33.2017, Diss: General Linguistics; Semantics; Syntax: Maura O'Leary: ''About Time: Lexical, Structural, and Discourse Constraints on the Temporal Interpretation of Nominal Predicates''

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LINGUIST List: Vol-33-2017. Thu Jun 16 2022. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 33.2017, Diss: General Linguistics; Semantics; Syntax: Maura O'Leary: ''About Time: Lexical, Structural, and Discourse Constraints on the Temporal Interpretation of Nominal Predicates''

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Date: Thu, 16 Jun 2022 00:36:06
From: Maura O'Leary [mauraoleary339 at gmail.com]
Subject: About Time: Lexical, Structural, and Discourse Constraints on the Temporal Interpretation of Nominal Predicates:

 
Institution: University of California, Los Angeles 
Program: Department of Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2022 

Author: Maura O'Leary

Dissertation Title: About Time: Lexical, Structural, and Discourse Constraints
on the Temporal Interpretation of Nominal Predicates 

Dissertation URL:  https://www.proquest.com/pagepdf/2672360192?accountid=14512

Linguistic Field(s): General Linguistics
                     Semantics
                     Syntax


Dissertation Director(s):
Jessica Rett
Tim Stowell
Dylan Bumford
Ethan Poole
Judith Tonhauser

Dissertation Abstract:

The goal of this dissertation is to clarify and account for the patterns that
underlie nominal property times. I argue that nominal property times are
directly affected by sentential tense operators.

Chapter 1 introduces the problem at hand – namely that nominal property times
seem to have an unpredictably large set of possible property times.

Chapter 2 illustrates that different nominal predicates exhibit different sets
of available property times. I propose that stage nouns naturally separate
into two classes based on their lexical aspect: (i) nouns which have property
times which always overlap one of the time variables in the utterance and (ii)
nouns which have property times that overlap or precede one of the time
variables. I call these “inflexible” and “flexible” nouns, respectively.

In Chapter 3, I show that local binding determines whether nouns are
interpreted relative to the utterance time or to a time introduced by a tense
operator. This claim is based on data in which the noun’s location in the LF
is independently known (e.g., existential ‘there’ constructions, de dicto
readings) – in such cases, the noun is reliably interpreted relative to the
nearest scoping lambda abstractor. Given that similar claims have been made in
the literature for other predicate types, I broaden my proposal in the latter
half of the chapter to claim that the time arguments of all predicates are
locally bound. This dissertation therefore offers strong support that tenses
are sentential operators, counter to previous claims.

Chapter 4 explores the property times of predicates which refer to familiar
referents in an extended discourse. The property times of such predicates are
shown to inherit their property times from predicates earlier in the
discourse. I extend Tonhauser’s (2006) Discourse Representation Theory model
of similar data, modifying her account to attribute property time inheritance
effects to familiarity at the predicate level, rather than definiteness at the
DP level. This modification is based on evidence from definite DPs licensed by
uniqueness and definite DPs containing multiple predicates of varying
familiarity. As with the claims of Chapter 3, the claims in this chapter hold
for all predicate types.




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