Keywords - L322.5 F97

Intermediate Syntax

Week 5: Raising, Case, and the Passive Voice

Case

• Special property of NP
• Case Filter
• First strategy - raise-
• to VP (adjoin, or sister to v-bar)
• to TP (etc.)
• nominative Case assign to left to subject NP (Chomsky and his gaggle)

Two arguments

• Let's return to structure (9)
• It has two arguments <theme: he piano> and <agent: Liberace>
• Neither of these arguments have been formally placed in the syntax.
• One of them is realized as the direct object--the theme.
• Here, the theta role theme is crucial.
• Now we have the VP 'play the piano'.
• What about the agent?
• There is no agreement on this, but some linguists believe it is adjoined to VP -
• or alternatively in the X-bar format, it becomes a sister of V-bar:
• this is account for by the theta hierarchy.
• This, too, is controversial:

(18)     agent > theme.

• We will add to the theta hierarchy during the course.
• The lowest member in the hierarchy is assigned to the complement.
• The highest member is assigned to the external argument (the subject).

The passive voice and raising

• In the passive the theta hierarchy is overridden
• the theme is raised to the external argument (the subject)

(19)     Liberace played the piano.

(20)     The piano was played by Liberace.

• Tense is the first operator we have seen
• Voice is the second operator.
• Next tentative step:
• In propositional structure, the argument of voice is V-proposition.
• [VOICE [±Passive]].
• Argument of voice is E-proposition.
• [TENSE [+Past] < [VOICE [+Passive] < PLAY <theme: PIANO> <agent: LIBERACE> ] > ] >.
• D-structure.
• The fun begins here.

course outline.322