Regulating word order in modern Greek: verb initial and non-verb initial orders & the conceptual-intentional interface
Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: I introduce the notions ‘configurational’, ‘discourse-configurational’, and \nthe basics of the minimalist syntax, on the one hand, and notions relevant to \ninformation packaging, on the other hand (Chapter 1), in the following thee \nchapters I proceed to a detailed examination of the syntactic properties of \nverb-initial and non-verb initial orders, insisting on certain debated aspects. \nIn particular, in Chapter 2, I compare the syntax of VSO and that of the \n‘problematic’ VOS order; I show that what differentiates the two constructions \nis that the latter order is due to a flexible strategy in the narrow syntax that \nallows the object to pied-pipe alongside the verb to the TP domain. In Chapter \n3, I discuss clitic doubling for which I put forward an alternative account \ninvolving feature copying that allows the same DP to occur in two positions in \nthe structure at the same time. In this light, I further argue that clitic \ndoubling is a parameterized version of A-movement. In Chapter 4, I deal with \nthe properties of a range of constructions targeting the preverbal domain. I \nargue that the peculiar behaviour of CLLD is due to that it is the result of two \noperations, namely, A-movement in the form of clitic doubling and A-bar \nmovement. I also show that non-focal LD is more productive than previously \nthought and that the construction involves mere A-bar movement. \nIn the remaining two chapters I shift attention to issues related to the \ndiscourse-configurational nature of the language and information structure. \nAfter I discuss various models of integrating information structure into the \nminimalist grammar (Chapter 5), I argue that Information Structure can refer \neither to pragmatic articulations or more abstract logico-semantic strategies or \nboth. Regarding the latter one, I show that Greek formally realizes via its word \norder two such strategies: a predicative and a non-predicative, the former surfacing as non-Verb initial orders and the latter one surfacing as verb-initial \norders. In the second half of Chapter 6, I deal with the interpretive effects of \ndoubling. In particular, I argue that doubling in Greek invariably marks a DP \nas a topic. I also show that non-focal left dislocated DPs in Greek are fronted \nground material that serves as an anchor for the introduction of new \ninformation into the discourse. \nChapter 7 summarizes the major contributions of the current thesis.
Author: A Kechagias
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W216996622