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 language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 127-151 |
Number of pages | 25 |
Journal | Lingua |
Volume | 133 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Sep 2013 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Case-checking
- Obligatory prepositions
- Theta System
- Underspecified θ-roles
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Language and Linguistics
- Linguistics and Language