THE SYNTAX-SEMANTICS INTERFACE AND THE DOMINO EFFECT. Lucía
Contreras-García ... Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Analysis: 367-400. Oxford:
OUP.
THE SYNTAX-SEMANTICS INTERFACE AND THE DOMINO EFFECT Lucía Contreras-García Department of Theoretical Linguistics, University of Amsterdam, Spuistraat 210, 1012 VT, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Corresponding author email:
[email protected] Abstract
This project attempts at designing a meta-theoretical methodology for the comparison and assessment of grammatical models and their syntax-semantics interface. In order to do so, three grammatical formalisms belonging within three different architectural tendencies are discussed: traditional Generative Grammar (Chomsky 1957, 1965, 1981, 1995 a.o.), the Parallel Architecture (Jackendoff 2002, Culicover & Jackendoff 2005 a.o.) and Functional Discourse Grammar (Hengeveld & Mackenzie 2008, 20010 a.o.). All models are analyzed according to 3 D-properties: Distribution, Derivationality, and Directionality. Distribution is understood as a model’s outsourcing of linguistic information into various representational strata. Derivationality is analyzed as the predetermined, sequenced, step-wise mapping between various strata. Finally, Directionality is seen as the (non-)compulsory direction of derivations between the various strata where linguistic information is distributed, i.e. which are the source and target strata of linguistic input and output, and the consequences that this has upon the architecture of the formalism. These three properties are analyzed for the three models in relation to the syntax-semantics interface: do certain phenomena e.g. quantifier scope ambiguity belong within the syntactic or semantic domain? Is the model derivational, does it allow for mismatches, or is the syntactic level responsible for the semantic one? Is the interface transparent? Does the flux of information take place from syntax onto semantics, from semantics onto syntax, or both? A main research question is whether a domino effect takes place between a model’s approach to Distribution, Derivationality and Directionality: does the Distribution of linguistic information limit the choice as to possible derivational processes at the syntax-semantic interface? Does the choice of a derivational model compulsorily lead to a pre-determined Directionality of interfaces? Or it is indeed possible to mix features of Distribution, Derivationality and Directionality in a single formalism traditionally identified with opposing architectural tendencies of the syntax-semantics interface? References Chomsky, N. (1957). Syntactic structures. The Hague: Mouton. Chomsky, N. (1965). Aspects of the theory of syntax. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Chomsky, N. (1981). Lectures on government and binding. Dordrecht: Kluwer. Chomsky, N. (1995). The Minimalist Program. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Culicover, P. W. & Jackendoff, R. (2005). Simpler syntax. New York: OUP. Hengeveld, K. & Mackenzie, J.L. (2008). Functional Discourse Grammar. Oxford: OUP. Hengeveld, K. & Mackenzie, J.L. (2010). Functional Discourse Grammar. In The Oxford Handbook of Linguistic Analysis: 367-400. Oxford: OUP. Jackendoff, R. (2002). Foundations of Language: Brain, Meaning, Grammar, Evolution. Oxford: OUP.
