Phrase Structure and Argument Structure: A Case Study of the Syntax-Semantics Interface (Oxford Studies in Theoretical Linguistics) - Hardcover

Lohndal, Terje

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199677115 ISBN 13: 9780199677115

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2014

Synopsis

This book focuses on the relationship between syntax and meaning. Terje Lohndal's core claim is that it is possible to create a transparent mapping from syntax to logical form such that each syntactic Spell-Out domain directly corresponds to a conjunct at logical form. The argument focuses on two domains of grammar - phrase structure and argument structure - and brings together two independently established but seemingly unconnected hypotheses: that verbs do not require arguments, and that specifiers are not required by the grammar.

Following the introduction, the second chapter looks in detail at the separation of the verb from its thematic arguments, and presents data from argument structure, reciprocals, and adjectival passives, while the third examines the claim that specifiers do not play a role as the target of various grammatical operations. Chapter 4 then brings these arguments together and proposes a syntax that maps transparently onto logical forms where all thematic arguments are severed from the verb. Moreover, the broader consequences of this approach are outlined in terms of Spell-Out, movement, linearization, thematic uniqueness, and agreement. The book closes with an examination of the relationship between grammatical and conceptual meaning, and a detailed discussion of the nature of compositionality.

About this title

About the Author

Terje Lohndal is Associate Professor of English Linguistics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He got his PhD from the University of Maryland in 2012, and has worked extensively on syntax and the syntax-semantics interface. His work has appeared in journals such as Linguistic Inquiry, Journal of Linguistics, and Journal of Semantics.

Review

Lohndal takes a fresh and clear-eyed look at argument structure and systematically develops an original and intelligent Minimalist theory of the syntax-semantics interface. * Peter Svenonius, University of Tromso * A thoroughly researched and thought-provoking book. An excellent case study of the syntax-semantics interface, which is bound to become influential. * Artemis Alexiadou, University of Stuttgart *

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0199677115
• ISBN 13: 9780199677115
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 186