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Chapter 7. Causativity alternation in the lower field

  • Mohamed Naji
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Current Issues in Syntactic Cartography
This chapter is in the book Current Issues in Syntactic Cartography

Abstract

We will argue in this paper that the lower field of the sentence, little vP, is endowed with a new functional category cause phrase (causP). We will severet anticausativity from voice. We will propose that anticausative morphology in standard Arabic (SA) is projected in syntax closer to the root, between the root and v°. Our proposition has two important consequences. The first one, it denies the existence of the strict locality between a root and its categorizer. The second one, it confirms that agentive and causer subjects will occupy different hierarchical positions inside of the sentence (IP). We will see that transcategorial derivations of derived nominals from the verb conserves anticausative morphology, but it cannot do so with passive morphology. This is a strong fact confirming the different syntactic status of the two kinds of morphology. Moreover, the distribution of agentive and causer subjects with subject oriented adverbs (SOA) and manner adverbs (MA) shows an asymmetry between the two in linking SOA and MA. We will explain this asymmetry between agent and causer subjects by their different syntactic positions into the structure of IP. Thereafter, we will extend our analysis to nominal events too.

Abstract

We will argue in this paper that the lower field of the sentence, little vP, is endowed with a new functional category cause phrase (causP). We will severet anticausativity from voice. We will propose that anticausative morphology in standard Arabic (SA) is projected in syntax closer to the root, between the root and v°. Our proposition has two important consequences. The first one, it denies the existence of the strict locality between a root and its categorizer. The second one, it confirms that agentive and causer subjects will occupy different hierarchical positions inside of the sentence (IP). We will see that transcategorial derivations of derived nominals from the verb conserves anticausative morphology, but it cannot do so with passive morphology. This is a strong fact confirming the different syntactic status of the two kinds of morphology. Moreover, the distribution of agentive and causer subjects with subject oriented adverbs (SOA) and manner adverbs (MA) shows an asymmetry between the two in linking SOA and MA. We will explain this asymmetry between agent and causer subjects by their different syntactic positions into the structure of IP. Thereafter, we will extend our analysis to nominal events too.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  4. Section I. Theoretical and descriptive issues in syntactic cartography
  5. Chapter 2. Cartography and selection in subjunctives and interrogatives 15
  6. Chapter 3. The syntax and information-structural semantics of negative inversion in English and their implications for the theory of focus 27
  7. Chapter 4. Invariant die and adverbial resumption in the Ghent dialect 53
  8. Chapter 5. Uncovering the left periphery of Etruscan 111
  9. Chapter 6. Subject drop in how come questions in English 127
  10. Chapter 7. Causativity alternation in the lower field 139
  11. Chapter 8. Another argument for the differences among wa -marked phrases 161
  12. Section II. Theoretical and descriptive issues in syntactic cartography
  13. Chapter 9. Quantifictional binding without surface c-command in Mandarin Chinese 183
  14. Chapter 10. Towards a cartography of light verbs 217
  15. Chapter 11. Attitudinal applicative in action 243
  16. Chapter 12. Multiple counterparts of Mandarin qu (go) in Teochew and their cartographic distributions 261
  17. Chapter 13. On the syntactic representation of Chinese you ( 有 ) in “ you + VP” construction 287
  18. Index 323
  19. List of contributors 328
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.267.07naj

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Chapter 1. Introduction 1
  4. Section I. Theoretical and descriptive issues in syntactic cartography
  5. Chapter 2. Cartography and selection in subjunctives and interrogatives 15
  6. Chapter 3. The syntax and information-structural semantics of negative inversion in English and their implications for the theory of focus 27
  7. Chapter 4. Invariant die and adverbial resumption in the Ghent dialect 53
  8. Chapter 5. Uncovering the left periphery of Etruscan 111
  9. Chapter 6. Subject drop in how come questions in English 127
  10. Chapter 7. Causativity alternation in the lower field 139
  11. Chapter 8. Another argument for the differences among wa -marked phrases 161
  12. Section II. Theoretical and descriptive issues in syntactic cartography
  13. Chapter 9. Quantifictional binding without surface c-command in Mandarin Chinese 183
  14. Chapter 10. Towards a cartography of light verbs 217
  15. Chapter 11. Attitudinal applicative in action 243
  16. Chapter 12. Multiple counterparts of Mandarin qu (go) in Teochew and their cartographic distributions 261
  17. Chapter 13. On the syntactic representation of Chinese you ( 有 ) in “ you + VP” construction 287
  18. Index 323
  19. List of contributors 328
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