ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

A MINIMALIST APPROACH TO PSEUDOCLEFTS IN ENGLISH

KEIICHIRO KOBAYASHI

1997 Volume 14 Pages 1-27
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.1

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This paper presents an analysis of specificational pseudoclefts in English in the current framework of minimalism. Of the two main properties of pseudoclefts, frozenness is explained, based on the assumption that the Topic clause is positioned in CP-Spec and the Focus phrase is adjoined to VP. Connectivity effects of specificational pseudoclefts follow from the assumption that what in the Topic clause is coindexed with the Focus phrase. Interacting with natural assumptions about interpretation of a focus, the assumptions above explain more complicated properties such as the strict linear order among constituents. The analysis also extends to account for peculiar properties of reverse pseudoclefts.

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TOPICALIZATION AND RELATIVIZATION IN MINIMALIST SYNTAX

HIROKI EGASHIRA

1997 Volume 14 Pages 28-51
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.28

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This paper reanalyzes topicalization and relativization in the framework of the Minimalist Program put forward recently by Chomsky (1995) and proposes a unified approach to these two operations. We analyze topicalization as morphologically driven movement, depending, on the circumstances where topicalization is applicable. We further extend this analysis to relativization, and clarify a driving force for movement of a relative pronoun.

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MERGE OR MOVE

ETSURO SHIMA

1997 Volume 14 Pages 52-69
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.52

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In this paper, I will propose, contrary to Chomsky (1995), that Move is selected over Merge. I will provide three arguments for my proposal: first, it guarantees strict cyclicity without any stipulation about how to check off a strong feature. Second, it excludes superraising. Finally, it derives the effect of the stipulation that subject introduced into Spec of a light verb cannot enter into any checking relation at that position. Furthermore, I will show that an existential construction is accounted for by independently motivated assumptions without resorting to Chomsky's condition selecting Merge over Move.

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PARALLELISM AND ATTRACT-F

HIROSHI TERADA

1997 Volume 14 Pages 70-100
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.70

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This article explores within the Minimalist framework the distribution of strict readings of reflexives in VP-ellipsis: the strict readings are disfavored when a reflexive appears in a coargument position of a predicate and the two elliptically related clauses are coordinated. This fact is shown to be predictable by a modified version of Fox's (1995) theory which assumes that some form of Parallelism premised on PF-deletion of a VP requires parallel feature-checking. Economy considerations also play a decisive role in this framework. Further, the article suggests a way of solving some quantifier-scope phenomena that would not fall out under Fox's theory.

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THE STRUCTURE OF LOCATIVE INVERSION

KOSUKE TANAKA

1997 Volume 14 Pages 101-128
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.101

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This paper examines and reconsiders the structure of the construction often called Locative Inversion (LI) based on the phrase structure proposed by Culicover (1991). From the fact that LI shares a number of properties with Negative Inversion (NI), it is claimed that the sentence-initial elements of both constructions are preposed into the same position, the Spec of Polarity Phrase (PolP). LI can also be considered to be motivated by the feature [+Pos (itive)], the opposite of [+Neg (ative)] in NI. In this sense, LI can be regarded as “Positive Inversion.” It is further assumed that Exceptional Verb Raising (V to I) occurs in LI, which makes the construction in question marked in English.

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OBJECTIVE CASE CHECKING AND PARAMETRIC VARIATION

MIYUKI NOJI

1997 Volume 14 Pages 129-158
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.129

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This paper offers an analysis of objective Case checking as an alternative to Chomsky's (1995) anslysis where the so-called Object Shift in Icelandic is assumed to amount to overt objective Case checking. I argue that overt object movement for Case checking takes place within a projection of a verb and is different from Object Shift. Assuming that the Case feature of the verb is strong in English and Icelandic, and weak in French, we can explain some parametric differences among the languages.

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THE CATEGORIAL STATUS OF INFINITIVAL AND FINITE CLAUSES

KUNIHIRO IWAKURA

1997 Volume 14 Pages 159-181
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.159

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In this paper, I argue that infinitival complements of believe-class verbs are I's, although control infinitives not introduced by a complementizer are IPs, as argued by Boškovic (1996), in accordance with Law's (1991) Principle of Derivation of Economy. The suggested analysis accounts for a number of differences between control and non-control infinitives without distinguishing between control and non-control infinitives with respect to null Case-checking. Furthermore, I suggest that finite clauses not introduced by a complementizer are I's, demonstrating that their restricted distribution can be accounted for by means of a general constraint on movement.

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ON TRACE MOVEMENT

NOBUAKI NISHIOKA

1997 Volume 14 Pages 182-202
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.182

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This paper concerns the accessibility of trace to the operation Attract/Move proposed in Chomsky (1995). Arguing against Chomsky's (1995) suggestion that traces of A'-movement can undergo further attraction unlike those of A-movement, the present study claims that the operation Attract/Move makes no distinction between traces left by A- and A'-movement. Using data which resist the trace movement analysis, an alternative analysis of Case checking without trace movement is argued for. The present study also shows that some reconstruction phenomena require trace movement, and finally presents a new proposal for the correct generalization, incorporating a structurally defined feature distinction (major/non-major), in which the trace distinction plays no role.

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ON ACROSS-THE-BOARD MOVEMENT

HITOSHI AKAHANE

1997 Volume 14 Pages 203-229
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.203

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This article argues for an Across-the-Board (ATB) movement analysis of parasitic gap (PG) constructions in parallel with coordinate constructions as proposed by Williams (1990). It is argued that the Minimal Link Condition (MLC) proposed by Chomsky (1995) is responsible for ATB movement. If the ATB movement analysis of PG constructions is adopted, the MLC offers a more principled account of the distribution of PGs. It is also argued that the notion of barrier still plays an important role in the Minimalist Program. By virtue of barriers, the reconstruction effects observed in PG constructions and coordinate constructions can be explained straightforwardly.

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TOUGH ADJECTIVES AS NULL DERIVATIONAL MORPHEMES

NAOSHI NAKAGAWA

1997 Volume 14 Pages 230-250
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.230

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In this paper, I will argue that English tough adjectives have a [-Interpretable] feature [+affix] which is marked [±strong]. When the [+affix] is strong, an overt incorporation of the complements is induced. When the [+affix] is weak, the covert derivation includes a step that derives a complex head made up of a tough adjective and the features of infinitival complements. This affixal nature comes from its semantic dependence on infinitives. It is interesting that they behave as null derivational morphemes that are subject to Myers's Generalization.

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IN DEFENSE OF HNPS AS A'-MOVEMENT

TOSHIAKI NISHIHARA

1997 Volume 14 Pages 251-269
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.251

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This paper aims to discuss some treatments of the non-canonical ordering observed in the phenomenon known as Heavy NP Shift, and to show that HNPS is best analyzed as A'(rightward)-movement. Through discussion it will be shown that A'-movement analysis can provide natural explanations for some properties of HNPS. It will also be shown that an NP-Incorporation analysis proposed by Stowell (1981) may account for the impossibility of HNPS from the indirect object in the double object construction.

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ON THE SEMANTICS AND DEVELOPMENT OF COPULATIVE PERCEPTION VERBS IN ENGLISH: A COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVE

KAZUMI TANIGUCHI

1997 Volume 14 Pages 270-299
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.270

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This paper considers copulative perception verbs in English (e.g., John looks happy; the flower smells sweet) in the framework of cognitive grammar. Their syntactic and semantic properties, i.e. the subcategorization of the adjectival complement, the alignment of the subject to the “logical object, ” and the implication of the actual Experiencer to be either the speaker or generic individuals, might be seen as idiosyncratic in synchronic terms, but they can be precisely characterized with regard to their diachronic development consisting of local analogical extensions from their precursor, each of which is motivated by cognitive-grammatical principles. This study will also demonstrate the process in which grammatical knowledge is organized with interaction to language usage, as proposed by the usage-based model of grammatical theory (Langacker (1988), Kemmer and Israel (1994), Israel (1996)).

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ON THE ROLE OF THE SUFFIX IN NP-INTERNAL MOVEMENT

JUNJI HAMAMATSU

1997 Volume 14 Pages 300-319
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.300

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This study concerns itself with the relation between the suffix of a derived noun and the possibility of NP-internal movement. We will begin with a summary account of Roeper's (1987) study on inheritance of a verb's argument structure to that of its derived noun. Subsequently, three varieties of nominals that involve movement will be investigated from a morphological perspective. With respect to each nominal, the advantage of a morphological approach over semantic explanations will be demonstrated.

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MINIMALISM AND LANGUAGE CHANGE: THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF TO-INFINITIVES IN ENGLISH

TOMOYUKI TANAKA

1997 Volume 14 Pages 320-341
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.320

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This paper explores the possibility of accounting for the historical development of English to-infinitives within the framework of the Minimalist Program, especially in terms of Checking Theory. It is argued that the category and formal features of the infinitive marker to changed in the course of Middle English, which in turn led to the appearance of some constructions involving to-infinitives, including exceptional case marking infinitives, split infinitives, subject-relation infinitival relatives, and proinfinitives, among others.

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ON APPARENT VIOLATION OF THE SUBJECT CONDITION

ICHIRO HIRATA

1997 Volume 14 Pages 342-347
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.342

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ECONOMY AND MINIMALITY

The Minimalist Program, by Noam Chomsky, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1995, i+420pp

MASAYUKI IKE-UCHI, MIYUKI NOJI

1997 Volume 14 Pages 348-369
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.348

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A REEXAMINATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF CHILDREN'S WORD FORMATION

The Lexicon in Acquisition, by Eve V. Clark, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1993, xii+306pp

YO MATSUMOTO

1997 Volume 14 Pages 370-392
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.370

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METRICAL STRUCTURE AS AN ORGANIZING PRINCIPLE OF PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

Metrical Stress Theory: Principles and Case Studies, by Bruce Hayes, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1995, xv+455pp

SHIN-ICHI TANAKA

1997 Volume 14 Pages 393-427
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.393

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FORM-MEANING INTERACTION IN DIACHRONY: A CASE STUDY FROM JAPANESE

The Evolution of Grammar: Tense, Aspect and Modality in the Languages of the World, by Joan Bybee, Revere Perkins, and William Pagliuca, The University of Chicago Press, 1994, xxii+398pp

KAORU HORIE

1997 Volume 14 Pages 428-449
Published: 1997
Released on J-STAGE: December 24, 2009

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.9793/elsj1984.14.428

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