Enrique Mallén

A minimalist approach to concord in noun phrases

This article presents an analysis of the structure of DPs in Germanic within the Minimalist theory of Chomsky (1993). Under this framework, parametric variation between languages is conditioned purely by functional morphology. The rich nominal morphology of German is argued to be responsible for many of the differences between German and other languages with respect to the distribution of nominal constituents. Particular attention is paid to the prenominal positioning of proper nouns and attributive adjectives. Both elements are shown to attain their surface position by raising operations, which are triggered by independent morphological features

A syntactic analysis of secondary predication in Spanish

This article argues in favour of a syntactic analysis of secondary predication as first proposed in Williams (I980) and against the semantic approach to predication defended most recently in Napoli (I989). Most of the evidence to be adduced in the proposed analysis comes from Spanish. We posit that secondary predicates are base-generated inside VP in Spanish, confirming Culicover & Wilkinss (1984) and Robertss (I988) analysis for English. Under this hypothesis, object-oriented (O-) predicates occur inside the cdomain of V as sisters to the verbal complement, whereas subject-oriented (S-) secondary predicates attach to VP as sisters to the subject. Based on this asymmetry and adopting Jaegglis (I98I) assumption that initial wh-traces must be lexically identified, we explain the fact that only 0-predicates can undergo wh-movement in Spanish. This restriction on wh-movement follows from the syntactic configuration assigned to secondary predicates in which both predicates are governed by V, but only 0-predicates are c-commanded by V. Following Frampton (I990), we propose that lexical identification of nonthematic wh-traces is only possible via chain-identification and that a trace governed by V can only be chain-identified from a VP-adjoined position due to Minimality. Furthermore, only those constituents governed and ccommanded by V are capable of adjoining to VP. Thus, it follows that whtraces of 0-predicates can be chain-identified as required, while traces of Spredicates fail to be. As a result, a wh-moved S-predicate leaves a trace which is not properly identified and leads to ungrammatical results.

Visualizing and exploring Picasso's world

We discuss the preliminary use of a visualization tool called interactive timeline viewer (ItLv) in visualizing and exploring a collection of art works by Pablo Ruiz Picasso. Our data set is composed of a subset of the Online Picasso Project, a significantly sized online art repository of the renowned Spanish artist. We also include a brief discussion about how this visualization tool can help art scholars to study and analyze an artists life and works.

SUBJECT TOPICALIZATION & INFLECTION IN SPANISH

Spanish is a pure head-initial language, i.e. thematic-role (theta-role) assignment and Case assignment are executed rightwards. As a consequence, thematic arguments of a lexical category are base-generated to the right of the head and need not move to the specifier of IP in order to receive Case at s-structure. An element appears in the specifier of IP only if a feature in Infl needs to be saturated at s-structure through agreement. I argue that one such feature is [-f topic]. Once this feature is generated in the head Infl, an element must rise to a projection ofthat head. Furthermore, this element must agree in the value of the feature [+topic]. As a result, only an expression marked as [H-topic] can move to the relevant [+topic] position. I propose that the saturation requirement on this feature triggers the occurrence of elements in presentential position in a pure head-initial language such as Spanish.

CLITICIZATION IN OLD SPANISH AND WACKERNAGEL’S LAW

This article develops an account of Wackernagel Laws and ToblerMussafias Law in purely syntactic terms. It is argued that clitic distribution in Old Spanish is determined by a mechanism of Agreement (Agr) raising conditioned by obligatory feature-checking, along minimalist lines. Such raising occurs whenever an element occupies the checking domain of the Complementizer (Comp), i.e. CP-adjoined position or spec-CP. Conversely, when no element occurs in this domain, Agr remains in situ. In the former case, Agr attaches to the verb base-generated in Comp. In the latter, the verb moves only to Agr to offer its necessary support at PF. The semantic ambiguity of subjects and adverbs cooccurring with clitic pronouns in Old Spanish is accounted for by assuming that the former two elements may be base-generated in CP-adjoined positions, subsequently lowering at LF, where semantic scope is determined.

Binding relations in noun phrases in Spanish

Abstract This article offers an account of binding relations between noun phrase internal elements and their potential antecedents inside or outside the noun phrase in Spanish by assuming that the distribution of constituents of a noun phrase differs minimally from the distribution of equivalent constituents inside clauses. We show that the location of a noun phrase containing anaphoric elements has important consequences on the availability of coreference relations between these elements and an outside antecedent. By assuming that anaphors or pronouns are coindexed in Spanish with a genitive clitic which optionally raises to Infl, we account for the fact that long-distance anaphors occur in the same environment where wh-movement is licensed; while pro-nominals are possible where wh-movement is illegal.