abstract: In this thesis, I explore Cognate Object Constructions COCs (e.g. The clown "laughed" a creepy "laugh") through three research questions: (1) What verbs can accept Cognate Objects COs? (2) Why can these verbs accept COs and other verbs cannot? and (3) How are COCs derived? I demonstrate that Sorace's Hierarchy sheds light on which verbs can accept COs and which cannot by explaining the discrepancies in grammaticality judgments that exist in the literature. I then argue that Hale and Keyser's Conflation account of COCs is not minimalist because it relies on a phenomenon that can be reduced to Merge. After commenting and repairing their account, I provide an outline for a more minimalist framework, which I refer to as "Problems of Projection Extensions" PoP+, that focuses on MERGE, workspaces, labeling theory, phases, and determinacy. Inside this framework, I then develop my own account that depends on only Internal Merge and the constraint in English against stranded articles. With my account situated in this PoP+ framework, I am able to approach the research questions from a syntactic perspective, arguing that the Unergative Restriction on COCs is a result of a determinacy violation in the derivation of Unaccusative COCs. Finally, I point out that, being situated in the PoP+ framework, my account opens COCs up to further investigation not possible before. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Linguistics and Applied Linguistics 2019

Research in communication disorders suggests that training linguistically complex forms will generalize to untrained, simpler forms with similar structural properties (see Thompson, 2007 for review). The present study investigated generalization patterns from transitive verbs to two classes of intransitive verbs following administration of Verb Network Strengthening Treatment (VNeST; Edmonds, Nadeau & Kiran, 2009). Based on the Argument Structure Complexity Hypothesis (ASCH; Thompson, 2003), it was predicted that greater generalization would occur to unergatives because unergatives bear a structural relationship to transitive verbs and unaccusatives do not. Results at post-treatment supported the hypothesis with both intransitive verb types showing generalization and slightly higher effect sizes observed for unergative than for unaccusative verbs. At maintenance, this pattern was not maintained due to improvements in production of unaccusative verbs. Results support the findings of Edmonds et al. (2009) that administration of VNeST results in gains on measures of untrained, semantically related verbs as well as standardized measures of lexical retrieval and connected speech. These results also suggest that training transitive verbs results in slight generalization to untrained intransitive verbs; however, it is inconclusive whether unergative and unaccusatives intransitives show differential improvement. / Communication Sciences

This thesis investigates the gradient behaviour of monadic intransitive verb classes in Turkish, under an aspectual classification of the unaccusative/unergative verb types, namely The Split Intransitivity Hierarchy. This Hierarchy claims that intransitive verb types are subject to gradient acceptability in certain syntactic constructions. The methods used in judgment elicitation studies in psychophysics, such as the magnitude estimation technique have recently been adapted to be used in capturing gradient linguistic data. Also, the practical benefits of the Internet directed researchers to design and conduct web-based experiments for linguistic data elicitation. Research on Human Computer Interaction offers suggestions for the design of more usable user interfaces. Considering these developments, in this thesis, a web based experiment interface has been designed as an extension to the magnitude estimation technique to elicit acceptability judgments on two syntactic constructions, i.e. the -mIS participle (the unaccusative diagnostic) and impersonal passivization (the unergative diagnostic) for different verb types on the Split Intransitivity Hierarchy. The experiment was conducted on the Internet. The results show that in the two diagnostics, the verb types receive categorical or indeterminate acceptability judgments, which allows us to specify the core or peripheral status of the verbs. Within the classes we have examined, change of state verbs constitute the core unaccusative verbs, and controlled (motional and non-motional) process verbs constitute the core unergative verbs. Stative verbs and uncontrolled process verbs are peripheral unaccusatives and unergatives, respectively. Change of location verbs (with an animate subject) are close to the unergative end.

本論文旨在探討「掉」出現在動詞後面時的語意內涵與語法地位。我們認為當「掉」身為結果補語時，它的意思為「被往下移除」；身為動相標誌時，意思為「被移除」；身為動貌標誌時，則標示起始意。「掉」經常與及物和非作格動詞形成複合動詞：與靜態動詞、瞬間動詞及達成動詞構成達成複合動詞，與動作動詞及完成動詞則構成完成複合動詞。雖然V-掉的論元結構經常是其前置動詞與「掉」之論元結構的結合體，但在某些情況下「掉」可能會壓制前置動詞的論元、幫V-掉複合動詞增加新論元或先壓制前置動詞的論元再幫V-掉複合動詞增加新論元。最後，我們採用虛化的理論來解釋為何「掉」具有多重語意及多重語法地位。由於「掉」符合Hopper (1991)所提出的虛化原則，因此我們相信「掉」的確正處在虛化的過程中。 / There are two main questions about post-verbal diao we dealt with in the present study: one is its meanings, and the other is its syntactic status. We argue that when diao acts as a resultative complement, it means ‘to be removed in a downward direction’, when it acts as a phase marker, it means ‘to be removed’, and when it acts as an aspect marker, it bears a grammatical meaning indicating inchoative. Post-verbal diao usually co-occurs with transitive and unaccusative verbs to form compounds. When diao goes with State, Semelfactive and Achievement verbs, the V-diao compounds will be Achievements, when diao goes with Activity and Accomplishment verbs, the V-diao compounds will be Accomplishments. In most cases, the argument structure of a V-diao compound is a composition of the argument structure of the preceding verb and that of diao. However, diao will suppress the Goal argument when co-occurring with three-place transactional verbs; it will create an argument for the V-diao compound when the argument of the preceding verb and that of diao are incompatible; it will suppress an argument of the preceding verb and create a new one for the V-diao compound when occurring with verbs which have an incremental theme. Grammaticalization is taken to account for the polysemy and the multiple syntactic status of post-verbal diao. Because except specialization, diao follows all of the principles (i.e. Layering, Divergence, Persistence, and De-categorialization) proposed by Hopper (1991), we suggest it is in the process of grammaticalization.