LINGUIST List 22.2342 Fri Jun 03 2011 Diss: Syntax:Šimík: 'Modal Existential WH-Constructions' Editor for this issue: Mfon Udoinyang <mfonlinguistlist.org> To post to LINGUIST, use our convenient web form at http://linguistlist.org/LL/posttolinguist.cfm. Directory         1.     Radek Šimík , Modal Existential WH-Constructions Message 1: Modal Existential WH-Constructions Date: 02-Jun-2011 From: Radek Šimík <simikuni-potsdam.de> Subject: Modal Existential WH-Constructions E-mail this message to a friend Institution: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen Program: Center for Language and Cognition Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2011 Author: Radek Šimík Dissertation Title: Modal Existential WH-Constructions Dissertation URL: http://www.sfb632.uni-potsdam.de/~simik/pdf/simik-thesis.pdf Linguistic Field(s): Syntax Dissertation Director(s): Mark de Vries Jan Koster Dissertation Abstract: This dissertation is a thorough investigation of the syntax, semantics, and typology of modal existential wh-constructions ('I have [with whom to speak]' 'I have somebody who I can speak with') - the last major type of wh-construction (next to questions and relative clauses) that is still relatively poorly understood. The author argues that their proper analysis enhances the understanding of a variety of richly discussed issues, including the syntax-semantics of argument structure, event structure, existential predicates, wh-movement, covert modality, and obligatory control. The core proposal of the dissertation is that modal existential wh-constructions are not ordinary objects of the verb which they are selected by (a predicate expressing the state of existence or availability, or a complex predicate leading to such a state), as previously assumed, but rather constitute an additional independent argument. This argument is an integral part of the complex event structure of the matrix verb - its 'event extension' - and as such characterizes possible developments of the state or event denoted by the matrix predicate. The proposed analysis accounts for many apparently unmotivated properties of these constructions, including their highly restricted scope, modality, and syntactic distribution on the one hand, and a relative freedom of their internal syntactic shape on the other. The analysis also reveals a previously unobserved but remarkably tight relationship between modal existential wh-constructions and English purpose clauses. This dissertation is of interest to theoretically and typologically oriented linguists working on wh-constructions, purpose clauses, existential sentences, event structure, and modality. On a more general level, it deals with issues at the syntax-semantics and syntax-pragmatics interface. Read more issues|LINGUIST home page|Top of issue Page Updated: 03-Jun-2011       About LINGUIST    |   Contact Us       While the LINGUIST List makes every effort to ensure the linguistic relevance of sites listed on its pages, it cannot vouch for their contents.