V-N Compounds In Italian
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Martina Gracanin-Yuksek
Abstract
In this paper I discuss patterns of word-internal agreement. I examine Italian V-N compounds of the type grattacielo (scrape sky = “skyscraper”), suggesting that their morphological behavior can be accounted for if we assume that processes of agreement similar to those at the level of sentence-syntax take place below the word level. V-N compounds that contain feminine nouns of class –a: casa, case (“house, houses”) under pluralization show feminine morphology (-e), even though they are syntactically masculine: take masculine determiners and form derivatives as simple masculine nouns do. Yet, the masculine plural inflection (-i) is not allowed:
il carica-batteria
the-MASC charge-battery
“the battery charger”
I carica-batteriE / *carica-batteriI
the-MASC charge-batteries
“the battery chargers”
I show that this surprising appearance of feminine inflection is expected if agreement, viewed as as the operation of “feature sharing” (Frampton et al, 2000; Pesetsky & Torrego, 2004), takes place between the pieces of the structure.
Abstract
In this paper I discuss patterns of word-internal agreement. I examine Italian V-N compounds of the type grattacielo (scrape sky = “skyscraper”), suggesting that their morphological behavior can be accounted for if we assume that processes of agreement similar to those at the level of sentence-syntax take place below the word level. V-N compounds that contain feminine nouns of class –a: casa, case (“house, houses”) under pluralization show feminine morphology (-e), even though they are syntactically masculine: take masculine determiners and form derivatives as simple masculine nouns do. Yet, the masculine plural inflection (-i) is not allowed:
il carica-batteria
the-MASC charge-battery
“the battery charger”
I carica-batteriE / *carica-batteriI
the-MASC charge-batteries
“the battery chargers”
I show that this surprising appearance of feminine inflection is expected if agreement, viewed as as the operation of “feature sharing” (Frampton et al, 2000; Pesetsky & Torrego, 2004), takes place between the pieces of the structure.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction ix
- A Polarity-Sensitive Disjunction 1
- Taking a Closer Look at Romance VN Compounds 13
- Beyond Descriptivism 27
- Do Subjects Have a Place in Spanish? 51
- On the Conceptual Role of Number 67
- The Diachronic Development of a French Indefinite Pronoun 83
- A Syntactic Analysis of Italian Deverbal-Nouns 97
- V-N Compounds In Italian 113
- A Reinterpretation of Quirky Subjects and Related Phenomena in Spanish 127
- Cognitive Constraints on Assertion Scope 143
- Avant que - or Avant de -Clauses 155
- Null Directional Prepositions in Romanian and Spanish 169
- A Unified Account for the Additive and the Scalar Uses of Italian Neppure 187
- Default Morphology in Second Language Spanish 201
- Early Object Omission in Child French and English 213
- Agreement Paradigms Across Moods and Tenses 229
- Italian Volerci 247
- Restructuring of Reverse Psychological Predicate 263
- Subject Index 279
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction ix
- A Polarity-Sensitive Disjunction 1
- Taking a Closer Look at Romance VN Compounds 13
- Beyond Descriptivism 27
- Do Subjects Have a Place in Spanish? 51
- On the Conceptual Role of Number 67
- The Diachronic Development of a French Indefinite Pronoun 83
- A Syntactic Analysis of Italian Deverbal-Nouns 97
- V-N Compounds In Italian 113
- A Reinterpretation of Quirky Subjects and Related Phenomena in Spanish 127
- Cognitive Constraints on Assertion Scope 143
- Avant que - or Avant de -Clauses 155
- Null Directional Prepositions in Romanian and Spanish 169
- A Unified Account for the Additive and the Scalar Uses of Italian Neppure 187
- Default Morphology in Second Language Spanish 201
- Early Object Omission in Child French and English 213
- Agreement Paradigms Across Moods and Tenses 229
- Italian Volerci 247
- Restructuring of Reverse Psychological Predicate 263
- Subject Index 279
