Coordinate structures: A planar representation.

Abstract

In this dissertation, I pursue the idea suggested in Chomsky (1982) that coordination should be treated as an object with three dimensions. I propose a planar model to account for the longstanding problems of coordination. The types of phenomena studied here are related to Phrasal Coordinations, Gapping, Verb Phrase Deletion, and Right-Node Raising. I claim that a coordinate sentence, unlike a simple one, is too expansive a domain for the Principles of Universal Grammar (UG) to hold. The relevant domain for the application of UG principles is each separate "component part" of the coordinate sentence. The "component parts", referred to here as planes, are elements of the coordinate sentence which have the same formal properties as simple sentences. Thus, under the planar model, a coordinate sentence has a number of "simple sentences" or planes. Intuitively, a plane, like a simple sentence, can be thought of as a complete functional complex in which all grammatical functions compatible with its head are realized. Given this, I argue that the well-formedness of a coordinate structure depends on whether or not each of its planes obeys the principles of UG. The planar model adopts the idea that conjuncts or disjuncts in coordination are based generated at D-Structure. It is claimed that no deletions or empty nodes exists in any type of coordinate structures. I show that the absence of some elements in coordination, e.g. a verb in Gapping, is a phonetic phenomenon, which occurs only as a result of the linearization process. At the other levels of representation, such as D-Structure, S-Structure, and Logical Form, all materials are present in each plane; thus, under the planar model, we do not need to invoke a deletion rule or the existence of some empty node in those levels of representation. Given this model, I show that the principles and parameters approach of GB can in fact give a unified treatment of coordination. I demonstrate that this can be done without recourse to construction-specific stipulation.