The Structural PF─Deletion Approach to Sluicing Investigation

Al Zahrani Mohammad, Al Thagafi Khulud

Abstract


The present paper investigates the Hijazi Arabic (HA) morphosyntactic properties of the widely known linguistic phenomenon of sluicing from a generative perspective, taking into account the latest advancements of the Minimalist Approach (Chomsky 1995, 2000, 2001). In this paper, sluicing is a linguistic phenomenon of deleting an entire TP clause, leaving only a wh-remnant. Adopting the Structural PF-Deletion approach, we argue that HA employs sluicing and that the ellipsis site contains a fully-fledged syntactic structure that must be deleted at the PF level after the movement of the remnant to a higher CP. On a par with previous crosslinguistic ellipsis studies, the current study shows that ellipsis is permitted if and only if there is a specific head carrying some specific morphosyntactic properties occurring in a local relation to the ellipsis site. This specific head, with its morphosyntactic properties, licenses for the ellipsis phenomenon to occur. The head properties trigger the whword to move from its base-generated position to the specifier position of this particular head, i.e., Spec CP, and then delete all other constituents included within the TP.

Keywords


Ellipsis, Sluicing, Structural Approach, PF, Deletion, Hijazi Arabic

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abe, J. (2015). The in-situ approach to sluicing (Vol. 222): John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Abels, K. (2018). On sluicing with apparent massive pied-piping. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 1–67.

Aelbrecht, L. (2010). The syntactic licensing of ellipsis: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Al-bukhari, J. (2016). The syntax of elliptical constructions in Jordanian Arabic. Wisconsin Milwaukee.

Al Barrag, T. (2007). Relative clauses in Hijazi Arabic. (MA Dissertation), University of Queensland, Brisbane.

Al Barrag, T. (2014). Noun Phrases in Urban Hijazi Arabic: A Distributed Morphology Approach. (PhD Theoretical Linguistics - Syntax), University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.

Al Barrag, T., & Al Zahrani, M. (2017). Free State Construction. Sino-US English Teaching, 14(2), 104 – 115.

Al Zahrani, M. (2008). Morphology of negation in Modern Standard Arabic and spoken Hijazi Arabic. (MA), University of Queensland, Brisbane.

Al Zahrani, M. (2013). Morphosyntactic and Semantic Properties of Hijazi Arabic Modals. (PhD Theoretical Linguistics: Morpho-Syntax and Semantics Interface), University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland.

Al Zahrani, M. (2014a). Negation in Non-Verbal Clauses- Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Spoken Hijazi Arabic (SHA). Pakistan Journal of Languages and Translation Studies, 2, 31- 49.

Al Zahrani, M. (2014b). The Syntactic Properties of Negatives. US-China Foreign Language(1), 1-17.

Al Zahrani, M. (2015a). Reflexives and Reciprocals in Classical and Hijazi Arabic. Pakistan Journal of Languages and Translation Studies(2015), 28 - 43.

Al Zahrani, M. (2015b). Saudi Speakers' Perception of the English Bilabial Stops /b/ & /p/. Sino-US English Teaching, 12(6), 435-447.

Al Zahrani, M. (2016). Aktionsarten Projection and Subcategorization. The Internaional Journal of Arabic Linguistics (IJAL), 2(1), 46 – 69.

Al Zahrani, M. (2018). Morphosyntactic and Semantic Properties of Epistemic Modals Modifying Verbal Clauses. In P. G. Medina, R. T. Alonso & R. V. Escarza (Eds.), Verbs, Clauses and Constructions: Functional and Typological Approaches (pp. 149 - 166). Newcastle: United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Al Zahrani, M. (2020). Hypothetical and counterfactual mood markers: hierarchical placement. The Internaional Journal of Arabic Linguistics (IJAL), 6, (Accepted April 2020 - still under publishing processes).

Al Zahrani, M. (forthcoming). Modality and the Evaluative Schema. Umm Al-Qura University Journal of Social Sciences, (accepted 5 May 2020).

Al Zahrani, M., & Alzahrani, S. (2019). Negatives scoping over Verbal clauses in Some Arabic varieties. US-China Foreign Language, 17(7), 332 – 344.

Algryani. (2012). The syntax of ellipsis in Libyan Arabic: a generative analysis of sluicing, VP ellipsis, stripping and negative contrast. Newcastle University.

Algryani. (2019). The Syntax of Sluicing in Omani Arabic. International Journal of English Linguistics, 9(6).

Bakalla, M. (1973). The morphology and phonology of Meccan Arabic. (PhD), University of London, London.

Bardeas, S. (2005). The Pronominal Forms in Questions in Makkan Arabic. (Master's thesis), The University of York.

Bardeas, S. (2009). A minimalist approach to the Semitic Construct State. Yourk Papers in Linguistics, 9, 1-22.

Chao, W. (1987). On Ellipsis, unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Chomsky, N. (1977). On Wh-movement. In P. Culicover, T. Wasow & A. Akmajian (Eds.), Formal Syntax. New York: Academic Press.

Chomsky, N. (1981). Lectures on government and binding. Dordrecht, Holland ; Cinnaminson, [N.J.]: Foris Publications.

Chomsky, N. (1995). The minimalist program. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT Press.

Chomsky, N. (1999). Derivaion by Phase. MITOPL 18.

Chomsky, N. (2000). Minimalist Inquiries. In R. M. e. al (Ed.), Step by Step: Essays on Minimalist Syntax in Honor of Howard Lasnik (pp. 53-87). Cambridge, Massachusetts: M.I.T. Press.

Chomsky, N. (2001). Derivation by Phase. In M. Kenstowicz (Ed.), Ken Hale: A Life in Language (pp. 13-127 ). Cambridge, Massachusetts: M.I.T. Press.

Chomsky, N. (2007). Approaching UG from below. Interfaces+ recursion= language? Chomsky’s minimalism and the view from syntax-semantics, 1-29.

Chung, S. (2006). Sluicing and the Lexicon: The Point of No Return. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the annual meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society.

Chung, S., Ladusaw, W. A., & McCloskey, J. (1995). Sluicing and logical form. Natural language semantics, 3(3), 239-282.

Culicover, P., & Jackendoff, R. (2005). Simpler syntax. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Eifan, E. (2017). Grammaticalization in Urban Hijazi Arabic. (Master's thesis), Manchester.

Feghali, H. (1991). Arabic Hijazi Reader. Wheaton: Dunwoody Press.

Fortin, C. R. (2011). We need LF copying: A few good reasons why. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 28th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics, ed. Mary B. et al Washburn.

Ginzburg, J., & Sag, I. A. (2000). Interrogative investigations: The form, meaning, and use of English interrogatives. Centre for the Study of Language and Information.

Hankamer, J., & Sag, I. (1976). Deep and surface anaphora. Linguistic inquiry, 7(3).

Ince, A. (2006). Pseudo-sluicing in Turkish. University of Maryland working papers in linguistics, 14, 111-126.

Ingham, B. (1971). Some Characteristics of Meccan Speech. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 34(2), 273-297.

Kanakri, M. (2018). Sluicing and Standard Arabic. Jordon Journal of Modern Langugaes and Literature, 10(3), 261 – 271.

Kheshaifaty, H. (1996). Numerals: A comparative Study between Classical and Hijazi Arabic. King Saud University, 9(1), 19-36.

Klein, W. (1981). Some rules of regular ellipsis in German Crossing the boundaries in linguistics (pp. 51-78): Springer.

Kolokonte, M. (2008). Bare argument ellipsis and information structure. Newcastle University.

Lasnik, H. (2001). When Can You Save a Structure by Destroying It? Paper presented at the Proceedings of the North East Linguistic Society 31, GLSA.

Leung, T (2014a). Modes of interrogatives entail modes of sluicing: evidence from Emirati Arabic. In S. Farwaneh & H. Ouali (Eds.), Perspectives on Arabic Linguistics XXIV-XXV (207-228): John Bejamins Publishing Company.

Leung, T. (2014b). The preposition stranding generalization and conditions on sluicing: Evidence from Emirati Arabic. Linguistic Inquiry, 45(2), 332-340.

Li, C. N., & Thompson, S. A. (1981). Mandarin Chinese : a functional reference grammar. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Lipták, A & Saab, A. (2014). No N-raising out of NPs in Spanish: ellipsis as a diagnostic of head movement. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 32(4), 1247-1271.

Lobeck, A. (1995). Ellipsis: Functional heads, licensing, and Linguistic identification. New York: Oxford University Press.

Margaret, O. (1975). Saudi Arabic Urban Hijazi Dialect Basic Course. Washington, D.C.: Foreign Service Institute.

McShane, M. (2005). A theory of ellipsis. Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.

McShane, M., & Babkin, P. (2016). Detection and resolution of verb phrase ellipsis. LiLT (Linguistic Issues in Language Technology), 13.

Merchant, J. (1998). Pseudosluicing: elliptical clefts in Japanese and English. ZAS working papers in linguistics, 10, 88-112.

Merchant, J. (2001). The Syntax of Silence: Sluicing, Islands, and the Theory of Ellipsis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Merchant, J. (2003). Remarks on stripping. Ms., University of Chicago.

Merchant, J. (2004). Fragments and Ellipsis. Linguistics and philosophy, 27(6), 661-738.

Merchant, J. (2005). On the Role of Unpronounced Syntactic Structures. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Merchant, J. (2006a). Rethinking the identity conditions in ellipsis. Handout from Ealing.

Merchant, J. (2006b). Sluicing. The Blackwell Companion to Syntax, 271-291.

Merchant, J. (2013). Diagnosing ellipsis. Diagnosing syntax, 1, 537-542.

Merchant, J. (2016). Ellipsis: A survey of analytical approaches. Ms., University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Merchant, J., & Simpson, A. (2012). Sluicing: cross-linguistic perspectives (Vol. 38): Oxford University Press.

Radford, A. (2009a). Analysing English Sentences: A Minimalist Approach: Cambridge University Press.

Radford, A. (2009b). An introduction to English sentence structure. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press.

Ross, J. R. (1969). Guess who. Paper presented at the the fifth regional meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society, Chicago.

Sag, I., & Hankamer, J. (1984). Toward a theory of anaphoric processing. Linguistics and philosophy, 7(3), 325-345.

Sieny, M. (1978). The Syntax of Urban Hijazi Arabic. London: Longman.

Takahashi, T. (1993). Shōrayku ni yotte dekita jutsugo keishiki [Predicate forms created by ellipsis]. Nihongogaku, 12(9), 18-26.

van Craenenbroeck, J. (2010). Invisible Last Resort: A note on clefts as the underlying source for sluicing. Lingua, 120(7), 1714-1727.

Van Riemsdijk, H. C. (1978). A case study in syntactic markedness: The binding nature of prepositional phrases. Studies in generative grammar(4), 1-313.

Wilder, C. (1997a). Phrasal movement in LF: De re readings, VP ellipsis and binding. Paper presented at the PROCEEDINGS-NELS 27, MIT.

Wilder, C. (1997b). Some properties of ellipsis in coordination. Studies on universal grammar and typological variation, 59, 107.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.11n.4p.76

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Bookmark and Share


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

2010-2023 (CC-BY) Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD.

Advances in Language and Literary Studies

You may require to add the 'aiac.org.au' domain to your e-mail 'safe list’ If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox'. Otherwise, you may check your 'Spam mail' or 'junk mail' folders.