|
Title:
|
Universal Constraints on Relationally Complex Clauses
|
|
Author:
|
J. Bickford
|
|
Email:
|
click here to access email
|
|
Degree Awarded:
|
University of California, San Diego
, Linguistics Department
|
|
Degree Date:
|
1987
|
|
Linguistic Subfield(s):
|
Syntax
|
|
Subject Language(s):
|
Choctaw
French
Indonesian
Italian
Korean
Mazatec, Huautla
Rwanda
Seri
|
|
Director(s):
|
David Perlmutter
|
|
|
Abstract:
|
|
|
This study examines relationally complex clauses, that is, clauses which contain more than one instance of passive, advancements to 2, dummy entrances, ascensions, and similar constructions. Within the framework of relational grammar (RG), it argues that there are strict restrictions on combinations of these constructions in single clauses. Besides discussing previously recognized restrictions, much of the study is focused on a new law introduced in chapter 2, called the Nuclear Novice Law (NNL). The NNL provides a unitary account of pretheoretically distinct phenomena over a broad range of natural languages, including Bahasa Indonesia, Choctaw, French, Italian, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Mazatec, and Seri. Two combinations are examined in great detail: passive with ditransitive and applicative verbs, and 2-1 advancement with impersonal clauses. Besides their intrinsic interest, these phenomena provide evidence in favor of an approach to syntax which incorporates grammatical relations at multiple syntactic levels, since the laws which regulate them make cruicial reference to these concepts.
|
|
|
|
|
E-mail this message to a friend
