Two Types of Agreement

En aquest article voldríem considerar la possibilitat que allò que tradicionalment es coneix com concordança sigui de fet la conjunció de dos fenòmens relacionats però no idèntics que mereixen un tractament independent dins la gramàtica. Intentarem motivar, doncs, una distinció entre allò que anomenarem concordança morfosintàctica i concordança d'índex en tant que dues relacions de concordança que s'estableixen a nivells de representació diferents i en les quals intervenen diferents tipus d'informació. Recolzarem la nostra hipòtesi en arguments i dades referents a la sincronia i la diacronia dels fenòmens de concordanqa de diferents llengües naturals i desenvoluparem les nostres anàlisis en el marc del model Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), una teoria monoestratal, però multinivell, de la gramàtica

Conditions on argument drop

This article pursues the idea that null arguments are derived without any statement or parameter, instead following "naturally" from 3rd factor principles and effects (in the sense of Chomsky 2005). The article thus contributes to the program of eliminating statements in grammar in favor of general factors. More specifically, it develops a theory of C/edge linking in terms of syntactically active but silent C-features, where all referential definite arguments, overt and silent, must match these features in order to be successfully C/edge-linked (interpreted). On the approach pursued, radically silent arguments-such as Germanic zero topics and controlled 3rd person null subjects in Finnish-commonly raise across a lexical C (a complementizer or a verb-second (V2) verb) into the edge of the C-domain for the purpose of successful C/edge linking (circumventing C-intervention), thereby showing (A) over bar -behavior not observed for other types of arguments (including the Romance type of pro). Silent arguments are universally available in syntax, whereas their C/edge linking is constrained by factors (such as Germanic V2) that may or may not be present or active in individual languages and constructions

From zero to ‘you’ and back: A mixed methods study comparing the use of two open personal constructions in Finnish

This article focuses on two Finnish personal constructions which can be used to create indexically open reference, i.e. they can be used to refer to generalized or shared human experiences. These two constructions are the zero-person construction and the open 2nd person singular construction. Using Finnish everyday conversational data, we (i) statistically analyze the distributional semantico-grammatical differences in the use of the zero-person and open 2nd person singular constructions, and (ii) examine these differences on a clausal and sequential level in interactional contexts. In our analysis, we integrate quantitative and qualitative methods. Our aim is to show that by mixing methods it is possible to both reveal the recurring semantico-grammatical patterns of the constructions across a large corpus and analyze how these patterns are shaped by the ongoing interaction.</p

The Peculiar English Pronoun ‘I’

The personal pronoun ‘I’ exhibits some uniqueness in English syntax, morphology and to some extent semantics in sociolinguistic usage. Interestingly, in many languages of the world, there is a near universality of its morphological form or its variants in occurrence.  This paper explores this peculiarity as evident in morphological variation and syntactic deviation and shows that it poses pedagogical implications in the teaching and learning of this personal pronoun. It accounts for concord problems in constructions involving this pronoun. Suggestions are made for its handling in the classroom. Key words.The first person pronoun, morphological variation, syntactic deviation, sociolinguistic usage, universality of orthographic shape and pedagogical implicatio

The spread and decline of indefinite man-constructions in European languages. An areal perspective

In: Paolo Ramat & Elisa Roma (eds.), Europe and the Mediterranean as Linguistic Areas. Convergencies from a historical and typological perspective, 95-131. Amsterdam: John Benjamins