Lecture 7 Syntax Transformations

Complement Options Human language allows different complement options. Thus, simple phrase structure rules are formalized to produce a wide variety of phrases and sentences. Information about the complements permitted by a particular word is included in its entry in a speaker’s lexicon: syntactic category phonological representation meaning complement(s) required/allowed

Subcategorization The term subcategorization is used to refer to information about a word’s complement options: S NP Infl VP Pst NP Det N V Det N The boy devoured the sandwich

Subcategorization S NP Infl VP Pst Det N V * The boy devoured

Verbs Complement Example  The boy vanished. NP The farmer cut [NP the tree]. AP The man became [AP very angry]. PP The teacher talked [PP to a student]. NP NP He gave [NP the boy] [NP a pen]. NP PP She gave [NP a certificate] [PP to the student]. PP PP She talked [PP to a doctor] [PP about her son]. NP PP PP We opened [NP the door] [PP for Andy] [PP with a crowbar].

Complement Clauses All human languages allow sentence-like constructions to function as complements: [The teacher knows [that the students will pass]]. Words such as that, if, or whether are known as complementizers (Cs). They introduce an S complement, forming the CP (complementizer phrase).

CP CP S NP VP C Det N Infl V that the students will pass

CPs as Complements S NP Infl VP CP NP Infl VP Det N NonPst V C Det N V The teacher knows that the students will pass

CPs as Complements There is no limit to the number of embedded clauses that can occur in a sentence: A man thought that a woman said that Mary reported that … Each CP complement can contain a verb that permits a complement: -the topmost clause contains the verb think -its complement clause contains the verb say -its complement clause contains the verb report ...

Transformation The phrase structure rule interacts with complement options to form a range of patterns: XP  (Specifier) X (Complement) Yet, this system cannot plausibly describe a number of syntactic phenomena. Some changes are required to accommodate them.

Inversion in yes-no Questions a. Will the boy leave? auxiliary verb to the left of the subject (cf. the XP rule) b. The boy will leave. auxiliary verb in the appropriate position in accordance with the XP rule Can we explain this difference in word order?

Two Steps The yes-no question structures are built in two steps: 1. The XP rule forms a structure in which the head (the auxiliary) occurs between the subject (its specifier) and the VP (its complement): S NP Infl VP Det N V the boy will leave

Two Steps 2. The second step requires a rule that can move an element form one position to another (transformation): Inversion: Move Infl to the left of the subject NP. Will the boy _____ leave?   

Advantages Two advantages: There is only one type of auxiliary verbs in English, and they occur under Infl. An extra process (inversion) accounts for the positioning of auxiliaries in yes-no questions. The two sentences (the statement and the yes-no question) have the same basic structure. They differ only in that inversion has applied to move the Infl category in the question structure.

Deep Structure Surface Structure The transformational analysis claims that there are two levels of syntactic structure: The deep structure (D-structure): formed by the XP rule (It plays a special role in the interpretation of sentences.) The surface structure (S-structure): results from applying the appropriate transformations (It corresponds to the final syntactic form of the sentence.)

Deep Structure Surface Structure The XP rule  D-structure Transformation S-structure

Wh Movement Which theorem should the professor prove? D-structure S NP Infl VP NP Det N V Det N the professor should prove which theorem

Wh Movement The deep structure differs from the surface form. Why? 1. The wh phrase fulfils the complement function: which theorem occurs as complement of the verb prove. (cf. *The professor should prove.) 2. This, also, captures the fact about the meaning of this sentence: which theorem asks about the thing that was proven.

Wh Movement A transformation converts this deep structure into the corresponding surface structure. It moves the wh phrase from its position in D-structure to a position at the beginning of the sentence. This transformation is called: Wh Movement.

Wh Movement Wh Movement: Move the Wh phrase to the beginning of the sentence. Applying the two processes of transformation, Wh Movement and inversion, produces the desired surface structure: Which theorem should the professor _____ prove _____?   inversion   Wh Movement 

Detailed Transformations To which position does the auxiliary verb associate when moved by inversion? In simple Ss, there is no position to the left of the subject (the specifier). The assumption, then, is that all Ss occur within larger CP shells, whether embedded or not. If embedded, the CP can contain an overt complementizer. Elsewhere, the C position is left empty.

CP Shell CP C S NP Infl VP Det N V the boy will leave

Auxiliary Movement The auxiliary is moved into the empty position in yes-no questions. Inversion (revised): Move Infl to C. A transformation changes an element’s position. It does not: -change the category of any word, The auxiliary retains its Infl label. -eliminate structural configuration created by the phrase structure rules The auxiliary’s former position remains in the tree structure, marked by e (for empty) and called a trace.

Auxiliary Movement CP C S NP VP Infl Det N Infl V will the boy e leave inversion 

Do insertion Those birds sing. Do those birds sing? Do insertion: Insert interrogative do into an empty Infl position: D-structure  Do insertion Inversion

D-structure CP C S NP Infl VP Det N NonPst V those birds sing

Do insertion CP C S NP VP Det N Infl V those birds do sing

Inversion CP C S NP VP Infl Det N Infl V do those birds e sing

Relocating the Wh Phrase The auxiliary is located in the C position. So, the fronted Wh phrase will occupy the specifier position of the CP. Wh Movement (revised) Move a Wh phrase to the specifier position under CP. D-structure the professor should prove which theorem  Wh Movement and Inversion S-structure Which theorem should the professor prove?

Relocating the Wh Phrase CP C S NP NP VP Det N Infl Det N Infl V NP Which theorem should the professor e prove e   inversion   Wh Movement 

Relocating the Wh Phrase CP C S NP NP Infl VP NP N Pst V Det N who e proved the theorem  

Assignment for next week Minimalist Syntax