Keywords - L322.3

Intermediate Syntax

Week 3: The Logical Structure of the Noun Phrase--Part 2.

• Phonological Form

• The phonological form is spelled out late
• All syntactic and morphological processes must apply first.
• These will be covered in next section.

• The default for nouns (and verbs) is that the lexical form splits into a stem and an inflectional suffix
  • This might be considered a lexical process called Spell-out
  • The default applies to BOOK, for example:

(1)

• Singular nouns do not split into a stem plus a derivational suffix, with the exception of a few Latinate nouns: radi+us, radi+i).
  • This analysis may be wrong. The singular form is the root 'radi' plus the stem extender "us": "radi+us". The stem extender disappears in the plural and in derivational forms.
  • If so, then words like radius are irregular in their stem formation, not in their plural formation.

• Irregular forms

• FOOT expands into two lexical forms (words): foot, feet.

• FOOT is a set of lexical features assigned to the lexical entry for foot.
• FOOT+[-Pl] is spelled out as foot.
• FOOT+[+Pl] is spelled out as feet

• Irregular nouns:
  • Irregular nouns such as foot, feet do not split into a stem plus a morpheme.
  • Because the feature [±Plural] may be either [-Plural] or [+Plural], the lexical entry FOOT has two lexical items: foot, feet.
  • Other nouns of this type: goose, tooth, mouse, louse.
  • Some nouns have no distinct plural form: deer, elk, moose, sheep. There is no splitting here.
  • Some nouns take the suffix '-en': ox, oxen; child, children; brother, brethren (in the religious sense).
  • The most exceptional noun is 'child'. It has an irregular ending and an irregular stem: child, child-r+en. Phonologically, the vowel changes in the stem.

• Definiteness

• Operator

• Discourse item
• Real World Knowledge (the sun, the dog)
• [DEFINITE] (or [DEF])
• Demonstratives

• [+Dem]
• [+Close]

• Category: D (Det, Determiner)

• Nouns as arguments of number

• Number: [±Pl]
• Number = [+Bound, +Weak]
• [+Pl] morphemic form:

• default = '-s'.
• rare = '-en'.
• merge: mice, teeth, lice, geese, feet.
• unmarked merge: deer, antelope, sheep, elk
• plural only: cattle, police; scissors, pants, shears, tights

• Qu < NP>

• Definiteness:

• [±Def]
• [+Def]

• [±Dem]

• [±Prox]

• [+Dem] = this
• [-Dem = that

• [D NULL] is [-Def]. A book <- [-Def] ONE BOOK.

• Count:

• [±Count]
• Lexically derived plural or singular.

• Quant:

• Quant --> [±Count]
• [+Count] --> all definite numerals
• [-Count] --> SOME, MANY, MUCH, FEW, A FEW, SEVERAL.

• Determinate:

• [±Prox]
  • [+Prox] --> this, these
  • [-Prox] --> that, those

• Spell out

• [+Def, -Dem] = the
• [-Def] = a/an, one, NULL

 

TWO	spell out	lexical features
Qu		category
+		Count
--		Plural
+		Quantified
+		+FV (Fixed Value)
	two

• and so forth.
• Qu and D are both operators.
  • Quantification is implicit in all English noun phrases
    • Yet to be discussed are the non-countable quantifiers (many, few, etc.)
    • No countable noun can be undesignated for the feature of quantification.
      • In Hungarian and Chinese, nouns can be unmodified for quantification.
  • Definiteness is implicit in all English noun phrases.
    • Every NP is either definite or indefinite
    • No NP can be left unmodified for the feature of definiteness.
    • Generics are special problem, but are probably indefinite as they do not point to the existence of a specific object.
• The argument structure for the NP (as far as we are concerned) is the following:
  • UQ < D < Qu < N >>> (or)
  • UQUANT <DEF < QUANT < OBJECT >>>.
    • This is probably the more accurate representation.
• There are other operators, but we probably won't find the time to cover them.
• Lexical entry for ONE:

• The third operator for nouns: Universal Quantifiers:
  • There are five known ones:
    • all, both, each, every, any
  • We won't be concerned with the meaning of these, just the relevant syntactic features.
  • both:
    • both books
    • both two books
    • *both rice
    • *both book
    • *both three books
    • both = +Ct_Inh, +Ct; +Pl_Inh, +Pl; +Dual_Inh, +Dual.
  • all:
    • all three books
    • *all two books
    • all books
    • *all book
    • all rice
    • *all rices
    • all = [-Pl_Inh, -Ct_Inh, +Dual_Inh, -Dual].
  • each:
    • each book
    • *each books
    • *each rice
    • each two books (= each set of two books)
    • each = +Ct_Inh, +Ct; -Pl_Inh, Pl.
  • every
    • every book
    • *every books
    • *every rice
    • every two books (= every set of two books)
    • every = +Ct_Inh, +Ct; -Pl_Inh, Pl.
  • any
    • any book = any one book
    • any books [Q -Qf]
    • any rice
    • any two books
    • any = -Ct_Inh, -Pl_Inh
  • no
    • no book = no one book, no is Neg, one = Q.
    • no books = negative quantifier, -:Pl_Inh, -Ct_Inh.
• Note: The count/plural algorthm applies to universal quantifiers as well:
  • any rice [-Pl]
  • any books = ANY NULL BOOK [+Pl]
  • any book = ANY ONE BOOK [-Pl]