PP-verbs: The phenomenon of obligatory Ps (in Hebrew)

Irena Botwinik

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

The paper provides evidence for the status of P as an independent syntactic head, projecting a thematically licensed PP. The paper focuses on Hebrew verbs whose internal argument is realized obligatorily as a PP, rather than a DP (PP-verbs) and develops a principled account, as to the occurrence of the PP and the function of P with these verbs. The main claim advanced in the paper, The Underspecification Hypothesis, couched in the Theta System framework (Reinhart, 2002), defines these verbs as having an underspecified internal θ-role, rendering them incapable of Case-checking. Addressing the semantic and syntactic consequences of 'underspecification', I illustrate the semantic effects of the 'fully specified'/'underspecified' distinction, and argue that the role of P in PP-verb constructions, unlike in locative constructions, is to check the Case of its DP complement, rather than to assign it a θ-role. Consequently, I provide evidence for the status of P as an independent syntactic head, projecting a thematically licensed PP. Finally, I discuss the proposal from a cross-linguistic perspective, using the variation attested between Hebrew PP-verbs and their Russian and English counterparts, and suggest specific sources for the observed cross-linguistic variation.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)127-151
Number of pages25
JournalLingua
Volume133
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Sep 2013
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Case-checking
  • Obligatory prepositions
  • Theta System
  • Underspecified θ-roles

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Language and Linguistics
  • Linguistics and Language

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