Multiple Nominative and Form Sequence
Toru Ishii, Nobu Goto
June 2021
 

In this paper, we examine in detail the structural relation between the multiple nominative phrases, presenting new empirical evidence that there is no formal c-command relation between them, contrary to the prediction of the standard analysis. Based on the evidence, we claim that the multiple nominative construction be analyzed as a pure sequence, proposing that it is an instance of order-restricted flat-formation operation Form Sequence, which Chomsky (2019b/UCLA, 2020/LSJ, 2021b/WCCFL) proposes as one of the true components of Universal Grammar (UG) along with the order-free set-formation operation MERGE. This paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, we will provide novel data showing that there is no formal c-command relation between multiple nominative phrases. In Section 3, we will propose to derive the multiple nominative construction from Form Sequence, and show that the proposal can provide a principled explanation for the fact that the multiple nominative construction is a root phenomenon, which was previously not well understood. Furthermore, in this section, we will consider why the multiple nominative construction is not allowed in English, presenting a Determinacy-based account for the impossibility. We will also scrutinize the properties of Form Sequence through a comparison with MERGE, pointing out that Form Sequence may be a more general and basic operation than MERGE, and confirming that the analysis of multiple subject constructions based on Form-Sequence is not ad hoc. Section 4 concludes.
Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/005931
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: Unpublished manuscript, Toyo University and Meiji University
keywords: multiple nominative, form sequence, flat structure, sequence, determinacy, first merge, binarity, resource restriction, form set, determinacy, labeling syntax
previous versions: v2 [June 2021]
v1 [May 2021]
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