Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Chomsky's Government and Binding theory'

Published Article
The role of the Projection Principle within Chomsky's Government-Binding (GB) Theory is to preserve the subcategorisation properties of lexical items at all levels of syntactic representation, viz. D-structure, S-structure, and Lexical Form. Arguments have been made that the Projection Principle is a new concept that is simply an extension of theTransformational Component (XFM) and Emonds' Structure-Preserving Constraint (SPC), and that it does not deserve the high status it has been accorded in GB theory. This paper provides evidence, based on sentences involving movement operations, that the Projection Principle is innovative and that it convincingly addresses what theXFMandSPChave failed to address.

This thesis deals with two aspects of operators within the framework of Government and Binding theory; (i) how they are assigned their scope, and (ii) how they are licensed. In an attempt to answer these questions, the relation of Move $ alpha$ (such as scrambling, NP-movement, and wh-movement) to the scope of operators and the licensing of wh-elements, negative polarity items, and adverbs are examined. It is argued that scope assignment is dictated by the Scope Principle and the Empty Category Principle. It is also argued that licensing of operators is determined by the Feature-Dependent Item Criterion. These principles and criterion make use of the concept of Government Theory Compatibility, which is built into Relativized Minimality. It is suggested that this concept should be characterized in terms of a set of lexical features. The approach advocated here accounts for the interpretive and distributional behavior of operators without recourse to parameterization of LF principles.

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This academic work deals with the unaccusative verbs and the free inversion of the subject in declarative sentences in Brazilian Portuguese (BP). This study is based on a bibliographic review, in the light of the Generative Syntax, under the Government-Binding (GB) Theory. It is proposed by Chomsky (1981), in accordance with the Principles and Parameters model. Firstly, a summary of the fundamental topics (Lexicon, Verb Subcategorization, Case Theory, θ-Theory, Argument Structure) within the GB is made, not to mention that these topics are absolutely related to the main subject. Thereafter, the unaccusative verbs (monoargumental) and their particularity are presented. A comparison is made between the unaccusative and the inergative verbs. Although they are both monoargumental verbs, they have different syntactic structures from each other. Their Dstructures show such differences.The unaccusative verbs subcategorize a Determiner Phrase (DP) complement (in the object place), while the inergative ones select an external argument. When the inversion of the DP subject occurs, it remains in its original position within the Verb Phrase (VP). According to relevant authors (Pontes, 1986; Kato, 2000; Menuzzi, 2003) to this work, the unaccusative verbs are compatible with the V(erb)S(ubject) order in BP. The occurance of two kinds of agreement is verified in the sentences when the DP subject occupies the post-verbal position. When the verb agrees with the post-verbal DP subject ([pro] Chegaram as visitas), the agreement results from a chain between the post-verbal DP subject and the null expletive pro. When the verb remains in the 3rd person of singular ([pro] Chegou as visitas), it reveals that the agreement is with the pre-verbal null expletive pro, singular according to Mioto et al. (2007). The agreement with the pre-verbal expletive is likewise in French. However in French the pre-verbal expletive is not null; it is the lexical one il.
Este trabalho trata sobre os verbos inacusativos e a livre inversão do sujeito em sentenças declarativas do português brasileiro (PB). É um estudo, com base em revisão bibliográfica, à luz da Sintaxe Gerativa, sob a perspectiva da Teoria da Regência e da Ligação (TRL), proposta por Chomsky (1981), em conformidade com o modelo Princípios e Parâmetros. Primeiramente, é feito um apanhado de tópicos fundamentais (Léxico, Subcategorização Verbal, Teoria do Caso, Teoria Theta, Estrutura de Argumentos) para a TRL, bem como relacionados ao assunto a ser discutido. Após essa exposição, são apresentados os verbos inacusativos (monoargumentais) e as suas especificidades. É feita uma comparação entre os verbos inacusativos e os inergativos, tendo em vista serem ambos monoargumentais. Apesar disso, apresentam estruturas sintáticas completamente distintas. Suas estruturas-D mostram tais diferenças. Os inacusativos subcategorizam um Determiner Phrase (DP) complemento (posição de objeto).Os inergativos selecionam somente argumento externo. Quando ocorre a inversão do DP sujeito, este permanece em sua posição de base, dentro do V(erb)P(hrase). De acordo com autores relevantes (Pontes, 1986; Kato, 2000; Menuzzi, 2003) para este trabalho, os verbos inacusativos são compatíveis com a ordem V(erbo)S(ujeito) no PB. Nas sentenças VS com inacusativos, são verificadas duas possibilidades de concordância. Quando o verbo concorda com o DP sujeito pós-verbal ([pro] Chegaram as visitas), a concordância resulta da cadeia entre o DP sujeito pós-verbal e o expletivo nulo pro pré-verbal. Quando o verbo permanece na 3ª pessoa do singular ([pro] Chegou as visitas), a concordância é realizada com o expletivo nulo pro pré-verbal, que, de acordo com Mioto et al. (2007), é singular. A concordância com o expletivo pré-verbal é como no francês, por exemplo. Porém, no francês, o expletivo pré-verbal não é nulo, é lexical (Il).

Magister Artium - MA
The purpose of this study is to investigate how subject PRO of the infinitive in Sesotho is assigned an antecedent The general framework which is assumed is the Government Binding theory of generative grammar, in particular one of its subtheories, namely the Control theory which is concerned with the assignment of an antecedent to the subject PRO in the infinitive. A survey of the work done by various linguists on the Infinitive in Bantu languages shows that much has been written on the properties of the infinitive. In the Nguni languages, especially in Xhosa, considerable research has been done to establish the syntactic nature of the infinitive in the various constructions that it may occur. The Infinitive in Sesotho has, however, not been studied extensively. The central issue of this study relates to establishing the antecedent of the subject PRO of the infinitive in the various constructions in which it may appear. It is demonstrated that in some instances it is possible for two different NP arguments in a sentence to serve as a possible antecedent of the empty category PRO. This examination of control of the subject PRO in the infinitive in Sesotho has revealed the following: The subject PRO in the infinitive must have antecedent. In such cases the empty category PRO which is obligatory control is considered to behave like an anaphor, because as an empty of the clausal complement it must take its referential index from either the subject or object argument of the matrix sentence. This implies that the empty category PRO has no capacity for independent reference. 2. The subject PRO in the infinitive may have an In such cases the empty category PRO which is subject to non-obligatory control is considered to behave like a pronoun, because the empty category PRO may either refer to individuals independently or co-refer to individuals already named on a given sentence. Finally the subject PRO in the infinitive can at times have no antecedent at all In such cases the empty category PRO is subject to arbitrary control, because its antecedent may be implicit This has been established in the following instances: 3.1 There are cases where the infinitive is a complement of a Verb or a Copulative with the subject position occupied by an empty existential pronominal which is associated with the existential morpheme Ho. This pronominal is an empty category just like PRO, but is in a non-argument position, for it lacks a thetha-role. This is attributed to the fact that the existential pronominal associated with Ho, which signifies "it" or "there" is a dummy element and has therefore no semantic role. Therefore the antecedent of the subject PRO in the infinitive can be "anyone in general". The interpretation thereof is known as arbitrary control. It has also been established that, the Nominal infinitive, which has in Sesotho, like all other nominals, a class prefix which is morphologically marked with a prefix Ho, is subject to arbitrary control (see 3 above). This is attributed to the fact that its subject NP-argument has a non-referential expression which is thus ungoverned, because it has no agreement (-AGR) and can therefore not be assigned Case.

This dissertation investigates, within a Government-Binding framework, the licensing mechanisms which regulate the distribution of sentence-internal constituents. It is proposed that the licensing requirements apply across components, in the spirit of the Projection Principle of Chomsky (1981). Under the extended view of licensing proposed here ("Universal Licensing"), maximal projections must comply with the appropriate licensing requirements at every syntactic level of representation.
This allows for a more constrained model of grammar, under which a number of facts follow in a principled way; this is the case particularly with respect to constructions involving null operators. Thus, from the D- and S-Structure conditions on null operator licensing, we derive the cross-linguistic as well as the language-internal distribution of resumptive pronouns. Furthermore, some of the well-known, but so far stipulated, constraints on parasitic gap (PG) constructions are shown to follow from general principles: we explain for instance the fact that PGs must be sanctioned at S-Structure, as well as the inability of adjunct movement to license PGs.
The consequences of Universal Licensing on the distribution of PGs are examined with particular reference to adnominal PGs in French genitival relatives. It is shown that the properties displayed by these little-studied ("double dont") constructions, in conjunction with the Universal Licensing Principle, shed significant light on a number of issues, among which the thematic structure of nominals, and the nature of the locality constraints on null operator identification.

Thesis (M.A.)--West Virginia University, 1999.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains v, 54 p. : ill. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 51-53).

This is a study of the Nominal Piece and its Temporals in Dargiyyah Arabic based on the Theory of Government and Binding. Dargiyyah is the hometown of the Saudi Royal Family and the informants participating in the collection of data from this Arabic dialect are aged women who have had very little exposure to foreign influences, such as Classical or Egyptian Arabic. This restriction on the informants is because the new generation no longer speaks this dialect of Arabic. The analysis of this dialect of Arabic ie Dargiyyah Arabic Dialect (D.A.D.) has shown that sentential configurations are of two different kinds: verbal or nominal. The verbal sentence has a VP category while the Nominal sentence has no VP category at any level of syntactic representation, rather it has an NP or a PP predicate. The NP predicate may have a noun, an adjective, an ordinal numeral, or a participle as its head because all these word classes in D.A.D. represent nominals. As for the PP predicate, it is composed of a preposition and its complement. The assumption that the D.A.D. nominal sentence is not derived from a sentential configuration that has a VP category at its Logical Form (ie LF) is verified by two basic premises. The first is the fact that the D.A.D. nominal sentence subsumes to different syntactic rules from those applicable to the verbal sentence. The second is the fact that time is indicated in the nominal sentence by means of an NP that is generated in its Comp, and is called a "temporal NP"; therefore, there is no logical necessity for the assumption that the nominal sentence has a VP category at its LF. The first premise may be exemplified by the fact that the rule of subject inversion is only applicable to the verbal sentence, and not to the nominal sentence. It may also be demonstrated by the fact that the reflexive clitic in the nominal sentence is different from the verbal sentence ie in the nominal sentence, it is a nominal and in the verbal sentence it is a verbal affix. Furthermore, the NP predicate in a nominal sentence is assigned nominative Case whereas it is assigned objective Case in the verbal sentence. As for the indication of time in the D.A.D. nominal sentence, it is solely dependent on the presence of a temporal NP in its Comp., contrary to the verbal sentence, in which it is partly indicated by the temporal NP in its Comp, and partly by the verb form ie whether it be perfective or imperfective. This not only demonstrates the difference in the syntactic behaviour between a nominal sentence and a verbal one but also verifies the second premise ie as an NP in D.A.D. syntax is capable of indicating time, there is no need for the assumption that the nominal sentence in D.A.D. has a VP category at its LF or even an "abstract" VP category at all its levels of syntactic representation. The non-feasibility of the presence of an "abstract" VP category in the D.A.D. nominal sentence for the sake of its time indication is not only refuted on the basis of the fact that the NP in D.A.D. syntax may also indicate time but also on the basis of the fact that a category may be empty if and only if its features are semantically recoverable by another element in the same sentence. Such is the case with the NP category when it is empty, for example in D.A.D., we have an argument small pro, an impersonal small pro, an NP-trace and a variable, all of which partition the syntactic distribution of the NP category and whose features are recoverable by a local determiner or an antecedent. If on the other hand, we assume that the VP category may also be empty, then its features must be recoverable by another element in the sentence. But this is not possible in D.A.D. syntax because the verb form is associated with either the Perfective or the Imperfective aspect whereas the D.A.D. temporals, which are generated in Comp, as an NP, are associated with the syntactic features of present, past, future or continuous time reference; therefore, neither the temporal nor the verb can substitute for the other because each conveys a different time perspective. Accordingly, it is maintained that whenever the perfective or the Imperfective aspect is required, then the sentential configuration has a VP category at every level of its syntactic representation and in such a case we have a verbal sentence. But whenever these aspects are not required, then there is no VP category at any level of its syntactic representation and we have a nominal sentence, whose present, past, future and continuous time reference is indicated by the presence of a temporal NP in its Comp. The temporal in D.A.D. has been regarded as being of the NP category because it may have as its head a temporal nominal, which represents one of the subclasses in the general class for nominals in D.A.D. syntax. That is, as the time expressions in D.A.D. syntax have some of the syntactic behaviour of the noun in its syntactic system, they have been regarded as nominals and are called temporal nominals. In turn the category they are generated in is an NP category and it is called a temporal NP. This in turn leads to the verification of the fact that there is no logical necessity for the assumption that every clause has a VP category (at least at its LF for its time indication) even when it does not appear at its surface structure.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, 1986.
Includes bibliographical references (v. 3, leaves 575-581).
This thesis is concerned with developing an account within the Government and Binding (GB) theory of the grammaticality of such structures as (1), and exploring the implications of this account for the theory of empty categories, chains, and scope. The hallmark characteristic of such grammatical S-Structure representations as (1) is that the anaphor is outside the c-command domain of its understood antecedent. The basic anaphoric effect is termed connectivity. 1) [which of each other's friends][did the men see t]? Chapter 1 is a brief overview of the necessary definitions presumed in the thesis, and an outline of the subsequent chapters. Chapter 2 introduces a large body of data which must be treated on a par with (1), and reviews and criticizes several existing proposals which have been made to account for (1). The chapter argues that the binding theory must apply to structures having the essential form of (1). We demonstrate that no treatment which involves lowering the anaphor into the c-command domain of the antecedent via "reconstruction" operations, or involves applying the Binding Theory at a level at which WH movement is not represented, can be maintained. Chapter 3 develops a revision of the binding theory, focusing on Condition A, which is capable of treating all the connectivity data in a unified way. The major formal construct proposed in the chapter is the chain accessibility sequence, essentially a path of nodes through which the potential antecedents for an expression are accessed. The revised binding theory is defined in terms of such sequences; as the name implies, the notion chain plays a prominent role. This approach to connectivity is developed in the spirit of the Path theory of Kayne (1983) and Pesetsky (1982). We also discuss properties of structures of the form of {l), but where the constituent containing the anaphor is predicative in nature. We shall see that the predicative nature of the constituent significantly constrains the possibilities of assigning the anaphor an antecedent. This chapter adopts, and argues in favor of, the Linking theory of binding introduced by Higginbotham (1983). Chapter 4 focuses on the theory of empty categories, arguing that it is desirable to construct the theory so that no empty categories bear binding features (the features[+/- anaphoric] and[+/- pronominal] are thus restricted to overt categories). This proposal, which I term the No Features Hypothesis, departs from the characteristic treatment of ECs in GB theory. The chapter adopts Brody's (1985) proposals concerning the distribution of PRO and NP-trace. We adopt, and later extend, the Local Binding Condition (LBC) on A chains, argued by Rizzi (1982) to constrain the well-formedness of A chains. We reformulate it in terms of Linking theory, as the Chain Obviation Condition (CCC), and argue that it holds of all chain types. This is shown to be a principle with considerable generality, subsuming the LBC, Condition C of the binding theory, and the anti-c-command condition on linking. Adopting the COC, along with the NFH, allows the elimination of the class R-expression from the inventory of binding types. It will be shown that the anti-c-command condition on parasitic gaps derives directly from the CCC, with no stipulations. The chapter concludes with a defense of the proposal that the theory of anaphora must recognize anaphoric dependence and obviation as separate relations (as argued by Lasnik (1976), (1981), and Higgginbotham (1985)). Chapter 5 discusses constraints on the interpretation of sentences in which a quantificational NP is the antecedent of an NP-trace which it does not c-command. These considerations lead us to formulate a constraint on movement operations. The chapter also argues that the operations of WH-movement and QR are strictly ordered in the LF component.
by Andrew Barss.
Ph.D.

This thesis explores the connection between linguistic theory, as embodied in a version of the Government - Binding (GB) model of syntax, and the parameter-setting theory of language acquisition. In Chapter 2, it is argued that by incorporating the criterion of epistemological priority, syntactic theory can move closer towards becoming a plausible model of language acquisition. A version of GB theory is developed which adopts this criterion, leading to several modifications, including the derivation of X-bar theory from more "primitive" grammatical sub-components, and a revision of the Projection Principle. This model is converted into a procedure for phrase-structure acquisition, employing sets of Canonical Government Configurations and Percolation Principles to map Case- and θ-relations onto phrase-structure trees. The chapter ends with a discussion of the "missing-subject" stage in the acquisition of English. Chapter 3 concerns auxiliaries. It is argued that parametric variation in auxiliary systems can be reduced to levels of association between INFL and V. The question of irregularity is dealt with through the Designation Convention of Emonds (1985), which makes a distinction between open- and closed- class grammatical elements, and a Parallel Distributed Processing model of learning. The last part of the chapter investigates the learning of the English auxiliary system, and in particular the errors known as "auxiliary overmarking". Chapter 4 investigates the syntax of Subject Auxiliary Inversion (SAI)-type rules. An account of inversion is developed based on the theory of predication, in which inversion-inducing elements are treated as "A'-type" subjects which must be linked to AGR in order to satisfy conditions on Predicate-licensing. A parametrization is developed based on the cross-linguistic examination of SAI-type rules. Chapter 5 concerns the acquisition of SAI. It is argued that there are no invariant "stages" in the development of inversion; rather, a proportion of children misanalyze (WH + contracted auxiliary) sequences as (WH + AGR-clitic) sequences and formulate grammars in which SAI is unnecessary. A "two-tiered" theory of syntactic acquisition is proposed to account for the observed developmental patterns.
Arts, Faculty of
Linguistics, Department of
Graduate

This thesis examines the role of transfer of first (L1) language properties and access to knowledge of Universal Grammar in second language (L2) acquisition. Two empirical components are included: a study of the syntax of anaphora in Serbo-Croatian and an experimental study of second language acquisition of reflexive binding. Data from field work on the coreference properties of anaphors in Serbo-Croatian are discussed in terms of standard, parameterized, LF movement, and Relativized SUBJECT approaches to Binding Theory. Recent versions of the theory identify a categorial distinction between morphologically simple ($ rm X sp circ$) and complex (XP) anaphor types as a crucial factor in determining coreference relations between reflexive pronouns and their syntactic antecedents.
The predictions of a morphological approach to the Binding Theory were tested in a study of the acquisition of the binding properties of English XP reflexives by native speakers of Serbo-Croatian, a language with $ rm X sp circ$ reflexives. Acquisition of the English binding pattern by this group of L2 learners requires recognition of the morphological complexity of English reflexives. Prior to reanalysis, learners are predicted to produce an incorrect L1 coreference pattern in the L2 environment.
Two sentence comprehension tasks were administered to adolescent and adult Serbo-Croatian speaking L2 learners of English and similar groups of English native speaker controls. Picture identification and multiple choice comprehension tasks produced convergent results with significant differences between control (n = 47) and L2 learner (n = 73) interpretations of reflexives in complex noun phrases and object control infinitival sentences. Their pattern of interpretation shows evidence of transfer of the $ rm X sp circ$ anaphor type found in Serbo-Croatian to the target grammar and suggests L2 learners are able to apply a deductive system constrained by Universal Grammar to compute binding domains in second language acquisition.

Traditional views of grammatical theory hold that languages are characterised by sets of constructions. This approach entails the enumeration of all possible constructions for each language being described. Current theories of transformational generative grammar have established an alternative position. Specifically, Chomsky's Government-Binding theory proposes a system of principles which are common to human language. Such a theory is referred to as a "Universal Grammar"(UG). Associated with the principles of grammar are parameters of variation which account for the diversity of human languages. The grammar for a particular language is known as a "Core Grammar", and is characterised by an appropriately parametrised instance of UG. Despite these advances in linguistic theory, construction-based approaches have remained the status quo within the field of natural language processing. This thesis investigates the possibility of developing a principle-based system which reflects the modular nature of the linguistic theory. That is, rather than stipulating the possible constructions of a language, a system is developed which uses the principles of grammar and language specific parameters to parse language. Specifically, a system-is presented which performs syntactic analysis and translation for a subset of English and German. The cross-linguistic nature of the theory is reflected by the system which can be considered a procedural model of UG.
Science, Faculty of
Computer Science, Department of
Graduate

This dissertation investigates the structure of Internally Headed Relative Clauses (henceforth, IHRCs) within the framework of Government and Binding Theory. I propose that the structure of IHRCs involves a modifying clause predicted of a head. We provide empirical as well as conceptual arguments showing that the head of an IHRC is a pro licensed by coindexation with the internal head. Following Safir's (1986) LCR, this licensing must be mediated by A$ sp prime$-Binding, which is effected by operator-movement to COMP within the modifying clause. Island Constraints provide evidence for operator-movement in IHRCs. IHRCs pattern with other Wh-constructions in this way. Correlatively, if there are no Island effects in IHRCs, there are no Island effects with other Wh-constructions (cf. Lakhota, Mojave). In this case an Unselective Binding relation is established in the language. Other properties such as the Definiteness Effect and the occurence of Switch-reference markers in IHRCs in Choctaw are also shown to follow from independent parameters.
The consequences of our analysis for Baker's (to appear) theory of Configurationality are explored. We propose to expand Baker's theory to allow "discontinuous" constituents of the type (Wh$ sb1$ ... OP$ sb1$) to account for Island effects in IHRCs of pronominal languages like Mohawk and Navajo.
No special rules for the interpretation of IHRCs are required. The LF-Raising rule proposed in Williamson (1987), which raises the internal head at LF to the COMP of the IHRC is shown to derive from the LCR as it is required to create an operator-variable (A$ sp prime$-Binding) relation. We provide further independent evidence for this rule in Chapter 2.

This thesis discusses linguistic constraints on scrambling and flexibility in word order in spoken Persian (Farsi) and presents a computational model for efficient implementation of these constraints for a subset of Persian. Linguistic phenomena which we have studies include local scrambling, long distance scrambling, extrapolation of clauses, topicalisation, case tendancy and the discourse marker ra. The work extends previous work on Persian based on Government and Binding (GB) theory by considering the pragmatic aspects of Persian Grammar and long distance scrambling.

by Chiu Sung Pui.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1998.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-100).
Abstract also in Chinese.
Chapter Chapter I --- Introduction --- p.6
Chapter 1.1. --- An overview of Chomsky's Binding Theory --- p.7
Chapter 1.2. --- Referential and Bound pronouns --- p.9
Chapter 1.3. --- Definition of bound pronouns --- p.9
Chapter Chapter II --- Literature on bound pronouns --- p.10
Chapter 2.1. --- Higginbotham (1980) --- p.10
Chapter 2.2. --- Reinhart (1983) --- p.17
Chapter 2.3. --- Koopman & Sportiche (1982) --- p.20
Chapter 2.4. --- lappin (1985) --- p.21
Chapter 2.5. --- "aoun & hornstein (1991), aoun & li (1990)，aoun & li (1993)" --- p.23
Chapter Chapter III --- Binding Facts in Chinese --- p.31
Chapter 3.1. --- Patterns in which the antecedent c-commands the pronoun --- p.32
Chapter 3.2. --- Patterns in which the antecedent does not c-command the pronoun --- p.53
Chapter 3.3. --- Summary of the binding facts --- p.67
Chapter Chapter IV --- A revisit of the proposals on Bound pronouns --- p.69
Chapter 4.1. --- Review of Higginbotham (1980) --- p.69
Chapter 4.2. --- Review of Reinhart (1983) --- p.70
Chapter 4.3. --- Review of Koopman & Sportiche (1982) --- p.72
Chapter 4.4. --- Review of Lappin (1985) --- p.73
Chapter 4.5. --- "Review of Aoun & Hornstein (1991)，Aoun & Li (1990), Aoun & Li (1993)" --- p.74
Chapter Chapter V --- Discussion & Conclusion --- p.78
Chapter 5.1. --- Bound Pronoun Condition for Chinese --- p.78
Chapter 5.2. --- Wh-phrases as A'-binders --- p.78
Chapter 5.3. --- The Empty Reflexive Puzzle --- p.80
Chapter 5.4. --- pro-drop & Montabeltii's Overt Pronoun Constraint --- p.81
Chapter 5.5. --- Factors affecting pronominal binding --- p.82
Chapter 5.5.1. --- Nature of Verbs --- p.82
Chapter 5.5.2. --- Quantifier types and the size of the extension denoted by the QP --- p.90
Chapter 5.5.3. --- Sentence types & the number feature of the quantified NPs --- p.94
Conclusion --- p.98
References --- p.99
Appendix I --- p.101
Appendix II --- p.102
Appendix III --- p.105

The goal of this article is to reveal the computational structure of modern principle-and-parameter (Chomskian) linguistic theories: what computational problems do these informal theories pose, and what is the underlying structure of those computations? To do this, I analyze the computational complexity of human language comprehension: what linguistic representation is assigned to a given sound? This problem is factored into smaller, interrelated (but independently statable) problems. For example, in order to understand a given sound, the listener must assign a phonetic form to the sound; determine the morphemes that compose the words in the sound; and calculate the linguistic antecedent of every pronoun in the utterance. I prove that these and other subproblems are all NP-hard, and that language comprehension is itself PSPACE-hard.

"A syntactic Analysis of Kinyarwanda applicatives" is a study of the syntax of Kinyarwanda which focuses on applicatives. Applicatives are constructions in which the object of a preposition becomes the direct object of the verb through a grammatical function changing process. In such constructions, the verb bears a morpheme referred to as the applicative morpheme which turns an intransitive verb into a transitive verb and a transitive verb into a ditransitive verb. The derived object may perform various thematic functions, including those of instrument, beneficiary, goal, manner, reason, purpose and motive. The study provides a thorough description of different types of ditransitive applicatives in Kinyarwanda by examining the syntactic properties exhibited by both objects. In general Kinyarwanda may be classified as a 'symmetrical' language in which more than one object can exhibit direct object properties. This is true for instrumental, benefactive and manner applicatives. However, some applicatives in Kinyarwanda such as the locative applicatives are 'asymmetrical' in that only one object exhibits all the direct object properties. In my research I analyse Kinyarwanda applicatives within the framework of Principles-and-Parameters (Chomsky 1981, 1986a, b and subsequent work), more specifically the Government and Binding theory (Chomsky 1981). I base the discussion on three analyses that have been proposed in the literature of applicatives: Baker's (1988) preposition incorporation theory, Larson's (1988) double object construction analysis and Nakamura's (1997) account of object extraction in applicative constructions, which is based on Chomsky's (1995) Minimalist Program. The study shows that the above analyses account for some aspects of applicatives, but that there are certain facts that are not accounted for, which require a different analysis.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.