16.1746, Diss: Syntax: Vermeulen: 'The Syntax of External ...'

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LINGUIST List: Vol-16-1746. Fri Jun 03 2005. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 16.1746, Diss: Syntax: Vermeulen: 'The Syntax of External ...'

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1)
Date: 02-Jun-2005
From: Reiko Vermeulen < r.vermeulen at ucl.ac.uk >
Subject: The Syntax of External Possession: Its Basis in Theta-theory

	
-------------------------Message 1 ----------------------------------
Date: Fri, 03 Jun 2005 14:08:20
From: Reiko Vermeulen < r.vermeulen at ucl.ac.uk >
Subject: The Syntax of External Possession: Its Basis in Theta-theory



Institution: University College London
Program: PhD in Linguistics
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2005

Author: Reiko Vermeulen

Dissertation Title: The Syntax of External Possession: Its Basis in Theta-theory

Dissertation URL:  http://www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/reiko/

Linguistic Field(s): Syntax

Subject Language(s): Japanese (JPN)
                     Korean (KKN)


Dissertation Director(s):
Michael Brody
Ad Neeleman

Dissertation Abstract:

This thesis examines the phenomenon of external possession, in which a
possessor of a verb's argument is licensed syntactically as an argument of
the verb. I provide a uniform account of external possession in Japanese
and Korean in terms of a thematic operation.

I develop a theory of theta-role assignment which takes seriously the widely
held assumption that theta-roles are purely syntactic objects and hence exist
independently of the semantics associated with them. This view suggests
that theta-roles can be dissociated from the semantics determined by the
predicate's lexical meaning and be re-associated with distinct semantics
made available during the course of a derivation. (Samek-Lodovici 2003).

In external possession, I argue that Possessor semantics is re-associated
with a theta-role of the verb. This process is possible when the possessor is
realised as a resumptive pro within the projection of the possessee
argument, which has the consequence that the semantic representation of the
possessee argument contains a variable corresponding to the possessor. The
verb subsequently assigns the re-associated theta-role to the external possessor.

I show that the present theory can explain the well-known obligatory
'affected' reading of the external possessor of an object and the lack of
it for the external possessor of a subject. I argue against analyses which
postulate movement of the external possessor or attribute its construal to
purely semantic or pragmatic inferences, as the phenomenon is more
restricted than such analyses suggest.

External possessors in Japanese and Korean take on the case of their
possessees. In discussing other types of multiple nominative constructions,
I demonstrate that such constructions do not necessarily involve a thematic
operation. I also show that for case-licensing in these constructions,
structures containing multiple specifiers as well as those with multiple
copies of the licensing head are required.




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LINGUIST List: Vol-16-1746