Predicate conjoining in Hadiyya : a head driven PS grammar.
Ronald J. Sim · OpenGrey (Institut de l'Information Scientifique et Technique) · 1989
In examining certain structures of the East Cushitic language Hadiyya, this thesis, in keeping with recent trends, adopts a mono-stratal framework, framed in terms of the mathematical operation of Unification; namely Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG). Chapter 1 is devoted to an exposition of the model employing situation semantics. Chapter 2 discusses the categories of noun, noun phrase, and verb. The discussion centres on the basic morphological categories of Person, Number, Gender and Case, and the variety of verbal forms which are relevant to an appreciation of following chapters, and a tentative (partial) feature system is set out. Chapter 3 deals with the mono-clausal sentence, briefly expounding basic sentence types, with the focus of the chapter on the issues of subcategorisation, constituent order, "pro-drop", and agreement. Several revisions of the formalism are proposed, and a general goal formulated. Part II deals with nexus mechanisms. First is a short chapter, 4, on canonical coordination as it occurs in Hadiyya, in which an attempt is made to formalise resolution rules, and a broader, cross-linguistic look is taken at the categories of Person, Gender and Number in coordinate phrases. Some of Hadiyya's other lexical connectors are also briefly considered. In the two final chapters, both subordinative and coordinative systems are reviewed, and these chapters provide an end-focus to the study. Chapter 5, discusses the adverbial clause, and the complementation system, while Chapter 6 covers clause chaining/ serialisation, switch reference, and the encoding of simultaneous events, in which agreement and control questions are addressed. A short final chapter brings together some of the major theoretical suggestions arising. -