Difference between revisions of "MacAulay 1996"

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Walker, James. (1997). A lack of agreement: Celtic syntax meets the (revised) Minimalist Program. Cahiers Languisitiques d’Ottawa. 25
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MacAulay 1996 - Some Thoughts on time, tense and mode, and on aspect in SG
  
  
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1. Introduction
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MacAulay claims that time, tense, and mode have all been characterized as tense which has lead to an 'overloading of the term' and to 'widespread descriptive ambivalence.'
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• Main question: How does the MP handle Celtic?
 
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• Concentrates on finite clauses, since their features are shared by most Celtic languages
 
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o Most examples from SG
 
  
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2. Issues in Celtic Syntax
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He therefore introduces 3 basic systematic terms:
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• While it is usual to label Celtic finite clauses as VSO, it is better to call them VSO(X), where X  represents any number of constituents, such as NP complements, PPs, AdvPs, and so on
 
  
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(1) a.
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*tense, mode, and aspect
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Shuidh mi
 
−
sat I
 
−
‘I sat.’
 
−
 
−
b.
 
−
Sgrìobh an duine an litir.
 
−
wrote DEF man DEF letter
 
−
‘The man wrote the letter.’
 
  
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c.
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*Tense and mode are expressed at word level whereas aspect is phrasal.
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Is mise do dhuine.
 
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is(copula) I-reflexive your man
 
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‘I’m your man.’
 
  
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d.
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*Tense and mode are adjacent and not intersecting
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Chluich a’chlann anns an achadh.
 
−
played DEF-children in DEF field.
 
−
‘The children played in the field.’
 
  
 +
*Tense is a purely temporal system (Comrie, 1985): past and non-past
  
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• A few things can precede the verb: NEG, COMP in embedded clauses
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*Mode: 'expounds two basic modal reflexes of the verb'
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o Its been said that NEG and COMP occupy the same head
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**is either definite and non-definite
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• If we assume that in VSO, the verb has moved to a functional head higher than V, then we have a few questions to answer:
 
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o Q: What position does the finite verb occupy?
 
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• A: (i) the verb goes to T or (ii) to C
 
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• Evidence against V-T-C movement
 
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o (1) No complementary distribution between V heads and COMPs in VSO
 
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o (2) we may have adverbials preverbal in VSO embedded clauses
 
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o (3) it is possible for negative polarity items to occur before the verb (cf. 2)
 
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• Evidence for V-T-C movement
 
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o It is impossible to place any constituent between the complementizer and the finite verb; the complementizer, the verb-stem, and the inflectional elements form a tightly bound complex, leading some to posit that they form a single prosodic unit.
 
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• Phonological fusion could be used as an argument that the verb moves to COMP, with concomitant incorporation.
 
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o The SOV word order of some non-finite clauses suggests that all the relevant constituents are raised out of the VP
 
  
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(2)
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***e.g. Tha 'be' definite past
−
Aon deor amhàin níor bhain sé as an chorn.
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***'bha'definite non-past - tha-
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one drop one NEG-PAST took he out-of the cup
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***non-definite 1 - bithidh
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‘Not one drop did he take from the cup.’
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***non-definite 2 - bitheadh
  
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o Q: What spec-position does the subject occupy?
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All other verbs lack a definite non-past form
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• A: Chomsky and McCloskey say that Subj remains in spec-VP at least until LF
 
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• Rouveret claims that while VSO and SVO both have V-T-C movement, VSO doesn’t have A-movement from spec-VP to spec-TP
 
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• Bobaljik and Carnie say that subjects must at least move to spec-TP to check for Case
 
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o Q: What mechanism differentiates VSO languages from SVO languages?
 
  
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3. The MP and Celtic Syntax
 
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3.1. Early Minimalism
 
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• McCloskey’s account of Celtic word order and agreement:
 
−
 
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In (10) McCloskey argues that F1 corresponds to T and F2 corresponds to Agr.
 
  
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3.2. Revised Minimalism
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Implications of system:
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• Revisions which have an impact on the previous analysis of Celtic
 
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o Agr is eliminated
 
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• We can compensate by using a light verb instead
 
  
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There is no description of future and present as they are both non-past.
  
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*Present: point of speaking
  
 +
***Ian aig an dorus - 'Ian is at the door'
 +
***Bha Iain aig an dorus - 'Ian was at the door'
  
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o LF-movement is now movement of formal features only
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• The verb raises V-v-T before Spell-Out, and possibly T-C at PF, since it is prosodically driven
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**Tha can also have a generic reading: 'water is wet' - Tha uisge fluich
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• Morphological Merger as per Marantz 1989:99 may explain this PF process
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4. Conclusion
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Therefore, present is not in all cases time of speech.
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• The above analysis requires the MP to accommodate the notion that not all movement is motivated by the need to check features. It seems that some types of movement are dictated by prosodic requirements.
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• We need to examine other clause types to find if the basic assumptions here hold as well
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So, MacAuley posits that tha has multiple function but are not different lexical items?
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• A take home message: a change in theory should not invalidate all the observations of preceding theories.
+
 
 +
Non-definite:
 +
 
 +
'bithidh Iain an Du'n Eideann' Ian (is) in Edinburgh
 +
 
 +
this phrase ambiguous without a temporal adverb
 +
 
 +
but becomes future  with 'tomorrow'
 +
 
 +
'bithidh Iain an Du'n Eideann am ma'ireach'
 +
 
 +
This is not possible with bha:
 +
 
 +
'*bha Iain an Du'n Eideann am ma'ireach'
 +
 
 +
Bithidh can also have a habitual raeding:
 +
 
 +
'bithidh Iain an Du'n Eideann a h-uile latha' Ian is in Edinburgh every day
 +
 
 +
So, Bithidh is 'neutral to these distinctions'
 +
 
 +
Tentative affirmation, or conjecture:
 +
 
 +
bithidh Iain an Du'n Eideann a nise' Iain will be in Edinburgh by now!
 +
 
 +
Tha Iain an Du'n Eideann a nise - Iain is already in Edinburgh!
 +
 
 +
This is traditional SG
 +
 
 +
In contemporary SG, the above description is complicated by influence from English, due to which users distinguish between past,non-past and future:
 +
 
 +
Bha Iain an Du'n Eideann - Iain was in Edinburgh
 +
 
 +
Tha Iain an Du'n Eideann an diugh - Iain was in Edinburgh
 +
 
 +
Bithigh lain an Du'n Eideann a ma'ireach/a h-uile lath a - Iain will be in Edinburgh tommorow/everyday.
 +
 
 +
remodeling distinction o definite and non-definite non-past carried by the-bithidh, with tha-bithidh now carrying the English derived distinction between non-past and future!
 +
 
 +
These systems work side by side, older start, young bucks
 +
 
 +
non-past-definite
 +
 
 +
general truth:  
 +
 
 +
Eirigh a' ghrian anne a' mhadainn - the sun rises in the morning
 +
 
 +
not, Eirigh a' ghrian a h-uil madainn - the sun rises every morning (habitual)
 +
 
 +
Ability/potentiality modal context (usual with verbs of perception):
 +
 
 +
Ch'i mi sin gun ghloinneachan - I can see that without glasses
 +
 
 +
Cluinnidh e am feud a' fa(graveaccent)s - he can hear the grass growing
 +
 
 +
Modals, which have no definite forms:
 +
 
 +
Feumaidh e falbh - 'He must go'
 +
Faodaidh e falbh - 'He may go'
 +
 
 +
 
 +
*[[Articles on Gaelic Syntax]]
 +
[[Category: Syntax]]

Latest revision as of 11:10, 18 January 2013

MacAulay 1996 - Some Thoughts on time, tense and mode, and on aspect in SG


MacAulay claims that time, tense, and mode have all been characterized as tense which has lead to an 'overloading of the term' and to 'widespread descriptive ambivalence.'

He therefore introduces 3 basic systematic terms:

  • tense, mode, and aspect
  • Tense and mode are expressed at word level whereas aspect is phrasal.
  • Tense and mode are adjacent and not intersecting
  • Tense is a purely temporal system (Comrie, 1985): past and non-past
  • Mode: 'expounds two basic modal reflexes of the verb'
    • is either definite and non-definite
      • e.g. Tha 'be' definite past
      • 'bha'definite non-past - tha-
      • non-definite 1 - bithidh
      • non-definite 2 - bitheadh

All other verbs lack a definite non-past form


Implications of system:

There is no description of future and present as they are both non-past.

  • Present: point of speaking
      • Ian aig an dorus - 'Ian is at the door'
      • Bha Iain aig an dorus - 'Ian was at the door'


    • Tha can also have a generic reading: 'water is wet' - Tha uisge fluich

Therefore, present is not in all cases time of speech.

So, MacAuley posits that tha has multiple function but are not different lexical items?

Non-definite:

'bithidh Iain an Du'n Eideann' Ian (is) in Edinburgh

this phrase ambiguous without a temporal adverb

but becomes future with 'tomorrow'

'bithidh Iain an Du'n Eideann am ma'ireach'

This is not possible with bha:

'*bha Iain an Du'n Eideann am ma'ireach'

Bithidh can also have a habitual raeding:

'bithidh Iain an Du'n Eideann a h-uile latha' Ian is in Edinburgh every day

So, Bithidh is 'neutral to these distinctions'

Tentative affirmation, or conjecture:

bithidh Iain an Du'n Eideann a nise' Iain will be in Edinburgh by now!

Tha Iain an Du'n Eideann a nise - Iain is already in Edinburgh!

This is traditional SG

In contemporary SG, the above description is complicated by influence from English, due to which users distinguish between past,non-past and future:

Bha Iain an Du'n Eideann - Iain was in Edinburgh

Tha Iain an Du'n Eideann an diugh - Iain was in Edinburgh

Bithigh lain an Du'n Eideann a ma'ireach/a h-uile lath a - Iain will be in Edinburgh tommorow/everyday.

remodeling distinction o definite and non-definite non-past carried by the-bithidh, with tha-bithidh now carrying the English derived distinction between non-past and future!

These systems work side by side, older start, young bucks

non-past-definite

general truth:

Eirigh a' ghrian anne a' mhadainn - the sun rises in the morning

not, Eirigh a' ghrian a h-uil madainn - the sun rises every morning (habitual)

Ability/potentiality modal context (usual with verbs of perception):

Ch'i mi sin gun ghloinneachan - I can see that without glasses

Cluinnidh e am feud a' fa(graveaccent)s - he can hear the grass growing

Modals, which have no definite forms:

Feumaidh e falbh - 'He must go' Faodaidh e falbh - 'He may go'


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