英语名词性成分抽象格的可见性分析

A Visibility Account of the Abstract Case of English Nominal Expressions

作为普遍语法原则,格鉴别式本质上属于一种描述性的规定,缺乏解释力。它要求每个显性的名词组必须获得抽象格,但却没有解释为什么应遵守该条件。本文论证,基于可见性的格解释在经验与理论两方面都优越于基于格鉴别式的解释。一方面,空算子与空代词PRO之类的无语音形式成分要求有格,对此可见性分析能正确预测和解释,而格鉴别式分析却不能。另一方面,取消格鉴别式,并代之以可见性条件,得到的是一条原则而不是两条,可以简化理论。运用科学的方法探究我们的语言能力,尽量减少整个理论的复杂度是完全合理的举措。然而,格的可见性解释也并非没有问题。由于格与题元角色指派明显地捆绑在一起,这意味着凡需要题元角色的地方都需要格,而凡不需要题元角色的地方都不需要格。按照该分析,虚词应该不需要格。由于虚词没有被指派题元角色,理应无格。但事实却并非如此,因为虚词只能出现在受格标记的位置上。我们认为,虚词之所以需要格,实际上是其配对成分需要格。根据可见性分析,谓词只给可见的名词组指派题元角色,抽象格能使名词组变得可见;所有的格违例都能在题元准则上得到解释。

The Case Filter, as a general principle of Universal Grammar, is essentially a descriptive stipulation which lacks explanatory force. It says that every overt NP must be assigned abstract Case, but provides no explanation for why such a condition should ob- tain. This paper argues that the Visibility analysis of Case is both empirically and theoretically superior to the Case Filter analysis. On the one hand, unpronounced NPs like null operators and PRO need Case. This is correctly predicted by the Visibility account, but not by the Case Filter account. On the other hand, by eliminating the Case Filter and replacing it with the Visibility Condition, we have a simpler theory -- only one principle but not two. To investigate our linguistic capacities with scientific method, it is per- fectly legitimate to try to reduce the complexity of the overall theory. However, the Visibility account of Case is in turn not without its problems. Since Case and theta role assignment are explicitly tied together, it makes the prediction that wherever we have the need for a theta role we should have Case, and wherever we don＇t have a theta role there should be no need for Case. The Visibility account predicts that expletives shouldn＇t need Case. Since they are not assigned a theta role, they should be free to be Caseless. However, this is not the Case as expletives can only appear in Case marked positions. We argue that expletives need Case when their associate needs it. Under the Visibility analysis, a predicate can only assign a theta role to NPs that are visible, and abstract Case makes an NP visible. All Case-related violations can be reduced to the Theta-Criterion.