Jim Wood.
Microvariation in verbal rather.
Linguistic Variation. March 2024.
Paper
doi
link
bibtex
abstract
@article{wood_microvariation_2024,
title = {Microvariation in verbal \textit{rather}},
copyright = {https://benjamins.com/content/customers/rights},
issn = {2211-6834, 2211-6842},
url = {http://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/lv.22026.woo},
doi = {10.1075/lv.22026.woo},
abstract = {Abstract
This paper uses survey results to analyze patterns of judgments across different versions of the non-standard
verbal use of the word
rather
, which can take participial morphology, as in
rathered
. Across
numerous possible instantiations of the construction, there appear to be in fact a quite limited number of grammars, which are
generated by an implicational hierarchy of functional heads, along with the availability of a silent verb
have
. The
overall picture supports several broader conclusions. First, bare-infinitive–selecting verbs are nearly “closed class” because
they have special syntactic properties that go beyond semantic or even syntactic selection: they must value the temporal verbal
features of the embedded verb, or else provide a structural context for such valuation. Second, silent verbs can be licensed by
head-moving to a modal head in the extended projection. This movement is freely available, but silence demands recoverability,
which limits its application only to certain verbs, and certain uses/meanings of those verbs. Third, in addition to previously
known configurations for building parasitic participle constructions, movement of a lower verb to a higher verb can extend the
phase of the lower verb and lead to its silence. Fourth, the distribution of
rather
suggests that volitional
meaning is not a primitive, but is constructed from smaller primitives. Finally, microvariation reveals a tight connection among
logically distinct functional heads, suggesting that they are not acquired independently of each other, but interact in
significant ways.},
language = {en},
urldate = {2024-07-19},
journal = {Linguistic Variation},
author = {Wood, Jim},
month = mar,
year = {2024},
}
Abstract This paper uses survey results to analyze patterns of judgments across different versions of the non-standard verbal use of the word rather , which can take participial morphology, as in rathered . Across numerous possible instantiations of the construction, there appear to be in fact a quite limited number of grammars, which are generated by an implicational hierarchy of functional heads, along with the availability of a silent verb have . The overall picture supports several broader conclusions. First, bare-infinitive–selecting verbs are nearly “closed class” because they have special syntactic properties that go beyond semantic or even syntactic selection: they must value the temporal verbal features of the embedded verb, or else provide a structural context for such valuation. Second, silent verbs can be licensed by head-moving to a modal head in the extended projection. This movement is freely available, but silence demands recoverability, which limits its application only to certain verbs, and certain uses/meanings of those verbs. Third, in addition to previously known configurations for building parasitic participle constructions, movement of a lower verb to a higher verb can extend the phase of the lower verb and lead to its silence. Fourth, the distribution of rather suggests that volitional meaning is not a primitive, but is constructed from smaller primitives. Finally, microvariation reveals a tight connection among logically distinct functional heads, suggesting that they are not acquired independently of each other, but interact in significant ways.
Jim Wood.
Parasitic participles in the syntax of verbal rather.
Lingua, 137: 59–87. December 2013.
Paper
doi
link
bibtex
abstract
@article{wood_parasitic_2013,
title = {Parasitic participles in the syntax of verbal rather},
volume = {137},
issn = {0024-3841},
url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0024384113001769},
doi = {10.1016/j.lingua.2013.08.004},
abstract = {In this paper, I discuss the syntax of parasitic participles in (varieties of) colloquial English, which can be found when rather is used as a verb. The syntax of verbal rather has not, to my knowledge, been studied before, and turns out to be of substantial interest, for two reasons. First, it presents a syntactic configuration that is not found elsewhere in the language, with the result that one perfect auxiliary can license two perfect participles. While rare in English, this phenomenon has been studied in a number of other Germanic languages, and has been argued to be diagnostic of restructuring. Second, its syntactic and argument structural properties in ECM contexts suggest that it may license a null variant of ECM have, providing a perhaps unique angle for studying the syntax of verbal elements dependent on the availability of various uses of ‘have’.},
urldate = {2016-06-01},
journal = {Lingua},
author = {Wood, Jim},
month = dec,
year = {2013},
keywords = {English dialects, Germanic, Parasitic participles, Silent verbs, Verbal rather, dialect syntax},
pages = {59--87},
}
In this paper, I discuss the syntax of parasitic participles in (varieties of) colloquial English, which can be found when rather is used as a verb. The syntax of verbal rather has not, to my knowledge, been studied before, and turns out to be of substantial interest, for two reasons. First, it presents a syntactic configuration that is not found elsewhere in the language, with the result that one perfect auxiliary can license two perfect participles. While rare in English, this phenomenon has been studied in a number of other Germanic languages, and has been argued to be diagnostic of restructuring. Second, its syntactic and argument structural properties in ECM contexts suggest that it may license a null variant of ECM have, providing a perhaps unique angle for studying the syntax of verbal elements dependent on the availability of various uses of ‘have’.