The Cross-Linguistic Homes of Mood and Tense
Lida Veselovska, Joseph Emonds
January 2015
 

The paper compares English and Czech verbal projections to argue that they both contain a universal V-projection and a related functional head I. Contrary to the generally accepted idea that the functional head I is related to independent temporal specification (hence the label T used in most work in the present day framework), this study claims that the I projection mainly houses only the feature REALIS. A clause’s temporal specification is canonically located (and interpreted) on the highest head of the VP projection. The features of REALIS and PAST can, however, be alternatively realized (though not canonically interpreted) on adjacent head nodes, and this possibility has confused analyses of verbal forms that inadvertently take the English system as representative. This study demonstrates that language specific characteristics aresubject to the same universal principles governing the behavior of closed class items (including bound morphology). The framework employed succeeds in providing analyses of the verbal systems of the two languages which are both simple and explanatory.
Format: [ pdf ]
Reference: lingbuzz/003576
(please use that when you cite this article)
Published in: Representing Structure in Phonology and Syntax. Marc van Oostendorp and Henk van Riemsdijk (eds.), Walter de Gruyter, Berlin. 277-314
keywords: verbal functional head, mood, tense, lexical entry, czech auxiliary, english auxiliary, semantics, morphology, syntax
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