Syntax in Theoretical Linguistics
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Questions and Answers

What does Burzio's generalization primarily address?

  • The definition of phrase structure
  • The roles of direct and indirect objects
  • The relationship between subjects and verbs
  • The assignment of structural and inherent case (correct)
  • C-command is a syntactic relationship where one node is above another in a given tree structure.

    True

    What is the primary difference between a head and a complement in syntax?

    A head is the main word of a phrase, while a complement is a dependent that provides necessary information for the head.

    In the context of case assignment, a ______ subject is one that triggers the assignment of a structural case to its complement.

    <p>thematic</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Match the following terms with their correct definitions:

    <p>Nominative-Accusative = A morphosyntactic alignment system where the subject of an intransitive verb and the subject of a transitive verb are marked the same Ergative-Absolutive = A morphosyntactic alignment system where the subject of an intransitive verb is treated like the object of a transitive verb Unaccusative = A verb class where the subject is not an agent and cannot cause the action Unergative = A verb class where the subject is an agent and can cause the action</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Theta Criterion

    • Theta roles are assigned to constituents.

    Constituent Structure

    • Constituents, heads, specifiers, complements, and adjuncts form phrases (like DP, TP, and CP).

    Light Verbs

    • Light verbs are verbs with limited meaning, and their arguments are often part of larger phrases (like vP).

    Internal & External Arguments

    • Internal arguments are directly linked to a verb.
    • External arguments are linked indirectly.

    Head Movement

    • Heads move in syntactic structures.

    Case

    • Case is morphological (related to word forms) or abstract.
    • Case assignment involves determining the case of a noun phrase.

    Grammatical Subject & Object

    • Grammatical subjects and objects are defined by their syntactic roles.

    Thematic Subject & Object

    • Thematic subjects and objects are based on semantic roles.

    Structural Case

    • Inherent cases are already present in the context.
    • Structural case is inherent, or determined by syntactic rules.

    Exceptional Case Marking

    • Exceptions to normal case marking patterns exist.

    Passive

    • A passive sentence reverses the role of the subject and object.

    Agreement

    • Agreement is syntactic and shows how different parts of a sentence agree with each other.

    Controller and Target

    • Controllers and targets are entities within sentences that are correlated.

    Probe and Goal

    • Probes and goals are essential for agreement.

    Headmarking and Dependent Marking

    • Head-marking involves marking heads for agreement, while dependent marking focuses on marking dependents.

    Unaccusative and Unergative Verbs

    • Unaccusatives and unergatives are verb classifications based on argument structure possibilities.

    Morphosyntactic Alignment

    • Alignment describes how grammatical relations are marked.

    Nominative-Accusative and Ergative-Absolutive

    • Nominative-accusative and ergative-absolutive are types of syntactic alignment systems.

    Split Ergativity

    • Split ergativity is a situation where the language has more than one system or pattern of alignment.

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    Description

    This quiz explores key concepts in syntax, including theta roles, constituent structures, and head movement. It focuses on the distinctions between internal and external arguments, as well as the complexities of case assignment. Test your understanding of grammatical and thematic roles in syntactic contexts.

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