John Bowers
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262014311
- eISBN:
- 9780262289252
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262014311.001.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This book proposes a radically new approach to argument structure that has the potential to unify data from a wide range of different language types in terms of a simple and universal syntactic ...
More
This book proposes a radically new approach to argument structure that has the potential to unify data from a wide range of different language types in terms of a simple and universal syntactic structure. In many ways, the proposed theory is the natural extension of three leading ideas in the literature: The minimalist approach to Case theory (particularly Noam Chomsky’s idea that Case is assigned under the Agree function relation); the idea of introducing arguments in specifiers of functional categories rather than in projections of lexical categories; and the neo-Davidsonian approach to argument structure represented in the work of Parsons and others. The book pulls together these strands in the literature and shapes them into a unified theory. These ideas, together with certain basic assumptions—notably the idea that the initial order of merge of the three basic argument categories of Agent, Theme, and Affectee is just the opposite of what has been almost universally assumed in the literature—lead to a fundamental rethinking of argument structure. The book argues that every argument is merged as the specifier of a particular type of light verb category and that these functional argument categories merge in bottom-to-top fashion in accordance with a fixed Universal Order of Merge. In the hierarchical structures that result from these operations, Affectee arguments will be highest, Theme arguments next highest, and Agent arguments lowest—exactly the opposite of the usual assumption.Less
This book proposes a radically new approach to argument structure that has the potential to unify data from a wide range of different language types in terms of a simple and universal syntactic structure. In many ways, the proposed theory is the natural extension of three leading ideas in the literature: The minimalist approach to Case theory (particularly Noam Chomsky’s idea that Case is assigned under the Agree function relation); the idea of introducing arguments in specifiers of functional categories rather than in projections of lexical categories; and the neo-Davidsonian approach to argument structure represented in the work of Parsons and others. The book pulls together these strands in the literature and shapes them into a unified theory. These ideas, together with certain basic assumptions—notably the idea that the initial order of merge of the three basic argument categories of Agent, Theme, and Affectee is just the opposite of what has been almost universally assumed in the literature—lead to a fundamental rethinking of argument structure. The book argues that every argument is merged as the specifier of a particular type of light verb category and that these functional argument categories merge in bottom-to-top fashion in accordance with a fixed Universal Order of Merge. In the hierarchical structures that result from these operations, Affectee arguments will be highest, Theme arguments next highest, and Agent arguments lowest—exactly the opposite of the usual assumption.
John Bowers
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262014311
- eISBN:
- 9780262289252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262014311.003.0006
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
The alternative approach to argument structure proposed in this book implies that the syntactic system of natural language is remarkably simple, comprised of a reasonably small number of universal ...
More
The alternative approach to argument structure proposed in this book implies that the syntactic system of natural language is remarkably simple, comprised of a reasonably small number of universal syntactic categories. These syntactic categories, some of which may be optional, merge with lexical roots and outputs of previous Merge operations in a fixed order specified by the Universal Order of Merge. The approach requires no operations other than Merge, Agree, and feature matching. In addition, it incorporates a variety of transformational relations (also known as the displacement property) in a maximally simple and straightforward fashion by virtue of the interaction between the Agree/EPP system and the c-selection properties of argument categories. Another radical departure from standard approaches to argument structure is that the three primary argument categories—Agent, Theme, and Affectee—are merged in the order which is the exact opposite of the traditional model.Less
The alternative approach to argument structure proposed in this book implies that the syntactic system of natural language is remarkably simple, comprised of a reasonably small number of universal syntactic categories. These syntactic categories, some of which may be optional, merge with lexical roots and outputs of previous Merge operations in a fixed order specified by the Universal Order of Merge. The approach requires no operations other than Merge, Agree, and feature matching. In addition, it incorporates a variety of transformational relations (also known as the displacement property) in a maximally simple and straightforward fashion by virtue of the interaction between the Agree/EPP system and the c-selection properties of argument categories. Another radical departure from standard approaches to argument structure is that the three primary argument categories—Agent, Theme, and Affectee—are merged in the order which is the exact opposite of the traditional model.
John Bowers
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262014311
- eISBN:
- 9780262289252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262014311.003.0001
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
The standard approach to argument structure has many empirical deficiencies, is not general enough to incorporate well-known descriptive generalizations, and, furthermore, fails to take into account ...
More
The standard approach to argument structure has many empirical deficiencies, is not general enough to incorporate well-known descriptive generalizations, and, furthermore, fails to take into account languages in which argument structure is expressed via grammatical function changing morphology on the verbal root. This book proposes a radically different approach to argument structure whereby functional categories merge in bottom-to-top fashion with a predicate or with the output of previous Merge operations in conjunction with a fixed Universal Order of Merge. The approach involves three primary argument types—Agent, Theme, and Affectee—whose hierarchical structures are exactly the opposite of what is normally expected. There are also various kinds of secondary arguments, including Instrument, Benefactive, Source, and Goal.Less
The standard approach to argument structure has many empirical deficiencies, is not general enough to incorporate well-known descriptive generalizations, and, furthermore, fails to take into account languages in which argument structure is expressed via grammatical function changing morphology on the verbal root. This book proposes a radically different approach to argument structure whereby functional categories merge in bottom-to-top fashion with a predicate or with the output of previous Merge operations in conjunction with a fixed Universal Order of Merge. The approach involves three primary argument types—Agent, Theme, and Affectee—whose hierarchical structures are exactly the opposite of what is normally expected. There are also various kinds of secondary arguments, including Instrument, Benefactive, Source, and Goal.
John Bowers
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262014311
- eISBN:
- 9780262289252
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262014311.003.0003
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This chapter examines Affectee, the third primary argument type after Agent and Theme, and shows how it manifests itself. It considers the alternation between prepositional dative and double-object ...
More
This chapter examines Affectee, the third primary argument type after Agent and Theme, and shows how it manifests itself. It considers the alternation between prepositional dative and double-object constructions, and suggests that the dative argument in the first and the indirect object in the second are both products of AffP. The chapter also argues that Affectee is merged later than Theme in the Universal Order of Merge (UOM), and then contrasts Affectee with Goal, a superficially similar but quite distinct secondary argument introduced in the UOM after Ag but before Th. It furthermore discusses benefactive AffPs, marked with the preposition for, and shows that they must be distinguished, in a parallel fashion, from Benefactive, another secondary argument which is also merged between Ag and Th. In addition, the chapter looks at possessors of verbs of possession and experiencers of psychological predicates, and considers how these various arguments are realized in Russian. It concludes with a discussion of scope and how it provides a new source of evidence in support of the UOM.Less
This chapter examines Affectee, the third primary argument type after Agent and Theme, and shows how it manifests itself. It considers the alternation between prepositional dative and double-object constructions, and suggests that the dative argument in the first and the indirect object in the second are both products of AffP. The chapter also argues that Affectee is merged later than Theme in the Universal Order of Merge (UOM), and then contrasts Affectee with Goal, a superficially similar but quite distinct secondary argument introduced in the UOM after Ag but before Th. It furthermore discusses benefactive AffPs, marked with the preposition for, and shows that they must be distinguished, in a parallel fashion, from Benefactive, another secondary argument which is also merged between Ag and Th. In addition, the chapter looks at possessors of verbs of possession and experiencers of psychological predicates, and considers how these various arguments are realized in Russian. It concludes with a discussion of scope and how it provides a new source of evidence in support of the UOM.
