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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1903/3196

Title: A Syntactic Structure of Lexical Verbs
Authors: Mori, Nobue
Advisors: Uriagereka, Juan
Department/Program: Linguistics
Type: Dissertation
Sponsors: Digital Repository at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Keywords: Language, Linguistics (0290)
Language, Modern (0291)
Language, General (0679)
syntax verb lexical causative Japanese decomposition
Issue Date: 12-Dec-2005
Abstract: In this thesis, I propose a syntactic structure for verbs which directly encodes their event complexities. I present a model that is 'internalist' in the Chomskyan sense: Aktionsart properties of predicates are not a real-world affair, but the interpretation of a mind structure. For this purpose, I base my proposal on the Dimensional Theory of Uriagereka (2005, forthcoming). Syntactic constructs are in this view the results of operations that create increasingly complex objects, based on an algorithm that is homo-morphic with the structure of numerical categories. First, I propose that Aktionsart can be read off from structural complexities of syntactic objects and their associated 'theta-roles'. Specifically, I present the SAAC Hypothesis: Syntactic complexity in a verb is reflected in the number of syntactic arguments it takes. This approach, within the confines of the Dimensional Theory, results in an emergent 'thematic hierarchy': Causer > Agent > Locative > Goal...
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1903/3196
Appears in Collections:Linguistics Theses and Dissertations
UM Theses and Dissertations

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