15.2695, Diss: Syntax/Semantics: Jun: 'Syntactic...'

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LINGUIST List: Vol-15-2695. Wed Sep 29 2004. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 15.2695, Diss: Syntax/Semantics: Jun: 'Syntactic...'

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1)
Date: 29-Sep-2004
From: Jong Sup Jun < jongsupjun at korea.com >
Subject: Syntactic and Semantic Bases of Case Assignment: A Study of Verbal Nouns, Light Verbs and Dative


	
-------------------------Message 1 ----------------------------------
Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2004 14:33:16
From: Jong Sup Jun < jongsupjun at korea.com >
Subject: Syntactic and Semantic Bases of Case Assignment: A Study of Verbal Nouns, Light Verbs and Dative

Institution: Brandeis University
Program: Program in Linguistics & Cognitive Science
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 24-Jun-1905

Author: Jong Sup Jun

Dissertation Title: Syntactic and Semantic Bases of Case Assignment: A Study of
Verbal Nouns, Light Verbs and Dative

Linguistic Field(s): Linguistic Theories; Semantics; Syntax

Subject Language(s):
English (Code: ENG)
Hindi (Code: HND)
Japanese (Code: JPN)
Korean (Code: KKN)


Dissertation Director(s):
James Pustejovsky
Ray Jackendoff
Joan Maling

Dissertation Abstract:

Case is described in terms of its function and meaning, i.e. syntax and
semantics. Theorists, however, have tried to reduce case to either
syntactic or semantic phenomena. Given that case has both function and
meaning, the null hypothesis is that case is both syntactic and semantic.
In this dissertation, I explore the syntactic and semantic bases of case
assignment. The key idea is that an NP may get nominative/accusative
because its syntax and semantics collaborate to mark it so. Syntax and
semantics have independent principles to determine case. Surface case
is the result of resolution between syntactic and semantic case. In most
cases, syntactic case matches its corresponding semantic case, and
complete redundancy occurs. Sometimes, syntactic case conflicts with
semantic case; languages may differ in choosing syntactic case over
semantic case, semantic case over syntactic case, either syntactic or
semantic case, both syntactic and semantic cases, etc. I develop formal
machinery under conceptual semantics (Jackendoff 1990, 1997, 2002)
and the case-in-tiers theory (Yip, Maling and Jackendoff 1987; Maling
1993; Maling, Jun and Kim 2001) to express the fundamental idea that
case is both syntactic and semantic. Empirical support for this theory
comes from the aspectual nominal construction (=ANC) in Korean and
Japanese, the light verb construction (=LVC) in Korean/Japanese and
Hindi, and the dative subject construction in Old English. A detailed
cross-linguistic investigation of these constructions uncovers a number
of problems that are hard to deal with in either a purely syntax-based or
a purely semantics-based case theory. Once we try to understand case
in terms of both function and meaning, however, most, if not all,
difficulties in these constructions find a natural explanation. Based on my
investigation of case within conceptual semantics, I conclude that the
role of case in grammar is to establish correspondence between syntax
and semantics. (Advisor: Ray Jackendoff)



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