The Syntax of Givenness Ivona Kucerová
The Syntax of Givenness Ivona Kucerová The Syntax of Givenness Ivona Kucerová
(51) Reference set for Maximize Presupposition evaluation For the purposes of Maximize Presupposition, the reference set, toward which Maximize presupposition is evaluated, consists of all derivations a. that are based on the same numeration and free insertion of a G-operator, and b. that make the same assertion. I assume that the G-operator is not part of the numeration but it is a syncategoramatic operator which the semantic module can introduce without violating inclusiveness (for example, Chomsky (2000)). A crucial part of the proposal is that the semantic module has the capacity to license an otherwise illicit structure but only if there is no other way to achieve the desired interpretation (see also Fox (2000)). In our case, the illicit operation under discussion is G-movement. We have derived the fact that G-movement is allowed only if it affects the semantic interpretation. Now we can define the relevant condition more precisely. (52) Economy condition on G-movement: The only structure that is allowed is the structure that has the smallest number of G-movements and leads to the relevant interpretation (i.e., assertion and presupposition). The new condition on G-movement has several welcome consequences. First of all, we no longer need to distinguish between movement of a head for givenness and movement of a head which facilitates G-movement. Under the current definition, the only thing that matters is whether the resulting structure allows insertion of a G-operator in a position that would not be available otherwise. Whether the movement affects a new or a given element is irrelevant. To see this, consider the following example and its derivation. (53) a. What about Petr? b. Petra || vítá Marie. Petr.Acc welcomes Marie.Nom ‘Marie welcomes Petr.’ Assuming that a T projection does not need to be inserted in the present tense, 14 the derivation proceeds as in (54). First, the given object moves over the verb, as in (54-a). Then the verb moves to v. Now the object needs to move again, (54-b). Notice that it is not possible to mark the object by a G-operator within VP: since VP is not of an atomic type, the operator would necessarily affect structurally higher material (the verb and the subject; the elements in the scope of a G-operator are marked by a box). After the object moves to vP, the subject is merged, (54-c). In principle the derivation might be able to stop here. The problem is that, in this configuration, there is no position into which a G-operator could be inserted without marking the subject as given as well (which would lead to Presupposition failure). Thus, there is no choice other than to continue the derivation: the verb moves to T, the object moves to Spec,TP and a G-operator can finally be inserted in a position which satisfies Maximize presupposition without leading to Presupposition failure, (54-d). 14 I assume a grammar in which a functional projection is projected only if it is associated with overt material or if it is selected by a higher head. Cf. for example Wurmbrand (2006, To appear). 102
(54) a. VP Petr VP V t Petr b. vP Petr v-V vP t Petr VP *G VP t V t Petr c. vP Subject Petr vP v-V vP t Petr *G VP VP t V t Petr 103
- Page 51 and 52: . Marie [ vP včera dala [ V P rych
- Page 53 and 54: vP Marie vP yesterday vP gave VP qu
- Page 55 and 56: list reading. No such requirement e
- Page 57 and 58: poskytovat jídlo. provide food.Acc
- Page 59 and 60: a. X X X Z X X α b. X α X X X Z X
- Page 61 and 62: existing Agree relation in case it
- Page 63 and 64: 2.4 Summary In this chapter, I have
- Page 65 and 66: 3.1 Deriving the verb partition In
- Page 67 and 68: We will see in the next section how
- Page 69 and 70: e. vP subject vP DO vP v VP v V DO
- Page 71 and 72: If more than one given element may
- Page 73 and 74: c. TP VP book give to-Peter t book
- Page 75 and 76: (20) a. Marie otevřela zase dveře
- Page 77 and 78: cause she was interrupted by her mo
- Page 79 and 80: . TP T-v-V vP Marie vP again vP t v
- Page 81 and 82: move again, (38-b). When the given
- Page 83 and 84: Since the subject is new, the deriv
- Page 85 and 86: stituent containing several given e
- Page 87 and 88: 4.1 Where we stand In the previous
- Page 89 and 90: differently. As we have seen in (2)
- Page 91 and 92: on the semantic component, more pre
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- Page 95 and 96: a. What happens with all the money
- Page 97 and 98: ‘Martin was loved again.’ The c
- Page 99 and 100: Furthermore, I assume that if there
- Page 101: lexical head. In a way, we want the
- Page 105 and 106: c. TP VP book give to-Peter t book
- Page 107 and 108: In the same way that there can be t
- Page 109 and 110: (70) st terminating point object e,
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- Page 113 and 114: Mary managed chair G to-burn d. G-o
- Page 115 and 116: well. Recall that there are two rel
- Page 117 and 118: There is simply no way the G-operat
- Page 119 and 120: (97) a. And what will he read and t
- Page 121 and 122: In this case, the given part is ‘
- Page 123 and 124: To sum up, we now have in place a f
- Page 125 and 126: Generic indefinites behave slightly
- Page 127 and 128: . #Porsche má kamarád mojí ženy
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- Page 133 and 134: Appendix A G-movement is A-movement
- Page 135 and 136: . Svoji kočku má ráda Marie. her
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- Page 141 and 142: A.5 Summary To conclude, we have se
- Page 143 and 144: Biskup, Petr. In preparation. The p
- Page 145 and 146: Dotlačil, Jakub. 2004. The syntax
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- Page 149 and 150: Neeleman, Ad, and Tanya Reinhart. 1
- Page 151 and 152: Selkirk, Elizabeth O. 1995. Sentenc
(54) a. VP<br />
Petr<br />
VP<br />
V<br />
t Petr<br />
b. vP<br />
Petr<br />
v-V<br />
vP<br />
t Petr<br />
VP<br />
*G<br />
VP<br />
t V t Petr<br />
c. vP<br />
Subject<br />
Petr<br />
vP<br />
v-V<br />
vP<br />
t Petr<br />
*G<br />
VP<br />
VP<br />
t V t Petr<br />
103
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