chapter 4 noun phrases transformational grammar engl 424 hayfa alhomaid

Chapter 4Noun Phrases

Transformational GrammarEngl 424

Hayfa Alhomaid

Small Nominal Phrases

There are two levels of categories in natural languages:

• Word-level categories: N, V, A, P, ADV, M, D… etc.

• Phrase level categories: NP, VP, AP, PP, ADVP... etc.

However, The Theory of Categories should be extended to include a third type of category intermediate between word-level and phrase-level categories. I.e. There are nominal constituents larger than the Noun but smaller than a full Noun phrase.

E.g.

The king of England


“The ICs [ = immediate constituents] of the king of England opened Parliament are the king of England and opened Parliament, that those of the former are the and king of England and those of the latter are opened and Parliament, and that king of England is divided into king and of England”

(Wells, R. (1947). Immediate Constituents Article. P. 188)

From this we can reach the analysis as follows: NP

?

N PP

D

of EnglandKingThe


• Harris (1951) suggests a system of raised numbers called a numerical superscript system. Where N0 corresponds to the simple category N. N2 corresponds to NP. So ? should be N1.

• Chomsky (1970) introduced what he calls the bar notation, and known as The X-bar Theory.

• Jackendoff (1977)introduced an identical system named the prime notation.

All the three systems are variants of each other (i.e. different ways of saying the same thing).

NP

?

N PP

D

of EnglandKingThe

NUMBER NOTATION BAR NOTATION PRIME NOTATION

N0 (N-zero) N N

N1 (N-one) N (N-bar) Nˈ (N-prime)

N2 (N-two) N (N-double-bar Nˈˈ (N-double-prime)


Nˈˈ

Nˈ

N PP

D

of EnglandKingThe

King NKing of England N-bar The king of England N-double-bar (NP)

[N2 the [N1 [N0 king] of England]][N the [N [N king] of England]][Nˈˈ the [Nˈ [N king] of England]]

Evidence for N-bar

There are two evidence that prove the Theory of X-bar

1- Coordination:

It can undergo ordinary coordination with another similar sequence.

E.g. Who would have dared defy the [king of England] and [ruler of the empire]?

It can also function as the ‘shared constituent’ in cases of Shared Constituent Coordination.

E.g. He was the last (and some people say the best) [king of England].

Evidence for N-bar

There are two evidence that prove the Theory of X-bar

2- Pronominalization

It can be replaced by a proform.

E.g. The present [king of England] is more popular than the last one.

So we can say now that there are three types of nominal constituents in English, namely N, Nˈ (N-bar), and Nˈˈ (N-double-bar = NP)

Nominal Postmodifiers

There are two types of postnominal phrase:

1- Complements

E.g. a student of Physics

It can be paraphrased by a clausal construction in which Physics functions as the complement of the verb study He is studying Physics.

2- Adjunct

E.g. a student with long hair.

It cannot be paraphrased by a clausal construction because [with long hair] doesn’t function as the complement of the verb study ≠ He is studying long hair.

Nominal Postmodifiers What is the structural correlate of the Complement-Adjunct

distinction, and how do Complements and Adjuncts differ from the other class of nominal modifiers which we are already familiar with – namely Determiners?

Determiner expand N-bar into N-doubled-bar

Adjunct expand N-bar into N-bar

Complements expand N into N-bar

Nˈˈ

NˈNˈ

Determiner

Adjunct

N Complement

Nˈˈ D Nˈ [Determiner Rule]Nˈ Nˈ PP [Adjunct Rule] Nˈ N PP [Complement Rule]So, complements will always be ‘closer’ to their head Noun than adjuncts. In other words, if we modify a noun by an adjunct PP and a complement PP, then the complement phrase must precede the adjunct phraseE.g. The students of Physics with long hair*The students with long hair of Physics


If we apply the Determiner Rule [Nˈˈ D Nˈ]

If we then apply the Adjunct Rule [Nˈ Nˈ PP]

If we subsequently apply the Complement Rule [Nˈ N PP]

Nˈˈ

NˈD

Nˈˈ

NˈDNˈ PP

Nˈˈ

NˈNˈ

D

PP

N PP

a student of Physics with long hair


Determiners, Adjuncts, and Complements are all optional constituents of Noun Phrase.

Nˈˈ (D) Nˈ [Determiner Rule]. E.g. The student OR students

Nˈ Nˈ PP [Adjunct Rule: optional]. E.g. Students OR students with long hair

Nˈ N (PP) [Complement Rule]. E.g. Students OR students of Physics

Nˈˈ

NˈNˈ

D

PP

N PP

a student of Physics with long hair

Nominal Premodifiers

There are three structurally distinct classes of nominal premodifier:

1. Determiners: expand N-bar into N-doubled-bar.

2. Attributes: expand N-bar into N-bar.

3. Complements: expand N into N-bar.

Since both adjuncts and attributes expand N-bar into N-bar, it seems clearly that both have the same function, so that attributes are simply prenominal adjuncts.


E.g.

a Cambridge Physics student

It has the same meaning as [a student of Physics at Cambridge]

And since attributes are simply prenominal adjuncts then,

a Cambridge Physics student

Complement Adjunct

Attribute Complement

Nˈˈ

NˈNP

D

Nˈ

N

a studentPhysicsCambridge

NP


Physics would be a Complement because it is the sister of the N student, whereas Cambridge would be an Attribute because it is a sister and a daughter of an N-bar

Nˈˈ (D) Nˈ [Determiner Rule].

Nˈ NP Nˈ [Attribute Rule: optional].

Nˈ (NP) N [Complement Rule].

So, prenominal NPs are the natural counterpart of postnominal PPs.

The two are not completely equivalent. There are obvious syntactic differences between the two: premodifiers have the status of NP and precede the N-bar they modify, whereas postmodifiers have the status of PP and follow the N-bar they modify.

Nˈˈ

NˈNP

D

Nˈ

N

a studentPhysicsCambridge

NP

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK

This is all for today

chapter 4 noun phrases transformational grammar engl 424 hayfa alhomaid

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