Language Research

Primary and Secondary Predicate Ellipsis in complement and adjunct Small Clauses: A minimalist Approach (Phase Theory)

Shabnam Majidi; Fatemeh Bahrami; Mazdak Anoushe

Volume 13, Issue 2 , May 2023, , Pages 1-1

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2023.352971.666819

Abstract

The phenomenon of the head- and constituent ellipsis is one of the most discussed issues that grammarians have given a different name to each of its types. The present paper deals with ... Read More The phenomenon of the head- and constituent ellipsis is one of the most discussed issues that grammarians have given a different name to each of its types. The present paper deals with a specific type of ellipsis within the clause, which is referred to, in the tradition of generative grammar, as the Right Node Raising, and it is distinct from the deletion of the second coordinate clause, namely gapping. In the aforementioned ellipsis, the verb alone, or together with its dependents, is removed from the first coordinate clause. While examining such structures, the present article analyzes the ellipsis from the coordinate clauses which contain a complement or adjunct small clause, and therefore, due to the simultaneous deletion of the primary predicate (from the main clause) and the secondary predicate (from the subordinate clause), they represent more syntactic complexity of its own. In the analysis, which is based on the assumption of two processes, namely the “verb movement out of the vP” and the “object shift”, the discussed structures are divided into two types: coordinates with a common subject and ones with a non-common subject; and thus, a different explanation is provided for each kind. In coordinates that have a common subject and host a small clause in their argument structure, in fact, two vPs, and not two clauses, are coordinated, and the process known as Across-the-Board movement, which is applied to the verb and the subject of the clause, leaves some gaps in the first coordinate clause in place. In contrary, the ellipsis phenomenon is applied to coordinates with non-common subjects. Since this phenomenon occurs at PF level, it is expected that its occurrence is related to the phase domain. In this research, based on the Phase Theory, as well as the empirical evidence of the Persian, we argue that in the latter structures, ellipsis occurs at the higher phase stage, and the elements that have already reached the edge of the phase are pronounced at the phonetic level, following the Phase Impenetrability Condition.

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There is no Stem: the Distribution of Verbal Allomorphs, a Distributed Morphology Analysis

Mazdak Anushe

Volume 11, Issue 2 , February 2021, , Pages 25-48

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2020.294729.666564

Abstract

It is widely accepted by traditional grammarians and linguists that Persian verbal roots fall into two forms depending on their tense feature: present stem and past stem. In contrast ... Read More It is widely accepted by traditional grammarians and linguists that Persian verbal roots fall into two forms depending on their tense feature: present stem and past stem. In contrast to this traditional view, the present study considers an alternative notion of allomorphy, indicating that a few verbs use a basic form, called “morph”, in all morphosyntactic contexts while some other roots allow for having two or more allomorphs. Within the framework of Distributed Morphology, especially on the basis of underspecification condition, I will review the empirical evidence adduced in favor of the hypothesis that the tense feature has no role in producing and selecting the so-called present and past stems. In this approach, the systematic distribution of verbal allomorphs like /suz/ and /sux/ (derived from “ÖSUZ” = burn) is constrained by some other formal features, such as adjacency to the morphophoneme {D}, absorbing the causative suffix (“-ān” or its free variation “-un”) or appearing in the boundary of a word. Finally, to avoid terminological and empirical confusion, I will suggest that we should avoid the use of the term “stem” altogether and speak of root, morph and allomorphs only. It should be added that the different variations in phonetic shape of lexical roots are divided into two classes: the first one follows from the phonological rules and the second one is affected by the morphophonological (or readjustment) rules. Phonological changes are predictable and produce automatic alternations, but unpredictable morphophonological changes lead to non-automatic alternations. Following the general trend of DM, I restrict the term “allomorphy” to those cases in which the variation in phonetic shape of a morpheme does not follow from the automatic phonological rules of the language. This analysis raises the theoretical question of whether language-specific readjustment rules (i.e. the alteration of root or affix phonology) are needed for morphological theory. Rejecting readjustment rules, I show that allomorphs of verbal roots are independently stored in Vocabulary.

Secondary Predicates in Persian, A Minimalist Approach

Mazdak Anushe

Volume 9, Issue 2 , January 2019, , Pages 1-21

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2018.69526

Abstract

Secondary predicates are among the syntactic structures that have been neglected by the traditional Persian grammarians, but in the course of the last four decades of studies in generative ... Read More

The Position of NegP and Licensing N-words in Persian: A Distributed Morphology Approach

Mazdak Anushe

Volume 8, Issue 1 , June 2017, , Pages 1-20

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2017.63132

Abstract

The syntactic expression of sentential negation has given rise to a lot of research in most linguistic frameworks. During the last few decades of research in generative grammar, studies ... Read More

Sideward Movement of Subjects in the Past Participle Clauses: A Minimalist Approach

Mazdak Anoushe Anoushe

Volume 7, Issue 1 , September 2016, , Pages 1-20

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2016.59411

Abstract

Once DS is abandoned in the Minimalist framework and structure building is carried out by merge, multiple root syntactic objects in a single derivational step are not only allowed in ... Read More

Passive Structure in Persian: A Minimalist Approach

Mazdak Anoushe

Volume 6, Issue 1 , September 2015, , Pages 1-20

https://doi.org/10.22059/jolr.2015.56604

Abstract

Whether or not there is a verbal passive construction in Persian has been ‎highly controversial. Traditional grammarians and most linguists have ‎argued that there is a structural ... Read More

Topicalization and Focus Movement in Persian A Feature-Based Approach

Mazdak Anushe

Volume 1, Issue 1 , November 2010

Abstract

Topicalization and focus movement have been discussed in literature with respect to a vriety of their properties. In Persian, syntactic objects within Tense Phrase, including phrasal ... Read More

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Author = Anoushe, Mazdak Anoushe

Primary and Secondary Predicate Ellipsis in complement and adjunct Small Clauses: A minimalist Approach (Phase Theory)

Abstract

There is no Stem: the Distribution of Verbal Allomorphs, a Distributed Morphology Analysis

Abstract

Secondary Predicates in Persian, A Minimalist Approach

Abstract

The Position of NegP and Licensing N-words in Persian: A Distributed Morphology Approach

Abstract

Sideward Movement of Subjects in the Past Participle Clauses: A Minimalist Approach

Abstract

Passive Structure in Persian: A Minimalist Approach

Abstract

Topicalization and Focus Movement in Persian A Feature-Based Approach

Abstract