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ROA:415
Title:Words by default: optimizing constraints and the Persian complex predicate
Authors:Adele Goldberg
Comment:13 pages. This paper appeared in the Berkeley Linguistic Society Proceedings, 1996
Length:13
Abstract:Words by default:

optimizing constraints and the Persian complex predicate



Adele Goldberg

UCSD





Complex predicates (CPs) are predicates which act in some

way as a single word, and in another way like more than one word.

Persian (Farsi) has many such complex predicates that

consist of a non-verbal element, the host,

followed by a light verb. These CPs are of interest because

they display both lexical and phrasal properties.



This paper offers an account in which the Persian CP is treated

as a construction represented in the lexicon. It is argued that

its expression as a simple word or as a phrasal entity is

determined by the interaction of a set typologically natural

ranked constraints. An outcome of this analysis is that

the categorial status of the CP can be viewed as a simple verb

by default. V0 status is motivated by the CPs lexical

properties. It entails that the host and light verb be

unseparated and that they may undergo derivational processes.

The V0 status is a default in the sense that it can be

overridden if and only if there is a competing higher ranked

constraint.
Type:Paper/tech report
Area/Keywords:
Article:Version 1