Non-Specific Objects in the Pseudopassive : the syntax and semantics of English pseudo-incorporated pseudopassives

Jillian Mills

ISBN 10: 3838321103 / ISBN 13: 9783838321103

Verlag: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 2009

Beschreibung

nach der Bestellung gedruckt Neuware - Printed after ordering - This thesis introduces a special form of pseudopassive that differs from previously discussed forms in that it includes a direct object adjacent to the verb. It is shown that the direct object position in this construction is restricted to NPs that lack D(eterminer)-level projections. As a result, the direct object can only receive a non- specific interpretation, resists certain types of modification, extraction, and scope interactions. These constructions are newly termed pseudo- incorporated pseudopassives (PIPPs), foreshadowing the analysis that I come to posit. English PIPPs are compared with similar sentences involving non-specific objects identified across a variety of languages, and previous analyses of these constructions are discussed. A novel analysis for the English pseudo-incorporated pseudopassive is suggested which targets both the syntactic and semantic aspects of this curious utterance.

Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 9783838321103

Bibliografische Details

• Titel: Non-Specific Objects in the Pseudopassive : the syntax and semantics of English pseudo-incorporated pseudopassives
• Verlag: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2009
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN-10: 3838321103
• ISBN-13: 9783838321103
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Zustand: Neu

Über diesen Titel

Inhaltsangabe

This thesis introduces a special form of pseudopassive that differs from previously discussed forms in that it includes a direct object adjacent to the verb. It is shown that the direct object position in this construction is restricted to NPs that lack D(eterminer)-level projections. As a result, the direct object can only receive a non- specific interpretation, resists certain types of modification, extraction, and scope interactions. These constructions are newly termed pseudo- incorporated pseudopassives (PIPPs), foreshadowing the analysis that I come to posit. English PIPPs are compared with similar sentences involving non-specific objects identified across a variety of languages, and previous analyses of these constructions are discussed. A novel analysis for the English pseudo-incorporated pseudopassive is suggested which targets both the syntactic and semantic aspects of this curious utterance.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

completed a B.A. with Honours in Linguistics at McGill University then continued her studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which culminated in this current work, her Master of Science thesis. Subtle variations in the Syntax and Semantics of English fascinate her still, now returned to McGill and Montreal.