LINGUIST List 21.1280

Mon Mar 15 2010

Diss: Syntax, English, Russian: Reeve: Clefts

Editor for this issue: Catherine Adams <catherinlinguistlist.org>

        1.    Matthew Reeve, Clefts
Message 1: Clefts
Date: 05-Mar-2010
From: Matthew Reeve <m.j.reeve.99cantab.net>
Subject: Clefts
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Institution: University of London Program: PhD Linguistics Dissertation Status: Completed Degree Date: 2010

Author: Matthew Reeve

Dissertation Title: Clefts

Linguistic Field(s): Syntax

Subject Language(s): English (eng) Russian (rus)

Dissertation Director(s): Ad Neeleman

Dissertation Abstract:

The main argument of this thesis is that cleft constructions (and related constructions) in various languages do not easily submit to a strictly compositional analysis; that is, there is an apparent mismatch between their syntax and their semantics. I show that both 'specificational' and 'expletive' analysis of English clefts fail on both syntactic and interpretative grounds, and propose an alternative analysis in which the cleft clause is a syntactic modifier of the clefted XP, but a semantic modifier of the initial pronoun. I argue that the possibility for a relative clause to have two antecedents in this way is made possible by the existence of two separate licensing conditions, one thematic and one syntactic, which are normally satisfied by the same DP, but in clefts and related constructions can be satisfied by distinct DPs. Next, I extend the analysis to clefts in Slavonic languages, particularly Russian. These constructions differ considerably from English clefts in their syntactic structure, but which show strong interpretative parallels with them. Finally, I show that certain types of cleft present another type of compositionality problem: namely, the problem of semantically relating the two DPs in specificational sentences, the class of sentences to which clefts belong. I argue that they involve a functional head encoding equative semantics, which 'associates' with the focus of the clause. The superficial 'non-compositionality' of clefts thus reduces to the superficial 'non-compositionality' of association with focus more generally.
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