LINGUIST List 18.314
Tue Jan 30 2007
Diss: Syntax/Semantics: Szczegielniak: 'Relativization and Ellipsis'
Editor for this issue: Hannah Morales
<hannahlinguistlist.org>
Directory
1. Adam
Szczegielniak,
Relativization and Ellipsis
Message 1: Relativization and Ellipsis
Date: 26-Jan-2007
From: Adam Szczegielniak <adam.spost.harvard.edu>
Subject: Relativization and Ellipsis
Institution: Harvard University
Program: Department of Linguistics
Dissertation Status: Completed
Degree Date: 2004
Author: Adam Szczegielniak
Dissertation Title: Relativization and Ellipsis
Dissertation URL: http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~szczeg/papers/dissertation_web.pdf
Linguistic Field(s):
Semantics
Syntax
Dissertation Director:
Cedric Boeckx
Noam Chomsky
David Pesetsky
Dissertation Abstract:
This work addresses the puzzle why VP ellipsis where the subject plus anauxiliary/modal /negation (non bare-VP ellipsis) is not possible inrelatives derived via operator movement, whereas VP ellipsis where only thesubject remains (bare-VP ellipsis) is possible in both relatives derivedvia operator movement as well as head noun movement.
In the first part, I show that Polish and Russian relative clauses divideinto two types: (i) derived by head noun movement (co/čto-relatives), and(ii) derived by operator movement and adjunction of the relative to thehead noun (który/kotoryj-relatives).
In the second part, I answer why bare-VP ellipsis is only possible inco/čto-relatives, and non bare-VP ellipsis is possible in both types ofrelatives. Adopting a model where VP ellipsis is carried out on'afterthought' constructions (Chomsky 2001) and is preceded by de-stressing(Chomsky and Lasnik 1993), I argue that bare-VP ellipsis requires overt VPtopicalization prior to de-stressing. The interaction of overt operatormovement and VP topicalization leads to violations on Remnant Movement(Müller 1998): the topicalized VP containing the trace/copy of the operatorraises over the operator, which has moved to a lower Topic of the LeftPeriphery (Rizzi 1997), thus, making bare-VP ellipsis impossible inktóry/kotoryj-relatives. Non bare-VP ellipsis is shown to be licensed byfocusing the subject in Spec-Σ (Laka 1994). There is no VP raising, thusconditions on remnant movement are not violated and VP ellipsis is possiblein both types of relatives.
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