Stanley Dubinsky

Functional Architecture and the Distribution of Subject Properties

It has long been assumed that subjects have special properties cross-linguistically. Depending on basic assumptions, these have been attributed to the property of “subjecthood” itself or to “certain epistemologically prior notions’. But this assumption (underlying both positions) appears to be flawed. There is ample evidence, cross-linguistically, that no unified notion of subject exists. In this paper, we propose a syntactic account for the unified behavior of subjects in certain types of languages, showing why it is that subjects in certain other languages fail to display these properties. We will first show that languages such as English and French include a syntactic requirement that all subjects be DPs—importantly, this induces a DP node dominating non-NP subjects. However, this is not universal, as data from Bulgarian, Russian, and some V-initial languages show. This makes any semantic account of subject properties untenable. Instead, we suggest that this clustering of DP properties is attributable to the [D]-feature, as proposed in Chomsky 1995. English-type languages are `D-feature prominent’ while languages without this cluster of subject properties are `V-feature prominent’. We further propose that this is correlated with clausal architecture—V prominent languages are those in which TP dominates all Agr projections while in D prominent languages an Agr projection dominates T.

Reproducible research in linguistics: A position statement on data citation and attribution in our field

Abstract This paper is a position statement on reproducible research in linguistics, including data citation and attribution, that represents the collective views of some 41 colleagues. Reproducibility can play a key role in increasing verification and accountability in linguistic research, and is a hallmark of social science research that is currently under-represented in our field. We believe that we need to take time as a discipline to clearly articulate our expectations for how linguistic data are managed, cited, and maintained for long-term access.

Remarks on Grammatical Functions in Transformational Syntax

The broad topic for this volume is the role of grammatical functions in transformational syntax, that is, what role the notions subject and object play in the theory of grammar. There has been a long-standing debate in the field regarding the status of grammatical functions as theoretical primitives or defined notions. The Chomskyan school has consistently stated the position set out in Chomsky’s 1965 Aspects of the Theory of Syntax that grammatical functions are secondary notions that are definable on the basis of phrase structure representations of sentences. Work in other syntactic frameworks (first in Relational Grammar starting in the 1970’s and later in Lexical-Functional Grammar starting in the 1980’s) challenged this position, demonstrating the efficacy of capturing cross-linguistic generalizations in terms of grammatical functions and questioning whether or not these generalizations were available in theories with defined grammatical functions.

Syntactic underspecification and light-verb phenomena in Japanese

This paper explores the consequences of unspecified syntactic features for an analysis of Japanese light-verb constructions. In Japanese, θ-assigning nouns (verbal nouns or VNs) combine with the light verb suru (do) to form hundreds of clausal predicates. A VN can appear adjacent to suru and caseless, or be marked with accusative case. In the second instance, the VN may or may not form a constituent with one of its complements. Prior research into the syntax of these constructions has focused on (i) whether the relationship between the VN and the light verb is derived in the lexicon or is established in the syntax, and (ii) if the latter, whether the several constructions involving VNs are syntactically related. The position adopted here is that VN-plus-suru combinations are syntactic, and further that the extraordinary syntactic behavior of VNs, as well as their ability to generate three superficial structures from a single underlying form, is attributable to their categorial features [N] or [V] remaining unspecified in the lexicon

Case assignment to VP-adjoined positions: nominative objects in Japanese

This paper examines the assignment of nominative case to objects in Japanese, focusing on the structure of potential constructions. Previous proposals (going back to Kuroda 1965 and Kuno 1973) have either suggested that nominative objects are S-structure subjects or proposed that they are S-structure objects that get nominative case via a special rule. This paper takes afresh look at the two alternatives, as embodied in two recent analyses by Saito (1982,1983) and Takezawa (1987), and suggests that, while both approaches are partly correct, another solution is to be preferred. Adopting Saitos position that nominative direct objects do move to get case and Takezawas position that they are not S-structure subjects, it is proposed that they adjoin to VP rather than IP. The first section of the paper presents the VP-adjunction analysis. Sections 2 and 3 examine particular shortcomings of Saitos and Takezawas analyses and demonstrate how the VPadjunction approach solves those problems. Section 4 takes up the issue of nominative objects of monomorphemic predicates and demonstrates how the potential predicate fits into a class of four related verbs that are differently parameterized with respect to case assignment and c-selection.

Up to D[eb]ate on Raising and Control, Part 1: Properties and Analyses of the Constructions

This is the first part of a two-part article that reviews a number of the current debates regarding raising and control constructions. The issues addressed in this part include the syntactic attributes governing their distribution, the characterization of the relevant silent elements, and the empirical properties that may distinguish ⁄unify the two classes of constructions (on either syntactic or semantic grounds).

Complex syntax in the isolated right hemisphere: Receptive grammatical abilities after cerebral hemispherectomy

OBJECTIVES In this study, we explored the syntactic competence of the right hemisphere (RH) after left cerebral hemispherectomy, on the premise that it (syntactic competence) is known to be one of the most strongly left-lateralized language functions. As basic syntactic development for individuals in this subject pool has already been extensively explored, we focused instead on the investigation of complex syntactic constructions that are normally acquired later in childhood, i.e., between 7 and 9years of age. METHODS Grammatical competence in 10 participants who had undergone left cerebral hemispherectomy was compared to that of a group of normally developing children, with the two groups matched by the size of their vocabulary. The two tests we used for this research were created by the 1st language acquisition linguists and were designed to test sets of constructions categorized and differentiated by the order in which they are normally acquired and by the type of grammatical competence that they involve. RESULTS We found that both groups followed the same developmental sequence of syntactic development with five (50%) postsurgical participants (all with prenatal etiologies) reaching nearly mature command of sentence grammar. Seizures negatively impacted performance on all tests. CONCLUSIONS The isolated RH has the potential to support the complex grammatical categories that emerge relatively late in the normal acquisition of English by native speakers. Successful performance may be related to the timing of the initial insult and seizure control following hemispherectomy.

Literacy after cerebral hemispherectomy: Can the isolated right hemisphere read?

OBJECTIVES Cerebral hemispherectomy, a surgical procedure undergone to control intractable seizures, is becoming a standard procedure with more cases identified and treated early in life [33]. While the effect of the dominant hemisphere resection on spoken language has been extensively researched, little is known about reading abilities in individuals after left-sided resection. Left-lateralized phonological abilities are the key components of reading, i.e., grapheme-phoneme conversion skills [1]. These skills are critical for the acquisition of word-specific orthographic knowledge and have been shown to predict reading levels in average readers as well as in readers with mild cognitive disability [26]. Furthermore, impaired phonological processing has been implicated as the cognitive basis in struggling readers. Here, we explored the reading skills in participants who have undergone left cerebral hemispherectomy. METHODS Seven individuals who have undergone left cerebral hemispherectomy to control intractable seizures associated with perinatal infarct have been recruited for this study. We examined if components of phonological processing that are shown to reliably separate average readers from struggling readers, i.e., phonological awareness, verbal memory, speed of retrieval, and size of vocabulary, show the same relationship to reading levels when they are mediated by the right hemisphere [2]. RESULTS We found that about 60% of our group developed both word reading and paragraph reading in the average range. Phonological processing measured by both phonological awareness and nonword reading was unexpectedly spared in the majority of participants. Phonological awareness levels strongly correlated with word reading. Verbal memory, a component of phonological processing skills, together with receptive vocabulary size, positively correlated with reading levels similar to those reported in average readers. Receptive vocabulary, a bilateral function, was preserved to a certain degree similar to that of strongly left-lateralized phonological skills [3]. Later seizure onset was associated with better reading levels. CONCLUSIONS When cerebral hemispherectomy is performed to control seizures associated with very early (in utero) insult, it has been found that the remaining right hemisphere is still able to support reading and phonological processing skills that are normally mediated by the left hemisphere. Our results also suggest the existence of variability in individuals after hemispherectomy, even within groups having the same etiology and similar timing of insult.

FUNCTIONAL PROJECTIONS OF PREDICATES: EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM COORDINATE STRUCTURE PROCESSING

. This paper reports the results of six experiments involving an online selfpaced reading task that examine the processing of coordinate small clause predicate phrases versus coordinated argument NPs. The results have particular significance for the analysis of small clause complement has an Agr projection associated with it. An adequate explanation of the processing of small claue coordination is shown to motivate a new parsing principle, Coordination Feature-matching, which accounts for the longer reading times observed for the coordination of predicates in small clause complements.

Up to D[eb]ate on Raising and Control Part 2: The Empirical Range of the Constructions and Research on their Acquisition

This is the second part of a two-part article that reviews a number of the current debates regarding raising and control constructions. The issues addressed in this part include the spectrum of related raising (e.g. possessor raising, further raising) and control (partial, split, generic, super-equi) phenomena; cross-linguistic typology, including backward and copy constructions; and their acquisition in child language.