Markus Steinbach
Notes on Parenthetical Constructions
Arbeitspapiere des SFB 340, Bericht Nr. 144 (1999), 34pp.
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Abstract
Predicates in verb-first integrated parentheticals (VIPs) have an
implicit propositional argument that is linked to the proposition
denoted by the host clause. This paper investigates the interpretation
of the implicit argument. Two alternatives are discussed: the
propositional argument is either (i) linked to a pronominal expression
that is dropped in sentence-initial position (canonical licensing) or
(ii) not linked to a syntactic element but coreferent with the
proposition dentoted by the host clause (non-canonical licensing). We
argue that both (i) and (ii) are necessary to account for all different
kinds of VIPs discussed in this paper. Nevertheless, non-canonical
licensing (i.e. option (ii)) turns out
to be more essential to the interpretation of the implicit propositional
argument in VIPs. Topic-drop, on the other hand, is only relevant for
the analysis of parenthetical constructions that are questions.
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