A Spurious Genitive Puzzle in Polish (original) (raw)
Related papers
Poznań Studies in Contemporary Linguistics 54(4), pp. 637–696, 2018
In this paper it will be argued that the difference between existential and locative sentences is primarily structurally encoded at the vP/VP level (at the first phase of a derivation). The crucial question is which argument of the verb BE (the Location or the nominal argument ('Theme')) is projected as the "external argument", i.e., which argument is the subject of inner predication. In the case of existential sentences it is the Location argument which is the subject of inner predication, and in the case of locative sentences it is the nominal argument. The subject of inner predication becomes by default also the subject of outer predication, i.e., the topic of the sentence. Hence, in the case of locative sentences the nominal argument is the subject of outer predication, i.e., the topic of the sentence, and in the case of existential sentences it is the Location which becomes the topic. (Or, alternatively, the actual topic (the subject of outer predication) might be the situational/event variable, and the Location functions as a restriction on it.) However, the actual arrangement of constituents in the sentences under discussion, as in any other Polish sentence, is determined by the pragmatic/communicative principles. Given this, it is reasonable to think that the NOM/GEN case alternation in negated existential/locative sentences is primarily a matter of syntax, and not one of information structure or scope of negation. The analysis will be modeled in accordance with the phasal model of Chomsky (2000 et seq.).
What HAS to BE used? Existential, Locative, and Possessive Sentences in Polish
That existential, locative and possessive constructions are related in some way is a well-known observation; cf. (1). Since the seminal work of Freeze (1992) it has become more or less a standard analysis to assume that existential, locative and possessive constructions are all derived from the same underlying structure, illustrated schematically in (2). vs. prepositional possessor; cf. (1)) is viewed as a result of syntactic incorporation of a(n abstract) prepositional locative head into BE, giving HAVE and the NP possessor in the former case; cf. (4): 1 (4) a. HAVE = BE + P b. "NP" P + BE [NP THEME t PP ] possessive
Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 2009
This paper addresses the question of the nature of the genitive case-marking on the subject of a negated existential-locative clause. It is shown that this genitive seems to a cross between the usual genitive case-marked objects under negation in Polish and partitive case triggered by perfective aspect. The paper offers new insights into the question of the proper analysis of the nominative-genitive alternation in negated (existential-)locative sentences in Polish. The analysis is set against a broader crosslinguistic context of the discussion about differential argument marking and prominence distinctions.
Formal and Lexical Semantics and the Genitive In Negated Existential Sentences In Russian
1997
Goals 1.1 Theoretical concerns and general goals The theoretical concern of this paper is the integration of formal and lexical semantics, more specifically the traditions of (post-) Montague Grammar and the Moscow semantic school, respectively. We propose to represent lexical meaning in the form of meaning postulates, and the output of compositional semantic interpretation in a formula of intensional logic in which lexical items are primitives, and to integrate lexical and compositional information via entailments from these (and other) sources. We think of the content of a text as a theory determined by a set of axioms together with their entailments. The axioms come from various sources: lexicon, compositional semantics, context and background knowledge. (Broader and narrower notions of semantic or semantico-pragmatic interpretation correspond to the inclusion or exclusion of various potential sources of axioms.) Such a theory characterizes the class of all models that are consistent with the content of the given text, or of the text together with aspects of its context. Some of the most general axioms, which may be taken to form part of the theory of any text, are those that represent some of the most general constraints on possible models of a given language, axioms which contribute to what the Moscow School calls naivnaja kartina mira 'the naive picture of the world' (Apresjan 1974), and what formal semanticists, following Bach (1986), call Natural Language Metaphysics. We do not pretend to have an articulated view of the nature of all the different sorts of axioms that may play a role in the "theory" of a text, but here we will illustrate some of the possibilities.
Case-assignment in Expletive there-constructions in English and Existential Constructions in Serbian
Časopis "Slovo", 2016
Summary: This paper focuses on the syntactic analysis of expletive there-constructions in English and existential constructions in Serbian. The main question which will be dealt with is the case-assignment and there are three approaches concerning this issue. The first one is Chomsky’s (1986) idea of case-transmission, following the theory about partitive case argued by Belletti (1988) and the last theory concerns Sabel’s (2000) DP analysis. Case-pattern in Serbian existential constructions will be presented as well as syntactic variations with verbs imati ‘have’ and biti ‘be’. Key words: Expletive, Existential, Case, Verbs, Genitive
The syntax of two existential unaccusative verbs in Polish
2023
The paper examines the syntax of two unaccusative verbs in Polish-ubyć.perf/ubywać.imperf 'to disappear, to decrease' and przybyć.perf/przybywać.imperf 'to arrive, to increase'-with a view to shedding light on the structure of existential unaccusatives. The two above-mentioned verbs appear in two distinct paradigms-the disappearance/motion verb and the existential one-both of which are taken to represent subtypes of existential structure. Existential verbs are treated here as monadic predicates with a single small clause complement, whose internal structure may vary, depending on the predicate. The two existential unaccusatives analysed in the paper may select two different types of small clause complement, which are different from the small clause selected by the existential być 'to be'. Thus, Polish seems to make use of three different small clause structures in existential clauses. The paper also provides evidence that in Polish, like in English, existential unaccusatives are structurally distinct from change of state unaccusatives, and thus in the two languages there is more than one way to be structurally unaccusative. The account bears on the analysis of the genitive of negation in Polish, especially the issue of its inapplicability to existential unaccusatives versus its presence with the existential być 'to be'.