17.988, Diss: Syntax: Littlefield: 'Syntax and Acquisition i...'

Mon Apr 3 13:36:14 UTC 2006

LINGUIST List: Vol-17-988. Mon Apr 03 2006. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 17.988, Diss: Syntax: Littlefield: 'Syntax and Acquisition i...'

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1)
Date: 31-Mar-2006
From: Heather Littlefield < h.littlefield at neu.edu >
Subject: Syntax and Acquisition in the Prepositional Domain: Evidence from English for fine-grained syntactic categories 

-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2006 09:33:10
From: Heather Littlefield < h.littlefield at neu.edu >
Subject: Syntax and Acquisition in the Prepositional Domain: Evidence from English for fine-grained syntactic categories 

Institution: Boston University 
Program: Graduate Program in Applied Linguistics 
Dissertation Status: Completed 
Degree Date: 2005 

Author: Heather Littlefield

Dissertation Title: Syntax and Acquisition in the Prepositional Domain:
Evidence from English for fine-grained syntactic categories 

Linguistic Field(s): Syntax

Subject Language(s): English (eng)

Dissertation Director(s):
Shanley Allen
Paul Hagstrom
Cathy O'Connor

Dissertation Abstract:

Prepositions represent a problematic, contradictory category for theories of syntax.  Despite a surge of interest in the 1970s which resulted in the recognition of prepositions as a major lexical category and raised questions about the actual membership of the category, little has been done to resolve fundamental questions about the status and structure of prepositions as a category.  More recently, syntactic theory has used the notions 'lexical' and 'functional' to classify categories, yet prepositions, as traditionally viewed, do not fit well into either classification, exhibiting features of both simultaneously.

This dissertation divides the traditional category into four related yet distinct categories on the basis of lexical and functional features. The binary distinction between lexical and functional categories is replaced with a two-dimensional binary distinction: [±Lexical, ±Functional].  [±Lexical] relates to the semantic properties of the element: [+Lexical] elements contribute salient semantic content, [-Lexical] ones are semantically light.  [±Functional] relates to the element's syntactic features: [+Functional] elements can license Case, and [-Functional] ones cannot.  In this way the traditional notion of 'category' is replaced by the notion 'domain' which encompasses these four related but distinct categories.

In the prepositional domain, the four categories are prepositional adverbs (put down the cup), particles (look up the number), semi-lexical prepositions (run to the store), and functional prepositions (translation of the book). Prepositional adverbs are uniquely lexical in contributing meaning, but lacking functional properties.  Functional prepositions contribute essentially no lexical information, but contain functional properties (Case-assignment).  Semi-lexical prepositions contain both lexical and functional features (theta-roles and Case).  Particles are idiomatic members of the domain: they contribute no lexical information independent of their verb and contain no functional qualities (they cannot assign Case). Empirical evidence is drawn from a longitudinal study of five children's early spontaneous production.  A strict developmental pattern was found, where elements were acquired in the following order: 1) adverbs, 2) particles, 3) semi-lexical prepositions, and 4) functional prepositions. This order can be seen as a natural consequence of the typology of categories proposed. 

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