Chapter 9. A null stem analysis of Persian copular verbs
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Wataru Okubo
Abstract
Traditional grammars of Persian recognize two copular series for the affirmative indicative present tense, which we call the independent copulas and dependent copulas. The former has been considered as a full verb whereas the latter has been described as an enclitic. This paper explores the syntactic and phonological properties of the two copular series by looking into cases in which only one form is grammatical. We propose that the dependent copulas are not enclitics but have the same internal structure as the independent copulas, consisting of a null verbal stem and a person inflectional suffix. Through examinations of the syntactic operations of A-bar movement via association with an enclitic focus particle and ellipsis of the complement, as well as stress assignment in copular constructions, we demonstrate that nonparallel grammatical judgments arise from unsuccessful stress assignment, which results from the absence of overt material in the complement. This work contributes a new look at the copular system in Persian and beyond, which has not been extensively investigated in the literature.
Abstract
Traditional grammars of Persian recognize two copular series for the affirmative indicative present tense, which we call the independent copulas and dependent copulas. The former has been considered as a full verb whereas the latter has been described as an enclitic. This paper explores the syntactic and phonological properties of the two copular series by looking into cases in which only one form is grammatical. We propose that the dependent copulas are not enclitics but have the same internal structure as the independent copulas, consisting of a null verbal stem and a person inflectional suffix. Through examinations of the syntactic operations of A-bar movement via association with an enclitic focus particle and ellipsis of the complement, as well as stress assignment in copular constructions, we demonstrate that nonparallel grammatical judgments arise from unsuccessful stress assignment, which results from the absence of overt material in the complement. This work contributes a new look at the copular system in Persian and beyond, which has not been extensively investigated in the literature.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- Chapter 1. Anaphoric potential of pseudo-incorporated bare objects in Persian 12
- Chapter 2. Persian quantifiers and their scope 44
- Chapter 3. Why-stripping in Persian 81
- Chapter 4. Middle Persian Ezafe 100
- Chapter 5. Ezafe and the article 130
- Chapter 6. Ezafe as a linking feature within DP 154
- Chapter 7. Mood selection in complement clauses in Persian 180
- Chapter 8. Three types of verb stem levelling in Tat 210
- Chapter 9. A null stem analysis of Persian copular verbs 231
- Chapter 10. Semi-anticausatives 263
- Chapter 11. The nature and licensing of hi:tʃ elements in Persian 282
- Language index 307
- Name index 309
- Subject index 313
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Introduction 1
- Chapter 1. Anaphoric potential of pseudo-incorporated bare objects in Persian 12
- Chapter 2. Persian quantifiers and their scope 44
- Chapter 3. Why-stripping in Persian 81
- Chapter 4. Middle Persian Ezafe 100
- Chapter 5. Ezafe and the article 130
- Chapter 6. Ezafe as a linking feature within DP 154
- Chapter 7. Mood selection in complement clauses in Persian 180
- Chapter 8. Three types of verb stem levelling in Tat 210
- Chapter 9. A null stem analysis of Persian copular verbs 231
- Chapter 10. Semi-anticausatives 263
- Chapter 11. The nature and licensing of hi:tʃ elements in Persian 282
- Language index 307
- Name index 309
- Subject index 313
