Spans and words
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Peter Svenonius
Abstract
1. The problem: Words are a pervasive unit of syntax and yet the dominant theory of them, the X0 theory, is problematic, predicting more parallels between phrasal and head movement than are observed. Phrasal movement approaches to word formation fare even worse on that score. Mirror Theory (MT) also has shortcomings, for example in relying on an unmotivated notion of specifier. 2. The solution: A theory of how syntactic structures are mapped onto functional and lexical words, positing syntactic features w for lexical access points and @ for linearization points. The theory draws on the late insertion of DM, the cycles of phase theory, the direct linearization principles of MT, and the non-terminal spell-out of Nanosyntax, separating word formation from linearization and appealing to spans (head-complement sequences) as the units of cyclic lexical access and storage.
Abstract
1. The problem: Words are a pervasive unit of syntax and yet the dominant theory of them, the X0 theory, is problematic, predicting more parallels between phrasal and head movement than are observed. Phrasal movement approaches to word formation fare even worse on that score. Mirror Theory (MT) also has shortcomings, for example in relying on an unmotivated notion of specifier. 2. The solution: A theory of how syntactic structures are mapped onto functional and lexical words, positing syntactic features w for lexical access points and @ for linearization points. The theory draws on the late insertion of DM, the cycles of phase theory, the direct linearization principles of MT, and the non-terminal spell-out of Nanosyntax, separating word formation from linearization and appealing to spans (head-complement sequences) as the units of cyclic lexical access and storage.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- About the Authors ix
- How are words related? 1
- Paradigms at the interface of a lexeme’s syntax and semantics with its inflectional morphology 27
- A postsyntactic morphome cookbook 59
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Discussion 1
- Syncretism in paradigm function morphology and distributed morphology 95
- Phase domains at PF 121
- The costs of zero-derived causativity in English 163
- Spans and words 201
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Discussion 2
- Building words 223
- Emergent morphology 237
- Morphology as an adaptive discriminative system 271
- Readjustment: Rejected? 303
- Towards a Restricted Realization Theory 343
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Discussion 3
- We do not need structuralist morphemes, but we do need constituent structure 387
- Inner and Outer morphology in Greek adjectival participles 431
- Re-evaluating exocentricity in word-formation 461
- Affix ordering in Optimal Construction Morphology 479
- On the interplay of facts and theory 513
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Discussion 4
- Editors’ note 537
- Index 541
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- About the Authors ix
- How are words related? 1
- Paradigms at the interface of a lexeme’s syntax and semantics with its inflectional morphology 27
- A postsyntactic morphome cookbook 59
-
Discussion 1
- Syncretism in paradigm function morphology and distributed morphology 95
- Phase domains at PF 121
- The costs of zero-derived causativity in English 163
- Spans and words 201
-
Discussion 2
- Building words 223
- Emergent morphology 237
- Morphology as an adaptive discriminative system 271
- Readjustment: Rejected? 303
- Towards a Restricted Realization Theory 343
-
Discussion 3
- We do not need structuralist morphemes, but we do need constituent structure 387
- Inner and Outer morphology in Greek adjectival participles 431
- Re-evaluating exocentricity in word-formation 461
- Affix ordering in Optimal Construction Morphology 479
- On the interplay of facts and theory 513
-
Discussion 4
- Editors’ note 537
- Index 541
