.

Series:

North Holland Linguistic Series: Linguistic Variations ; 61.

North Holland Linguistic Series: Linguistic Variations ; 61

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Explanation (Linguistics).

Grammar, Comparative and general--Adjective.

Grammar, Comparative and general.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Noun phrase.

Language and languages--Variation.

Language and languages.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Other Title:

Why Languages Vary

Place of Publication:

Leiden; Boston : BRILL, 2002.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A study of why languages vary the way they do in the domain of adjectival modification in French as contrasted with other Indo-European languages (English, Celtic, Walloon, Romanian, Italian). Rejecting previous well-known analyses in terms of syntactic movement to various functional heads, the author proposes a model in which external properties of interfaces are the foundations from which the variation is derived. Limiting severely the technical apparatus of syntax, the author argues that the properties of number at the interfaces are shown to provide a simple and precise solution for longstanding problems of compositionality raised by adjectival modification. There is also a unified analysis of the many other properties involved. The model provides a principled explanation of the variation concerning nominals without determiners (bare NPs) and determiners without nominals (clitics).

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780585475219

0585475210

OCLC:

53333824

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9780585475219 DOI