Abstract
This paper argues for a Classifier Phrase (CLP) as a functional layer in the Spanish DP. CLP has been proposed independently for other languages as the locus of individuation in nominals, making countable entities from masses. It has also been suggested as a host for dimensional modifiers (Svenonius 2008). We provide evidence that certain participial adjectives in Spanish are licensed as dimensional modifiers. These adjectives are exceptional in that they encode verbal (inchoative) aspect. This feature is shown to play a crucial role in the distribution of these adjectives. Our account of this generalization adopts the aspectual feature [BOUNDARY] of Marín and McNally (2011). Our analysis is that this feature provides a (temporal) value for dimensionality, thereby exceptionally licensing a stage-level reading. We further show that an account along the lines of Larson (1998), Larson and Takahashi (2007), based on a distinction between NP-layer and DP-layer modification, is not viable for the data under consideration.
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Notes
- 1.
- 2.
The generalization is reinforced by the contrast shown below (due to B. Citko, cited in Larson 1998):
- 3.
The uniform approach to adjective structure is developed in Demonte (2008) and Bouchard (2002), Cinque (2010) argues that adjectives may be either adjective phrases or reduced relative or small clause structures. Cinque also argues that certain adjectives are specifiers while others are indirect modifiers.
- 4.
Marín and McNally (2011) show that the predicates from which these adjectives are formed fall into two subclasses, punctual and non-punctual. This distinction does not seem to be relevant for the present discussion.
- 5.
As noted above (Note 4), there are two subclasses of se-reflexive inchoatives that differ in durativity. The punctual ones disallow in-adverbials:
This is expected, since these adverbials add specification of change from one time to another, which requires at least minimal duration.
- 6.
This ambiguity does not extend to non-derived nominals:
This suggests that only some nominals select event arguments.
- 7.
A third type of classifier is the noun class marker, which differentiates qualities or essences of the root. As these are more closely related to the root, they are nP-internal.
- 8.
Restrictions on adjective order are illustrated for English in (i):
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Acknowledgements
We dedicate this to our friend and colleague Julia Herschensohn, who has for decades been an integral part of our life in linguistics, and to whom much is owed for her intellectual, cultural and culinary nourishment of UW students and colleagues alike. Gracias and merci, Julia. We are grateful to Barbara Citko and to members of the UW Syntax Roundtable for comments on a presentation of a preliminary version of this work. We also thank an anonymous reviewer for helpful comments. All remaining errors of commission and omission are the authors’ sole responsibility.
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Zagona, K., Contreras, H. (2019). Classifier Phrase as Host for Stage-Level Spanish Adnominal Participial Adjectives. In: Arteaga, D. (eds) Contributions of Romance Languages to Current Linguistic Theory. Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, vol 95. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11006-2_2
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