http://hdl.handle.net/10278/64 Tue, 21 May 2013 13:01:48 GMT 2013-05-21T13:01:48Z http://hdl.handle.net/10278/2957 Title: On Verb Movement in Brazilian Portuguese: A Cartographic Study Author⁄s: Tescari Neto, Aquiles Abstract: This thesis investigates the issue of Verbal raising in Brazilian Portuguese, from a Cartographic perspective, mainly based on Cinque (1999). Since adverbs and floating quantifiers have been traditionally taken as diagnostics for V-movement, the starting point of this investigation is to test the validity of such diagnostics from a Cartographic lens. This is achieved on the basis of Romance and English. It is suggested that "lower ("left-edge") adverbs are reliable diagnostics for V-raising, given the fact that, even in English, the V must raise past (some of) them. It is also explained why "higher adverbs" and Universal Floating Quantifiers are not (reliable) diagnostics, on the basis of their position of Merge in the Cinque Hierarchy and the assignment of scope to them (à la Kayne 1998). The thesis suggest, from a Cartographic perspective, that Brazilian Portuguese has Verbal Raising which is limited to a medial projection in the clause, namely, T-Anterior. Mon, 31 Dec 2012 23:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10278/2957 2012-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10278/2943 Title: Non-overt Arguments in the Instructional Register of English Author⁄s: Fior, Virginia Margherita Abstract: Although English is commonly known as a non pro drop language, this phenomenon is rather attested in certain special registers of English. English speakers regularly drop subjects in many informal circumstances, such as in Colloquial Speech, Diaries and Notetaking, but non-overt arguments seem to be a general possibility in a variety of formal contexts too, such as Instructional Registers, Telegrams, Newspaper Headlines. In this paper I will focus my attention on the syntactic and pragmatic properties of non-overt subjects and objects in the Instructional Register. In Chapter 1, I will first hint at the principles and parameters of the Universal Grammar and, in particular, at the pro-drop and object-drop parameters. Then, by means of syntactic tests, I will try to prove that instructions exhibit imperative sentences rather than infinitives, since they present the same morphology in English, i.e. the bare stem of the verb without any overt inflectional endings. In Chapter 2, since imperatives normally lack an overt subjects, I will demonstrate that the features relevant for the interpretation of the subject are not associated with the verb itself, but with a subject syntactically represented, though phonetically null. I will also try to determine the identity of non-overt subjects and what the syntactic representation of imperatives may look like. In Chapter 3, on the basis of empirical data provided by some cookbooks, cosmetics instructions and user’s manuals, I will illustrate that the Recipe Object Drop is a phenomenon which is cross-linguistically very common. Looking at the properties of non-overt objects and at the constraints on their distribution, I will investigate on what property enables non-over objects to appear in this register and how such a structure could be syntactically represented. Finally, in Chapter 4, I will make a comparison between the structures of recipes and instructions of English, Italian and Spanish. Sat, 31 Dec 2005 23:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10278/2943 2005-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10278/2587 Title: Antisymmetry and Sign Languages: A Comparison between NGT and LIS Author⁄s: Brunelli, Michele Fri, 31 Dec 2010 23:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10278/2587 2010-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/10278/2586 Title: LA STRUTTURA DEL SINTAGMA DETERMINANTE NELLA LINGUA DEI SEGNI ITALIANA (LIS) Author⁄s: Bertone, Carmela Sat, 31 Dec 2005 23:00:00 GMT http://hdl.handle.net/10278/2586 2005-12-31T23:00:00Z