Keywords - L322.2 S99

Intermediate Syntax

Week 2

Contents: NP | Quantifiers | Logical Structure of NP |

Full Notes on noun agreement

Week 2: The Logical Structure of the Noun Phrase--Part 1.

• NP
• N head of NP

• Object
  • Thing
  • Container
  • Ruler
  • Part-Whole
  • Description of
• Features
  • Inherent
    • Category
      • N, V, A, P, Q, D, C, and so forth
    • Count/Mass
      • [±Ct]
    • Gender
      • [±Gender-Specific] ([±GS])
        • [±Fem]
    • Number [±Pl] in certain nouns:
      • If [-Ct]
        • number is inherent
          • police, cattle: ([+Pl]);
          • news: ([-Pl]));
          • [-Ct] (mass) = [-Pl].
      • If [+Ct]
        • Acquired
          • Number [±Pl]
          • Case [±Nom]
    • Case [±Nom]
      • Acquired in all nouns
• Lexical entries
  • [+Ct]

DOG	Lexical Item
dog	orthographic form
+	Count

POLICE	Lexical Item
police	orthographic form
-	Count

WATER	Lexical Item
water	orthographic form
-	Count

• Expanded Lexical Entry: phonological form, category, [±Plural], [±GS] (Gender-Specific), [±Nom]

BOOK	lexical item
N	category
book	orthographic form
/bËk/	phonological form
+	Count
	Plural
-	GS
	Case

POLICE	lexical item
N	category
police	orthographic form
/p-lîs/	phonological form
-	Count
+	Plural
-	GS
	Case

WATER	Lexical Item
N	category
water	orthographic form
/wátr/	phonological form
-	Count
-	Plural
-	GS
	Case

• Quantifiers

 

• ONE = [-Plural]
• TWO, THREE, ... , INFINITY, any number greater than 1.0 = [+Plural]
• Inherent feature: Number

[THING], [CONTAINER], [RULER], [RELATION], [PART OF], [DESCRIPTION OF]

• Logical Structure

(1)

• Category assignment
  • Each form is assigned a category as determined by its lexical entry.

BOOK	lexical item
N	category
book	orthographic form
/bËk/	phonological form
+	Count
-	GS
	Plural
	Case

The new slot is category, and here it is N. Therefore, in the above tree structure, N is selected and assigned to [THING].

• Naming the phrase

• Normally a phrase is named after the head of the phrase:
  • VP -> V NP
  • NP -> N PP
  • AP ->A AP
  • PP -> P NP
• Therefore:

(2)

• Normally, such a phrase is called NP.(2)
  • Q is seen as a modifier
  • Q is an operator
  • As such it is an operator
  • book is its argument -- its complement.
  • Why is it called an NP'?
  • Because the phrase (*QP) occurs within the project of an object: <object> in (2).
  • <object> is always a noun, N.
  • The projection is of N, not of Q
  • Hence NP:

(3)

Lexical Entry--one more slot:

Arguments assigned and the theta roles assigned to them:

 

CUP	lexical item
N	category
cup	orthographic form
/k-p/	phonological form
+	Count
	Plural
-	GS
	Case
<theme>	arguments and associate theta roles
<object>	logico-semantic feature (major)
[Container]	Semantic Feature (minor)
[Concrete]	selectional restriction

• Government

• C-command
• Restricted to single case
• governor

• governee

(4)

(5)

No agreement (non-matching of features)

Determiners and 'a', 'one', and [null].

• the is [+Def]
• 'a' is forma quantifier that must agree with the determiner in definiteness: [a book]
• Same holds for 'one'.: one book.
• 'one' is emphatic,a' is not.
• The singular quantifier is [NULL] in 'the book.
• All of these are formally ONE.
• lexical entry for 'a', 'one,' the base form

Base form for ONE:

ONE	lexical item
Qu	catgegory
<theme?>	arguments and associated theta roles
+	Count
-	Plural
-	Definite
"1"	semantic form

The base for ONE is linked to lexical items which have the orthographic and phonological information:

lexical entry for 'a'

ONE	lexical item
a	orthographic form
/´/ (schwa)	phonological form
<theme?>	arguments and associated theta roles
+	Count
-	Plural
-	Definite

orthographic form for '[NULL]" = 1:

ONE	lexical item
[NULL]	orthographic form
/ [NULL]/	phonological form
<theme?>	arguments and associated theta roles
+	Count
-	Plural
+	Definite

Two more feature slots: selectional restrictions, semantic features.

CUP	lexical item
cup	orthographic form
/k-p/	phonological form
<theme>	arguments and associate theta roles
+	count
	number
-	GS
	Case
[Concrete]	selectional restriction
[CONTAINER]	Semantic Feature (major)