Volume 26, Issue 1

This article presents a theory of the development of lexical accents in edgemost stress systems, and their representations. It is shown that, first, the directionality of different levels of prominence at the word and above-word level, and, second, morphologization as a result of prosodic weakening work together for the development of various types of lexical accents. Our proposal makes a number of predictions with respect to: (a) whether a system will develop lexical accents, (b) their initial shape when the default stress is fossilized, and (c) their subsequent reshaping. To substantiate our predictions, we examine approximately fifty edgemost stress systems. Furthermore, we propose a two-dimensional theory of the representation of lexical accents that distinguishes between the morphological affiliation of an accent and its locus of pronunciation. The soundness of our theory is tested not only on the grounds of its explanatory power in capturing diachronic changes, but also with respect to its empirical coverage of contemporary theoretical issues concerning the representation of lexical accents.

This article argues for a predicative analysis of certain adjectives in two varieties of inverted Determiner Phrases: degree inverted DPs, as in Rasheed is too hot-tempered a player and negative intensifier inverted DPs, as in The Conformist isn't very good of a movie . In the case of degree inversion, movement is connected to a degree feature and inversion is licensed within the DP. In the case of negative intensifier inversion, movement is connected to a DP-internal negative feature, and again inversion is licensed within the DP. A case is made in support of distinguishing degree words like too and as from intensifiers like very and particularly on the basis of their ability to license inversion alone or only in combination with negation.

Taking the quest for symmetry in the analysis of the syntax of measure phrases (MP) as a heuristic background, this article tries to further our understanding of MPs by giving an in-depth, cross-linguistic analysis of adjectival and nominal constructions featuring an MP. It is shown that symmetry is found both at the level of phrase structural organization and at the level of displacement. As for the first level of symmetry, it is argued that MPs are predicate nominals and, as such, typically start out as small clause predicates within the nominal and adjectival projections. As for the second level of symmetry, it is argued that the same types of displacement processes (predicate inversion, remnant movement, head movement) are attested in nominal and adjectival constructions featuring MP. It is further noted that there is an intra-linguistic parallelism between the syntax of MPs and the syntax of possessors.

Linguistic structures are represented as hierarchical tree structures, although utterances are linear. To deal with this discrepancy, the grammar model needs to specify in which way linear order is derived from hierarchical structure. This article examines the idea that linearization is a PF procedure, implemented as a recursive procedure searching the hierarchical tree top-down for terminal elements. It is shown that we can describe linearization by positing one linearization principle and two parameters, one a modified head parameter, and one parameter to linearize adjuncts. The resulting system is applied to the domain of the Arabic and English noun phrases. Although these domains have vastly different linear orders, with the proposed model their syntactic structures turn out to be only minimally different. As developed here, the model makes a fundamental prediction about language: order variation only exists in positions created by External Merge. That is, an element that is moved will invariably shift toward the left in the linear string. It is tentatively suggested that this property results from efficiency requirements of the parser, which would show that the language faculty is perhaps primarily but not solely adapted to the requirements imposed by the C-I interface.