Cover not available
Part of
Advances in the Syntax of DPs: Structure, agreement, and case
Edited by Anna Bondaruk, Gréte Dalmi and Alexander Grosu
[Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 217] 2014
► pp. 267–293

Agreement and definiteness in Germanic DPs

Across a variety of languages, the morphological expression of definiteness and agreement within the noun phrase appears incompatible with the semantic import of these features. Accounts in the literature have responded to this challenge by positing mechanisms such as feature regulation and post-syntactic movement. Focusing on DPs in Germanic languages, we will explore a different perspective, one in which the relevant features are subject to a scopal licensing condition, and where the licensors are subject to a condition of structural economy.
Published online: 14 October 2014
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/la.217.11kat
References (41)
References
Åfarli, Tor. 1994. A promotion analysis of restrictive relative clauses. The Linguistic Review 11: 81–100. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Alexiadou, Artemis & Wilder, Chris. 1998. Adjectival modification and multiple determiners. In Possessors, Predicates and Movement in the Determiner Phrase [Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today 22], Artemis Alexiadou & Chris Wilder (eds), 303–332. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Androutsopoulou, Antonia. 1994. The distribution of the definite determiner and the syntax of Greek DP’s. In Papers from the 30th Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society, Vol.1, Katharine Beals, Jeannette Denton, Robert Knippen, Lynette Melnar, Hisami Suzuki & Erica Zeinfeld (eds), 16–29. Chicago IL: CLS.Google Scholar
Bianchi, Valentina. 2000. The raising analysis of relative clauses: A reply to Borsley. Linguistic Inquiry 31:123–140. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Börjars, Kersti & Donohue, Mark. 2000. Much ado about nothing: Features and zeroes in Germanic noun phrases. Studia Linguistica 54: 309–353. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chomsky, Noam. 2000. Minimalist inquiries: The framework. In Step by Step: Essays in Minimalist Syntax in Honor of Howard Lasnik, Roger Martin, David Michaels & Juan Uriagereka (eds), 89–155. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.Google Scholar
Delsing, Lars-Olof. 1993. The Internal Structure of Noun Phrases in the Scandinavian Languages. PhD dissertation, University of Lund.Google Scholar
Embick, David & Marantz, Alec. 2008. Architecture and blocking. Linguistic Inquiry 39: 1–53. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Embick, David & Noyer, Rolf. 2001. Movement operations after syntax. Linguistic Inquiry 32: 555–595. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Halle, Morris. 1997. Distributed Morphology: Impoverishment and fission. In Papers at the Interface, Benjamin Bruening, Yoonjung Kang & Martha McGinnis (eds), 125–149. Cambridge MA: MITWPL.Google Scholar
Halle, Morris & Marantz, Alec. 1993. Distributed morphology and the pieces of inflection. In The View from Building 20, Essays in Linguistics in Honor of Sylvain Bromberger, Kenneth Hale & Jay Keyser (eds), 111–176. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.Google Scholar
Hankamer, Jorge & Mikkelsen, Line. 2002. A morphological analysis of definite nouns in Danish. Journal of Germanic Linguistics 14: 137–175. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
. 2005. When movement must be blocked: A response to Embick and Noyer. Linguistic Inquiry 36: 85–125. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Heim, Irene & Kratzer, Angelika. 1998. Semantics in Generative Grammar. Malden MA: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Hulsey, Sarah & Sauerland, Uli. 2006. Sorting out relative clauses. Natural Language Semantics 14: 111–137. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ioannidou, Alexandra & den Dikken, Marcel. 2009. P-Drop, D-Drop, D-Spread. In Proceedings of the 2007 Workshop in Greek Syntax and Semantics at MIT [MIT Working Papers in Linguistics 57], Claire Halpert, Jeremy Hartman & David Hill (eds), 393–408. Cambridge MA: MITWPL.Google Scholar
Julien, Marit. 2002. Optional ha in Swedish and Norwegian. The Journal of Comparative Germanic Linguistics 5: 67–95. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Katzir, Roni. 2011. Morphosemantic mismatches, structural economy, and licensing. Linguistic Inquiry 42: 45–82. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kayne, Richard. 1994. The Antisymmetry of Syntax. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press.Google Scholar
Kester, Ellen-Petra. 1993. The inflectional properties of Scandinavian adjectives. Studia Linguistica 47: 139–153. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kolliakou, Dimitra. 2004. Monadic definites and polydefinites: Their form, meaning and use. Journal of Linguistics 40: 263–323. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lekakou, Marika & Szendrői, Kriszta. 2007. Eliding the noun in close apposition, or Greek polydefinites revisited. In UCL Working Papers in Linguistics, Vol.19, Richard Breheny & Nikolaos Velegrakis (eds), 129–154. London: University College London.Google Scholar
Leu, Thomas. 2008. The Internal Syntax of Determiners [GAGL 47]. PhD dissertation, New York University.Google Scholar
. 2009. From Greek to Germanic: Poly-(*in)-definiteness and weak/strong adjectival inflection. In Merging Features: Computation, Interpretation, and Acquisition, José Brucart, Anna Gavarró & Jaume Solà (eds), 293–310. Oxford: OUP.Google Scholar
Lohrmann, Susanne. 2010. The Structure of DP and its Reflex in Scandinavian. PhD dissertation, University of Stuttgart.Google Scholar
Marinis, Theodoros & Panagiotidis, Phoevos. 2007. Determiner spreading as DP predication. Ms, University of Reading and Cyprus College.Google Scholar
Milner, Judith & Milner, Jean-Claude. 1972. La morphologie du groupe nominal en allemand. DRLAV 2, Université de Paris VIII.
Norris, Mark, Mikkelsen, Line & Hankamer, Jorge. To appear in. Licensing trouble. Linguistic Inquiry 45(4).
Orešnik, Janez. 1972. On the epenthesis rule in Modern Icelandic. Arkiv för nordisk filologi 87: 1–32.Google Scholar
Partee-Hall, Barbara. 1975. Montague grammar and transformational grammar. Linguistic Inquiry 6: 203–300.Google Scholar
Roehrs, Dorian. 2006. The Morpho-syntax of the Germanic Noun Phrase: Determiners Move into the Determiner Phrase. PhD dissertation, Indiana University, Bloomington.Google Scholar
Schachter, Paul. 1973. Focus and relativization. Language 49: 19–46. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schlenker, Philippe. 1999. La flexion de l’adjectif en allemand: La morphologie de haut en bas. Recherches Linguistiques de Vincennes 28: 115–132. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sigurðsson, Halldór Ármann. 1993. The structure of the Icelandic NP. Studia Linguistica 47: 177–197. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sproat, Richard & Shih, Chilin. 1988. Prenominal adjectival ordering in English and Mandarin. In Proceedings of NELS 18 , James Blevis & Julie Carter (eds), 465–489. Amherst MA: GLSA.Google Scholar
Sternefeld, Wolfgang. 2004. Feature checking, case, and agreement in German DPs. In Explorations in Nominal Inflection, Gereon Müller, Lutz Gunkel & Gisela Zifonun (eds), 269–299. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Taraldsen, Knut Tarald. 1991. Two arguments for functional heads. Lingua 84: 85–108. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Travis, Lisa. 1984. Parameters and Effects of Word Order Variation. PhD dissertation, MIT.Google Scholar
Vangsnes, Øystein Alexander. 1999. The Identification of Functional Architecture. PhD dissertation, University of Bergen.Google Scholar
. 2004. Rolling up the Scandinavian noun phrase. Handout of a talk presented at the 27th GLOW Colloquium.
Vergnaud, Jean-Roger. 1974. French Relative Clauses. PhD dissertation, MIT.Google Scholar