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Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals, Grammar, Comparative and general--Syntax, and Grammar, Comparative and general--Noun

Recent scholarship has confirmed earlier observations that nominalization plays a crucial role in the formation of complex constructions in the world's languages. Grammatical nominalizations are one of the most salient and widespread features of languages of the Americas, yet they have not been approached as foundational grammatical structures for constructions such as relative clauses and complement clauses. This is due to an imbalance in past scholarship, which has tended to focus on these constructions at the expense of the nominalization structures underlying them. The papers in this collection treat grammatical nominalizations in their own right, and as a starting point for the investigation of their uses in complex grammatical structures. A representative sample of Amerindian languages, with focus on South America, examines properties of grammatical nominalizations such as their multiple functions, their internal and external syntax, and their diachronic development. Among the far-reaching theoretical conclusions reached by the studies in this volume is that the various types of relative clauses recognized in the typological literature are actually no more than epiphenomena arising from the different uses of grammatical nominalizations.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Syntax, Grammar, Comparative and general--Noun phrase, and Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals

The architecture of the human language faculty has been one of the main foci of the linguistic research of the last half century. This branch of linguistics, broadly known as Generative Grammar, is concerned with the formulation of explanatory formal accounts of linguistic phenomena with the ulterior goal of gaining insight into the properties of the'language organ'. The series comprises high quality monographs and collected volumes that address such issues. The topics in this series range from phonology to semantics, from syntax to information structure, from mathematical linguistics to studies of the lexicon. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Birgit Sievert

Grammar, Comparative and general--Verb phrase, Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals, Anaphora (Linguistics), Functional discourse grammar, Grammar, Comparative and general--Grammaticalization, and Grammar, Comparative and general--Agreement

The zero coding of referents or other clausal constituents is one of the most natural, communicatively and cognitively-transparent grammatical devices in human language. Together with its functional equivalent, obligatory pronominal agreement, zero is both extremely widespread cross-linguistically and highly frequent in natural text. In the domain of reference, zero represents, somewhat paradoxically, either anaphorically-governed high continuity or cataphorically-governed low topicality. And whether in conjoined/chained or syntactically-subordinate clauses, zero is extremely well-governed, at a level approaching 100% in natural text. The naturalness, cross-language ubiquity and well-governedness of zero have been largely obscured by an approach that, for 30-odd years, has considered it a typological exotica, the so-called'pro-drop'associated with a dubious'non-configurational'language type. The main aim of this book is to reaffirm the naturalness, universality and well-governedness of zero by studying it from four closely related perspectives: (i) cognitive and communicative function; (ii) natural-text distribution; (iii) cross-language typological distribution; and (iv) the diachronic rise of referent coding devices. The latter is particularly central to our understanding the functional interplay between zero anaphora, pronominal agreement and related referent-coding devices.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Morphosyntax, Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals, Finiteness (Linguistics), Functionalism (Linguistics), and Grammar, Comparative and general--Parenthetical constructions

This volume addresses the relation between finiteness and nominalization, which is far more complex than the simple opposition finite-nonfinite. The contributions analyze finiteness cross-linguistically from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives, focusing on a number of topics that has not been thoroughly explored in the literature. First, the correlation between finiteness and nominalization is also affected by a third factor, information structure. Second, there is a correlation between the continuum of finiteness and the scale from main/independent clauses to dependent clauses. Given that of nominalized constructions occur not only in dependent clauses, but also in independent clauses, it is possible to grade according to degree of nominalization, which can then be related to the scale of finiteness. Finally, each of these scales can also be seen as a product the diachronic process of re-finitization and of finitization.

Linguistics, Language and languages, and Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals

The chapters in this volume address current topics in the morphology, syntax, and semantics of nominalizations, drawing on a range of typologically and geographically diverse languages. Nominalizations represent a long-standing puzzle to linguists: How is a noun, such as destruction, related to the verb destroy? The semantic parallel between the deverbal nominalization and its related verb suggests that there is a close connection between the two. This volume contributes to the ongoing debates on how to capture this connection and how to account for the apparent mixed categorical status of nominalizations. This volume is essential for students and researchers interested in the morphology-syntax and syntax-semantics interfaces.

Dependency grammar, Grammar, Comparative and general--Syntax, Grammar, Comparative and general--Noun phrase, Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals, and Grammar, Comparative and general--Verb

Despite a recent spate of publications, the valency of nouns is a topic that still remains in the shadow of the valency of verbs. This volume aims to contribute to the discussion of noun valency not only from a theoretical point of view, as is often the case, but also from an empirical one by presenting a series of studies focusing on particular questions and based on data-driven research. It explores properties of valency nouns in a variety of languages, including Bulgarian, Czech, German, Latin, Romanian, and Spanish. The specificity of this book consists in the diversity of the methodological approaches used. It includes empirical studies and it explores different theoretical frameworks: Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), the Minimalist Program within Generative Grammar, Functional Generative Description (FGD), and Construction Grammar. Special attention is paid to deverbal nouns, but nouns expressing quantity and “compound-like” constructions involving relationship and interactivity are also dealt with.

Russian language--Morphology, Russian language--Case, Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals, and Russian language--Syntax

A proposal for a radical new view of case morphology, supported by a detailed investigation of some of the thorniest topics in Russian grammar.In this book, David Pesetsky argues that the peculiarities of Russian nominal phrases provide significant clues concerning the syntactic side of morphological case. Pesetsky argues against the traditional view that case categories such as nominative or genitive have a special status in the grammar of human languages. Supporting his argument with a detailed analysis of a complex array of morpho-syntactic phenomena in the Russian noun phrase (with brief excursions to other languages), he proposes instead that the case categories are just part-of-speech features copied as morphology from head to dependent as syntactic structure is built.Pesetsky presents a careful investigation of one of the thorniest topics in Russian grammar, the morpho-syntax of noun phrases with numerals (including those traditionally called the paucals). He argues that these bewilderingly complex facts can be explained if case categories are viewed simply as parts of speech, assigned as morphology. Pesetsky's analysis is notable for offering a new theoretical perspective on some of the most puzzling areas of Russian grammar, a highly original account of nominal case that significantly affects our understanding of an important property of language.

Generative grammar, Slavic languages--Grammar, Grammar, Comparative and general--Noun, Historical linguistics, Typology (Linguistics), Grammar, Comparative and general--Syntax, and Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals

The architecture of the human language faculty has been one of the main foci of the linguistic research of the last half century. This branch of linguistics, broadly known as Generative Grammar, is concerned with the formulation of explanatory formal accounts of linguistic phenomena with the ulterior goal of gaining insight into the properties of the'language organ'. The series comprises high quality monographs and collected volumes that address such issues. The topics in this series range from phonology to semantics, from syntax to information structure, from mathematical linguistics to studies of the lexicon. To discuss your book idea or submit a proposal, please contact Birgit Sievert

Typology (Linguistics), Historical linguistics, Grammar, Comparative and general--Noun, Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals, and Grammar, Comparative and general--Syntax

Research on nominalization, a process that gives rise to referring expressions, has always played a central role in linguistic investigations. Over the years there has also been growing evidence that nominalization constructions often extend to non-referential domains. They participate in noun-modifying expressions (e.g. genitive and relative clauses), subordinate clauses and topic constructions, finite structures with the nominalizers reanalyzed as TAM markers, and stance constructions with evaluative, attitudinal, evidential and epistemic overtones. This volume brings together historical and crosslinguistic evidence from more than 20 different languages representing six different language families spanning the Asian continent and the Pacific and Indian oceans to elucidate the strategies and grammaticalization pathways that give rise to both referential and non-referential uses of nominalization constructions. This collection highlights the diversity of strategies and at the same time the robust cyclical nature of change within and across languages. The combined diachronic and typological analyses in this volume are particularly valuable for linguistic research on diachronic morphosyntax and linguistic ‘universals', and are also an important supplementary cross-referencing tool for linguistic investigations of versatile and ubiquitous morphemes in under-documented languages.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals, Grammar, Comparative and general--Determiners--Congresses, Grammar, Comparative and general--Determiners, Definiteness (Linguistics), Definiteness (Linguistics)--Congresses, and Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals--Congresses

Three different nominal word orders in Old English through present-day English are investigated, in order to determine whether English has an'adjectival'possessive similar to Modern Italian. It is argued that the orders a) demonstrative, possessive, noun and b) possessive, demonstrative, noun represent different syntactic constructions, with different paths of development. It is concluded that the a) order represents three different constructions: i) apposition, ii) a possible'adjectival'possessive, no longer found in Middle English, iii) an Early Modern English focus construction using th.

Functionalism (Linguistics), Grammar, Comparative and general--Syntax, Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals, and Grammar, Comparative and general--Noun

The volume explores the syntax of nominalizations, focusing on deverbal and deadjectival nominalizations, but also discussing the syntax of genitives and the syntax of distinct readings of nominalizations. The volume investigates the morpholgy-syntax interface as well as the semantics-syntax interface in the domain of nominalizations. The theoretical frameworks include distributed morphology, and minimalist syntax. Data from a variety of languages are taken into consideration, e.g. Hebrew, Bulgarian, Serbian, French, Spanish, German and English.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Noun, Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals, and Semantics

The volume explores the semantics of nominalizations from different theoretical points of view: formal and lexical semantics, cognitive-functional grammar, lexical-functional grammar, discourse representation theory. Data from a variety of languages are taken into account, including Hungarian, Italian, French, German and English. The papers discuss the semantics of distinct readings of nominalizations and meaning differences observed between competing affixes.

Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals, Definiteness (Linguistics), Grammar, Comparative and general--Quantifiers, and Grammar, Comparative and general--Syntax

This book addresses recent developments in the study of quantifier phrases, nominalizations, and the linking definite determiner. It reflects the intense reconsideration of the nature of quantification, and of fundamental aspects of the syntax and semantics of quantifier phrases. Leading international scholars explore novel and challenging ideas at the interfaces between syntax and morphology, syntax and semantics, morphology and the lexicon. They examine core issues in the field, such as kind reference, number marking, partitivity, context dependence and the way presuppositions are built into the meanings of quantifiers. They also consider how in this context definiteness and the definite determiner D play a central role, and the way in which D is also instrumental in nominalizations. With nominalization, the lexical semantic contribution of verbs and their arguments becomes central, and within the perspective of this book the question is asked whether syntactic nominalizations share with noun phrases the same external layer, namely the functional projection DP. If so, what exactly is the contribution of D in this case, and how much of the lexical correspondence between nouns and verbs is preserved? This book presents the latest thinking on cross-paradigm and cross-linguistic approaches in three of the most vibrant and productive research areas in linguistics. It paves the way towards a more comprehensive understanding of how quantification, definiteness, and nominalizations are encoded in the grammar.

Scandinavian languages--Nominals and Grammar, Comparative and general--Nominals

This monograph presents a new model of the internal syntax of nominal phrases. The model is mainly based on Scandinavian, since with the wide range of variation that Scandinavian displays in the nominal domain, despite the close genetic relationship between the different varieties, Scandinavian is particularly well-suited for explorations into nominal syntax. Among the topics covered are the basic syntactic structure of nominal phrases, definiteness, adjective phrases, possessors, relative clauses, and nominal predicates. The model is however meant to be a tool for analysing the nominal phrase.