15.3167, Diss: Syntax: Mohr: Clausal architecture and Subject...

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LINGUIST List: Vol-15-3167. Thu Nov 11 2004. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 15.3167, Diss: Syntax: Mohr: Clausal architecture and Subject...

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1)
Date: 09-Nov-2004
From: Sabine Mohr < sabine at ifla.uni-stuttgart.de >
Subject: Clausal architecture and subject positions: impersonal constructions in the Germanic languages


	
-------------------------Message 1 ----------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 12:36:02
From: Sabine Mohr < sabine at ifla.uni-stuttgart.de >
Subject: Clausal architecture and subject positions: impersonal constructions in the Germanic languages


Institution: University of Stuttgart
Program: Department of Linguistics and English
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2004

Author: Sabine Mohr

Dissertation Title: Clausal architecture and subject positions: impersonal
constructions in the Germanic languages

Linguistic Field(s): Linguistic Theories; Syntax

Subject Language(s):
Dutch (Language Code: DUT)
English (Language Code: ENG)
German, Standard (Language Code: GER)
Icelandic (Language Code: ICE)
Norwegian, Bokmaal (Language Code: NRR)

Language Family(ies):  Germanic


Dissertation Director(s):
Artemis Alexiadou
Anders Holmberg
Ian G. Roberts

Dissertation Abstract:

This thesis consists of two major parts, a theoretical one and a practical one.


In the theoretical part I suggest a universal, head-initial clausal
architecture for both VO- and OV-languages, whose most important
characteristics are the following. All direct objects are merged in SpecVP,
there are at least two subject positions in the Split IP and definite
subjects obligatorily have to move to the higher one, Verb Second clauses
always involve the realisation of a phrase of the Split CP, different word
orders are due to an interplay between different head- and XP-movements and
checking conditions.

Another central topic is the question of the status of the EPP (which was
originally formulated as the requirement that every clause must have a
subject) in a system with several subject positions. I argue that the
EPP-feature's only task is to make sure that every instance of
head-movement is immediately followed by merge or move of an XP so that
head-movement meets the New Extension Condition which reintroduces
head-movement as a narrow syntactic operation.

In the practical part I analyse thetic constructions (especially Transitive
Expletive Constructions), impersonal passives, weather verb constructions
and impersonal psych verb constructions in German, Dutch, English,
Icelandic and the Mainland Scandinavian languages against the background of
the theoretical framework developed in part 1.  I argue that the differences
in the distribution of the "expletive" elements in the impersonal
constructions in the various languages - and the (un-)grammaticality of
these constructions in the first place - is due to the fact that the
languages employ different "expletive" elements. The latter include
featureless pure expletives, event arguments which carry a [+specific]
feature and quasi-arguments which are associated with a [+specific] feature
and a Nominative Case feature but not expletive pro whose existence I
contest. The different features require these elements to show up in or
pass through different positions and therefore account for word order
differences and correlations like the presence or absence of a Definiteness
Effect.




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LINGUIST List: Vol-15-3167