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ROA:411
Title:OT Semantics and Control
Authors:Benjamin Lyngfelt
Comment:
Length:44
Abstract:Benjamin Lyngfelt
Göteborg University


Control, the interpretation of the implicit subject of a non-finite
clause, seems to depend on interaction between syntactic, semantic,
and pragmatic principles. This suggests that an OT framework, which
is based on the idea of constraint interaction, should be particularly
suited to handle the problem. The present paper integrates configurational,
lexical, and pragmatic factors in an OT analysis of control in Swedish.
This approach enables the analysis to cover a broader range of control
phenomena than can be accounted for from a more uniformly syntactic or
semantic perspective.

Since the study of control concerns syntax and semantics both, it may
provide interesting insights concerning the relation between the two
perspectives. Unlike most contemporary theories of grammar, the OT
architecture easily lends itself to treating production and interpretation
separately. This makes control, as a matter of interpretation, a
separate issue from the distribution of controllable elements. By
distinguishing these processes - and thereby their inputs - with
respect to control, some interesting consequences for OT syntax and OT
semantics in general may be revealed. In this paper, it is shown that
a fully inflected input to OT syntax is not very well suited to treat
the distribution of non-finite clauses (and, consequently, control
phenomena). It is also proposed that syntactic structure should not be
regarded as part of the input to OT semantics.
Type:Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords:
Article:Version 1