On the nonsemantic nature of argument structure  

Oleh:

Alsina, Alex

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: Language Sciences (Full Text) vol. 23 no. 4-5 (2001), page 355-389.
Topik: Syntax; Argument structure; Object asymmetries; Idiomatic objects; Reciprocals; Chichewà a
Fulltext: 23_04-05_Alsina.pdf (275.47KB)

Isi artikel

This paper presents evidence that argument structure is not a semantic, but a syntactic, level of representation. The evidence is based on the distinction between primary and secondary objects found in languages such as Chichewà a. This distinction is shown not to be a semantic distinction, but a syntactic one, and it is shown to be needed at a point in the derivation in which grammatical functions are not available, but argument structure is. Therefore, the dis- tinction between primary and secondary objects has to be part of argument structure. In addition, evidence involving nonthematic idiomatic objects in Chichewà a indicates that this distinction cannot be part of the representation of grammatical functions, contrary to what has been assumed by other researchers (e.g. Baker, M., 1988a. Incorporation: A Theory of Grammatical Function Changing. University of Chicago Press, Chicago; Baker, M., 1988b. Theta theory and the syntax of applicatives in Chichewà a. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory 6, 353±389; Bresnan, J., Moshi, L., 1990. Object asymmetries in comparative Bantu syntax. Linguistic Inquiry 21, 147±185). In conclusion, since argument structure must express the distinction between primary and secondary objects, which is not a semantic distinction, it follows that argument structure contains nonsemantic information and, therefore, is a non- semantic level of representation.

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