Weak Islands and Scope

本项目的总体目标是通过研究一种被称为“弱岛效应”的约束来研究语法-语义接口。该项目旨在利用代数语义重新解释和修订弱岛研究的一些最新进展。两个中心假设是：(1)弱岛效应是一种范围现象；(2)wh -短语和其他操作符的范围能力是由它们的指称语义属性和句法位置决定的。涉及英语、匈牙利语和荷兰语特定现象的跨语言比较将用于促进语法和语义如何相互作用的澄清。这些结果将适用于政府约束理论和范畴语法。

ABSTRACT The general goal of the proposed project is to investigate the syntax--semantics interface through an investigation of a constraint known as the "weak island effect." The project aims to reinterpret and revise some recent developments in the research of weak islands, using algebraic semantics. The two central hypothesis are as follows: (i) The weak island effect is a scope phenomenon, and (ii) The scope-taking abilities of WH-phrases and other operators are determined by their denotational semantic properties as well as their syntactic positions. Cross-linguistic comparisons involving specific phenomena in English, Hungarian, and Dutch will be used to facilitate the clarification of how syntax and semantics interact. The results will be accommodated in Government-binding theory and in Categorial Grammar.