Recent developments in the minimalist framework emphasise the importance of the interface between the narrow-syntactic component and the semantic (Conceptual-Intentional) component(s). Accordingly, recent syntactic theorising often endorses a desideratum of ‘interface transparency’: syntactic structures should be transparently legible for the C-I component(s). In this paper I discuss from this perspective one well known property of resumptive relatives, namely the fact that optional resumptive pronouns1 trigger specificity effects. After reviewing the relevant empirical evidence, I briefly discuss two recent approaches to resumption that explicitly endorse interface transparency: the doubling approach developed by Boeckx (2003), and the Agree chain approach proposed by Adger & Ramchand (2005). I tentatively explore an extension of Adger & Ramchand’s proposal which may account for the unacceptability of optional resumptive pronouns in amount relatives, and finally, I return to the semantic side of the issue with a few speculations; I briefly discuss reconstruction effects in resumptive relatives, and I explain why I believe that they do not constitute compelling evidence for a movement derivation of resumption.

Bianchi, V. (2011). Some notes on the 'specificity effects' of optional resumptive pronouns. In Resumptive Pronouns at the Interfaces (pp. 319-342). Amsterdam, Philadelphia : John Benjamins.

Some notes on the 'specificity effects' of optional resumptive pronouns

BIANCHI, VALENTINA
2011-01-01

Abstract

Recent developments in the minimalist framework emphasise the importance of the interface between the narrow-syntactic component and the semantic (Conceptual-Intentional) component(s). Accordingly, recent syntactic theorising often endorses a desideratum of ‘interface transparency’: syntactic structures should be transparently legible for the C-I component(s). In this paper I discuss from this perspective one well known property of resumptive relatives, namely the fact that optional resumptive pronouns1 trigger specificity effects. After reviewing the relevant empirical evidence, I briefly discuss two recent approaches to resumption that explicitly endorse interface transparency: the doubling approach developed by Boeckx (2003), and the Agree chain approach proposed by Adger & Ramchand (2005). I tentatively explore an extension of Adger & Ramchand’s proposal which may account for the unacceptability of optional resumptive pronouns in amount relatives, and finally, I return to the semantic side of the issue with a few speculations; I briefly discuss reconstruction effects in resumptive relatives, and I explain why I believe that they do not constitute compelling evidence for a movement derivation of resumption.
2011
9789027208224
Bianchi, V. (2011). Some notes on the 'specificity effects' of optional resumptive pronouns. In Resumptive Pronouns at the Interfaces (pp. 319-342). Amsterdam, Philadelphia : John Benjamins.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11365/22105
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