Regulating word order in modern Greek : verb initial and non-verb initial orders & the conceptual-intentional interface

Kechagias, A

Abstract

I introduce the notions ‘configurational’, ‘discourse-configurational’, and
the basics of the minimalist syntax, on the one hand, and notions relevant to
information packaging, on the other hand (Chapter 1), in the following thee
chapters I proceed to a detailed examination of the syntactic properties of
verb-initial and non-verb initial orders, insisting on certain debated aspects.
In particular, in Chapter 2, I compare the syntax of VSO and that of the
‘problematic’ VOS order; I show that what differentiates the two constructions
is that the latter order is due to a flexible strategy in the narrow syntax that
allows the object to pied-pipe alongside the verb to the TP domain. In Chapter
3, I discuss clitic doubling for which I put forward an alternative account
involving feature copying that allows the same DP to occur in two positions in
the structure at the same time. In this light, I further argue that clitic
doubling is a parameterized version of A-movement. In Chapter 4, I deal with
the properties of a range of constructions targeting the preverbal domain. I
argue that the peculiar behaviour of CLLD is due to that it is the result of two
operations, namely, A-movement in the form of clitic doubling and A-bar
movement. I also show that non-focal LD is more productive than previously
thought and that the construction involves mere A-bar movement.
In the remaining two chapters I shift attention to issues related to the
discourse-configurational nature of the language and information structure.
After I discuss various models of integrating information structure into the
minimalist grammar (Chapter 5), I argue that Information Structure can refer
either to pragmatic articulations or more abstract logico-semantic strategies or
both. Regarding the latter one, I show that Greek formally realizes via its word
order two such strategies: a predicative and a non-predicative, the former surfacing as non-Verb initial orders and the latter one surfacing as verb-initial
orders. In the second half of Chapter 6, I deal with the interpretive effects of
doubling. In particular, I argue that doubling in Greek invariably marks a DP
as a topic. I also show that non-focal left dislocated DPs in Greek are fronted
ground material that serves as an anchor for the introduction of new
information into the discourse.
Chapter 7 summarizes the major contributions of the current thesis.

Citation

Kechagias, A. (in press). Regulating word order in modern Greek : verb initial and non-verb initial orders & the conceptual-intentional interface. (Thesis). UCL

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Acceptance Date: Mar 19, 2023
• Deposit Date: Jun 5, 2017
• Publisher URL: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1317764/
• Related Public URLs: http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1317764/
• Additional Information: Funders : Hellenic Scholarship Foundation