Phi-Theory: Phi-Features Across Modules and Interfaces (Oxford Studies in Theoretical Linguistics)

392 Pages·2008·1.75 MB·English

by  Daniel Harbour

Phi Theory
OXFORD STUDIES IN THEORETICAL LINGUISTICS
general editors: David Adger, Queen Mary, University of London; Hagit
Borer,UniversityofSouthernCalifornia.
advisory editors: Stephen Anderson, Yale University; Daniel Büring, Uni-
versity of California, Los Angeles; Nomi Erteschik-Shir, Ben-Gurion University;
DonkaFarkas,UniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruz;AngelikaKratzer,Universityof
Massachusetts,Amherst;AndrewNevins,HarvardUniversity;ChristopherPotts,
UniversityofMassachusetts,Amherst;BarrySchein,UniversityofSouthernCalifor-
nia;PeterSvenonius,UniversityofTromsø;MoiraYip,UniversityCollegeLondon.
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Phi Theory
Phi-Features across Modules and Interfaces
Editedby
DANIEL HARBOUR, DAVID ADGER,
AND SUSANA BÉJAR
1
3
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Contents
GeneralPreface vii
NotesonContributors viii
Abbreviations x
1 WhyPhi? 1
DavidAdgerandDanielHarbour
2 FeaturesonBoundPronouns 35
IreneHeim
3 OntheSemanticMarkednessofPhi-Features 57
UliSauerland
4 Phi-AgreeandTheta-RelatedCase 83
MilanRˇezáˇc
5 ConditionsonPhi-Agree 130
SusanaBéjar
6 Phi-FeatureCompetitioninMorphologyandSyntax 155
MarthaMcGinnis
7 DiscontinuousAgreementandtheSyntax–MorphologyInterface 185
DanielHarbour
8 ThirdPersonMarkinginMenominee 221
JochenTrommer
9 WhenisaSyncretismmorethanaSyncretism? 251
HeidiHarley
10 Where’sPhi?AgreementasaPostsyntacticOperation 295
JonathanDavidBobaljik
11 Cross-ModularParallelsintheStudyofPhonandPhi 329
AndrewNevins
FeatureIndex 369
GrammaticalTopicIndex 371
LanguageIndex 375
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General Preface
Thetheoreticalfocusofthisseriesisontheinterfacesbetweensubcomponents
ofthehumangrammaticalsystemandthecloselyrelatedareaoftheinterfaces
betweenthedifferentsubdisciplinesoflinguistics.Thenotionof‘interface’has
becomecentralingrammaticaltheory(forinstance,inChomsky’srecentMin-
imalist Program) and in linguistic practice: work on the interfaces between
syntaxandsemantics,syntaxandmorphology,phonologyandphonetics,etc.
hasledtoadeeperunderstandingofparticularlinguisticphenomenaandof
thearchitectureofthelinguisticcomponentofthemind/brain.
The series covers interfaces between core components of gram-
mar, including syntax/morphology, syntax/semantics, syntax/phonology,
syntax/pragmatics, morphology/phonology, phonology/phonetics, phonet-
ics/speech processing, semantics/pragmatics, intonation/discourse structure,
aswellasissuesinthewaythatthesystemsofgrammarinvolvingtheseinter-
face areas are acquired and deployed in use (including language acquisition,
language dysfunction, and language processing). It demonstrates, we hope,
that proper understandings of particular linguistic phenomena, languages,
language groups, or inter-language variations all require reference to inter-
faces.
The series is open to work by linguists of all theoretical persuasions and
schoolsofthought.Amainrequirementisthatauthorsshouldwritesoasto
beunderstoodbycolleaguesinrelatedsubfieldsoflinguisticsandbyscholars
incognatedisciplines.
The current volume seeks to bring together disparate strands of research
ê
on -features across the modules of morphology, syntax, and semantics. It
also attempts to begin to delineate a programme of research that focuses on
theformalpropertiesofthesefeaturesandwhattheyhavetotellusaboutthe
natureoftheinterfacesbetweengrammaticalmodules.
DavidAdger
HagitBorer
Notes on Contributors
DavidAdgerisProfessorofLinguisticsatQueenMary,UniversityofLondon.
HeisauthorofCoreSyntax(OUP2003)andco-editorofthejournalSyntax.
He has published in various journals including Language, Linguistic Inquiry,
andNaturalLanguageandLinguisticTheoryonsyntaxanditsinterfaceswith
othercomponentsofthegrammar.
Susana Béjar is a lecturer at the University of Toronto. Her research inves-
tigates complexity in morphosyntactic systems. She has published in Syntax
ê
andRevuequébecoisedelinguistiqueandhasaforthcomingbookon -features
withOUP.
Jonathan David Bobaljik is a professor of linguistics at the University of
Connecticut.Hehaswrittenwidelyonaspectsofsyntax,morphology,andthe
relationship between them. His publications have appeared in the journals
Linguistic Inquiry, Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, and Journal of
Linguistics.
DanielHarbourisalectureratQueenMary,UniversityofLondon.Hispri-
mary research interest is features, from interpretation to pronunciation. His
book publications include Morphosemantic Number (Springer 2007) and his
articleshaveappearedinSyntaxandNaturalLanguageandLinguisticTheory.
Heidi Harley is an associate professor of linguistics at the University of
Arizona. She has interests in morphology and the syntactic representation
of event and argument structure. Her publications include English Words: A
LinguisticIntroduction(Blackwell2006)andpapersinthejournalsLanguage,
LinguisticInquiryandStudiaLinguistica.
IreneHeimisProfessorofLinguisticsatMITandisco-editorofthejournal
NaturalLanguageSemantics.Shehaspublishedwidelyinsemanticsandisco-
authorofSemanticsinGenerativeGrammar(Blackwells1998).
MarthaMcGinnisisanassistantprofessorintheDepartmentofLinguistics
attheUniversityofCalgary.Herresearchdealswiththearchitectureofgram-
ê
mar with an empirical focus on argument structure and -features. She has
publishedinthejournalsLinguisticInquiryandLanguage.
NotesonContributors ix
AndrewNevinsisanassistantprofessoroflinguisticsatHarvardUniversity.
Hisresearchspanstopicsinphonology,morphophonology,morphology,and
syntax,andhispublicationshaveappearedinLinguisticInquiry,NaturalLan-
guageandLinguisticTheory,andEuskalingua.
Milan Rˇezácˇ is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Nantes. He is
interestedinthesyntaxofagreementandnon-thematicpositions.Hispubli-
cations on cyclicity, expletives, and agreement interactions have appeared in
suchjournalsasLinguisticInquiry,Syntax,andLingua.
Uli Sauerland leads a research group at the Center for General Linguistics
(ZAS) in Berlin. His publications span syntax, semantics, and pragmatics
and have appeared in such journals as Linguistic Inquiry, Natural Language
Semantics,andLinguisticsandPhilosophy.
Jochen Trommer is a lecturer at the Institute of Linguistics at the Uni-
versity of Leipzig. His main research areas are theoretical morphology and
phonology,especiallyinDistributedMorphologyandOptimalityTheory.His
publications have appeared in the Yearbook of Morphology and Linguistische
Berichte.