理论与方法专栏｜论元合并

Abstract：

Merge is the structure-building operation in Chomsky's Minimalist Program. In When Arguments Merge, Elise Newman develops a new Merge-based theory of the syntax of argument structure, taking inspiration from wh-questions. She uncovers new connections between disparate empirical phenomena and provides a unified analysis of patterns across many languages and language families, from Mayan to Bantu to Indo-European languages (among others). The result is a syntactic theory with a small inventory of features and categories that can combine in a limited number of ways, capturing the range of argument configurations that we find cross-linguistically in both declarative and interrogative contexts. Newman's novel approach to argument structure is based on the time at which different kinds of arguments merge and move in the verbal domain. Assuming that all kinds of Merge are driven by features, she proposes that subset relationships between elements bearing different sets of features can constrain the distribution of arguments in unexpected ways and that different feature bundles can predict unusual interactions between arguments in many contexts. The positions of arguments in different contexts have consequences for agreement alignment and case assignment, which are reflected in the Voice of the clause. Examining the order in which verbs and their arguments are combined, she explores the consequences of different orders of combination for the kinds of utterances observed across languages.

简介：

在Chomsky的最简方案中，合并是结构建构的基本操作。《论元合并》一书中，作者受特殊疑问句（wh-questions）相关研究的启发，为论元结构句法提出了一种以合并为基础的新理论。作者揭示了若干独立语言现象之间的潜在联系，并对不同语言及语系（如玛雅语、班图语、印欧语等）中这些现象的表征模式提供了统一的解释。根据上述分析所归纳出的句法理论仅包含一个较小的特征和范畴集合，它们以有限的方式相互组合，足以覆盖陈述和疑问语境中论元结构模式的跨语言变异。这一论元结构研究的新方法主要依据的是不同类型论元在动词语域（verbal domain）的不同移位时机。基于“合并均由特征驱动”的假设，作者还指出，不同特征集的元素之间所具有的子集关系能够限制论元分布，并且不同的特征束（feature bundles）可以预测不同语境下论元间的相互作用。不同语境中论元的位置也会影响协约一致性（agreement alignment）和赋格（case assignment），主要体现在从句的语态类型上。通过考察动词及其论元的组合顺序，作者还探讨了不同组合顺序对各个语言中话语类型的影响。

-Elise Newman-

Elise Newman博士，美国麻省理工学院（MIT）语言学及哲学系助理教授，研究领域主要为句法学，尤其关注语义/语用学和第一语言习得领域的研究课题。

Elise Newman, an assistant professor at MIT Linguistics. She works primarily on syntax, with additional interests in semantics/pragmatics and first language acquisition. 

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编辑：黄静雯 董泽扬

排版：黄静雯

审校：时仲 吴伟韬 董泽扬

英文编审负责人：黄静雯 董泽扬