On the linearization of adjectives in Romanian
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Alexandra Cornilescu
Abstract
The paper discusses the linearization of DP-internal Romanian adjectives, along the lines of Stavrou (2001), against the background of phase theory (Chomsky 2005). A system of adjective classification is proposed, taking into account whether they combine with NPs or DPs, whether they are kind- or object-level and whether they combine with nominals by functional application or by th- identification. On this basis, it is shown that adjectives, like nouns, may have a family of related denotations and that the syntax of an adjective, including its position with respect to the head completely follow from the adjective’s denotation. It is claimed that the ordering of adjectives is cyclic, and there are two phasal domains of linearization, the n* domain and the d* domain. The final sections detail the syntactic, interpretative and linearization properties of adjectives in the n*/d* domains.
Abstract
The paper discusses the linearization of DP-internal Romanian adjectives, along the lines of Stavrou (2001), against the background of phase theory (Chomsky 2005). A system of adjective classification is proposed, taking into account whether they combine with NPs or DPs, whether they are kind- or object-level and whether they combine with nominals by functional application or by th- identification. On this basis, it is shown that adjectives, like nouns, may have a family of related denotations and that the syntax of an adjective, including its position with respect to the head completely follow from the adjective’s denotation. It is claimed that the ordering of adjectives is cyclic, and there are two phasal domains of linearization, the n* domain and the d* domain. The final sections detail the syntactic, interpretative and linearization properties of adjectives in the n*/d* domains.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Foreword v
- Table of contents vii
- Unpronounced MUCH and the distribution of degree expressions in Spanish 1
- The status of the (supposed) expletive in Brazilian Portuguese existential clauses 17
- On the linearization of adjectives in Romanian 33
- Prepositionless genitive and N+N compounding in (Old) French and Italian 53
- Vowel elision in spoken Italian 73
- Acoustic correlates of phonological microvariations 89
- Romance lenition 111
- Main stress in Italian nonce nouns 127
- Negative concord as feature sharing 143
- Appositive sentences and the structure(s) of coordination 159
- Cleaving the interactions between sluicing and P-stranding 175
- Another look at wh-questions in Romance 199
- Index of subjects and terms 259
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Foreword v
- Table of contents vii
- Unpronounced MUCH and the distribution of degree expressions in Spanish 1
- The status of the (supposed) expletive in Brazilian Portuguese existential clauses 17
- On the linearization of adjectives in Romanian 33
- Prepositionless genitive and N+N compounding in (Old) French and Italian 53
- Vowel elision in spoken Italian 73
- Acoustic correlates of phonological microvariations 89
- Romance lenition 111
- Main stress in Italian nonce nouns 127
- Negative concord as feature sharing 143
- Appositive sentences and the structure(s) of coordination 159
- Cleaving the interactions between sluicing and P-stranding 175
- Another look at wh-questions in Romance 199
- Index of subjects and terms 259
