PRO in finite clauses: A study of the inflectional heads of the Balkan languages.
Item
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Title
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PRO in finite clauses: A study of the inflectional heads of the Balkan languages.
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Identifier
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AAI9304740
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identifier
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9304740
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Creator
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Terzi, Arhonto.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Richard Kayne
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Date
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1992
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Language, Linguistics
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Abstract
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This dissertation focuses on a set of languages that to different degrees lack infinitival structures, and studies the behavior of the finite representations that have replaced them. More specifically, I investigate the properties of the inflectional heads present in subjunctive clauses of the Balkan languages. These structures are of interest for syntactic theory because they display phenomena that have standardly been associated with nonfinite contexts. Control and clitic climbing are the phenomena that will be of main concern here. The subject obviation commonly associated with subjunctive subordinates of Romance languages is a topic I also investigate.;I initially focus on the subjunctive particle, the element introducing the relevant clauses. I demonstrate that the subjunctive particle, or else M{dollar}\sp0{dollar}, is an element of Infl rather than a complementizer and heads the maximal projection Mood Phrase (MP). I conclude that M{dollar}\sp0{dollar} is an A-head, thus accounting for its distinct behavior from the A{dollar}\sp\prime{dollar}-heads C{dollar}\sp0{dollar} and Neg{dollar}\sp0{dollar}. I argue that the Spec(MP) position can host PRO. Consequently, I attribute the incompatibility often manifested by C{dollar}\sp0{dollar} and M{dollar}\sp0{dollar} to a PRO theorem violation, and thereby weaken the claims which consider the two elements to compete for the same structural position.;I also focus on subjunctive complements of restructuring verbs and inquire into why clitic climbing is impossible in the Balkan languages. I offer empirical support for the claim that clitic climbing can take place over a CP complement and argue that the occurrence of finite Infl is irrelevant for clitic climbing. I conclude that the presence of M{dollar}\sp0{dollar} is the crucial factor rendering clitic climbing impossible in the Balkan languages, while a lexical C{dollar}\sp0{dollar} does not always have the same effect.;I propose a licensing mechanism for the category PRO that reduces licensing of PRO to the well-formedness of a verb movement that adjoins the verb to the uppermost inflectional projection which hosts PRO in its Specifier position. I demonstrate that the role of the subjunctive marker is essential in licensing a PRO subject, as it is able to render licit the proposed verb movement even in finite environments.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
