The Syntax of Givenness Ivona Kucerová
The Syntax of Givenness Ivona Kucerová
The Syntax of Givenness Ivona Kucerová
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Pitch (Hz)<br />
500<br />
400<br />
300<br />
200<br />
100<br />
0<br />
lizatko nasel chlapec<br />
0 3.32218<br />
Time (s)<br />
Figure 1-2: OVS order<br />
Before we get to the actual proposal there is another empirical observation to be established.<br />
Notice that in the examples in (2) the verb occupies the second position. In contrast,<br />
in the examples in (4) the verb linearly follows the arguments. 8 As we will see shortly, two<br />
factors turn out to be crucial for understanding Czech word order variations: the relative<br />
position <strong>of</strong> arguments and the relative position <strong>of</strong> the verb with respect to the arguments.<br />
In the rest <strong>of</strong> this chapter and in the following chapters I will closely investigate the<br />
nature <strong>of</strong> the reordering witnessed in (2). I will argue that this type <strong>of</strong> reordering is derived<br />
by short A-movement that is sometimes parasitic on verb head movement. I will call this<br />
movement G-Movement. This movement happens, I will claim, only in order to derive a<br />
semantic interpretation that would not be available otherwise. As such this kind <strong>of</strong> movement<br />
is driven by interpretation requirements and is restricted by economy.<br />
<strong>The</strong> goal <strong>of</strong> section 1.1 is to introduce the basics <strong>of</strong> a system that can account for the<br />
Czech word order data observed in (2). I will present the proposal in stages.<br />
<strong>The</strong> first version <strong>of</strong> the system, introduced in this section, is designed to account for<br />
the order <strong>of</strong> the arguments and the position <strong>of</strong> the verb. Further refinements will be introduced<br />
in the following chapters. In the next section, section 1.2, I will address the question<br />
<strong>of</strong> how come multiple interpretations are available (only) for basic word orders, such as<br />
SVO. In particular, I will argue that the ambiguity follows from G-movement being a last<br />
resort operation. Section 1.3 will more closely investigate the fact that the verb intervenes<br />
between the two arguments, in contrast to other types <strong>of</strong> reorderings, such as questions<br />
8 To make the picture complete, in questions the verb precedes the arguments.<br />
10