Lecture 5

Phrase Hierarchy

Syntax ABC Syntax is a branch of linguistics that studies how words are combined to form sentences and the rules that govern the formation of sentences.

Hierarchical Structure in Syntax

Verb phrase VP 动词短语Inflection phrase IP 屈折短语Complementaizer phrase CP 标句语短语

Projection 投射 X- Phrase

specifier(spec) X’

X complement(comp)

What is an IP?IP is a term of generative grammar used to analyze the mental structure of a sentence. It stands for inflection phrase. According to the generative doctrine, sentences have hierarchically arranged categorical constituent structure in which sounds are grouped together into words, words into phrases, and phrases into sentences.

This categorical constituent structure can be represented schematically in the form of a labeled tree-diagram, part of the skeleton of which is as the following:

IP  

NP VP

V NP

John hates Bill [IP John [VP hates Bill ]

X-bar

IP

  SPEC I’

I VP 

SPEC V’

V NP

ī

John like this book ‘pres’ John like this book

What is a cp?

that he ‘pres’ like the book

Topicalization

This booki he ‘pres’ like t i

Wh-movement

Whati do you like t i ?

Negative topicalization

Not a soul i did I see t i

Adjunct CP

John, I like him

L1 acquisition in syntax

Let’s start from L1 acquisition…

According to Radford (1996), Children’s L1 acquisition consists of three stages, viz. VP-stage, IP-stage, and CP-stage.

Early child L1 clauses have no functional architecture, and thus lack IP and CP projections. e.g.

want book

Gradually, L1-English children acquire the functional architecture, and step into the IP-stage. e.g. I want the book

Chinese speakers, since childhood, regard a CP as natural as an IP.

[IP 我要这本书 ]

[CP 这本书 i [IP 我要 ti]]

In English, a declarative, root CP never emerges free of context.

THIS BOOK I WANT.

“This book John likes” can be isolated as a sentence but may be regarded as odd by the native speakers of English. When it is embedded in the sentence group on the left, it sounds appropriate to the same informants.

e.g.

Not all your books cater for everyone’s taste. For example, this book john likes, but that book he hates. His roommate, bill, prefers other books.

“[a]clause is only as big as it needs to be. It is an IP unless it has to be a CP.”

Grimshaw (1993)

What is the need?

Not all your books cater for

everyone’s taste. For example,

this book john likes…

exercises

1. John met Bill.

2. John asked whether Bill hated him.

3. “John, why do you think that I hate you?”

Light verb “v” The ball rolled down the hill. He rolled the ball down the hill.