- The possessor is an NP.pdf

December 13, 2000 Uri Strauss Ling 830/Possessives Seminar Semantics of Modificational Possessives I. The issue Issue: How can we build on the semantics of possessives to account for modificational possessives (MPs)? i. What is the representation of MPs? ii. How does compositionality work? Modificational Possessives: (1) girls school, mens coat, etc. ______________________________ II. Syntax of MPs (Munn 1995): - The possessive in an NP - The possessor is an NP - MPs are not lexical compounds (2) DP 3 D NP a 3 NP N mans coat i. the possessive is an NP (3) This mans coat and that one In this clear instance of an MP, the pro-form one substitutes for mans coat, excluding the determiner. This shows that the MP is a constituent. Together with the fact that MPs are not lexical compounds, this shows that they are nominal phrases that exclude determiners, i.e. NPs. ii. the possessor is an NP A referential possessor (4a,b) entails a non-MP possessive; a CN possessor has an MP interpretation (but possibly also a non-MP interpretation) (4c,d). (4) a. Marys school b. his shoes c. a mans coat d. the large dogs bone iii. MPs are not lexical compounds Adjunct modifiers can be added productively1: (5) a. a mans coat b. a tall mans coat c. a very tall mans coat d. a large, tall mans coat ______________________________ III. Semantics of Referential Possessives (Partee and Borchev (1998), Borschev and Partee (1999), based on Vikner and Jensen (1994)) The head noun of a possessive shifts from its ordinary et interpretation to a relational eet interpretation with the relation provided by an interaction of contextual material with information in the nouns lexical entry. (6) T(coat) = λx[coat(x)] (Regular interpretation) T(coat) = λyλx[coat(x) wears(x)(y)] (Relational interpretation) Composition takes place by applying the relational head noun to the possessor. (7) T(Alfreds coat) = λyλx[coat(x) wears(x)(y)