LINGUIST List 14.3375

Mon Dec 8 2003

Diss: Syntax/Cognitive Science: Matos: 'IT'S THE...'

Editor for this issue: Takako Matsui <takolinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. dadsma, IT'S THE CAT IN THE BAG THAT GOT STOLEN...

Editor's Note: This is a BA dissertation. 

Institution: University of Sussex
Program: School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2003

Author: Andrea Matos 

Dissertation Title: IT'S THE CAT IN THE BAG THAT GOT STOLEN; ALTHOUGH
THERE'S ALSO A DOG, A TIGER AND A PANDA. It's : THE MOTIVATION OF A
CONSTRUCTION GRAMMAR APPROACH TO CLEFT SENTENCES.

Linguistic Field: Syntax, Cognitive Science 

Subject Language: English (code: ENG)

Dissertation Director 1: Melanie Green
Dissertation Director 2: Vyv Evans

Dissertation Abstract: 

This paper proposes a new theoretical perspective for the analysis of
it-cleft constructions in English from a Construction Grammar
framework. It analyses the particular structure of the cleft based on
its syntactic and semantic properties in order to account for the
particular meaning such constructions serve to express. The
non-autonomy of syntax is assumed and grammatical structures seen as a
pairing of form and meaning rather than a string of words grouped
together by a set of parameters as argued in the traditional
Generative Grammar approach.

I claim that a relation between cleft pronoun and cleft constituent
and cleft constituent and cleft clause account for the particular
meaning of the it-cleft based on an instance link relation within the
principle of inheritance hierarchy proposed by Goldberg 1995.