The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.
The future of English linguistics as envisaged by the editors of Topics in English Linguistics lies in empirical studies which integrate work in English linguistics into general and theoretical linguistics on the one hand, and comparative linguistics on the other. The TiEL series features volumes that present interesting new data and analyses, and above all fresh approaches that contribute to the overall aim of the series, which is to further outstanding research in English linguistics.
The study The Non-verbal Type of Small Clauses in English and Lithuanian is one of the first attempts to apply the methods of generative grammar to the analysis of a fragment of Lithuanian grammar, i.e., constructions with secondary predicates of the type V [NP1 NP2] and V [NP1 AP], the sub-strings [NP1 NP2] and [NP1 AP] of which in generative works are usually called small clauses. The investigation is contrastive; the evidence of Lithuanian is compared with that of English. Whereas the syntactic study of secondary predicates in English has a certain tradition, traditional Lithuanian grammar does not have a single notion to what is known elsewhere as secondary predicates. In Lithuanian traditional grammar secondary predicates are usually referred to as a part of compound nominal predicates, predicative attributes, a part of complex objects and are not singled out as a distinct category but are given different, often contradictory treatments. Thus the research can be considered pioneering work as far as Lithuanian is concerned. It not only contributes to the theoretical discussion about the adequate way of dealing with secondary predicates in Government and Binding framework, but can also be considered instrumental in propagating modern methods of syntactic analysis in tradition-ridden Lithuanian grammar. The present work addresses an important problem whether the Lithuanian and English constructions under investigation express a subject-predicate relationship and form a constituent and can be described as having the syntactic function of a clause. For this purpose, the syntactic and semantic as well as clausal properties of the sequences [NP1 NP2] and [NP1 AP] in the two languages under consideration are discussed. The clausal properties of the sub-strings [NP1 NP2] and [NP1 AP] are investigated on the basis of the presence of agreement features, sentence negation, the resemblance to full clauses, theta-role assignment, word order, and applying sentence constituency tests.
Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Linguistics, grade: 1, University of Marburg (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik), course: Proseminar Syntax, language: English, abstract: In this term paper, I will deal with some aspects of Small Clause (SC) analysis in English. The first chapter will explain what SCs are and present a general overview of their position in sentences. Furthermore I will briefly introduce a controversial analysis and consider the advantages of the SC analysis, as opposed to a predication analysis for example. Therefore several constituent tests will be applied to show that SCs can really function as syntactic units. Some semantic aspects will also be discussed to prove that they should be treated as units. In the next chapter I will introduce different types of SCs. German will be considered as well and a comparison of both English and German SCs will be presented. The argument for the existence of German SCs is very similar to the English. For this reason I will not present the line of reasoning once more but simply assume the same syntactical phenomenon for German as well (for a more detailed analysis of German Small Clauses see Staudinger 1997: 111-115). It will be argued that English offers some more possible constructions with SCs than German. This observation leads to the conclusion that there are some significant differences between the two languages. In a last step a possible analysis for the internal structure of Small Clauses will be presented. The need for a special analysis will be explained with respect to case-assignment. Then the suggested analysis will be applied to the presented types in unmarked word order to see if it is appropriate in practice. I will focus mainly on English here because an analysis of German SCs has to put up with different problems. Some of these struggles will also be discussed here. In the conclusion the results of the previous chapters will be sum
This book is concerned with a class of copular clauses known as specificational clauses, and its relation to other kinds of copular structures, predicational and equative clauses in particular. Based on evidence from Danish and English, I argue that specificational clauses involve the same core predication structure as predicational clauses — one which combines a referential and a predicative expression to form a minimal predicational unit — but differ in how the predicational core is realized syntactically. Predicational copular clauses represent the canonical realization, where the referential expression is aligned with the most prominent syntactic position, the subject position. Specificational clauses involve an unusual alignment of the predicative expression with subject position. I suggest that this unusual alignment is grounded in information structure: the alignment of the less referential DP with the subject position serves a discourse connective function by letting material that is relatively familiar in the discourse appear before material that is relatively unfamiliar in the discourse. Equative clauses are argued to be fundamentally different.
An Introduction to Syntactic Analysis and Theory offers beginning students a comprehensive overview of and introduction to our current understanding of the rules and principles that govern the syntax of natural languages. Includes numerous pedagogical features such as 'practice' boxes and sidebars, designed to facilitate understanding of both the 'hows' and the 'whys' of sentence structure Guides readers through syntactic and morphological structures in a progressive manner Takes the mystery out of one of the most crucial aspects of the workings of language – the principles and processes behind the structure of sentences Ideal for students with minimal knowledge of current syntactic research, it progresses in theoretical difficulty from basic ideas and theories to more complex and advanced, up to date concepts in syntactic theory
Predicates and their Subjects is an in-depth study of the syntax-semantics interface focusing on the structure of the subject-predicate relation. Starting from where the author's 1983 dissertation left off, the book argues that there is syntactic constraint that clauses (small and tensed) are constructed out of a one-place unsaturated expression, the predicate, which must be applied to a syntactic argument, its subject. The author shows that this predication relation cannot be reduced to a thematic relation or a projection of argument structure, but must be a purely syntactic constraint. Chapters in the book show how the syntactic predication relation is semantically interpreted, and how the predication relation explains constraints on DP-raising and on the distribution of pleonastics in English. The second half of the book extends the theory of predication to cover copular constructions; it includes an account of the structure of small clauses in Hebrew, of the use of `be' in predicative and identity sentences in English, and concludes with a study of the meaning of the verb `be'.
This book investigates specific syntactic means of event elaboration across seven Indo-European languages (English, German, Norwegian, French, Russian, Latin and Ancient Greek): bare and comitative small clauses (“absolutes”), participle constructions and related clause-like but non-finite adjuncts that increase descriptive granularity with respect to constitutive parts of the matrix event (elaboration in the narrowest sense), or describe eventualities that are co-located and connected with but not part of the matrix event. The book falls in two parts. Part I addresses central theoretical issues: How is the co-eventive interpretation of such adjuncts achieved? What is the internal syntax of participial and converb constructions? How do these constructions function at the discourse level, as compared to various finite structures that are available for co-eventive elaboration? Part II takes an empirical cross-linguistic perspective. It consists of five self-contained chapters that are based on parallel corpora and study either the use of a specific construction across at least two of the seven object languages, or how a specific construction is rendered in other languages.
