Licensing Theory and French Parasitic Gaps

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Language Arts, Grammar, Foreign Languages
Cover of the book Licensing Theory and French Parasitic Gaps by C.R. Tellier, Springer Netherlands
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: C.R. Tellier ISBN: 9789401135962
Publisher: Springer Netherlands Publication: December 6, 2012
Imprint: Springer Language: English
Author: C.R. Tellier
ISBN: 9789401135962
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Publication: December 6, 2012
Imprint: Springer
Language: English

The study of parasitic gap constructions (e. g. these are the reports; which you corrected _; before filing _i) has been a very lively area of research over the last decade. The impetus behind this lies mostly in the margi­ nality of the construction. Clearly, the intuitions that native speakers have about parasitic gaps do not stem from direct instruction; hence, it is reasoned, such knowledge follows from the restrictions imposed by Universal Grammar. Furthermore, it is unlikely that any principle of Universal Grammar refers specifically to parasitic gap constructions; their syntactic and interpretive properties must instead follow entirely from independent principles. My own interest in the phenomenon was sparked a few years ago, when, in a novel, I came across a sentence like the following: Chait un armateur; dont Ie prestige _; reposait largement sur la fortune _;, 'he was a shipbuilder of whom the prestige was largely based on the wealth'. As the indices indicate, the interpretation of the French sentence is un­ ambiguous: both the prestige and the wealth necessarily pertain to the same individual. In this aspect, the sentence much resembles the English parasitic gap construction above: in the former case too, the comple­ ments of correct and file must corefer with the noun phrase heading the relative (the reports). Yet, there is an important difference between the two constructions. Verbs like correct and file subcategorize their com­ plements.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The study of parasitic gap constructions (e. g. these are the reports; which you corrected _; before filing _i) has been a very lively area of research over the last decade. The impetus behind this lies mostly in the margi­ nality of the construction. Clearly, the intuitions that native speakers have about parasitic gaps do not stem from direct instruction; hence, it is reasoned, such knowledge follows from the restrictions imposed by Universal Grammar. Furthermore, it is unlikely that any principle of Universal Grammar refers specifically to parasitic gap constructions; their syntactic and interpretive properties must instead follow entirely from independent principles. My own interest in the phenomenon was sparked a few years ago, when, in a novel, I came across a sentence like the following: Chait un armateur; dont Ie prestige _; reposait largement sur la fortune _;, 'he was a shipbuilder of whom the prestige was largely based on the wealth'. As the indices indicate, the interpretation of the French sentence is un­ ambiguous: both the prestige and the wealth necessarily pertain to the same individual. In this aspect, the sentence much resembles the English parasitic gap construction above: in the former case too, the comple­ ments of correct and file must corefer with the noun phrase heading the relative (the reports). Yet, there is an important difference between the two constructions. Verbs like correct and file subcategorize their com­ plements.

More books from Springer Netherlands

Cover of the book Scientific and Religious Belief by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book The Future of the Law of the Sea by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Subduction by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Causality, Meaningful Complexity and Embodied Cognition by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Economic Modeling of Water by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Ethics and Law in Modern Medicine by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Enantioselective Organocatalyzed Reactions I by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Tsunami Research at the End of a Critical Decade by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Bone Metastasis and Molecular Mechanisms by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Ground Vibration Engineering by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Plants, Pollutants and Remediation by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book The Reincarnating Mind, or the Ontopoietic Outburst in Creative Virtualities by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Molecular Genetics in Fisheries by C.R. Tellier
Cover of the book Progress in Anterior Eye Segment Research and Practice by C.R. Tellier
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy