This thesis investigates how phrase structure of sentences is mapped onto
phonological representations. The bare mapping theory is proposed which
interprets syntactic boundaries as phonological boundaries. Prosodic
phrases are formed by deleting a number of boundaries according to the
level of phrase and the rate of speech. This theory supports the idea of
bare phrase structure rather than X-bar theoretic phrase structure. The
theory of cyclic Spell-Out enables us to do away with the readjustment
rule. The effect of edge parameter is derived by syntactic head parameter.
Optionality of phrasing is also explained by the deletion of a number of
boundaries. Further consequences of the theory are discussed which include
the effects of constituent length, i.e. secondary phrasal stress and Heavy
NP Shift in English and optional phrasing in Korean and Japanese. The
theory offers an alternative analysis to the Early Immediate Constituent
analysis (Hawkins 1994) and help us to explore the relation between phrase
structure and sentence processing. Prosody and punctuation in English and
Japanese, topic/focus and phrasing, semantics and phrasing, and derivation
and parsing are also discussed.
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