Phrases & clausesDay 6, Sept. 10, 2012Introduction to Syntax

ANTH 3590/7590

Harry Howard

Tulane University

Course management

http://www.tulane.edu/~howard/ANTH3590/

9/1

0/1

2

2

AN

TH

35

90

/75

90

, Ha

rry Ho

wa

rd, T

ula

ne

§2.2 Phrases

9/1

0/1

2A

NT

H3

59

0/7

59

0, H

arry H

ow

ard

, Tu

lan

e3

Phrases

Phrases are formed by merging two words together Every major category projects a phrase. The category that projects the phrase is called the head

of the phrase. They are represented with labelled tree diagrams or

labelled brackets. Minor categories can project a phrase, too.

Note how the infinitive that follows to looks like its noun complement.

Principles of organization Headedness: every non-terminal node is a projection

of a head. Binarity: every non-terminal node is binary branching.

9/1

0/1

2

4

AN

TH

35

90

/75

90

, Ha

rry Ho

wa

rd, T

ula

ne

Binary branching

9/1

0/1

2

5

AN

TH

35

90

/75

90

, Ha

rry Ho

wa

rd, T

ula

ne

A X B

XP

A

X B

XP

X?

Say we come across a phrase consisting of ‘AXB’, with ‘X’ as its head. How can the phrase be represented?

§2.3 Clauses

9/1

0/1

2A

NT

H3

59

0/7

59

0, H

arry H

ow

ard

, Tu

lan

e6

Clauses

What is a clause? A subject and a predicate Something with a conjugated verb

9/1

0/1

2

7

AN

TH

35

90

/75

90

, Ha

rry Ho

wa

rd, T

ula

ne

First try

9/1

0/1

2

8

AN

TH

35

90

/75

90

, Ha

rry Ho

wa

rd, T

ula

ne

PRN T VP[S ]

S

Clauses have a special projection just for them, called ‘S’ for ‘sentence’:

What is wrong with this picture?No binary branching.

No head.

second try

9/1

0/1

2

9

AN

TH

35

90

/75

90

, Ha

rry Ho

wa

rd, T

ula

ne

PRN T VP

T’

Clauses are a projection of Tense:

T ’ is called an intermediate projection, while TP is the maximal projection.

[TP [T’ ]]

TP

Subjects

English is strange in that it requires (tensed) clauses to have subjects. This is another way of saying that English is not

a null subject language. A tensed clause in English needs a subject even

if it has no meaning, such as in the following examples of expletive pronouns: It was raining. There has been an accident.

How to state the requirement for a subject? English Tense auxiliaries appear to carry a

feature (the EPP feature) which requires TP to have a subject.

9/1

0/1

2

10

AN

TH

35

90

/75

90

, Ha

rry Ho

wa

rd, T

ula

ne

Linear word order

The binarity principle creates so many nodes arranged in a hierarchical structure that linear order can be ‘read off’ of it. Linear order is redundant with hierarchical

structure and so should be eliminated. Syntactic trees only contain hierarchical

relationships, e.g. containment and constituent structure.

9/1

0/1

2

11

AN

TH

35

90

/75

90

, Ha

rry Ho

wa

rd, T

ula

ne

Modifiers

Usually are in intermediate projections. 20a) American intervention in Iraq 20b) quite independently of me 20c) straight to bed 20d) so dramatic an ending

9/1

0/1

2

12

AN

TH

35

90

/75

90

, Ha

rry Ho

wa

rd, T

ula

ne

Spec

The position at the beginning of a phrase is called the Spec(ifier) of the head or phrase.

9/1

0/1

2

13

AN

TH

35

90

/75

90

, Ha

rry Ho

wa

rd, T

ula

ne

Ex 2.1

Go over sentences 1-8, p. 70

9/1

0/1

2

14

AN

TH

35

90

/75

90

, Ha

rry Ho

wa

rd, T

ula

ne

NEXT TIMETesting structure, c-command, bare phrase structure, summary

§2.5 - 2.9, Ex 2.2

9/1

0/1

2A

NT

H3

59

0/7

59

0, H

arry H

ow

ard

, Tu

lan

e15