Ian Roberts
2022
Roberts, Ian; Ledgeway, Adam
The verb phrase Book Chapter
In: CUP, 2022.
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2020
Roberts, Ian; Ledgeway, Adam
Special issue of Probus 33.2 on Historical Romance Linguistics Book
de Gruyter, 2020, ISBN: 1613-4079.
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Roberts, Ian; Ledgeway, Adam
Introduction Journal Article
In: Probus, vol. 33, pp. 172-181, 2020.
@article{Roberts2020b,
title = {Introduction},
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2016
Roberts, Ian; Biberauer, Theresa
Parameter typology from a diachronic perspective: The case of Conditional Inversion Book Chapter
In: pp. 259-292, Theoretical Approaches to Linguistic Variation, 2016.
@inbook{Roberts2016,
title = {Parameter typology from a diachronic perspective: The case of Conditional Inversion},
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year = {2016},
date = {2016-11-11},
urldate = {2016-11-11},
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publisher = {Theoretical Approaches to Linguistic Variation},
abstract = {This paper considers the question of the nature of parameters from a diachronic perspective, focusing in particular on the case of Conditional Inversion (CI) in the history of English. The objective is to show that it is meaningful to think of parameters and their synchronic robustness and consequent diachronic stability in “size” terms. More specifically, we show that it is possible to discern a consistent, but ever more frayed parametric thread linking the availability of verb-movement operations in the history of English: while verb-movement at the earliest stages (Old and early Middle English) can be ascribed to the activation of a Verb Second grammar – conceived of as a grammar requiring verb-movement into the finite C-domain (Force or Fin) in matrix clauses (a mesoparameter) – verb-movement at the early modern stage was much more fragmented, triggered by a smaller class of finite Cs and also, as a result of the loss of V-to-T movement and the rise of a class of auxiliaries, affecting a smaller class of verbs (a microparameter); the situation in modern British and American English, where only had, should and certain uses of were trigger CI, is nanoparametric, a situation which is expected to be unstable, as various post-colonial varieties indeed show it to be. CI in the history of English, then, provides a window on parametric continuity and change.},
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This paper considers the question of the nature of parameters from a diachronic perspective, focusing in particular on the case of Conditional Inversion (CI) in the history of English. The objective is to show that it is meaningful to think of parameters and their synchronic robustness and consequent diachronic stability in “size” terms. More specifically, we show that it is possible to discern a consistent, but ever more frayed parametric thread linking the availability of verb-movement operations in the history of English: while verb-movement at the earliest stages (Old and early Middle English) can be ascribed to the activation of a Verb Second grammar – conceived of as a grammar requiring verb-movement into the finite C-domain (Force or Fin) in matrix clauses (a mesoparameter) – verb-movement at the early modern stage was much more fragmented, triggered by a smaller class of finite Cs and also, as a result of the loss of V-to-T movement and the rise of a class of auxiliaries, affecting a smaller class of verbs (a microparameter); the situation in modern British and American English, where only had, should and certain uses of were trigger CI, is nanoparametric, a situation which is expected to be unstable, as various post-colonial varieties indeed show it to be. CI in the history of English, then, provides a window on parametric continuity and change.
2015
Roberts, Ian; Biberauer, Theresa
The Clausal Hierarchy, Features, and Parameters: The Cartography of Syntactic Structures, Volume 10 Book Chapter
In: pp. 295-313, Beyond Functional Sequence, 2015, ISBN: 9780190210588.
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title = {The Clausal Hierarchy, Features, and Parameters: The Cartography of Syntactic Structures, Volume 10},
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abstract = {This chapter addresses the question of the role and nature of formal hierarchies in current syntactic theory. Three types of hierarchy are highlighted: (1) cartographic-type hierarchies, (2) formal feature hierarchies of the kind proposed by Harley and Ritter (2002), and (3) parameter hierarchies of the kind first proposed by Baker (2001) and currently being elaborated on the Cambridge-based “Rethinking Comparative Syntax” project. We propose a unification of these three types, postulating a single formal hierarchy that is not predetermined by UG, but instead arises as an emergent property of the interaction of the three factors of language design introduced by Chomsky (2005), namely UG (F1), Primary Linguistic Data for language acquisition (PLD, F2), and third-factor considerations of cognitive computational conservativity (F3). We will also suggest some diagnostics for showing the unity of the hierarchies, with Relativized Minimality playing a central role in this connection.},
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This chapter addresses the question of the role and nature of formal hierarchies in current syntactic theory. Three types of hierarchy are highlighted: (1) cartographic-type hierarchies, (2) formal feature hierarchies of the kind proposed by Harley and Ritter (2002), and (3) parameter hierarchies of the kind first proposed by Baker (2001) and currently being elaborated on the Cambridge-based “Rethinking Comparative Syntax” project. We propose a unification of these three types, postulating a single formal hierarchy that is not predetermined by UG, but instead arises as an emergent property of the interaction of the three factors of language design introduced by Chomsky (2005), namely UG (F1), Primary Linguistic Data for language acquisition (PLD, F2), and third-factor considerations of cognitive computational conservativity (F3). We will also suggest some diagnostics for showing the unity of the hierarchies, with Relativized Minimality playing a central role in this connection.
2014
Roberts, Ian; Biberauer, Theresa; Holmberg, Anders; Sheehan, Michelle
Complexity in comparative syntax: the view from modern parametric theory Book Chapter
In: pp. 103-127, Measuring Grammatical Complexity, 2014, ISBN: 9780199685301.
@inbook{Roberts2014,
title = {Complexity in comparative syntax: the view from modern parametric theory},
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abstract = {The theory of principles and parameters offers a promising approach to the question of explanatory adequacy. It is less clear whether this approach offers a way of approaching questions of complexity. The chapter addresses the question of what parametric theory can tell us about the complexity of grammatical systems. It presents an ‘emergentist’ view of parametric variation in which parametric options emerge from the interaction of an underspecified Universal Grammar, the primary linguistic data, and acquisition strategies. The chapter describes how this view gives rise to parameter hierarchies, and sketches five such hierarchies. It then investigates typological features of some example languages, showing how the complexity of these features can be calculated as a function of their position on the parametric hierarchies. In other words, this version of parameter theory gives a measure of the relative complexity of grammars.},
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The theory of principles and parameters offers a promising approach to the question of explanatory adequacy. It is less clear whether this approach offers a way of approaching questions of complexity. The chapter addresses the question of what parametric theory can tell us about the complexity of grammatical systems. It presents an ‘emergentist’ view of parametric variation in which parametric options emerge from the interaction of an underspecified Universal Grammar, the primary linguistic data, and acquisition strategies. The chapter describes how this view gives rise to parameter hierarchies, and sketches five such hierarchies. It then investigates typological features of some example languages, showing how the complexity of these features can be calculated as a function of their position on the parametric hierarchies. In other words, this version of parameter theory gives a measure of the relative complexity of grammars.
Roberts, Ian; Holmberg, Anders
Parameters and the three factors of language design Book Chapter
In: pp. 61-81, Linguistic Variation in the Minimalist Framework, 2014, ISBN: 9780198702894.
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abstract = {This chapter argues that the notion of ‘parameter’ has merit for the theory of syntax, and in particular for comparative syntax and the general attempt to construct a theory of the innate linguistic endowment, Universal Grammar. More specifically, for two things: first, a general ‘emergentist’ approach to parameters, arguing that, like many other linguistically significant notions, they emerge from the interaction of the three factors of language design discussed in Chomsky (2005) and elsewhere. Second, the chapter argues that, pace Berwick & Chomsky (2011) and Sigurðsson (2011b), that there must be parametric variation in the narrow syntax.},
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This chapter argues that the notion of ‘parameter’ has merit for the theory of syntax, and in particular for comparative syntax and the general attempt to construct a theory of the innate linguistic endowment, Universal Grammar. More specifically, for two things: first, a general ‘emergentist’ approach to parameters, arguing that, like many other linguistically significant notions, they emerge from the interaction of the three factors of language design discussed in Chomsky (2005) and elsewhere. Second, the chapter argues that, pace Berwick & Chomsky (2011) and Sigurðsson (2011b), that there must be parametric variation in the narrow syntax.
Roberts, Ian; Hauser, Marc D; Watumull, Jeffrey; Hornstein, Norbert
On Recursion Journal Article
In: Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 4, pp. 1017, 2014.
@article{Roberts2014c,
title = {On Recursion},
author = {Ian Roberts and Marc D Hauser and Jeffrey Watumull and Norbert Hornstein},
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2013.01017},
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date = {2014-01-07},
urldate = {2014-01-07},
journal = {Frontiers in Psychology},
volume = {4},
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abstract = {It is a truism that conceptual understanding of a hypothesis is required for its empirical investigation. However, the concept of recursion as articulated in the context of linguistic analysis has been perennially confused. Nowhere has this been more evident than in attempts to critique and extend Hauseretal's. (2002) articulation. These authors put forward the hypothesis that what is uniquely human and unique to the faculty of language-the faculty of language in the narrow sense (FLN)-is a recursive system that generates and maps syntactic objects to conceptual-intentional and sensory-motor systems. This thesis was based on the standard mathematical definition of recursion as understood by Gödel and Turing, and yet has commonly been interpreted in other ways, most notably and incorrectly as a thesis about the capacity for syntactic embedding. As we explain, the recursiveness of a function is defined independent of such output, whether infinite or finite, embedded or unembedded-existent or non-existent. And to the extent that embedding is a sufficient, though not necessary, diagnostic of recursion, it has not been established that the apparent restriction on embedding in some languages is of any theoretical import. Misunderstanding of these facts has generated research that is often irrelevant to the FLN thesis as well as to other theories of language competence that focus on its generative power of expression. This essay is an attempt to bring conceptual clarity to such discussions as well as to future empirical investigations by explaining three criterial properties of recursion: computability (i.e., rules in intension rather than lists in extension); definition by induction (i.e., rules strongly generative of structure); and mathematical induction (i.e., rules for the principled-and potentially unbounded-expansion of strongly generated structure). By these necessary and sufficient criteria, the grammars of all natural languages are recursive.},
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It is a truism that conceptual understanding of a hypothesis is required for its empirical investigation. However, the concept of recursion as articulated in the context of linguistic analysis has been perennially confused. Nowhere has this been more evident than in attempts to critique and extend Hauseretal's. (2002) articulation. These authors put forward the hypothesis that what is uniquely human and unique to the faculty of language-the faculty of language in the narrow sense (FLN)-is a recursive system that generates and maps syntactic objects to conceptual-intentional and sensory-motor systems. This thesis was based on the standard mathematical definition of recursion as understood by Gödel and Turing, and yet has commonly been interpreted in other ways, most notably and incorrectly as a thesis about the capacity for syntactic embedding. As we explain, the recursiveness of a function is defined independent of such output, whether infinite or finite, embedded or unembedded-existent or non-existent. And to the extent that embedding is a sufficient, though not necessary, diagnostic of recursion, it has not been established that the apparent restriction on embedding in some languages is of any theoretical import. Misunderstanding of these facts has generated research that is often irrelevant to the FLN thesis as well as to other theories of language competence that focus on its generative power of expression. This essay is an attempt to bring conceptual clarity to such discussions as well as to future empirical investigations by explaining three criterial properties of recursion: computability (i.e., rules in intension rather than lists in extension); definition by induction (i.e., rules strongly generative of structure); and mathematical induction (i.e., rules for the principled-and potentially unbounded-expansion of strongly generated structure). By these necessary and sufficient criteria, the grammars of all natural languages are recursive.
2013
Roberts, Ian; Holmberg, Anders
The syntax–morphology relation Journal Article
In: Lingua, vol. 130, pp. 111–131, 2013.
@article{Roberts2013,
title = {The syntax–morphology relation},
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abstract = {We review and discuss some issues to do with the relation between morphology and syntax which have played a prominent part in generative linguistic research in the past three decades. Focusing on verbal inflection, we first discuss the relation between inflection and verb placement, with special attention given to verb-initial languages. We then discuss the relation between pro-drop and agreement, where we articulate a partly new understanding of Huang's (1989) generalization that pro-drop is characteristic of languages with rich agreement and languages with no agreement, but not languages that are in-between. We then present and discuss the Mirror Principle, one of the most significant findings in recent linguistic research. We pay special attention to the Mirror Principle as it applies in head-final languages, in the context of a model adopting Kayne's (1994) Linear Correspondence Axiom. The idea is to show how fairly complex aspects of clausal syntax, including word order and the possibility of phonetically silent arguments of a predicate, may be correlated with readily observable and, in themselves, rather simple properties of verbal inflection, and to show how, given a restrictive theory of Universal Grammar, this follows from the fact that inflections are syntactic categories, albeit realized as parts of words.},
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We review and discuss some issues to do with the relation between morphology and syntax which have played a prominent part in generative linguistic research in the past three decades. Focusing on verbal inflection, we first discuss the relation between inflection and verb placement, with special attention given to verb-initial languages. We then discuss the relation between pro-drop and agreement, where we articulate a partly new understanding of Huang's (1989) generalization that pro-drop is characteristic of languages with rich agreement and languages with no agreement, but not languages that are in-between. We then present and discuss the Mirror Principle, one of the most significant findings in recent linguistic research. We pay special attention to the Mirror Principle as it applies in head-final languages, in the context of a model adopting Kayne's (1994) Linear Correspondence Axiom. The idea is to show how fairly complex aspects of clausal syntax, including word order and the possibility of phonetically silent arguments of a predicate, may be correlated with readily observable and, in themselves, rather simple properties of verbal inflection, and to show how, given a restrictive theory of Universal Grammar, this follows from the fact that inflections are syntactic categories, albeit realized as parts of words.
2012
Roberts, Ian; Gallego, Ángel J.; Boeckx, Cedric; Bošković, Zeljko; Chomsky, Noam; Epstein, Samuel D.; Hinzen, Wolfram; Kitahara, Hisatsugu; Legate, Julie Anne; Narita, Hiroki; Obata, Miki; Richards, Marc D.; Samuels, Bridget; Sato, Yosuke; Seely, T. Daniel; Uriagereka, Juan
Phases. Developing the Framework Book
De Gruyter Mouton, 2012, ISBN: 978-3-11-026410-4.
@book{Roberts2012,
title = {Phases. Developing the Framework},
author = {Ian Roberts and Ángel J. Gallego and Cedric Boeckx and Zeljko Bošković and Noam Chomsky and Samuel D. Epstein and Wolfram Hinzen and Hisatsugu Kitahara and Julie Anne Legate and Hiroki Narita and Miki Obata and Marc D. Richards and Bridget Samuels and Yosuke Sato and T. Daniel Seely and Juan Uriagereka},
editor = {Ángel J. Gallego},
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year = {2012},
date = {2012-03-15},
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abstract = {This volume explores and develops the framework of phases (so-called Phase Theory), first introduced in Chomsky (2000). The antecedents of such framework go back to the well-known notion of “cycle”, which concerns broader notions, such as compositionality, locality, and economy conditions. Within generative grammar, this idea of the cycle took a concrete form in the fifties, with Chomsky, Halle, and Lukoff’s (1955) pioneering work on stress, later on extended in Chomsky & Halle (1968), Halle & Vergnaud (1987), and further applied to morpho-phonology (Mascaró 1976 and Kiparski 1982), semantics (Jackendoff 1969), and syntax (Chomsky 1965, 1973). In recent years, several attempts have tried to refine and reformulate the cycle (Freidin 1999, Lasnik 2006, Uriagereka 2011). Such was the goal behind explorations on bounding nodes (Chomsky 1973) and barriers (Chomsky 1986), for which there is substantial empirical evidence showing how computation proceeds in a step-by-step fashion. Much work within minimalism has been devoted to investigate the nature of phases and their relevance for other areas of linguistic inquiry. Although it has been argued that phases have natural correlates at the interfaces, it is still unclear what the defining properties of these domains are, whether they can help us understand language acquisition, language variation, or language evolution. This book aims at addressing these questions, sharpening our understanding about phases and the nature of the Faculty of Language.},
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This volume explores and develops the framework of phases (so-called Phase Theory), first introduced in Chomsky (2000). The antecedents of such framework go back to the well-known notion of “cycle”, which concerns broader notions, such as compositionality, locality, and economy conditions. Within generative grammar, this idea of the cycle took a concrete form in the fifties, with Chomsky, Halle, and Lukoff’s (1955) pioneering work on stress, later on extended in Chomsky & Halle (1968), Halle & Vergnaud (1987), and further applied to morpho-phonology (Mascaró 1976 and Kiparski 1982), semantics (Jackendoff 1969), and syntax (Chomsky 1965, 1973). In recent years, several attempts have tried to refine and reformulate the cycle (Freidin 1999, Lasnik 2006, Uriagereka 2011). Such was the goal behind explorations on bounding nodes (Chomsky 1973) and barriers (Chomsky 1986), for which there is substantial empirical evidence showing how computation proceeds in a step-by-step fashion. Much work within minimalism has been devoted to investigate the nature of phases and their relevance for other areas of linguistic inquiry. Although it has been argued that phases have natural correlates at the interfaces, it is still unclear what the defining properties of these domains are, whether they can help us understand language acquisition, language variation, or language evolution. This book aims at addressing these questions, sharpening our understanding about phases and the nature of the Faculty of Language.
2011
Roberts, Ian; Longobardi, Giuseppe
Non-arguments about non-universals Journal Article
In: Linguistic Typology, vol. 15, iss. 2, 2011.
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title = {Non-arguments about non-universals},
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Roberts, Ian
NP-Movement, Crossover and Chain-Formation Book Chapter
In: pp. 17-52, Representation and Derivation in the Theory of Grammar, 2011, ISBN: 978-94-010-5524-6nm.
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Example (1) illustrates a standard case of Strong Crossover (SC): (1) *Whoi does hei love ti?
2010
Roberts, Ian; Longobardi, Giuseppe
Universals, diversity and change in the science of language: Reaction to “The Myth of Language Universals and Cognitive Science” Journal Article
In: Lingua, vol. 120, iss. 12, pp. 2699-2703, 2010.
@article{Roberts2010,
title = {Universals, diversity and change in the science of language: Reaction to “The Myth of Language Universals and Cognitive Science”},
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doi = {10.1016/j.lingua.2010.04.006},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-12-01},
urldate = {2010-12-01},
journal = {Lingua},
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abstract = {The claims that there are few universals of language are based on a narrow and unwarranted definition of the notion itself (arbitrarily excluding universals that could be eventually explained away by functional considerations, perhaps having operated long ago during cognitive evolution) and of the epistemology of linguistics (which should then be surprisingly different from the models adopted in other successful sciences). Once these and other terminological misunderstandings are eliminated, certain proposed universals, e.g. constituency, appear to indeed hold crosslinguistically. Historical explanations of language similarities and diversity should certainly be an increasingly central concern of cognitive science, and can be successfully pursued precisely within a framework assuming the existence of some universals and of variation constrained in a principled way.},
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The claims that there are few universals of language are based on a narrow and unwarranted definition of the notion itself (arbitrarily excluding universals that could be eventually explained away by functional considerations, perhaps having operated long ago during cognitive evolution) and of the epistemology of linguistics (which should then be surprisingly different from the models adopted in other successful sciences). Once these and other terminological misunderstandings are eliminated, certain proposed universals, e.g. constituency, appear to indeed hold crosslinguistically. Historical explanations of language similarities and diversity should certainly be an increasingly central concern of cognitive science, and can be successfully pursued precisely within a framework assuming the existence of some universals and of variation constrained in a principled way.
Roberts, Ian; Biberauer, Theresa
Comments on Jäger "Anything is nothing is something": On the diachrony of polarity types of indefinites Journal Article
In: Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, vol. 28, iss. 4, pp. 823-836 , 2010.
@article{Roberts2010b,
title = {Comments on Jäger "Anything is nothing is something": On the diachrony of polarity types of indefinites},
author = {Ian Roberts and Theresa Biberauer},
doi = {10.1007/s11049-010-9111-3},
year = {2010},
date = {2010-11-01},
urldate = {2010-11-01},
journal = {Natural Language & Linguistic Theory},
volume = {28},
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abstract = {This response focuses on two synchronic and two diachronic issues raised by Agnes Jäger’s contribution to this volume. On the synchronic front, we take a closer look at the limits of the featural underspecification approach adopted by Jäger, arguing for the need to draw a featural distinction between “ordinary” indefinites and positive polarity items, and also highlighting that the [affective] feature appears to play a rather central role not only in the domain of indefinites, but also beyond. In the diachronic domain, we briefly take issue with the feasibility of constraint reranking as an explanation for change, and then turn to a consideration of how a reinterpretation of Roberts and Roussou’s (2003) analysis of “increasing negativity” may be captured in terms of an Agree-based system (cf. Biberauer and Roberts 2010b). Like Jäger’s proposed system, this alternative does not predict that indefinite-related developments should always be unidirectional, as has sometimes been supposed (cf. i.a. also Hoeksema 2010). KeywordsAffectiveness–Agree–Featural change–Negative Concord–Underspecification–Unidirectionality.
},
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This response focuses on two synchronic and two diachronic issues raised by Agnes Jäger’s contribution to this volume. On the synchronic front, we take a closer look at the limits of the featural underspecification approach adopted by Jäger, arguing for the need to draw a featural distinction between “ordinary” indefinites and positive polarity items, and also highlighting that the [affective] feature appears to play a rather central role not only in the domain of indefinites, but also beyond. In the diachronic domain, we briefly take issue with the feasibility of constraint reranking as an explanation for change, and then turn to a consideration of how a reinterpretation of Roberts and Roussou’s (2003) analysis of “increasing negativity” may be captured in terms of an Agree-based system (cf. Biberauer and Roberts 2010b). Like Jäger’s proposed system, this alternative does not predict that indefinite-related developments should always be unidirectional, as has sometimes been supposed (cf. i.a. also Hoeksema 2010). KeywordsAffectiveness–Agree–Featural change–Negative Concord–Underspecification–Unidirectionality.
Roberts, Ian; D'Alessandro, Roberta
Past participle agreement in Abruzzese: Split auxiliary selection and the null-subject parameter Journal Article
In: Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, vol. 28, iss. 1, pp. 41-72, 2010.
@article{Roberts2010c,
title = {Past participle agreement in Abruzzese: Split auxiliary selection and the null-subject parameter},
author = {Ian Roberts and Roberta D'Alessandro},
doi = {10.1007/s11049-009-9085-1},
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date = {2010-02-01},
urldate = {2010-02-01},
journal = {Natural Language & Linguistic Theory},
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abstract = {In this paper, we present an analysis of the “person-driven” auxiliary-selection system of one variety of the Upper Southern Italo-Romance dialect Abruzzese, along with an account of the pattern of past participle agreement in this variety, which differs somewhat from what is found in more familiar Romance languages. Our account relies on the technical mechanisms of agreement as outlined in Chomsky (1995, 2001), in particular a variant of Chomsky’s (2008) proposal regarding feature inheritance by non-phase heads of features belonging to phase heads, combined with Gallego’s (2006) notion of phase-sliding. We also utilise some aspects of Müller’s (2004) analysis of ergativity, and propose an account of a typological generalisation regarding the absence of person-driven auxiliary selection first put forward in Kayne (2000:127) in the Germanic languages. To the extent that the analyses proposed successfully apply the mechanisms put forward in the recent versions of the minimalist program, the postulation of these mechanisms is supported by our analysis with evidence from a new empirical domain. We also offer some general speculations regarding auxiliary selection in general. KeywordsItalo-Romance-Participles-Agreement-Person-Split-ergativity-Auxiliaries.},
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In this paper, we present an analysis of the “person-driven” auxiliary-selection system of one variety of the Upper Southern Italo-Romance dialect Abruzzese, along with an account of the pattern of past participle agreement in this variety, which differs somewhat from what is found in more familiar Romance languages. Our account relies on the technical mechanisms of agreement as outlined in Chomsky (1995, 2001), in particular a variant of Chomsky’s (2008) proposal regarding feature inheritance by non-phase heads of features belonging to phase heads, combined with Gallego’s (2006) notion of phase-sliding. We also utilise some aspects of Müller’s (2004) analysis of ergativity, and propose an account of a typological generalisation regarding the absence of person-driven auxiliary selection first put forward in Kayne (2000:127) in the Germanic languages. To the extent that the analyses proposed successfully apply the mechanisms put forward in the recent versions of the minimalist program, the postulation of these mechanisms is supported by our analysis with evidence from a new empirical domain. We also offer some general speculations regarding auxiliary selection in general. KeywordsItalo-Romance-Participles-Agreement-Person-Split-ergativity-Auxiliaries.
Roberts, Ian; Biberauer, Theresa; Holmberg, Anders
A Syntactic Universal and Its Consequences Journal Article
In: Linguistic Inquiry, vol. 45, iss. 2, 2010.
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title = {A Syntactic Universal and Its Consequences},
author = {Ian Roberts and Theresa Biberauer and Anders Holmberg},
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year = {2010},
date = {2010-01-01},
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journal = {Linguistic Inquiry},
volume = {45},
issue = {2},
abstract = {This paper investigates the Final-over-Final Constraint (FOFC): a head-initial category cannot be the immediate structural complement of a head-final category within the same extended projection. First, we document the empirical evidence, logically possible but cross-linguistically unattested combinations of head-final and head-initial orders. Second, we formulate FOFC in terms of Extended Projections (Grimshaw 1991, 2001, 2005). Third, we reduce FOFC to the LCA, combined with a constraint on the formation of Extended Projections which we ultimately reduce to Relativised Minimality. Finally, we suggest that our approach, although it entails a minimal amount of linearization information in narrow syntax, nonetheless complies with the Strong Minimalist Thesis.},
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This paper investigates the Final-over-Final Constraint (FOFC): a head-initial category cannot be the immediate structural complement of a head-final category within the same extended projection. First, we document the empirical evidence, logically possible but cross-linguistically unattested combinations of head-final and head-initial orders. Second, we formulate FOFC in terms of Extended Projections (Grimshaw 1991, 2001, 2005). Third, we reduce FOFC to the LCA, combined with a constraint on the formation of Extended Projections which we ultimately reduce to Relativised Minimality. Finally, we suggest that our approach, although it entails a minimal amount of linearization information in narrow syntax, nonetheless complies with the Strong Minimalist Thesis.
Roberts, Ian; Ledgeway, Adam; D'Alessandro, Roberta
Syntactic Variation: The Dialects of Italy Book
CUP, 2010, ISBN: 9780521517362.
@book{Roberts2010e,
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abstract = {This book was first published in 2010. The study of Romance languages can tell us a great deal about sentence structure and its variation in general. Focusing on the dialects of Italy - including the islands of Sardinia and Sicily - the authors explore three thematic areas: the nominal domain, the verbal domain and the left periphery of the clause. The book gives fresh attention to the dialects, arguing that they offer an unprecedented degree of variation (not found, for example, in Germanic languages). Analysing a host of data, the authors show how the dialects can be used as a test-bed for investigating and challenging received ideas about language structure and change. Coherent and wide-ranging, this is a vital resource for those working in syntactic theory, historical linguistics and Romance languages.},
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This book was first published in 2010. The study of Romance languages can tell us a great deal about sentence structure and its variation in general. Focusing on the dialects of Italy - including the islands of Sardinia and Sicily - the authors explore three thematic areas: the nominal domain, the verbal domain and the left periphery of the clause. The book gives fresh attention to the dialects, arguing that they offer an unprecedented degree of variation (not found, for example, in Germanic languages). Analysing a host of data, the authors show how the dialects can be used as a test-bed for investigating and challenging received ideas about language structure and change. Coherent and wide-ranging, this is a vital resource for those working in syntactic theory, historical linguistics and Romance languages.
Roberts, Ian; Ledgeway, Adam; D'Alessandro, Roberta
Syntactic Variation and the Dialects of Italy: An Overview Book Chapter
In: pp. 1-3, CUP, 2010.
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title = {Syntactic Variation and the Dialects of Italy: An Overview},
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abstract = {This collection of articles is a spin-off from the first Cambridge Italian Dialect Syntax Meeting (CIDSM), held at Downing College, University of Cambridge, 22–3 April 2005. This now-annual event and the present volume it spawned bear witness to the fact that, over recent decades, researchers working on the syntax of the dialects of Italy have figured heavily in much of the generative literature, coming to assume a central role in setting and shaping the research agenda through their investigations of such topics as auxiliary selection, subject and object clitics, negation, wh-movement and the functional architecture of the clause. One need only think of the pioneering work of such linguists as Paola Benincà, Anna Cardinaletti, Richard Kayne, Michele Loporcaro, Rita Manzini, Nicola Munaro, Cecilia Poletto, Leonardo Savoia, Nigel Vincent and Raffaella Zanuttini, to name just a few, who have shown how the dialects offer fertile, and often virgin, territory in which to profitably study, among other things, parametric variation. While neighbouring dialects tend to be closely related to each other, manifestly displaying in most cases a high degree of structural homogeneity, they do nonetheless often diverge minimally in significant and interesting ways which allow the linguist to isolate and observe what lies behind surface differences in particular parametric settings across a range of otherwise highly homogenized grammars. By drawing on such microvariation, it is possible to determine which phenomena are correlated with particular parametric options and how such relationships are mapped onto the syntax. Furthermore, many of the dialects boast rich and long literary traditions (dating back as far as the late tenth century) which, coupled with an abundance of diachronic and synchronic variation, offer the historical linguist a rare opportunity to explore the structural evolution of a vast number of lesserknown Romance varieties. The historical evidence of the dialects has therefore often been subject to in-depth study in recent years (cf. research by, among others, Benincà, Cennamo, La Fauci, Loporcaro, Parry, Vanelli, Vincent), },
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This collection of articles is a spin-off from the first Cambridge Italian Dialect Syntax Meeting (CIDSM), held at Downing College, University of Cambridge, 22–3 April 2005. This now-annual event and the present volume it spawned bear witness to the fact that, over recent decades, researchers working on the syntax of the dialects of Italy have figured heavily in much of the generative literature, coming to assume a central role in setting and shaping the research agenda through their investigations of such topics as auxiliary selection, subject and object clitics, negation, wh-movement and the functional architecture of the clause. One need only think of the pioneering work of such linguists as Paola Benincà, Anna Cardinaletti, Richard Kayne, Michele Loporcaro, Rita Manzini, Nicola Munaro, Cecilia Poletto, Leonardo Savoia, Nigel Vincent and Raffaella Zanuttini, to name just a few, who have shown how the dialects offer fertile, and often virgin, territory in which to profitably study, among other things, parametric variation. While neighbouring dialects tend to be closely related to each other, manifestly displaying in most cases a high degree of structural homogeneity, they do nonetheless often diverge minimally in significant and interesting ways which allow the linguist to isolate and observe what lies behind surface differences in particular parametric settings across a range of otherwise highly homogenized grammars. By drawing on such microvariation, it is possible to determine which phenomena are correlated with particular parametric options and how such relationships are mapped onto the syntax. Furthermore, many of the dialects boast rich and long literary traditions (dating back as far as the late tenth century) which, coupled with an abundance of diachronic and synchronic variation, offer the historical linguist a rare opportunity to explore the structural evolution of a vast number of lesserknown Romance varieties. The historical evidence of the dialects has therefore often been subject to in-depth study in recent years (cf. research by, among others, Benincà, Cennamo, La Fauci, Loporcaro, Parry, Vanelli, Vincent),
2009
Roberts, Ian; Biberauer, Theresa
The Return of the Subset Principle Journal Article
In: 2009, ISBN: 9780199560547.
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abstract = {This chapter reconsiders the role of the Subset Principle in language acquisition and change, arguing that consideration of true formal optionality enables one to define grammars generating languages that are in inclusion relations. This in turn facilitates an explanation of diachronic changes where absence of sufficiently robust PLD led acquirers to 'default' to 'smaller language'-generating grammars. © individual chapters their various authors 2009. All rights reserved.
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This chapter reconsiders the role of the Subset Principle in language acquisition and change, arguing that consideration of true formal optionality enables one to define grammars generating languages that are in inclusion relations. This in turn facilitates an explanation of diachronic changes where absence of sufficiently robust PLD led acquirers to 'default' to 'smaller language'-generating grammars. © individual chapters their various authors 2009. All rights reserved.
2008
Roberts, Ian; D'Alessandro, Roberta
Movement and Agreement in Italian Past Participles and Defective Phases Journal Article
In: Linguistic Inquiry, vol. 39, iss. 3, pp. 477-491, 2008.
@article{Roberts2008,
title = {Movement and Agreement in Italian Past Participles and Defective Phases},
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doi = {10.1162/ling.2008.39.3.477},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-07-01},
urldate = {2008-07-01},
journal = {Linguistic Inquiry},
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issue = {3},
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abstract = {In this article, we propose a phase-based alternative to Kayne’s (1989) analysis of past participle agreement in Italian. This analysis captures the principal facts without making reference to specifier-head agreement. Instead, the possibility of overt past participle agreement is determined by the Phase Impenetrability Condition and is linked to the surface position of the past participle. The analysis has interesting crosslinguistic implications, notably in that it predicts a general asymmetry between subject and object agreement.},
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In this article, we propose a phase-based alternative to Kayne’s (1989) analysis of past participle agreement in Italian. This analysis captures the principal facts without making reference to specifier-head agreement. Instead, the possibility of overt past participle agreement is determined by the Phase Impenetrability Condition and is linked to the surface position of the past participle. The analysis has interesting crosslinguistic implications, notably in that it predicts a general asymmetry between subject and object agreement.
Roberts, Ian; Biberauer, Theresa; Nunes, Jairo; Mensching, Guido; Sitaridou, Ioanna; Vikner, Sten; Holmberg, Anders; Costa, João; Rizzi, Luigi; Sheehan, Michelle; Masullo, Pascual; Matos, Gabriela Ardisson; Gonçalves, Anabela; Maria, Ana; Martins, Aroldo; Andrade, Anne; Breitbarth,; Cyrino, Sonia Maria Lazzarini
On complex predicates in Brazilian Portuguese Journal Article
In: International Journal of Theoretical Linguistics, vol. 2.2, 2008, ISBN: 1989-8525.
@article{Roberts2008b,
title = {On complex predicates in Brazilian Portuguese},
author = {Ian Roberts and Theresa Biberauer and Jairo Nunes and Guido Mensching and Ioanna Sitaridou and Sten Vikner and Anders Holmberg and João Costa and Luigi Rizzi and Michelle Sheehan and Pascual Masullo and Gabriela Ardisson Matos and Anabela Gonçalves and Ana Maria and Aroldo Martins and Anne Andrade and Breitbarth and Sonia Maria Lazzarini Cyrino},
isbn = {1989-8525},
year = {2008},
date = {2008-03-01},
urldate = {2008-03-01},
journal = {International Journal of Theoretical Linguistics},
volume = {2.2},
abstract = {I analyze Romance syntactic complex predicates (faire-infinitive causatives, periphrastic tenses and restructuring), and propose the unification of these phenomena usually thought to stem from different structures by showing that one single analysis is possible: the non-finite verb phrase moves to the specifier of the upper V. This movement enables the verbs to be close enough to each other, and it allows for a configuration where clitics can climb and long object movement can occur. Crucial for this movement is either the presence of a defective C-T or its total absence. I account for the lack of Romance syntactic complex predicates in Brazilian Portuguese as well as for other phenomena in the language. Resumen: Analizo predicados sintácticos complejos (estructuras causativas con infinitivo, tiempos perifrásticos y reestructuración) y propongo la unificación de estos fenómenos, que normalmente se asume que derivan de estructuras diferentes, demostrando que un único análisis sintáctico es posible: el sintagma verbal no finito se mueve al especificador del V superior. Este movimiento permite que los verbos estén lo suficientemente cerca el uno del otro para permitir una configuración en la que los clíticos pueden subir y se puede producir el movimiento de objeto a larga distancia. Para este movimiento es crucial tanto la presencia de un C-T defectivo como su ausencia total. Doy cuenta de la ausencia de predicados complejos sintácticos románicos en portugués brasileño además de otros fenómenos de esta lengua.. I also thank two anonymous reviewers for comments and suggestions. The remaining errors are my own.
},
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I analyze Romance syntactic complex predicates (faire-infinitive causatives, periphrastic tenses and restructuring), and propose the unification of these phenomena usually thought to stem from different structures by showing that one single analysis is possible: the non-finite verb phrase moves to the specifier of the upper V. This movement enables the verbs to be close enough to each other, and it allows for a configuration where clitics can climb and long object movement can occur. Crucial for this movement is either the presence of a defective C-T or its total absence. I account for the lack of Romance syntactic complex predicates in Brazilian Portuguese as well as for other phenomena in the language. Resumen: Analizo predicados sintácticos complejos (estructuras causativas con infinitivo, tiempos perifrásticos y reestructuración) y propongo la unificación de estos fenómenos, que normalmente se asume que derivan de estructuras diferentes, demostrando que un único análisis sintáctico es posible: el sintagma verbal no finito se mueve al especificador del V superior. Este movimiento permite que los verbos estén lo suficientemente cerca el uno del otro para permitir una configuración en la que los clíticos pueden subir y se puede producir el movimiento de objeto a larga distancia. Para este movimiento es crucial tanto la presencia de un C-T defectivo como su ausencia total. Doy cuenta de la ausencia de predicados complejos sintácticos románicos en portugués brasileño además de otros fenómenos de esta lengua.. I also thank two anonymous reviewers for comments and suggestions. The remaining errors are my own.
Roberts, Ian
Head Movement Book Chapter
In: Chapter 5, pp. 112 - 147, 2008, ISBN: 9780470756416.
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Roberts, Ian; Biberauer, Theresa
Cascading parameter changes: Internally-driven change in Middle and Early Modern English Book Chapter
In: pp. 79-113, Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today, 2008.
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2007
Roberts, Ian; Biberauer, Theresa; Holmberg, Anders
Structure and Linearization in Disharmonic Word Orders Journal Article
In: 2007.
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2006
Roberts, Ian; Borsley, Robert David; Sadler, Louisa; Willis, David
Ian Roberts Journal Article
In: Lingua, vol. 116, iss. 11, pp. 1745–1749, 2006.
@article{nokey,
title = {Ian Roberts},
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date = {2006-11-01},
urldate = {2006-11-01},
journal = {Lingua},
volume = {116},
issue = {11},
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Roberts, Ian; Biberauer, Theresa
Loss of residual “head final” orders and remnant fronting in Late Middle English Book Chapter
In: pp. 263-297, 2006.
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2005
Roberts, Ian; Biberauer, Theresa
Changing EPP parameters in the history of English: Accounting for variation and change Journal Article
In: English Language and Linguistics, vol. 9, iss. 1, pp. 5 - 46, 2005.
@article{Roberts2005,
title = {Changing EPP parameters in the history of English: Accounting for variation and change},
author = {Ian Roberts and Theresa Biberauer},
doi = {10.1017/S1360674305001528},
year = {2005},
date = {2005-05-01},
urldate = {2005-05-01},
journal = {English Language and Linguistics},
volume = {9},
issue = {1},
pages = {5 - 46},
abstract = {This article presents a novel ‘Kaynian’ analysis of Old and Middle English (OE and ME) word-order patterns in terms of which the patterns attested at the various stages of OE and ME are analysed as the output of a single grammar which, however, permits restricted types of variation. We propose that the West Germanic-like OE word orders were derived via the application of two types of ‘large XP’ movement – VP raising to SpecvP and vP raising to SpecTP – which are in fact pied-piping operations: in both cases, a DP contained within VP and vP – the object and the subject respectively – constitutes the actual Goal of movement, with the larger structure simply being pied piped along. Orders unlike West Germanic in both OE and ME, and synchronic variation more generally, are shown to be derived from the side-by-side availability in the OE and ME grammar of pied piping and ‘stranding’, and the word-order changes that occurred in ME are analysed as the consequence of a reanalysis of the ever more liberal ‘stranding’-permitting pied-piping grammar as one which specifically targets DPs.},
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This article presents a novel ‘Kaynian’ analysis of Old and Middle English (OE and ME) word-order patterns in terms of which the patterns attested at the various stages of OE and ME are analysed as the output of a single grammar which, however, permits restricted types of variation. We propose that the West Germanic-like OE word orders were derived via the application of two types of ‘large XP’ movement – VP raising to SpecvP and vP raising to SpecTP – which are in fact pied-piping operations: in both cases, a DP contained within VP and vP – the object and the subject respectively – constitutes the actual Goal of movement, with the larger structure simply being pied piped along. Orders unlike West Germanic in both OE and ME, and synchronic variation more generally, are shown to be derived from the side-by-side availability in the OE and ME grammar of pied piping and ‘stranding’, and the word-order changes that occurred in ME are analysed as the consequence of a reanalysis of the ever more liberal ‘stranding’-permitting pied-piping grammar as one which specifically targets DPs.
Roberts, Ian
Principles and Parameters in a VSO Language: A Case Study in Welsh Journal Article
In: Principles and Parameters in a VSO Language: A Case Study in Welsh, 2005, ISBN: 9780195168211.
@article{Roberts2005b,
title = {Principles and Parameters in a VSO Language: A Case Study in Welsh},
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abstract = {This work provides an analysis of word order and clause structure in Welsh, within the context of a minimalist version of principles and parameters theory. The central issue is the analysis of VSO order, the only unmarked clausal order in Welsh. The question is: which values of which parameters of Universal Grammar determine VSO order? Behind this basic descriptive goal, there are two theoretical questions. The first has to do with the conditions of adequacy on parameters: these must be both typologizable and learnable. The second concerns the Extended Projection Principle (EPP). Developing the conception of this principle in Chomsky (2000, 2001), it is concluded that it is a parametrized property of the C-system and/or the I-system, and that it seems to be intrinsically connected to the defective nature of certain functional heads. Successive chapters deal with the analysis of VSO orders, the Welsh Case-agreement system as it applies to both subjects and objects, the 'verbal noun', and the nature of the C-system. The last chapter takes up the related but distinct question of the theoretical status of head-movement, arguing that this may be construed as movement to a specifier position followed by morphological reanalysis of adjacent heads. Throughout, Welsh is compared to the other Celtic languages, and to the Romance and Germanic languages. Comparison with Romance is particularly revealing in relation to the agreement system, and comparison with Germanic in relation to C-system.},
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This work provides an analysis of word order and clause structure in Welsh, within the context of a minimalist version of principles and parameters theory. The central issue is the analysis of VSO order, the only unmarked clausal order in Welsh. The question is: which values of which parameters of Universal Grammar determine VSO order? Behind this basic descriptive goal, there are two theoretical questions. The first has to do with the conditions of adequacy on parameters: these must be both typologizable and learnable. The second concerns the Extended Projection Principle (EPP). Developing the conception of this principle in Chomsky (2000, 2001), it is concluded that it is a parametrized property of the C-system and/or the I-system, and that it seems to be intrinsically connected to the defective nature of certain functional heads. Successive chapters deal with the analysis of VSO orders, the Welsh Case-agreement system as it applies to both subjects and objects, the 'verbal noun', and the nature of the C-system. The last chapter takes up the related but distinct question of the theoretical status of head-movement, arguing that this may be construed as movement to a specifier position followed by morphological reanalysis of adjacent heads. Throughout, Welsh is compared to the other Celtic languages, and to the Romance and Germanic languages. Comparison with Romance is particularly revealing in relation to the agreement system, and comparison with Germanic in relation to C-system.
Roberts, Ian; Holmberg, Anders
On the role of parameters in Universal Grammar: A reply to Newmeyer Journal Article
In: Organizing Grammar: Linguistic Studies in Honor of Henk Van Riemsdijk, 2005.
@article{Roberts2005c,
title = {On the role of parameters in Universal Grammar: A reply to Newmeyer},
author = {Ian Roberts and Anders Holmberg},
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date = {2005-01-01},
urldate = {2005-01-01},
journal = {Organizing Grammar: Linguistic Studies in Honor of Henk Van Riemsdijk},
abstract = {Newmeyer (2004) argues that the notion of parameter of Universal Grammar has no role to play in accounting for cross-linguistic differences in syntax, and that, instead, "language-particular differences are captured by differences in language-particular rules" (183). He tries to show that parameter-approaches "have failed to live up to their promise" (181) and that "the hopeful vision of UG as providing a small number of principles each admitting of a small number of parameter settings is simply not workable" (185). In this paper, we defend the principles-and-parameters model of cross- linguistic variation. We propose that Newmeyer's arguments against it are based on misunderstandings either of theory or of data, are conceptually misconceived, illogical or simply false. The rule-based alternative he suggests is hard to evaluate, since few actual instances of it are offered, and none is discussed in any detail. In a couple of instances that Newmeyer discusses, his rule-based account is a notational variant of a parameter- based theory. In other cases it represents a retreat to observational adequacy. The first part of the paper replies to Newmeyer's critique of parameters (his pp. 198-215). The second part demonstrates an example of the efficacy of the parameter-based approach, drawing on work by Platzack and Holmberg on Scandinavian. 2 Newmeyer's critique of parameters Newmeyer begins by enumerating eight ways in which parameters might be thought to be attractive, as follows:},
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Newmeyer (2004) argues that the notion of parameter of Universal Grammar has no role to play in accounting for cross-linguistic differences in syntax, and that, instead, "language-particular differences are captured by differences in language-particular rules" (183). He tries to show that parameter-approaches "have failed to live up to their promise" (181) and that "the hopeful vision of UG as providing a small number of principles each admitting of a small number of parameter settings is simply not workable" (185). In this paper, we defend the principles-and-parameters model of cross- linguistic variation. We propose that Newmeyer's arguments against it are based on misunderstandings either of theory or of data, are conceptually misconceived, illogical or simply false. The rule-based alternative he suggests is hard to evaluate, since few actual instances of it are offered, and none is discussed in any detail. In a couple of instances that Newmeyer discusses, his rule-based account is a notational variant of a parameter- based theory. In other cases it represents a retreat to observational adequacy. The first part of the paper replies to Newmeyer's critique of parameters (his pp. 198-215). The second part demonstrates an example of the efficacy of the parameter-based approach, drawing on work by Platzack and Holmberg on Scandinavian. 2 Newmeyer's critique of parameters Newmeyer begins by enumerating eight ways in which parameters might be thought to be attractive, as follows:
2003
Roberts, Ian; Roussou, Anna
Syntactic Change: A Minimalist Approach to Grammaticalization Book
Cambridge University Press, 2003, ISBN: 9780521790567.
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title = {Syntactic Change: A Minimalist Approach to Grammaticalization},
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abstract = {Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Parameters, functional heads and language change 2. T elements 3. C elements 4. D elements 5. Theoretical consequences References Index of languages Index of names Index of subjects.},
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Acknowledgements Introduction 1. Parameters, functional heads and language change 2. T elements 3. C elements 4. D elements 5. Theoretical consequences References Index of languages Index of names Index of subjects.
2002
Roberts, Ian; Roussou, Anna
The History of the Future Book Chapter
In: pp. 23-56, Oxford Scholarship Online, 2002, ISBN: 9780199250691.
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date = {2002-06-27},
urldate = {2002-06-27},
pages = {23-56},
publisher = {Oxford Scholarship Online},
abstract = {This chapter considers three well-known cases of ‘grammaticalization’ regarding the development of future-tense constructions in English, Romance, and Greek. It argues that the change consists in the loss of movement of verbal element to a higher functional position; in the new grammars, the verbal element is merged directly in the functional position, not merging there via copying and subsequent deletion of the lower element. Grammaticalization-type changes of this kind follow a ‘path’, which is structurally defined along Cinque's (1999) universal hierarchy of functional categories in the clause structure.},
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This chapter considers three well-known cases of ‘grammaticalization’ regarding the development of future-tense constructions in English, Romance, and Greek. It argues that the change consists in the loss of movement of verbal element to a higher functional position; in the new grammars, the verbal element is merged directly in the functional position, not merging there via copying and subsequent deletion of the lower element. Grammaticalization-type changes of this kind follow a ‘path’, which is structurally defined along Cinque's (1999) universal hierarchy of functional categories in the clause structure.
2001
Roberts, Ian
Who Has Confused What? More On Lappin, Levine And Johnson Bachelor Thesis
2001.
@bachelorthesis{nokey,
title = {Who Has Confused What? More On Lappin, Levine And Johnson},
author = {Ian Roberts},
doi = {10.1023/A:1013378628509},
year = {2001},
date = {2001-01-01},
urldate = {2001-01-01},
journal = {Natural Language & Linguistic Theory},
volume = {19},
issue = {4},
pages = {887-890},
abstract = {In the continuity of the debate revolving around the epistemological critique of the minimalist program made by Lappin, Levine and Johnson (LLJ) in 2000 in this review, the A. returns to certain points of agreement with LLJ in particular with regard to the importance given to the concept of derivation economics.},
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In the continuity of the debate revolving around the epistemological critique of the minimalist program made by Lappin, Levine and Johnson (LLJ) in 2000 in this review, the A. returns to certain points of agreement with LLJ in particular with regard to the importance given to the concept of derivation economics.
2000
Roberts, Ian
Caricaturing Dissent Journal Article
In: Natural Language & Linguistic Theory - NATUR LANG LINGUIST THEOR, vol. 18, iss. 4, pp. 849 - 857, 2000.
@article{nokey,
title = {Caricaturing Dissent},
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date = {2000-11-01},
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journal = {Natural Language & Linguistic Theory - NATUR LANG LINGUIST THEOR},
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Roberts, Ian; Everson, Richard
Features, parameters and grammaticalization: A minimalist approach to syntactic change Book Chapter
In: Cambridge Universiry Press, 2000.
@inbook{Roberts2000,
title = {Features, parameters and grammaticalization: A minimalist approach to syntactic change},
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Roberts, Ian
Some remarks on the diachrony of French negation Journal Article
In: DELTA: Documentação de Estudos em Lingüística Teórica e Aplicada, vol. 16, pp. 201-219, 2000.
@article{Roberts2000b,
title = {Some remarks on the diachrony of French negation},
author = {Ian Roberts},
doi = {10.1590/S0102-44502000000300008},
year = {2000},
date = {2000-01-01},
urldate = {2000-01-01},
journal = {DELTA: Documentação de Estudos em Lingüística Teórica e Aplicada},
volume = {16},
pages = {201-219},
abstract = {Based on the history of negation in French, this paper proposes a parametrization of how languages may morphologically express the logical structure of negation provided by UG. It is argued that the change of French negation is driven by a general economy principle governing language acquisition, which favors shorter chains over longer ones. It is also claimed that this change correlates with a change in the determiner system which leads negative chains to develop from indefinite chains.},
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Based on the history of negation in French, this paper proposes a parametrization of how languages may morphologically express the logical structure of negation provided by UG. It is argued that the change of French negation is driven by a general economy principle governing language acquisition, which favors shorter chains over longer ones. It is also claimed that this change correlates with a change in the determiner system which leads negative chains to develop from indefinite chains.
1999
Roberts, Ian; Roussou, Anna
A formal approach to “grammaticalization” Journal Article
In: Linguistics, vol. 37, iss. 6, pp. 1011-1041, 1999.
@article{Roberts1999,
title = {A formal approach to “grammaticalization”},
author = {Ian Roberts and Anna Roussou},
doi = {10.1515/ling.37.6.1011},
year = {1999},
date = {1999-01-01},
urldate = {1999-01-01},
journal = {Linguistics},
volume = {37},
issue = {6},
pages = {1011-1041},
abstract = {This paper presents an approach to the well-known diachronic phenomenon of grammaticalization in terms of a modified version of Chomsky's (1995. chapter 4) minimalist approach to syntax, combined with the general approach to language change outlined in Clark and Roberts (1993). The central idea that we follow is that grammaticalization involves the reanalysis of lexical material as functional material. We argue that the reason this kind of change is so common is that the reanalysis involves structural simplification, a kind of change that is preferred by the parameter-setting device, according to Clark and Roberts (1993). A number of well-known cases of grammaticalization are discussed the development of English modal auxiliaries, the development of agreement markers from pronouns, the development of negation and N-words, and the development of wh-pronouns. In the last two cases a different kind of simplification is involved the lexical subset principle, which requires lexical items to be interpreted in the smallest set of contexts consistent with the input. Both the lexical subset principle and the tendency toward structural simplification stem from the same property of computational conservativity that characterizes the parameter-setting device.},
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This paper presents an approach to the well-known diachronic phenomenon of grammaticalization in terms of a modified version of Chomsky's (1995. chapter 4) minimalist approach to syntax, combined with the general approach to language change outlined in Clark and Roberts (1993). The central idea that we follow is that grammaticalization involves the reanalysis of lexical material as functional material. We argue that the reason this kind of change is so common is that the reanalysis involves structural simplification, a kind of change that is preferred by the parameter-setting device, according to Clark and Roberts (1993). A number of well-known cases of grammaticalization are discussed the development of English modal auxiliaries, the development of agreement markers from pronouns, the development of negation and N-words, and the development of wh-pronouns. In the last two cases a different kind of simplification is involved the lexical subset principle, which requires lexical items to be interpreted in the smallest set of contexts consistent with the input. Both the lexical subset principle and the tendency toward structural simplification stem from the same property of computational conservativity that characterizes the parameter-setting device.
1998
Roberts, Ian
Have/Be Raising, Move F, and Procrastinate Journal Article
In: Linguistic Inquiry, vol. 29, iss. 1, pp. 113-125, 1998.
@article{Roberts1998,
title = {Have/Be Raising, Move F, and Procrastinate},
author = {Ian Roberts},
doi = {10.1162/002438998553671},
year = {1998},
date = {1998-12-01},
urldate = {1998-12-01},
journal = {Linguistic Inquiry},
volume = {29},
issue = {1},
pages = {113-125},
abstract = {This article proposes a simple modification to Chomsky's (1995:chap. 4) account of Move F(eature): that this operation is able to occur before Spell-Out. This idea has numerous potential consequences. Two theoretical consequences are explored here: that Move F corresponds to weak features and Move Category to strong features, and that Procrastinate is not required. The empirical motivation for overt Move F comes from Englishhave/be raising; it is argued that the auxiliaries are simple feature bundles moved as free riders with the overtly moved (weak) V-feature.},
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This article proposes a simple modification to Chomsky's (1995:chap. 4) account of Move F(eature): that this operation is able to occur before Spell-Out. This idea has numerous potential consequences. Two theoretical consequences are explored here: that Move F corresponds to weak features and Move Category to strong features, and that Procrastinate is not required. The empirical motivation for overt Move F comes from Englishhave/be raising; it is argued that the auxiliaries are simple feature bundles moved as free riders with the overtly moved (weak) V-feature.
1997
Roberts, Ian
The Syntax of Direct Object Mutation in Welsh Journal Article
In: The Canadian Journal of Linguistics / La revue canadienne de linguistique, vol. 42, iss. 1-2, 1997.
@article{Roberts1997,
title = {The Syntax of Direct Object Mutation in Welsh},
author = {Ian Roberts},
doi = {10.1017/S0008413100016856},
year = {1997},
date = {1997-03-01},
urldate = {1997-03-01},
journal = {The Canadian Journal of Linguistics / La revue canadienne de linguistique},
volume = {42},
issue = {1-2},
abstract = {The central hypothesis of this article is that Welsh direct object mutation - the only instance of mutation in the Celtic languages not triggered by a specific lexical item - is the PF-realisation of Agr(O)'s accusative Case as the floating lenition-triggering phonological feature L (cf. Lieber 1983 and Zwicky 1984). The analysis proposed in this article is an empirically adquate analysis of initial consonant mutation in Welsh, which fully integrates direct object mutation with other cases of mutation, relates mutation to phonosyntactic processes found in other languages, notably Southern Italian /u/-propagation (Rizzi and Savoia 1991) and French liaison (Manzini 1983), and fits naturally into a non-checking-theoretic conception of Parametric Variation of the sort outlined in Roberts and Roussau (1997a).},
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The central hypothesis of this article is that Welsh direct object mutation - the only instance of mutation in the Celtic languages not triggered by a specific lexical item - is the PF-realisation of Agr(O)'s accusative Case as the floating lenition-triggering phonological feature L (cf. Lieber 1983 and Zwicky 1984). The analysis proposed in this article is an empirically adquate analysis of initial consonant mutation in Welsh, which fully integrates direct object mutation with other cases of mutation, relates mutation to phonosyntactic processes found in other languages, notably Southern Italian /u/-propagation (Rizzi and Savoia 1991) and French liaison (Manzini 1983), and fits naturally into a non-checking-theoretic conception of Parametric Variation of the sort outlined in Roberts and Roussau (1997a).
1996
Roberts, Ian; Shlonsky, Ur
Pronominal enclisis in VSO languages Book Chapter
In: Borsley, Robert D.; Roberts, Ian G (Ed.): pp. 171-199, Cambridge University Press, 1996, ISBN: 9780521481601.
@inbook{Roberts1996,
title = {Pronominal enclisis in VSO languages},
author = {Ian Roberts and Ur Shlonsky},
editor = {Borsley, Robert D. and Roberts, Ian G},
doi = {10.1017/CBO9780511586279.006},
isbn = {9780521481601},
year = {1996},
date = {1996-03-28},
urldate = {1996-03-28},
pages = {171-199},
publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
abstract = {In this chapter we present evidence that both Semitic (Arabic and Hebrew) and Welsh clitic systems bear striking similarities to each other, and are significantly different from those of Romance or Germanic. We motivate an analysis of both systems which treats them as base-generated syntactic affixes in Agr. Hence these clitics are not in fact pronouns, that is, XPs.
Our central theoretical claim is that this type of clitic system is non-trivially connected to the (full or residual) VSO nature of the languages in question. Adopting and adapting a proposal for English auxiliaries in Chomsky (1993), we propose that weak/clitic pronouns must check features with an Agr head with strong nominal features. However, we argue that the nature of VSO systems is such that Agr heads with strong features are largely absent. It follows that weak/clitic pronouns cannot be licensed in a VSO system. The functional role of such pronouns – which we will argue to involve licensing pro – is then carried by the Agr heads themselves. We thus tie together two apparently unrelated properties of these languages, namely word order and the nature of the clitic system. We also explain the pervasiveness of agreement marking that these languages show; where a Romance or Germanic language has a pronoun, these languages have agreement, hence it is not a surprise to find agreeing prepositions, for example. Moreover, the apparent preference for enclisis that these languages show is a consequence, in our terms, of the fact that the apparent clitics are really affixes; enclisis thus follows from the Right-Hand Head Rule (Williams 1981b).},
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In this chapter we present evidence that both Semitic (Arabic and Hebrew) and Welsh clitic systems bear striking similarities to each other, and are significantly different from those of Romance or Germanic. We motivate an analysis of both systems which treats them as base-generated syntactic affixes in Agr. Hence these clitics are not in fact pronouns, that is, XPs.
Our central theoretical claim is that this type of clitic system is non-trivially connected to the (full or residual) VSO nature of the languages in question. Adopting and adapting a proposal for English auxiliaries in Chomsky (1993), we propose that weak/clitic pronouns must check features with an Agr head with strong nominal features. However, we argue that the nature of VSO systems is such that Agr heads with strong features are largely absent. It follows that weak/clitic pronouns cannot be licensed in a VSO system. The functional role of such pronouns – which we will argue to involve licensing pro – is then carried by the Agr heads themselves. We thus tie together two apparently unrelated properties of these languages, namely word order and the nature of the clitic system. We also explain the pervasiveness of agreement marking that these languages show; where a Romance or Germanic language has a pronoun, these languages have agreement, hence it is not a surprise to find agreeing prepositions, for example. Moreover, the apparent preference for enclisis that these languages show is a consequence, in our terms, of the fact that the apparent clitics are really affixes; enclisis thus follows from the Right-Hand Head Rule (Williams 1981b).
Our central theoretical claim is that this type of clitic system is non-trivially connected to the (full or residual) VSO nature of the languages in question. Adopting and adapting a proposal for English auxiliaries in Chomsky (1993), we propose that weak/clitic pronouns must check features with an Agr head with strong nominal features. However, we argue that the nature of VSO systems is such that Agr heads with strong features are largely absent. It follows that weak/clitic pronouns cannot be licensed in a VSO system. The functional role of such pronouns – which we will argue to involve licensing pro – is then carried by the Agr heads themselves. We thus tie together two apparently unrelated properties of these languages, namely word order and the nature of the clitic system. We also explain the pervasiveness of agreement marking that these languages show; where a Romance or Germanic language has a pronoun, these languages have agreement, hence it is not a surprise to find agreeing prepositions, for example. Moreover, the apparent preference for enclisis that these languages show is a consequence, in our terms, of the fact that the apparent clitics are really affixes; enclisis thus follows from the Right-Hand Head Rule (Williams 1981b).
1994
Roberts, Ian
Maria-Rita Manzini, Locality (Linguistic Inquiry Monograph No. 19) Journal Article
In: Journal of Linguistics, vol. 30, iss. 1, 1994.
@article{Roberts1994,
title = {Maria-Rita Manzini, Locality (Linguistic Inquiry Monograph No. 19)},
author = {Ian Roberts},
doi = {10.1017/S0022226700016297},
year = {1994},
date = {1994-03-01},
urldate = {1994-03-01},
journal = {Journal of Linguistics},
volume = {30},
issue = {1},
abstract = {This paper presents the evidence for a rule of object shift in Middle and Early Modern English, and shows what the consequences of the existence of this rule are for (a) the English pronominal system, (b) the analysis of Scandinavian object shift, (c) the historical development of English. In Section 1 we present the basic facts about Scandinavian object shift, drawing on Holmberg (1986, 1991) and Vikner (1989, 1994). We sketch an analysis of this phenomenon which treats object shift as A-movement of the pronoun. This approach makes the right connection between object shift and verb movement in terms of the theory of locality in Chomsky (1993). Section 2 discusses Early Modern English and shows that, modulo independent differences concerning verb movement, object shift here exactly parallels MSc. Section 3 gives a more detailed version of the analysis. Here we also give several arguments against a head-movement approach to object shift.},
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pubstate = {published},
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}
This paper presents the evidence for a rule of object shift in Middle and Early Modern English, and shows what the consequences of the existence of this rule are for (a) the English pronominal system, (b) the analysis of Scandinavian object shift, (c) the historical development of English. In Section 1 we present the basic facts about Scandinavian object shift, drawing on Holmberg (1986, 1991) and Vikner (1989, 1994). We sketch an analysis of this phenomenon which treats object shift as A-movement of the pronoun. This approach makes the right connection between object shift and verb movement in terms of the theory of locality in Chomsky (1993). Section 2 discusses Early Modern English and shows that, modulo independent differences concerning verb movement, object shift here exactly parallels MSc. Section 3 gives a more detailed version of the analysis. Here we also give several arguments against a head-movement approach to object shift.
1993
Roberts, Ian; Clark, Robin
A Computational Model of Language Learnability and Language Change Journal Article
In: Linguistic Inquiry, vol. 24, iss. 2, 1993.
@article{Roberts1993,
title = {A Computational Model of Language Learnability and Language Change},
author = {Ian Roberts and Robin Clark},
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date = {1993-01-01},
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journal = {Linguistic Inquiry},
volume = {24},
issue = {2},
abstract = {The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.},
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The abstract for this document is available on CSA Illumina.To view the Abstract, click the Abstract button above the document title.
