John J. Lowe

Clitics: Separating syntax and prosody

A problematic feature of clitic positioning attested in a number of languages is the ability of a clitic to appear inside a syntactic unit of which it is not itself a part, apparently due to prosodic restrictions on its positioning. The influence of prosody on syntax presents a challenge for any formal account, particularly any that strives to respect a modular view of the grammatical architecture. I present an account of clitic positioning within a recently proposed model of the syntax–phonology interface that aims at full modularity, showing that it is indeed possible in such an architecture, and showing where and how prosody and syntax interact in this model.

Complex predicates: an LFG+glue analysis

In this paper I discuss weaknesses in the traditional LFG account of complex predicates and in the XLE implementation of the same. I argue that the concept of predicate composition in general, and the mechanisms required to achieve it, are problematic, but that the most problematic element is the concept of argument fusion. I show that a semantically-integrated account of complex predicate formation is possible within LFG+glue, an account which provides a simple and effective formalization of argument fusion, and which does not suffer from the weaknesses of traditional approaches.