Aspect matters in the middle
-
Marika Lekakou
Abstract
This paper addresses the variation that the middle construction attests
cross-linguistically. In one class of languges middles behave as passives,
whereas in another class they pattern with unergative structures. My
proposal is that this variation is not accidental, and that it reduces to
variation in the morphosyntax of aspect. I put forward a semantic treatment
of middles as disposition ascriptions to a Patient/Theme argument. I then
show how the morphosyntax of the dispositional generic operator that is
argued to be present in such structures determines the syntactic behaviour
of middles. Genericity may be morphosyntactically encoded by means of
grammatical aspect, in particular in languages where such aspectual
distinctions as perfective/imperfective exist. The proposal is that the level
at which the generic operator is present correlates with the level at which
middles are derived. For instance, in Greek and French, genericity is
morphosyntactically encoded and middles are parasitic on passives. In
such languages, middles are derived in the syntax, in virtue of the availability
in the syntax of the relevant operator. In Germanic languages, by contrast,
aspectual distinctions are not encoded in the morphosyntax, and middles
are syntactically unergative. This is implemented in terms of a presyntactic
derivation.
Abstract
This paper addresses the variation that the middle construction attests
cross-linguistically. In one class of languges middles behave as passives,
whereas in another class they pattern with unergative structures. My
proposal is that this variation is not accidental, and that it reduces to
variation in the morphosyntax of aspect. I put forward a semantic treatment
of middles as disposition ascriptions to a Patient/Theme argument. I then
show how the morphosyntax of the dispositional generic operator that is
argued to be present in such structures determines the syntactic behaviour
of middles. Genericity may be morphosyntactically encoded by means of
grammatical aspect, in particular in languages where such aspectual
distinctions as perfective/imperfective exist. The proposal is that the level
at which the generic operator is present correlates with the level at which
middles are derived. For instance, in Greek and French, genericity is
morphosyntactically encoded and middles are parasitic on passives. In
such languages, middles are derived in the syntax, in virtue of the availability
in the syntax of the relevant operator. In Germanic languages, by contrast,
aspectual distinctions are not encoded in the morphosyntax, and middles
are syntactically unergative. This is implemented in terms of a presyntactic
derivation.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface & Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
I. The locus of (parametric) variation
- Parametric versus functional explanations of syntactic universals 75
- Three fundamental issues in parametric linguistics 109
- On the syntactic flexibility of formal features 143
- Expletives, datives, and the tension between morphology and syntax 175
- Mapping a parochial lexicon onto a universal semantics 219
- Aspect matters in the middle 247
-
II. A classic parameter revisited: the null-subject parameter
- The null subject parameter and correlating properties: The case of Creole languages 271
- The Case-F valuation parameter in Romance 295
- Silent arguments without pro : The case of Basque 311
- Case morphology and radical pro -drop 331
-
III. Parametric clustering
- The macroparameter in a microparametric world 351
- Topic prominence and null subjects 375
- Non-configurationality: Free word order and argument drop in Turkish 411
- Diachronic stability and feature interpretability 441
-
III. The acquisition of parameters
- Can children tell us anything we did not know about parameter clustering? 459
- Parameter setting and input reduction 483
- Index 517
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Preface & Acknowledgements vii
- Introduction 1
-
I. The locus of (parametric) variation
- Parametric versus functional explanations of syntactic universals 75
- Three fundamental issues in parametric linguistics 109
- On the syntactic flexibility of formal features 143
- Expletives, datives, and the tension between morphology and syntax 175
- Mapping a parochial lexicon onto a universal semantics 219
- Aspect matters in the middle 247
-
II. A classic parameter revisited: the null-subject parameter
- The null subject parameter and correlating properties: The case of Creole languages 271
- The Case-F valuation parameter in Romance 295
- Silent arguments without pro : The case of Basque 311
- Case morphology and radical pro -drop 331
-
III. Parametric clustering
- The macroparameter in a microparametric world 351
- Topic prominence and null subjects 375
- Non-configurationality: Free word order and argument drop in Turkish 411
- Diachronic stability and feature interpretability 441
-
III. The acquisition of parameters
- Can children tell us anything we did not know about parameter clustering? 459
- Parameter setting and input reduction 483
- Index 517
