Elicitation of VP Ellipsis

This dissertation examines Ilocano, an Austronesian Filipino language, within the Minimalist Framework, in an effort to tease apart the general syntactic properties of the language. I show that Ilocano underlying structure can easily be captured within the standard syntactic structures proposed for languages generally (Universal Grammar). In my examination of ellipsis in Ilocano, I concern myself strictly with syntactic and not semantic properties. I show that syntactic feature distribution (e.g. [+FOC], [+NEG], [+DET]) in combination with the two basic operations of the Minimalist Program: FEATURE-CHECKING and MERGE can account for both the underlying structure of Ilocano utterances as well as the word-order at Spell-Out, without making any stipulations not found in languages generally.My research also reveals new insights and corrects existing assumptions about certain previously undiscovered underlying structural properties of Ilocano. I account for the restrictive word ordering and structure found in Ilocano by assigning a universally applicable, non-controversial set of functional and lexical features to morphemes. These features satisfy, individually or collectively, feature-checking requirements in the language, resulting in the attested output of Ilocano. The types of ellipsis considered as a diagnostic toward that end are: NP-ellipsis, Bare Argument Ellipsis/Stripping, Gapping, Sluicing and Psuedogapping. I argue that the primary mechanism which licenses ellipsis in Ilocano is FOCUS-RAISING which allows extraction of remnant material prior to ellipsis of the TP in the case of all verbal-type ellipsis in Ilocano; or the DP in terms of Ilocano NP-ellipsis.

Mandarin Chinese is said to be a radical pro-drop language, in the sense that verbal arguments in this language can be dropped rather freely. However, in this dissertation, I show that the omission of arguments in Mandarin Chinese is in fact constrained by various conditions. First, I demonstrate that the availability of a discourse topic is insufficient to license empty categories in Mandarin Chinese by showing that subject and object positions cannot be left empty at random. Some empty subject positions are neither true instances of nominal ellipsis nor variables bound by discourse topics; instead, they are a side effect of verb or vP movement followed by TP-ellipsis. Next, I address the issue of when objects can be "dropped" in Mandarin Chinese. I argue that structural parallelism built on verbal identity between sentences plays an important role in licensing `objectless' sentences. I propose that the mechanism responsible for the creation of such sentences is V-stranding VP-ellipsis rather than argument ellipsis. In the last part of this dissertation, I show that, although we cannot rely on the strength of discourse alone to account for empty categories, the concept of topic-hood is nevertheless implicated in the appearance of certain empty argument positions in sentences used in monologues. I claim that subject pro in Mandarin Chinese must have as its antecedent an element located in an A'-position, which can be overt or covert. In addition, I suggest that the differences between Italian, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese with respect to the use of subject pro can be boiled down to the featural properties of the covert topic TOP preceding subject pro: this covert topic has inherently valued phi-features in Italian and Japanese, while its counterpart in Mandarin Chinese does not. / Linguistics

Ellipsis is a phenomenon whereby constituents which are normally obligatory in the grammar are omitted in actual discourse. It is found in all types of discourse, from everyday conversation to poetry. The omitted constituents can range from one word to an entire clause, and recovery of the ellipted item depends sometimes on the linguistic and sometimes on the non-linguistic context. From a practical point of view, the contribution of ellipsis in the context is twofold. First, it is one of several important means of achieving cohesion in a text. Secondly, ellipsis contributes to communicative appropriateness determined by the type of linguistic activity (e.g., narrative, casual conversation), the mode of communication (e.g., written / spoken) and the relationship between participants. The aim of this research is to provide a description of the functions of elliptical utterances – textual and interpersonal – in English and Japanese, based on a cross-linguistic analysis of dialogues in the English and Japanese map task corpora. In order to analyse ellipsis in relation to its two key functions, elliptical clauses in the map task dialogues were examined. I discuss how ellipsis is used to realise cohesion in the map task dialogues. The findings challenge the well-known claim that topics are established by full noun phrases, which are subsequently realised by pronouns (English) and null pronouns (Japanese). Rather, the results suggest that full noun phrases are used for topic continuity in both languages. Constituents which are ellipted in an utterance are identified and related to the moves types which the utterance realises within the exchange structure. The ellipted elements will be categorised according to the constituent types (Subject, Finite, Predicator, Complement and Adjunct), using the systemic functional approach. This analysis reveals that whereas in the English dialogues the most common types of ellipsis are that of Subject and Finite elements, in the Japanese dialogues the most common type is that of Subject. Types of ellipsis are also correlated with speech acts in the dialogues. The relation between types of ellipsis and particular speech acts associated with them is strikingly similar in the English and Japanese dialogues, despite the notable difference in grammar and pragmatics between the two languages. This analysis also shows how these types of ellipsis are associated with interpersonal effects in particular speech acts: ellipsis of Subject and Finite can contribute to a sharp contrast in the question and answer sequence, while Subject ellipsis in Japanese can contribute to modifying the command-like force in giving instructions. These effects can be summed up as epistemic and deontic modality respectively. Ultimately, it is argued that some types of ellipsis can serve as modality expressions. Additionally, in comparison to the way of realising the speech act of giving instructions in the English dialogues, it emerges that the Japanese speakers exploit ellipsis, which seems to be associated with lowering the degree of the speaker’s commitment to the proposition. As implications for pedagogical settings, I present pedagogical descriptions of ellipsis for Japanese learners of English and English learners of Japanese. Since the description is for specific learners, the approach which takes the difference in grammar and pragmatics between the two languages is made possible. Although descriptions state some detailed facts of ellipsis in English and Japanese, primarily highlighted is the importance of raising awareness of elliptical forms for particular functions in particular contexts. As ellipsis is a product of forms, functions and contexts, it is a most remarkable feature of spoken language. Spoken language is claimed by some researchers to show similar linguistic features among languages because of the restrictions inherent in the medium on communication. In the form of pedagogical description, I show the similarities and differences in ellipsis which derive from the grammar and pragmatics of each language, which are observed in the preceding linguistic research. Through the presentation of the findings which are modified for learners, learners will know how languages show convergence and divergence cross-linguistically.

This thesis investigates the structure of DPs in Jordanian Arabic (JA) focusing on Nominal Ellipsis (NE). Cross-linguistically, research on NE has produced a number of perspectives on the mechanisms involved in the licensing of NE. I argue that most of the mainstream approaches to NE cannot capture the full set of the ellipsis facts in JA, and that the ellipsis data in JA can be best captured under the ellipsis and stranding approach of Saab and Lipt ak (2016). I show that ellipsis takes place at two levels inside the DP, and that pronominalization arises as a by-product of a stranded affix scenario due to the application of ellipsis at the lower NP level. The investigation of NE in JA has implications for the structure of DPs containing numerals and for possessive DPs. It will be shown that that two classes of numerals in JA occupy different structural positions in the extended nominal projection giving rise to different agreement patterns and affecting the possibilities of ellipsis. As concerns possessive DPs, I investigate the behaviour of the Construct State and Free State constructions under ellipsis. I argue that the two constructions behave differently under ellipsis, and that the possessor DP merges in different positions. Overall, this thesis contributes signi cantly to the debate on the necessary conditions(s) for ellipsis licensing in the DP. It also has implications for the structure of the DP in Arabic.

No description available.

There are four phenomena that are particularly troublesome for theories of ellipsis: <br>the existence of sloppy readings when the relevant pronouns cannot possibly be bound; an ellipsis being resolved in such a way that an ellipsis site in the antecedent is not understood in the way it was there; an ellipsis site drawing material from two or more separate antecedents; and ellipsis with no linguistic antecedent. <br>These cases are accounted for by means of a new theory that involves copying syntactically incomplete antecedent material and an analysis of silent VPs and NPs that makes them into higher order definite descriptions that can be bound into.

This thesis presents a study of a construction which I refer to as Verb-Stranding VP Ellipsis. The construction is studied here, specifically, in two distinct senses. First, in chapter two, diagnostics are proposed by which the VP Ellipsis ("VPE") construction can be identified—irrespective of whether the main verb involved is null or overt. It is proposed that these diagnostics can be used to rule out the possibility that the data at issue are cases of other types of null anaphora, such as null arguments, Stripping, Gapping, and Null Complement Anaphora. It emerges from this section of the thesis that Modern Hebrew, Modern Irish, and Swahili have V-Stranding VPE data which form a natural class with English's Aux-Stranding VPE, while Japanese, Korean, Italian, and Spanish do not. The second focus is the question of how V-Stranding VPE should be generated. Chapters 3 and 4 argue in favor of an analysis involving PF Deletion of a VP out of which the main verb has raised, and against an LF Copying treatment. These arguments, in part, involve the Verbal Identity Requirement on VP Ellipsis, a novel generalization involving strict identity in root and derivational morphology between the antecedent- and target clause main Vs of the construction. Within the previously known requirement that elided phrases express semantically Given information, I argue that this generalization results from the fact that the head of an elided phrase must itself express Given information—whether or not the head surfaces as phonologically null. / Dans cette étude, on considère en detail une construction que j'appelle « L'élision d'une expression verbale sans l'élision du verbe principal » (anglais « V-Stranding VP Ellipsis »). Cette construction est étudiée ici, spécifiquement, dans deux sens distincts. Dans le chapitre 2, on propose des diagnostics grace auxquels on peut identifier la construction « élision d'une expression verbale » (« EEV », anglais « VP Ellipsis »), que le verbe principal dans l'expression verbale soit manifeste ou élidé. On soutient que ces diagnostics peuvent être utilisés pour éliminer la possibilité que les données pertinentes soient des exemples d'autres types d'anaphore nulle, tels que argument du verbe nul, le « Stripping », le « Gapping », et le « Null Complement Anaphora ». Ainsi, on propose dans cette section que l'EEV sans l'élision du verbe dans les grammaires de l'hebreu, de l'irlaindais et du swahili forme une classe naturelle avec l'EEV avec l'élision du verbe en anglais. On soutient aussi que cette construction n'existent pas en japonais, en coréen, en espagnol, ou en italienne. Ensuite, on considère la question de comment génerer les exemples d'EEV sans l'élision du verbe. Dans les chapitres 3 et 4, on propose une analyse qui utilise la suppression d'une expression verbale au niveau de la Forme Phonologique (« la suppression FP », anglais « PF Deletion ») aprês le placement du verbe principal a une position en dehors de l'expression verbale, et on presente une explication de la raison pour laquelle une analyse qui utilise des copies de la Forme Logique (« copie FL », anglais « LF Copying ») n'est pas viable. Ceci implique, en partie, la Condition d'Identite Verbale, une généralisation proposé ici pour la premiêre fois, impliquant une identité stricte de la racine et dans la morphologie dérivationnelle entre les verbes principaux des propositions antécedentes et des propositions ciblés. Dans le cadre de la condition connue selon laquelle les syntagmes élidés expriment une information sémantique donnée (anglais « Given »), j e soutiens que la condition d'identité verbale resulte du fait que la tete d'un syntagme élidé doit elle-meme exprimer l'information donnée sémantiquement—que la téte soit phonologiquement manifeste ou nulle.

Notre étude est centrée sur les mécanismes elliptiques au sein des anaphores associativesméronymiques. Nous sommes partie de l’hypothèse que dans ce type d’anaphore, il existe deuxstructures : une structure profonde et une structure de surface. La première consiste en la présence destrois éléments : le tout, le prédicat partitif et la partie. La deuxième, où apparaissent les différents typesd’ellipse, fait l’objet de notre travail.Nous nous sommes attardée sur trois types d’ellipse que nous considérons caractéristiques desanaphores méronymiques : l’ellipse du prédicat partitif, celle du deuxième élément de la structure N DeN et celle de l’antécédent anaphorique. Traitées séparément, les anaphores nominales, les anaphoresverbales et les anaphores adverbiales ont été soumises dans un premier temps à une descriptionsyntactico-sémantique et dans un deuxième temps à la théorie des trois fonctions primaires. Cettethéorie nous a permis d’expliquer la possibilité pour certains éléments, d’être élidés au sein del’anaphore associative méronymique. / Our study focuses on elliptic mechanisms within associative meronymic anaphora. We departed fromthe assumption that in this type of anaphora, there are two structures: a deep structure and a surfacestructure. The first consists in the presence of three elements: the whole, the partitive predicate and thepart. The second, which shows the different types of ellipsis, is the topic of our work.We focused on three types of Ellipsis, which we considered typical meronymic anaphora: ellipsis ofpartitive predicate, ellipsis of the second element of the structure [N De N] and that of the anaphoricantecedent. Treated separately, nominal anaphora, verbal anaphora, and adverbial anaphora wereinitially submitted to a syntactic-semantic description, and then, to the three primary functions theory.This theory allowed us to explain the ability of certain items to be elided in the associative meronymicanaphora.

<p>The Recycling Hypothesis of verb-phrase ellipsis states that elided verb phrases with non-parallel antecedents are interpreted by reconstructing the appropriate verb phrase structure using the information available in the antecedent (Arregui, Frazier, Clifton, & Moulton, 2006). The hypothesis predicts that structurally more complex antecedents will involve more complicated reconstruction operations, which will lower the acceptability of the sentences. The experiments reported in this thesis tested two underlying assumptions of the Recycling Hypothesis as well as one prediction that follows from the proposal. First, the hypothesis assumes that elided verb phrases with parallel antecedents are interpreted by copying the structure of the antecedent into the ellipsis site (Frazier & Clifton, 2001). Second, Arregui et al. (2006) argued that changes in verbal morphology were “really easy (p. 242)” to recover from, suggesting that verbal morphology is not a factor in determining parallelism between the antecedent and elided verb phrases. Results from three written survey experiments in which participants were asked to judge the acceptability of verb-phrase ellipsis with matching or non-matching verbal morphology contradicted these assumptions. Morphologically more complex antecedents were rated less acceptable than simpler antecedents, regardless of whether the antecedent morphology matched the morphology on the elided verb phrase. The fact that verbal morphology affected acceptability ratings suggests that this factor plays a critical role in determining parallelism in ellipsis. Furthermore, the fact that parallel antecedents patterned with non-parallel antecedents suggests that the two must be processed in a similar fashion. Finally, if more complex antecedents require more complicated reconstruction operations, it might be predicted that word-by-word reading times at the ellipsis site should be correlated with the level of difficulty (Gibson, 1998). One self-paced reading experiment using the same materials showed no such correlation. These results are discussed with reference to two other psycholinguistic theories of verb-phrase ellipsis comprehension.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)