Greek comparatives
(4)
Adpositional, case-marked, and clausal comparatives
2
b. JtallK<d,<e,t>> = λdλx[x is d-tall]
a.
λd′
Mary
Jason Merchant
University of Chicago
-er
than
is d′ -tall
λd
John
is d-tall
June 2013
b. max(λd.Mary is d-tall) > max(λd.John is d-tall) = 1 just in case the largest degree
of height that Mary reaches exceeds the largest degree of height that John reaches
1 Clausal and phrasal comparatives in English
(1) Clausal comparatives (what follows than is clausoid): than is a preposition that takes
a clausal node (CP, S′ ) as its complement:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Mary is taller than [clause John is].
Mary plays the guitar better than [clause John plays the guitar].
More people live in Russia than [clause live in the US].
In the 2000 presidential election in Florida, more people1 thought they1 voted for
Gore than [clause thought they voted for Bush].
(2) Classical syntax:
S
Mary
V
is
AP
A
taller
(8) Or in Kennedy 2007’s versions:
a. J MORED K = λdλg <d,et>λx[max{d′ |g(d′)(x) = 1} > d]
b. J MOREI K = λyλg <d,et>λx[max{d′ |g(d′)(x) = 1} > max{d′′ |g(d′′)(y) = 1}]
c. J MOREI K = λyλg <d,et>λx[J MORED K(max{d′′ |g(d′′)(y) = 1})(g)(x)]
PP
S′
P
than
(9)
S
AP1
(how tall)
NP
VP
John V
is
t1
(3) The ‘classical’ analysis: von Stechow 1984, Larson 1991, Kennedy 1999, Beck 2010:
a. J−er 2 K = λD <dt> λD ′ <dt> [max(D) > max(D ′ )]
1
(6) Classical syntax (Hankamer 1973, Kennedy 1999, Potsdam 2011; but see Lechner
2001, Huber 2012, (To appear) for an alternative): two thans in English: one a preposition that takes a DP complement:
a. Who is Mary taller than?
b. % She is a woman than whom no-one here is taller.
c. No man1 is taller than himself1.
(7) Classical semantics: (the so-called ‘direct’ analysis of Heim 1985 etc.; see Grosu and
Horvath 2006)
a. J−er 3eDe K = λxλP <d,<e,t>>λy[max{d|P (d)(y)} > max{d′ |P (d′)(x)}]
VP
NP
(5) Phrasal comparatives (what follows than is ‘phrasal’ (viz. a single DP))
a. Mary plays the guitar better than [phrase John].
b. More people play the guitar than [phrase the violin].
c. Mary is taller than [phrase John].
7→
S
NP
Mary
Mary
VP
V
is
AP
A
taller
-er
PP
P
NP
than John
than John
λ2
λ1
t1
is t2 -tall
3
Merchant
2 Clausal and two phrasal comparatives in Greek
(10) Comparative morphemes in Greek
absolute
comparative
synthetic
analytic
psil-os
psilo-ter-os pjo
perisotero
pjo
poli
talltall-ermore
much
(-os is masc.sg.nom)
Greek comparatives
2.1
(Lechner 2001, 2004, Merchant 2009, Pancheva
2009)
(18)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
(19)
a. I Maria
pezi kithara kalitera ap’oti
o Giannis.
the Maria.NOM plays guitar better than.CLAUSAL the Giannis.NOM
‘Maria plays the guitar better than Giannis plays the guitar.’
b. Perisoteri anthropi nomizan oti psifisan
ton Gore
ap’oti
more
people thought that they.voted.for the Gore.ACC than.CLAUSAL
ton Bush.
the Bush.ACC
‘More people thought that they voted for Gore than thought they voted for Bush.’
psil-os
psil-os
psil-os
tall-
(11) Markers of the standard of comparison in Greek
phrasal
clausal
apo GENITIVE ap’oti
ap’os-o
from-what
from-how.much/how.many
from ‘of’
(invariant free relative) (agreeing degree relative)
(12) I Maria
pezi kithara kalitera ap’oti
pezi kithara o Giannis.
the Maria.NOM plays guitar better than.CLAUSAL plays guitar the Giannis.NOM
‘Maria plays the guitar better than Giannis plays the guitar.’
(13) I Maria
pezi kithara kalitera apo
ton Gianni.
the Maria.NOM plays guitar better than.PHRASAL the Giannis.ACC
‘Maria plays the guitar better than Giannis.’
a. I Maria
erxetai apo tin Athina.
the Maria.NOM is.coming from the Athens.ACC
‘Maria is coming from Athens.’
b. I sinavlia prosferthike
apo tin nomarxia.
the concert sponsor.pass.3s by the perfecture
‘The concert was sponsored by the perfecture.’
(15) Apo
pjon (ipes
oti) epekse kalitera kithara i Maria
than.PHRASAL whom (said.2sg that) played better guitar the Maria.NOM
xthes?
yesterday
‘Than whom did (you say that) Maria play(ed) guitar better yesterday?’
(16) Kanenas1 dhen ine psiloteros apo
[ton eafto tu]1 .
n-person not is taller
than.PHRASAL the self his
‘No-one is taller than himself.’
(17) O Giannis dhen ine psiloteros apo
KANENAN .
the Giannis not is taller
than.PHRASAL n-person
‘Giannis isn’t taller than anyone.’
More people live in Russia than in the US.
More people thought they voted for Gore than for Bush.
Amy likes to play the guitar loudly more than quietly.
More people like to watch movies than climb mountains.
Amy plays the guitar better than Sam the violin.
Non-DP and multiple remnants are possible only with reduced clausal comparatives:
(20)
a. Perisoteri anthropi menun stis IPA ap’oti
sti
Rosia.
more
people live
in.the USA than.CLAUSAL in.the Russia
‘More people live in the US than in Russia.’
b. Perisoteri anthropi milisan me ton Gianni tin Kyriaki ap’oti
me
More
people spoke with the Giannis the Sunday than.CLAUSAL with
ton Anesti to Savato.
the Anestis the Saturday
‘More people spoke with Giannis on Sunday than with Anestis on Saturday.’
(21)
a. * Perisoteri anthropi menun stis IPA apo
sti
Rosia.
more
people live
in.the USA than.PHRASAL in.the Russia
(‘More people live in the US than in Russia.’)
b. * Perisoteri anthropi milisan me ton Gianni tin Kyriaki apo
me
more
people spoke with the Giannis the Sunday than.PHRASAL with
ton Anesti to Savato.
the Anestis the Saturday
(‘More people spoke with Giannis on Sunday than with Anestis on Saturday.’)
Greek prepositionhood:
(14)
Reduced clausal comparatives
4
(22) * Ap’oti
pjos (ipes
oti) epekse kalitera kithara i Maria
than.CLAUSAL whom (said.2sg that) played better guitar the Maria.NOM
xthes?
yesterday
(lit. ‘Than who did (you say that) Maria play(ed) guitar better yesterday?’)
5
Merchant
Greek comparatives
(23) * Kanenas1 dhen ine psiloteros ap’oti
[o eaftos tu]1 .
n-person not is taller
than.CLAUSAL the self his
(lit. ‘No-one is taller than heself.’)
6
‘Maria talks with Petros more often than with Giannis.’
[ [P P me ton
O Gianni]1 <[T P pro milai t1 ]>]
b. * I Maria milai me ton Petro
pjo sixna ap’oti ton Gianni.
the Maria speaks with the Petro.ACC more often than.CL the Giannis.ACC
(24) * O Giannis dhen ine psiloteros ap’oti
KANENAS .
the Giannis not is taller
than.CLAUSAL n-person
(lit. ‘Giannis isn’t taller than anyone.’)
[ [DP ton Gianni]2
<[T P pro milai [P P me t2 ]]>].
the Giannis.ACC
she speaks
with
(‘Maria talks with Petros more often than Giannis.’)
*[ [DP ton O Gianni]2 <[T P pro milai [P P me t2 ]]>]
3 Standard analysis
(25) Properties of apo vs. ap’oti comparatives
allows only one remnant?
allows only DP remnant?
marks remnant with accusative?
allows pied-piping?
allows binding/neg-concord from matrix clause?
(26)
(27)
(28)
apo
yes
yes
yes
yes
yes
ap’oti
no
no
no
no
no
a. apo-standards are just a DP prepositional object
b. ap’oti-standards are clausal, possibly reduced (due to movement of the remnant
+ clausal ellipsis)1
a. Abby plays guitar better [P P than [DP Ben]].
b. I Maria pezi kithara kalitera [P P apo
[DP ton Gianni]].
the Maria plays guitar better
than.PHRASAL
the Giannis.ACC
‘Maria plays the guitar better than Giannis.’
a. More people live in Russia than [CP Op1 [P P in the
O US]2 [t1 live t2 ]].
b. I Maria pezi kithara kalitera ap’oti
the Maria plays guitar better than.CLAUSAL
c. [ [o Giannis]
3 <[T P pezi kithara t3 ] >]
O
‘Maria plays guitar better than Giannis does.’
(29)
a. I Maria milai me ton Petro
pjo sixna ap’oti me ton Gianni.
the Maria speaks with the Petro.ACC more often than.CL with the Giannis.ACC
[[P P me ton Gianni]1
<[T P pro milai t1 ]>].
with the Giannis.ACC
she speaks
1
For reasons of time, ap’os-o/i/... and para clausal markers will not be discussed here, though they share
many properties with ap’oti clauses; see Xeila-Markopoulou 1986, Giannakidou and Stavrou 2009, and Giannakidou and Yoon 2011.
3.1 Unexpected island sensitivities
(30)
a. Phrasal comparatives in Greek show island effects.
b. Reduced clausal comparatives do not.
(31) Perisoteri anthropi menun sto kratos pu kivernai o Putin
more
people live
in.the state that governs the Putin
a. ap’oti
o Bush.
(mean 3.5, N=8)
than.CLAUSAL the Bush.NOM
b. * apo
ton Bush.
(mean 1.63, N=8)
than.PHRASAL the Bush.ACC
‘More people live in the country that Putin governs than live in the country that Bush
governs.’ 2
(32) O Nikos evlepe perisoteres tenies otan tu tis sistine
i Nana
the Nikos saw more
movies when him them recommended the Nana
a. ap’oti
i Elena.
than.CLAUSAL the Elena.NOM
b. * apo
tin Elena.
than.PHRASAL the Elena.ACC
‘Nikos saw more movies when Nana recommended them to him than he saw when
Elena recommended them to him.’
(33) To oti o pritanis prokitai na kalesi ti katharistria ine perisotero aksioperiergo
the that the dean is.going to invite the cleaner
is more
noteworthy
a. ap’oti
tin Maria.
than.CLAUSAL the Maria.ACC
2
This example was tested in a written questionnaire administered to eight native speakers of Greek in Katerini, Greece; respondents were asked to rate the example sentences on a scale of 1 (=unacceptable) to 5
(=completely normal). Similar effects are found in Lithuanian; see Grinsell 2010.
7
Merchant
b. * apo
tin Maria.
than.PHRASAL the Maria.ACC
‘That the dean is going to invite the cleaning lady is more noteworthy than that he is
going to invite Maria.’
Nonelliptical controls are fine:
(34) Perisoteri anthropi menun sto kratos pu kivernai o Putin ap’oti
more
people live
in.the state that governs the Putin than.CLAUSAL
menun sto kratos pu kivernai o Bush.
live
in.the state that governs the Bush.NOM
‘More people live in the country that Putin governs than live in the country that Bush
governs.’
(35) O Nikos evlepe perisoteres tenies otan tu tis sistine
i Nana
the Nikos saw more
movies when him them recommended the Nana
ap’oti
evlepe otan tu tis sistine
i Elena.
than.CLAUSAL saw when him them recommended the Elena.NOM
‘Nikos saw more movies when Nana recommended them to him than he saw when
Elena recommended them to him.’
(36) To oti o pritanis prokitai na kalesi ti katharistria ine perisotero aksioperiergo
the that the dean is.going to invite the cleaner
is more
noteworthy
ap’oti
ine to oti prokitai na kalesi tin Maria.
than.CLAUSAL is the that is.going to invite the Maria.ACC
‘That the dean is going to invite the cleaning lady is more noteworthy than that he is
going to invite Maria is.’
Greek comparatives
8
(40) Sluicing
Ben wants to hire someone who speaks a Balkan language, but I don’t remember
which.
(41) VP-ellipsis
∗Abby wants to hire someone who speaks a Balkan language, but I don’t remember
what kind of language Ben does. (=<want to hire someone who speaks>)
(42)
CP
DP2
which
<TP>
C
they
(should)
vP
speak t2
(43)
CP
DP2
TP′
C
which
*t′′2
TP
Ben
vP′
(does)
*t′2
vP
4 Ellipsis in clausal comparatives is like sluicing
want to hire someone [island who speaks t2 ]
4.1 Elliptical repair in sluicing, VP-ellipsis, and fragment answers
(37) Idea: Island conditions are irreducibly syntactic in nature (island constraints must
be stated over syntactic representations, and are not entirely reducible to semantic
conditions or to processing overload. (Ross 1969, Phillips 2006, Sprouse et al. 2009,
pace aliquibus aliis)
(38) Islands can be repaired by ellipsis: Ross 1969, Chomsky 1972, Merchant 2001, 2004,
Lasnik 2001, Fox and Lasnik 2003, Agüero-Bautista 2007, Bošković 2013, and many
others
(39) No ellipsis
∗Ben wants to hire someone who speaks a Balkan language, but I don’t remember
which he wants to hire someone who speaks.
(44) Fragment answers (Merchant 2004, Arregi 2011, Temmerman 2013)3
a. A: Did each candidate1 try to feed questions to the journalist who will ask him1
about abortion (at the debate)?
b. B: *No, [about foreign policy].
c. cf. B: No, each candidate1 tried to feed questions to
the journalist who will ask him1 about foreign policy.
3
Island and P-stranding effects in short answers seem problematic for Jacobson 2012’s proposal. Her other
facts, from English, actually seem to support an ellipsis analysis; while full (nonelliptical) sentences can be
indirect answers even if they bear lots of similiarity to the form of the question, elliptical ones have no such
other derivation: they must be based on the question, hence the strong connectivity facts she adduces.
9
Merchant
(45)
Greek comparatives
FP
b.
PP
ap’
PP2
10
CP
oti
about foreign policy
C
<TP>
F
FP
DP1
each candidate tried to feed questions
to the journalist [island who will ask him t2 ]
(46)
o Bush
<TP>
F
menun sto kratos [island pu kivernai t1 ]
FP
PP2
F
about foreign policy
CP
*t′2
C
5 The ‘direct’ analysis revisited: -er2 vs. -er3, and eDe vs. Dee
<TP>
each candidate tried to feed questions
to the journalist who will ask him t2
Idea: locality effects reflect covert movement of the correlate required by the semantics (following Merchant 2009, Bhatt and Takahashi 2011):
(48) J−er 3Dee K = λD <d,et> λxe λy e [max{d|D(d)(x)} > max{d′ |D(d′)(y)}]
(49)
a. More (=many-er3 ) people know Englishcorrelate than German.
b.
than German
English1
-er3
4.2 Variable island effects in Greek comparatives
(47)
a. Perisoteri anthropi menun sto kratos pu kivernai o Putin ap’oti
more
people live
in.the state that governs the Putin than.CLAUSAL
o Bush.
the Bush.NOM
(lit.)‘More people live in the country that Putin governs than (live in the country
that) Bush (governs).’
TP
d-many people know t1
c. Jd−many_people_know_t1 K = λdλx1 [d−many_people_know_x1 ]
d. max{d|d−many_people_know_English} >
max{d′ |d′ −many_people_know_German}
Island effects arise from restrictions on covert syntactic movement of the correlate:
(50)
a. * Perisoteri anthropi menun sto kratos pu kivernai o Putin apo
more
people live
in.the state that governs the Putin than.PHRASAL
ton Bush.
the Bush.ACC
‘More people live in the country that Putin governs than (live in the country that)
Bush (governs).’
11
Merchant
12
6 The of phrasal comparative: the genitive
b.
PP2
DP1
o Putin
the Putin
pjo3
more
TP
apo ton Bush
than the Bush
d-poli anthropi menun sto kratos pu kivernai t1
d-many people live in.the state that governs t1
• locality of apo comparatives = pseudo-clausemate restriction on QR? (judgments variable)
(51)
Greek comparatives
a. Perisoteri anthropi thelun na mathun anglika apo germanika.
more
people want.3p SUBJ learn.3p English from German
‘More people want to learn English than (want to learn) German.’
(lit. ‘More people want that they learn English than German.’)
b. ? Ine pithanotero oti tha’rthi
o Giannis apo sena.
is likelier
that FUT.come.3s the Giannis from you
‘It is likelier than Giannis will come than (it is likely that) you (will come).’
c. ?? Perisoteri anthropi ipan oti kserun anglika apo germanika.
More
people said that know.3p English from German
(‘More people said that they know English than (said that they know) German.’)
d. * Perisoteri anthropi ipan oti i Anna kseri anglika apo germanika.
people said.3p that the Anna knows English from German
more
(‘More people said that Anna knows English than (said that Anna knows) German.’)
(52) English is uniformly island-sensitive (as you’ve probably noticed); Reinhart 1991:
a. *I spent more time with a woman that played the clarinet than the lute.
b. *More people live in the country Putin governs than Bush.
Some ideas: 1. Lechner 2004, Bhatt and Takahashi 2011, Huber 2012 are right: there are
only reduced clausal comparatives in English (as in German), and apparent phrasal data have
other explanations. 2. The difference between English and Greek might be that in Greek
clausal comparatives (even reduced ones), movement of the correlate does not occur; in English clausal comparatives, movement of the correlate is required (as it is in phrasal comparatives in both languages). This should presumably be derived from differing constraints on the
ellipsis involved: English would require LF-identity (forcing the correlate to move), while
Greek wouldn’t (handling the identity relation by Focus-closure in e-Givenness or the like).
(This would potentially make new predications about scope in ellipsis in the two languages
we could test.)
The third possibility:
(53) O Giannis ine psilóterós tis.
the Giannis is taller
her.GEN
‘Giannis is taller than her.’
(54) I Anna pandreftike enan psilóteró tis
andra.
the Anna married.3s a
taller
her.GEN man
‘Anna married a man taller than her.’
(55) O pirgos tha ine psilóteros tu spitiu.
the tower will be taller
the house.GEN
‘The tower will be taller than the house.’
(56) Some attested examples:
a. O Zaneti ine kaliteros tu Melo
ke pistevo oti se afti ti thesi
enas
the Zaneti is better the Melo.GEN and I.think that in this the position an
Italos ine kaliteros apo enan Vraziliano.
Italian is better than a
Brazilian
‘Zaneti is better than Melo and I think that in this position, an Italian is better
than a Brazilian.’
b. Stin epanalipsi o Atromitos itan kaliteros tu antipalu
tu.
in.the repetition the Atromitos was better the opponent.GEN his
‘In the rematch, Atromitos was better than his opponent’
c. Xiroteros tis gripis ine o ios tu
paniku.
worse
the flu.GEN is the virus of.the panic
‘Worse than the flu is the virus of panic.’
d. ke meta su
lene
pos i andres ine dhithen
eksipnoteri ton
and then you.dat they.say that the men are supposedly smarter
of.the
jinekon!
women
‘And then they tell you how men are supposedly smarter than women!’
Genitives of comparison only attach to the synthetic comparative form of a degree adjective; they do not attach to adverbs of any kind, to analytic comparatives, or to amount
comparatives:
(57)
a. I Maria pezi kithara kalitera { apo mena / *mu
}.
the Maria plays guitar better
from me
me.GEN
‘Maria plays guitar better than me.’
b. i. O Giannis ine pjo psilos { apo mena / *mu
}.
the Giannis is more tall
from me
me.GEN
‘Giannis is taller than me.’
13
Merchant
ii. * O Giannis ine pjo { apo mena / mu
} psilos .
the Giannis is more from me
me.GEN tall
(‘Giannis is taller than me.’)
c. i. O Giannis exi perisotera periodika { apo mena / *mu
}.
the Giannis has more
magazines from me
me.GEN
‘Giannis has more magazines than I have.’
ii. O Giannis exi perisotera { apo mena / *mu
} periodika.
the Giannis has more
from me
me.GEN magazines
‘Giannis has more magazines than I have.’
Greek comparatives
14
6.1 Analysis
• Applying Heim’s analysis would lead us to expect the following:
(63) a.
7→ b.
TP
DP
λ1
O Giannis
the Giannis
V
ine
DegP
Nor can degree-denoting DPs be marked with the genitive:
(58) I Anna ine psiloteri { apo dio metra / *dio metron
}.
the Anna is taller
than two meters two meters.GEN
‘Anna is taller than two meters.’
(59) Generalizations:
The genitive of comparison...
a. ... must be adjacent to a synthetic degree adjective
b. ... must denote an individual which is a standard of comparison
(60) Having two phrasal standard-marking strategies is typologically very rare: Stassen
1985 lists only Mandinka (with locative and allative comparatives) and Tamil (with
locative, separative [ablative], and allative [dative] comparatives) as potential cases.
Deg
-ter-er
DP1
O Giannis
the Giannis
DP
tis
her.gen
DegP
λ2
Deg
-ter-
DP
tis
λ1
A
psilotall
VP
t1
VP
t1
V
ine
is
AP
DegP
Deg
-ter-er
• What to make of the following?
• Since Stassen doesn’t investigate the properties of the ‘comparatives’ he examines, we
can’t be sure of much. E.g., Tamil lacks any marking of comparison on the adjective,
and the dative may be better assimilated to ‘(compared) to that, this is big’; no data
from measure phrases, crisp judgments, entailments to the absolute, etc., are given.
O Giannis
AP
(64) Instead, I propose an entirely in situ structure:
With predicative adjectives:
S
(61) Some of Stassen’s (1985) generalizations that are falsified by Greek:
a. Generalization (1a) (p. 54):
If a language has a Separative Comparative , then its basic word order is SOV.
b. Universal 1A (p. 106):
If a language has a derived-case comparative, then that language is balancing.
c. Universal 1B:
If a language has a fixed-case comparative, then that language is deranking.
(62) “Differently tuned approaches to the comparative problem are found in present-day
‘formal semantics’, in particular . . . Cresswell (1976), Hellan (1981), Hoeksema
(1983), Klein (1980) and von Stechow (1984). These studies have in common a
general predilection for ‘surface semantics’, i.e., the view that no separate level of
semantic representation is required for a semantic calculus to work upon. ... we must
decide that in the context of the present study the relevance of this work is ... not
apparent.” (Stassen 1985:199)
DP
VP
t1
TP
(65)
DP
tis
her.gen
A
psilotall
a. J DegP K
λDλx[max{d|D(d)(x)} > max{d′ |D(d′)(her)}]
b. J AP K
λx[max{d|tall(d)(x)} > max{d′ |tall(d′ )(her)}]
c. J S K
max{d|tall(d)(Giannis)} > max{d′ |tall(d′ )(her)}
(66) Partial lexical entry for -ter-:
a. syntax: [ Case:genitive ]
b. semantics: λyλDλx[max{d|D(d)(x)} > max{d′ |D(d′ )(y)}]
(67) With attributive adjectives:
V
ine
AP
t2
A
psilo-
15
Merchant
i Anna
the Anna
(70) Thelo na ime psiloteros apo aftin.
I.want SUBJ I.am taller.masc from her
‘I want to be taller than her.’
a. = I want to be taller than she is <tall>.
b. = I want to be taller than she wants to be <tall>.
VP
(71)
TP
t1
V
pandreftike
married
pro1
I
DP
NP′
D
enan
a
AP
A
psilotall
DegP
Deg
VP
thelo
want
na
to
andra
man
t1
a.
b.
c.
d.
(69) Scoping [DegP -ter DP.gen ] would be bad:
a. O Kostas ine enas psiloteros tis
andras. 7→
the Kostas is a
taller
of.her man
‘Kostas is a man who is taller than she is.’
b. LF: (!) Kostas [DegP −ter she ] [ λdλx[x is a d-tall man]]
VP
aP′
V
ime
be
aP
DP
tis
her.gen
J DegP K
λDλx[max{d|D(d)(x)} > max{d′ |D(d′)(her)}]
J AP K
λx[max{d|tall(d)(x)} > max{d′ |tall(d′)(her)}]
J NP K
λz[man(z)]
J NP′ K
λx[man(x) ∧ [max{d|tall(d)(x)} > max{d′ |tall(d′)(her)}]] (by Predicate Modification)
e. J DP K
∃x[man(x) ∧ [max{d|tall(d)(x)} > max{d′ |tall(d′)(her)}]]
f. J S K
∃x[man(x) ∧ [max{d|tall(d)(x)} > max{d′ |tall(d′)(her)}] ∧ married(anna, x)]
TP
PRO1
NP
-ter-er
(68)
16
6.2 Comparing from-phrasal comparatives with genitives
a. I Anna pandreftike enan psilotero tis
andra.
the Anna married.3s a
taller
her.GEN man
‘Anna married a man taller than her.’
b.
S
DP1
Greek comparatives
PP
a
AP
DegP
Deg
-ter-er
(72)
a.
b.
c.
d.
A
psilotall
P
DP
apo aftin
from her
J psilo- K
λdλx[tall(d)(x)]]
J AP K
λxλy[max{d|tall(d)(x)} > max{d′ |tall(d′)(y)}]
J aP K
λy[max{d|tall(d)(t1 )} > max{d′ |tall(d′)(y)}]
′
J aP K
[max{d|tall(d)(t1 )} > max{d′ |tall(d′)(she)}]
17
Merchant
TP′
(73)
(76)
DegP
λ1
TP
PRO1
na
to
λ2
Deg
-ter-er
VP
thelo
want
P
DP
apo aftin
from her
VP
18
TP
pro1
I
PP
TP
pro1
I
Greek comparatives
VP
V
ime
be t1
VP
t1
thelo
want
a
TP
na
to
VP
V
ime
be
Deg
-ter-er
aP
t1
a
AP
t2
a.
b.
c.
d.
AP
DegP
PRO1
(74)
aP
A
psilotall
λdλx[x-wants-to-be-d-tall]
J VP K
λxλy[max{d|x-wants-to-be-d-tall} > max{d′ |y-wants-to-be-d′-tall}]
J TP K
λy[max{d| I-want-to-be-d-tall} > max{d′ |y-wants-to-be-d′-tall}]
′
J TP K
[max{d| I-want-to-be-d-tall} > max{d′ |she-wants-to-be-d′-tall}]
(75) Thelo na ime psiloteros tis.
I.want SUBJ I.am taller
of.her
‘I want to be taller than her.’
a. = I want to be taller than she is <tall>.
b. 6= I want to be taller than she wants to be <tall>.
DP
tis
of.her
A
psilotall
Inventory: If all the semantic work is done by the comparative morpheme(s), as is usually
assumed, then we have the following in Greek. Quite an inventory...
(77) with ap’oti :
J MORED K = J pjo/perisotero/-ter-1dDe K = λdλg <d,et>λx[max{d′ |g(d′)(x)} > d]
(78) with apo:
J MOREI K = J pjo/perisotero/-ter-2Dee K =
λg <d,et> λxe λy e [max{d|g(d)(x)} > max{d′ |g(d′)(y)}]
(79) with genitive:
J MOREI K = J -ter-3eDe K = λyλgλx[max{d|g(d)(x)} > max{d′ |g(d′)(y)}]
Condition: the projection headed by -ter-3eDe cannot QR
6.3 Giving than something to do (Alrenga, Kennedy, and Merchant 2012)
(80)
a. J long K = λdλx.long(x) ≥ d
b. ∀m ∈ D <e,d> , x ∈ D e :
i. sup(λd.m(x) ≥ d) = m(x)
ii. sup(λd.m(x) > d) = m(x)
(81) JCOMPd K = λg <d,et>λsd λxe .sup(λd.g(d)(x)) > s
(82) JTHANK = J ap’oti K = λS <d,t> λT <d,t> .sup(T ) > sup(S)
The than-clause is base-generated in its surface position (which therefore determines the
‘scope’ of the comparison):
19
Merchant
(83) Rod A is longer than Rod B is.
Greek comparatives
(88)
T
TP
pro1
I
S
THAN
20
VP
λd
λd′
Rod A
COMP
long
d
Rod B
COMP
a. JT K
= λd.JCOMPK(JlongK)(d)(JRod AK)
= λd.long(Rod_A) > d
PP
VP
long
d′
b. JSK
= λd′.JCOMPK(JlongK)(d′ )(JRod BK)
= λd.long(Rod_B) > d
(84) JTHANK(JSK)(JT K)
= 1 iff sup(λd.long(Rod_A) > d) > sup(λd′.long(Rod_B) > d′ )
= 1 iff long(Rod_A) > long(Rod_B)
6.4 Extraposition vs. base-generation of than-phrase
‘Extraposition’ of the than-phrase is typically assumed to be ‘obligatory’, as problematic as
this assumption is, as Huber (to appear) points out:
“Rightward movements in English are normally neither obligatory nor, in an
asymmetric-binary syntax, desired, and proposals concerning this ... must be
viewed from the outset with suspicion. To justify such movements, one would
have to provide a syntactic (or phonological?) motivation whose application can
be shown to be independently necessary. This has not, in my view, happened; the
motivation for extraposition therefore remains mere speculation.” (translation
mine)
(85) Extraposition of selected PP from predicate AP is ok:
a. Susan was [ angry t2 ] yesterday [at her mother]2 .
b. Susan was [ angrier t1 ] yesterday [than her mother (was)]1 .
(86) No extraposition of selected PP from attributive AP (whether inside a predicate or an
argument):
a. *Susan was [ an [ angry t2 ] woman ] yesterday [at her mother]2.
b. *Ben met [ an [ angry t2 ] woman ] yesterday [at her mother]2.
(87) But AP-external than-phrases can be associated with comparative adjectives in attributive positions:
a. Susan was [ an [ angrier t2 ] woman ] yesterday [than her mother]2 .
b. Ben met [ an [ angrier t2 ] woman ] yesterday [than his mother]2 .
P
DP
apo aftin
from her
λd
λ1
VP
t1
thelo
want
TP
na
to
VP
V
ime
be PRO1
aP
DegP
Deg
-ter-er
AP
A
psilotall
d
(89) J apo K = λy e λg <d,et> λxe .sup(λd.g(d)(x)) > sup(λd.g(d)(y))
(90) with genitive:
J COMPe K = J -ter- K = λyλgλx.sup(λd.g(d)(x)) > sup(λd.g(d)(y))
(91) On this account, lack of high readings with genitive follows from two facts:
1. no comparative morpheme is quantificational, hence no ex situ scope possible, and
2. the genitive is assigned under adjacency to -ter-, hence can’t adjoin high the way
the PP headed by apo can.
21
Merchant
7 Conclusions
• We need at least three syntactic ways to reach similar meanings, even within one language
• It may be the case that semantic primitives do not vary across languages, though the
way they get put together does (see Kennedy 2007 and Giannakidou 2009); order of
Currying matters?
• Surface structure can be misleading: we need inaudible syntax. As Culicover and
Jackendoff 2005:246fn11 put it, “If [such] cases ... were ungrammatical, that would be
far better evidence of the reality of invisible [sic, intended: inaudible—JM] structure.”
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