The Role of Copulas in Theta-Role Assignment

• 발행기관: 한국생성문법학회
• 저자명: Sang Doh Park
• 간행물 정보: 『생성문법연구』제23권 제4호, 657~675쪽, 전체 18쪽
• 주제분류: 인문학 > 언어학
• 파일형태: PDF
• 발행일자: 2013.11.30

영문 초록

A copula can select different types of predicates (e.g., NP, AdjP, or PP) as its complement. It is commonly assumed in the framework of generative grammar that these nonverbal predicates assign a theta-role to their subject whereas the copula plays no role in the process of theta-role assignment because it is semantically empty. This paper presents various pieces of evidence showing that adjectival phrases need to pair up with a copula for theta-marking the subject in a compositional way. Then it also discusses what it takes to create a proper mechanism of theta-role assignment based on the locality condition in order to account for the compositional thematic properties observed in the copular clauses.

목차

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Empirical Evidence for Copulas as Theta-Role Assigners

3. Locality in Theta-Role Assignment

4. The Structure of Predicate Phrases and the Mechanism of Theta-Role Assignment

5. Emergence of Agentivity in Adjectival Predicate Constructions

6. A Problem with the Uniformity of Theta Assignment Hypothesis

7. Concluding Remarks

References

키워드

copulas theta-roles splitting features predicates locality Locus Principle