LINGUIST List 12.2705

Tue Oct 30 2001

Books: Generative Grammar

Editor for this issue: Richard John Harvey <richardlinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Julia Ulrich, Generative Grammar: Semi-Lexical Categories (Corver, Van Riemsdijk)

New Publication from Mouton de Gruyter!!!!

>From the series:
Studies in Generative Grammar
Series Editor: Harry van der Hulst, Jan Koster, Henk van Riemsdijk

SEMI-LEXICAL CATEGORIES
The Function of Content Words and the Content of Function Words

Norbert Corver and Henk van Riemsdijk (Editors)

2001. 23 x 15.5 cm. viii, 554 p. Cloth.
DM 196,-- / oeS 1431,-- (RRP) / sFr 169,-- / approx. US$ 98.00

>From 01.01.2002: Euro 98.00

ISBN 3-11-016685-2

(Studies in Generative Grammar 59)


The distinction between functional categories and lexical categories
is at the heart of present-day grammatical theory, but plays an
equally central role in, among other topics, theories on language
acquisition, code switching and aphasia. In the course of time,
various diagnostic criteria have been identified which distinguish one
class from another: e.g. productivity, distribution, lack versus
presence of semantic content. Although for certain clear-cut cases
(e.g. the distinction between Noun and Determiner) this distinction is
quite straightforward, there are many lexical items for which it is
less easy to decide whether they side with the lexical categories or
the functional ones. The category "Preposition", for example, is a
well-known case of uncertainty. This book deals with such "in between"
- categories, i.e. lexical items that display both lexical and
functional characteristics. In view of their hybrid status, they are
termed "Semi-lexical Categories".

The articles in this volume discuss the existence of semi-lexical
categories in the nominal, verbal and prepositional domain and address
questions such as: What distinguishes semi-lexical categories from
truly lexical ones and in what sense are they different from truly
grammatical functors? Is this distinction expressed in terms of their
lexical feature composition, and if so, what features are involved?
How do these semi-lexical heads combine in syntactic structure and how
do they project syntactically? What is the licensing function of
semi-lexical heads? Are semi-lexical heads present in child grammars?
The articles in this book explore the notion of "semi-lexical
categories" on the basis of a variety of languages, among others
Bangla, Czech, English, Italian, Korean, Urdu, Vietnamese.
Furthermore, various construction types are discussed:
e.g. classifier con-structions, serialisation, auxiliary structures,
light verb constructions, and verb-particle structures.

CONTENTS:

Norbert Corver / Henk van Riemsdijk: Semi-lexical categories

PART I: SEMI-LEXICALITY AND SYNTACTIC PROJECTION
Joseph Emonds: The flat structure economy of semi-lexical heads
Hubert Haider: Heads and selection
Susan M. Powers: Children's semi-lexical heads
Carson T. Schuetze: Semantically empty lexical heads as last resorts

PART II: SEMI-LEXICALITY IN THE NOMINAL DOMAIN
Tanmoy Bhattacharya: Numeral/Quantifier-Classifier as a complex head
Elisabeth Loebel: Classifiers and semi-lexicality: Functional and
semantic selection
Ludmila Veselovsk�: Agreement patterns of Czech group nouns and
quantifiers

PART III: SEMI-LEXICALITY IN THE VERBAL DOMAIN
Miriam Butt / Wilhelm Geuder: On the (semi)lexical status of light verbs

Anna Cardinaletti / Giuliana Giusti: "Semi-lexical" motion verbs in
Romance and Germanic
Tjerk Hagemeijer: Underspecification in serial verb constructions 

PART IV: SEMI-LEXICALITY OF ADPOSITIONAL AND ADPOSITION-LIKE ELEMENTS
Kristin M. Eide / Tor A. Afarli: Semi-lexical heads in a semantically
charged syntax
Joan Rafel: As for as / for, they are semi-lexical heads
Jochen Zeller: Lexical particles, semi-lexical postpositions

For more information please contact the publisher:

Mouton de Gruyter
Genthiner Str. 13
10785 Berlin, Germany
Fax: +49 30 26005 222
e-mail: ordersdegruyter.de

Please visit our website for other publications by Mouton de Gruyter
http://www.degruyter.com