Mark Volpe: Non-Lexical-semantic PS building

[Martha McGinnis]

Dear DM-listers,
    I've been interested in how specific syntactic
structures are derived in a post-syntax lexical
Vocabulary Insertion framework; that is, where the
former-Projection Principle assumed that the lexical
semantics of the Verb, unergative vs unaccusative,
etc., would determine the phrase sructure of the
syntax, other frameworks, e.g., LMBM, which have
Lexicons, allow for early selection, though insertion
and closed-class realization would presumably be
post-syntactic (and this has its own pitfalls
requiring a story). How does DM insure that
Unaccusative structures are built to accompany
Unaccusative Verbs despite post-syntactic Vocab.
Insertion? It seems to me that the building of an
Unaccusative syntax pre-selection would be
unmotivated, except perhaps by the language module's
want of variety, "Well, the last 3 structures we built
had Agents in Subject position, let's do an
Unaccusative for the hell of it".
    Needless to say, I'm seriously missing something
here. Could you tell me how late lexical selection
works?
                    Thanks in advance,
                    Mark Volpe, SUNY-Stony Brook

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