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" A feature-based account of long-distance anaphora "
H. Lee
M. A. Mohammad
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Latin Dissertation
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| Language of Document
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English
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| Record Number
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1113206
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| Doc. No
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TLpq304375291
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| Main Entry
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H. Lee
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M. A. Mohammad
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| Title & Author
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A feature-based account of long-distance anaphora\ H. LeeM. A. Mohammad
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| College
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University of Florida
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| Date
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1997
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| student score
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1997
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Page No
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232
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| Abstract
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One of the important issues in current linguistics involves locality conditions governing possible antecedents of reflexives and other anaphors. The various proposals have sought for a universal principle to account for language-specific differences. My dissertation aims to resolve these issues and provide a unified account of binding phenomena in the Minimalist framework. I propose that long-distance binding does not result from movement of X or XP, but from movement of features at LF. In particular, I propose that long-distance binding anaphora have the (+Anaphoric) and (Interpretable) features which undergo successive cyclic adjunction at LF, while locally bound anaphors have the (+Anaphoric) and (Interpretable) features which are checked off and eliminated. This proposal has four consequences. First, apparent long-distance binding in Picture-DP and expletive constructions is analyzed as local binding. Second, the feature raising analysis results in subject orientation of the antecedent in long-distance binding, and no particular orientation in local binding along with the proposed structure. Third, the feature raising analysis does not need other parameterization with respect to the blocking effect: the blocking effect does not derive from properties of Infl, but from the usual checking of features (+Anaphoric) and (Interpretable). Fourth, the backward anaphora observed in psych-verb and causatives and the anaphora which do not seem to require the c-command relation seen in prepositional phrases and dative and double object constructions are accounted for by the feature checking at LF. It is argued that feature checking takes place at the proposed LF structure where arguments are configurationally represented, depending on their thematic prominency. I conclude that various long-distance and local binding phenomena result from covert feature checking to satisfy morphological properties, which is the very driving force for all other raisings. Our analysis is thus in accord with economy conditions in the Minimalist Program: (i) the minimal cost is taken by raising features rather than the full categories, (ii) derivations are optimal by taking no superfluous steps, observing locality of movement, and (iii) a reference to D-structure and S-structure is dispensed with, simplifying the computational components of language.
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causatives
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feature raising analysis
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Language, literature and linguistics
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Linguistics
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minimalist
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psych verb
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