A syntax for semantic incorporation: generating low-scope indefinite objects in Inuktitut
The range of scope readings for Inuktitut nominal expressions appears superficially to depend on the verbal morpho-syntax, with noun incorporation and antipassive inflection both playing a role. A new model is presented in which the syntactic role played by agreement features in Case theory is unifi...
| Published in: | Glossa: a journal of general linguistics |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Open Library of Humanities
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5334/gjgl.834 https://doaj.org/article/2190a540e96a4e9488c1e48ca08ea684 |
| Summary: | The range of scope readings for Inuktitut nominal expressions appears superficially to depend on the verbal morpho-syntax, with noun incorporation and antipassive inflection both playing a role. A new model is presented in which the syntactic role played by agreement features in Case theory is unified with the absence of a choice functional D in the semantic interpretation. For both, a phase-level D-deletion operation ensures the correct results. The model is shown to account for the scopal properties of nominals in a range of contexts larger than the literature typically considers, including incorporation of predicational, locational, and locative nouns, and non-modalis-marked arguments of non-antipassive verbs. |
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