The so-called ad sensum agreement is one of the most significant phenomena in Spanish and other languages. In this paper, we attempt to prove that this kind of agreement can be explained by the mechanisms related to the same factors involved in general agreement, i. e., the syntactic structure and the morphological operations. Our investigation is framed in Distributed Morphology (Halle y Marantz 1993) and it pretends to explain the alternating agreement and the blocking of this alternation in particular contexts, by analyzing, in detail, the structure of the Determiner Phrase and the features involved in the functional projections of the nominal scope.
]]>The so-called ad sensum agreement is one of the most significant phenomena in Spanish and other languages. In this paper, we attempt to prove that this kind of agreement can be explained by the mechanisms related to the same factors involved in general agreement, i. e., the syntactic structure and the morphological operations. Our investigation is framed in Distributed Morphology (Halle y Marantz 1993) and it pretends to explain the alternating agreement and the blocking of this alternation in particular contexts, by analyzing, in detail, the structure of the Determiner Phrase and the features involved in the functional projections of the nominal scope.
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The possessive system in Romance languages constitutes an interesting area of research on linguistic change. In this presentation, we specifically explore some changes observed in Catalan, in order to develop an explanation within the Distributed Morphology framework. Concretely, we study the development of analogic feminine possessives and the loss of the one-possessor/multiple-possessor distinction in the third person paradigm. Our goal is to answer the following questions in the Distributed Morphology framework: what changes? and how is this change explained? We conclude that the modifications in the possessive system of Catalan are the result of changes in the Morphological Structure. Moreover, following the discussions outlined and the comparison with the possessive systems in other Romance languages we present arguments against the directionality of language change.
]]>Abstract
The possessive system in Romance languages constitutes an interesting area of research on linguistic change. In this presentation, we specifically explore some changes observed in Catalan, in order to develop an explanation within the Distributed Morphology framework. Concretely, we study the development of analogic feminine possessives and the loss of the one-possessor/multiple-possessor distinction in the third person paradigm. Our goal is to answer the following questions in the Distributed Morphology framework: what changes? and how is this change explained? We conclude that the modifications in the possessive system of Catalan are the result of changes in the Morphological Structure. Moreover, following the discussions outlined and the comparison with the possessive systems in other Romance languages we present arguments against the directionality of language change.
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