This paper discusses one empirical domain where a transitive vP, though being a full propositiona... more This paper discusses one empirical domain where a transitive vP, though being a full propositional construction, does not form a phase. Drawing data from the past transitive structures, aka ergative constructions, in Kurdish, I will demonstrate that the interface-oriented arguments underlying the determination of the first phase (v*P vs. vP) fall short of accounting for the emergent case/agreement pattern in these structures. Instead, à la Chomsky (2008), a view will be endorsed of the first phase in which a vP constitutes a strong phase only if its head is associated with a full complement of φ-features, regardless of whether an external θ-role is projected in [spec,vP]. Thus construed, the identification of a strong phase need not be procrastinated until the whole vP is formed, rather the status of a phase will be decided once a φ-complete/-defective v° enters into the derivation.
This paper is an attempt to develop an analysis of ergativity syntax, focusing on the past transi... more This paper is an attempt to develop an analysis of ergativity syntax, focusing on the past transitive structures in Kurdish where ergativity manifests itself. Adducing evidence from a diverse array of structures that share formal characteristics with the past transitive structure in Kurdish, I will argue that ergativity emerges in transitive structures where (a) the transitive verb, subcategorizing for a complement DP, is defective in terms of accusative case assignment (i.e., unaccusative) and (b) the external argument, i.e., the subject DP, is licensed as the specifier of a high applicative head that takes vP as its complement. Thus analyzed, ergativity is construed as a natural computational corollary deriving from the interaction of independently motivated operations of the narrow syntax.
This paper investigates the syntax of a class of complex predicates in Persian that are commonly ... more This paper investigates the syntax of a class of complex predicates in Persian that are commonly referred to as Impersonal complex predicates (CPrs). Impersonal CPrs are psychological predicates that consist of a psychological state NP and an unaccusative verbal element. These CPrs are distinguished from canonical CPrs in two important respects. On the one hand, the typical subject-verb agreement, instantiated as nominative affixes on the verbal element of a CPr, is missing from Impersonal CPrs. On the other, predicates participating in Impersonal CPrs, as opposed to those in canonical CPrs, fail to undergo nominalization. To account for these peculiar characteristics, I propose a possessor-raising style derivation of the syntactic structure for Impersonal CPrs in which the experiencer subject DP enters the derivation as the possessor of the psychological state NP within the CPr. The possessor experiencer raises to the specifier of an applicative head where it gets case-licensed, and, then to the specifier of TP to satisfy EPP. The proposed structure will capture the subject-verb agreement restriction and the failure to undergo nominalization in Impersonal CPrs in Persian. Thus analyzed, the syntax of Impersonal complex predicates in Persian receives a natural account, without recourse to ad hoc stipulations.
This paper presents an attempt to investigate the origins of ergativity in Iranian languages, dra... more This paper presents an attempt to investigate the origins of ergativity in Iranian languages, drawing upon diachronic and synchronic analyses. In so doing, I will trace the development of the ergative structure back to Old and Middle Persian where, it is argued, the roots of ergativity lie. I will specifically show that the ergative pattern as currently obtains in the grammatical structure of some Iranian languages has evolved from a periphrastic past participle construction the analogue of which is attested in Old Persian. It will further be argued that the predecessor past participle construction imparted a resultative construal in Old Persian and, subsequently, in the transition to Middle Persian, has assumed a simple past reading. The bottom-line of the analysis will be represented as a proposal regarding the nature of the ergative verb, to the effect that an ergative verb, as opposed to a regular (non-ergative) transitive verb, is semantically transitive, but syntactically intransitive.
In this paper, I explore the Defective Intervention effects in the past transitive structures in ... more In this paper, I explore the Defective Intervention effects in the past transitive structures in two dialects of Kurdish, where variation is found in how agreement shows up on the verb. In the Northern dialect, in the presence of a Dative subject, the verb displays full agreement with the Nominative object (in person and number), whereas, in the Central dialect, in the same context, the default third person singular agreement obtains. It will be shown that the Defective Intervention as proposed in Chomsky (2000) and assumed in much subsequent work in the Minimalist Program is not adequate to explain the varied pattern of agreement attested in Kurdish past transitive structures. Drawing on the structural differences in the past transitive constructions in the two dialects, I will introduce a modification into the current formulation of Defective Intervention to the effect that in Dative-Nominative structures, agreement with the Nominative DP is blocked by the intervention of a φ-complete head that licenses the Dative DP and not by the intervention of the Dative DP itself. This approach to Defective Intervention predicts that in structures where the Dative DP is licensed by a φ-incomplete head, the Defective Intervention effects will not arise.
The purpose of this paper is to unravel the intricacies brought about by the eccentric pattern of... more The purpose of this paper is to unravel the intricacies brought about by the eccentric pattern of agreement in Kurdish unaccusative transitive constructions.1 We will propose that there is a strict correlation between Agree in syntax (13 and 14) and Agreement in morphology (Bobaljik, 2008) to the effect that the φ-features shared by the controller and the target of Agreement in PF must match the corresponding φ-features shared via Agree in narrow syntax. We will specifically argue that the φ-feature mismatch at the syntax–morphology interface is responsible for the emergence of the Person-Case Constraint (PCC) effects. Viewing the PCC from this perspective provides adequate grounds to account for the default agreement and focus movement as ways of circumventing the PCC in Kurdish. At an explanatory level this work presents corroborative evidence to conceive of the PCC as an epiphenomenon ensuing from the interplay of the more general principles at the syntax–morphology interface.
In this paper, we will try to shed new light on the ‘Ezafe’ construction in Kurdish.1 Drawing on ... more In this paper, we will try to shed new light on the ‘Ezafe’ construction in Kurdish.1 Drawing on historical facts and tracing the Ezafe back to its origins on the one hand, and the unified relation of adjectives and possessors to the head nouns, namely modification, on the other hand, we will argue for the existence of the predicate phrase which Ezafe realizes its head above the NP. The occurrence of the Ezafe will be attributed to the presence of such a functional head which serves to turn a property expression, assigned to the modifier constituent XP, into a propositional function which in turn needs to be saturated by an argument, that is the head noun. Extending the syntactic realization of predication from clausal domain to nominal domain is part of a broader project, which aims at further assimilation of the structure of DPs to clauses.
This paper discusses one empirical domain where a transitive vP, though being a full propositiona... more This paper discusses one empirical domain where a transitive vP, though being a full propositional construction, does not form a phase. Drawing data from the past transitive structures, aka ergative constructions, in Kurdish, I will demonstrate that the interface-oriented arguments underlying the determination of the first phase (v*P vs. vP) fall short of accounting for the emergent case/agreement pattern in these structures. Instead, à la Chomsky (2008), a view will be endorsed of the first phase in which a vP constitutes a strong phase only if its head is associated with a full complement of φ-features, regardless of whether an external θ-role is projected in [spec,vP]. Thus construed, the identification of a strong phase need not be procrastinated until the whole vP is formed, rather the status of a phase will be decided once a φ-complete/-defective v° enters into the derivation.
This paper is an attempt to develop an analysis of ergativity syntax, focusing on the past transi... more This paper is an attempt to develop an analysis of ergativity syntax, focusing on the past transitive structures in Kurdish where ergativity manifests itself. Adducing evidence from a diverse array of structures that share formal characteristics with the past transitive structure in Kurdish, I will argue that ergativity emerges in transitive structures where (a) the transitive verb, subcategorizing for a complement DP, is defective in terms of accusative case assignment (i.e., unaccusative) and (b) the external argument, i.e., the subject DP, is licensed as the specifier of a high applicative head that takes vP as its complement. Thus analyzed, ergativity is construed as a natural computational corollary deriving from the interaction of independently motivated operations of the narrow syntax.
This paper investigates the syntax of a class of complex predicates in Persian that are commonly ... more This paper investigates the syntax of a class of complex predicates in Persian that are commonly referred to as Impersonal complex predicates (CPrs). Impersonal CPrs are psychological predicates that consist of a psychological state NP and an unaccusative verbal element. These CPrs are distinguished from canonical CPrs in two important respects. On the one hand, the typical subject-verb agreement, instantiated as nominative affixes on the verbal element of a CPr, is missing from Impersonal CPrs. On the other, predicates participating in Impersonal CPrs, as opposed to those in canonical CPrs, fail to undergo nominalization. To account for these peculiar characteristics, I propose a possessor-raising style derivation of the syntactic structure for Impersonal CPrs in which the experiencer subject DP enters the derivation as the possessor of the psychological state NP within the CPr. The possessor experiencer raises to the specifier of an applicative head where it gets case-licensed, and, then to the specifier of TP to satisfy EPP. The proposed structure will capture the subject-verb agreement restriction and the failure to undergo nominalization in Impersonal CPrs in Persian. Thus analyzed, the syntax of Impersonal complex predicates in Persian receives a natural account, without recourse to ad hoc stipulations.
This paper presents an attempt to investigate the origins of ergativity in Iranian languages, dra... more This paper presents an attempt to investigate the origins of ergativity in Iranian languages, drawing upon diachronic and synchronic analyses. In so doing, I will trace the development of the ergative structure back to Old and Middle Persian where, it is argued, the roots of ergativity lie. I will specifically show that the ergative pattern as currently obtains in the grammatical structure of some Iranian languages has evolved from a periphrastic past participle construction the analogue of which is attested in Old Persian. It will further be argued that the predecessor past participle construction imparted a resultative construal in Old Persian and, subsequently, in the transition to Middle Persian, has assumed a simple past reading. The bottom-line of the analysis will be represented as a proposal regarding the nature of the ergative verb, to the effect that an ergative verb, as opposed to a regular (non-ergative) transitive verb, is semantically transitive, but syntactically intransitive.
In this paper, I explore the Defective Intervention effects in the past transitive structures in ... more In this paper, I explore the Defective Intervention effects in the past transitive structures in two dialects of Kurdish, where variation is found in how agreement shows up on the verb. In the Northern dialect, in the presence of a Dative subject, the verb displays full agreement with the Nominative object (in person and number), whereas, in the Central dialect, in the same context, the default third person singular agreement obtains. It will be shown that the Defective Intervention as proposed in Chomsky (2000) and assumed in much subsequent work in the Minimalist Program is not adequate to explain the varied pattern of agreement attested in Kurdish past transitive structures. Drawing on the structural differences in the past transitive constructions in the two dialects, I will introduce a modification into the current formulation of Defective Intervention to the effect that in Dative-Nominative structures, agreement with the Nominative DP is blocked by the intervention of a φ-complete head that licenses the Dative DP and not by the intervention of the Dative DP itself. This approach to Defective Intervention predicts that in structures where the Dative DP is licensed by a φ-incomplete head, the Defective Intervention effects will not arise.
The purpose of this paper is to unravel the intricacies brought about by the eccentric pattern of... more The purpose of this paper is to unravel the intricacies brought about by the eccentric pattern of agreement in Kurdish unaccusative transitive constructions.1 We will propose that there is a strict correlation between Agree in syntax (13 and 14) and Agreement in morphology (Bobaljik, 2008) to the effect that the φ-features shared by the controller and the target of Agreement in PF must match the corresponding φ-features shared via Agree in narrow syntax. We will specifically argue that the φ-feature mismatch at the syntax–morphology interface is responsible for the emergence of the Person-Case Constraint (PCC) effects. Viewing the PCC from this perspective provides adequate grounds to account for the default agreement and focus movement as ways of circumventing the PCC in Kurdish. At an explanatory level this work presents corroborative evidence to conceive of the PCC as an epiphenomenon ensuing from the interplay of the more general principles at the syntax–morphology interface.
In this paper, we will try to shed new light on the ‘Ezafe’ construction in Kurdish.1 Drawing on ... more In this paper, we will try to shed new light on the ‘Ezafe’ construction in Kurdish.1 Drawing on historical facts and tracing the Ezafe back to its origins on the one hand, and the unified relation of adjectives and possessors to the head nouns, namely modification, on the other hand, we will argue for the existence of the predicate phrase which Ezafe realizes its head above the NP. The occurrence of the Ezafe will be attributed to the presence of such a functional head which serves to turn a property expression, assigned to the modifier constituent XP, into a propositional function which in turn needs to be saturated by an argument, that is the head noun. Extending the syntactic realization of predication from clausal domain to nominal domain is part of a broader project, which aims at further assimilation of the structure of DPs to clauses.
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