虚词there的句法难题与逻辑缀词理论新框架的构建

Syntactic problems of the expletive there and a new framework of the LF Affix Theory

本文分析了虚词there研究中存在的问题,并以英汉语料佐证了there与locative-PP的逻辑关系。在此基础上,文章重审了Chomsky的逻辑缀词思想,并经适当调整和修补,建立了逻辑缀词理论的新框架。作者认为,逻辑缀词必须有个XP与之存在语义同指、形式共现、语类共享、句法同功等内在关系。研究发现,句法结构转换是逻辑缀词显性的根本动因,后者是前者的结果。文章结合英汉语言的参数差异,说明逻辑缀词在不同语言类型中有强、弱之别。最后,本文在新的理论框架下解答了there的句法难题。

This paper explores the problems of the expletive there and claims,with evidence from both English and Chinese,that there is an LF affix adjoined to the locative-PP.Chomsky’s LF affix is thereby reexamined,and with modifications and improvements a new framework is constructed.According to this framework,an LF affix must bear a logical relation to an XP in that they share the same semantic reference,formal occurrence,category and syntactic function.This LF affix is meanwhile made overt and thus results from a syntactic transformation.Evidenced by the parametric properties of LF affix in English and Chinese,the paper concludes that LF affix differs in strength cross-linguistically.