A Synchronic and Diachronic Study on the Syntactic Structure, Semantics and Pragmatics of English Possessive Forms

虽然Abney（1987）提出的对属格farms的DP分析基本上是正确的，但本研究表明英语中有许多属格形式是不能用DP分析的，而Taylor（1996）提出的复合分析则应该对它们进行分析。从历史上看，自世纪以来，复合属名词的数量一直在稳步增加。我过去三年在美国、加拿大、澳大利亚和英国进行的调查显示，目前这种情况正在增加。因此，它们是我们在研究所有格形式时不可忽视的重要语言形式。很明显，英语，尤其是新闻英语中的生命状态正在消失。通过研究发现，它正在从复合属格中消失，并在与DP分析相一致的属格形式中活跃起来。由于生命性条件本质上是语用的，因此我们应该注意到，语用条件对属格形式的句法结构是敏感的，尽管这一点尚未得到充分的证明。但这并不意味着Det范畴在现代英语中变得不稳定。上述调查表明，所有、两者和停止等预定义词正在向限定词的范畴转移。只有在Det建立良好的情况下，才允许这种转移。因此，我们可以说，Det在现代英语中已经得到了很好的确立。为了进一步激发本研究中提出的主张，我将继续收集数据，并探讨它们对语言变化理论的影响

Although the DP analysis of genitive farms proposed by Abney (1987) seems to be basically correct, the present study has shown that there are many genitive forms in English that are not analyzable by it, and the compound analysis proposed by Taylor (1996) should be adopted for them. It was also shown that historically the compound genitives have been steadily increasing since the 16th century. The surveys I have conducted for the past three years in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Great Britain revealed that they are increasing at the very present time. Therefore, they are important linguistic forms we can never ignore in any study of the genitive forms.This study found an interesting correlation between the compound analysis and the animacy condition. It is clear that the animacy condition is disappearing from English, especially from, journalism English. A new finding through this study is that it is disappearing from the compound genitives and it is alive in the genitive forms that are compatible with the DP analysis. Since the animacy condition is pragmatic in nature, it will be relevant to notice that the pragmatic condition is sensitive to the syntactic structure of the genitive forms, though this point has not yet fully evidenced. But this does not mean that the category Det is becoming unstable in present-day English. The surveys mentioned above demonstrate that predeterminers, such as all, both and halt; are shifting to the category of determiner. This shifting will be allowed only if Det is well established. Thus we can say that Det is well established in present-day English.To further motivate the claims made in this study, I will continue gathering data and pursue their consequences for the theory of language change