Space and Events: Spatial PPS and Motion VPS

306 Pages·2016·2.005 MB·English

by  Sameerah Tawfeeq Saeed

Space and Events

Space and Events
:
Spatial PPs and Motion VPs
By
Sameerah Tawfeeq Saeed
Space and Events: Spatial PPs and Motion VPs

By Sameerah Tawfeeq Saeed

This book first published 2016

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Copyright © 2016 by Sameerah Tawfeeq Saeed

All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN (10): 1-4438-8905-9
ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-8905-6
TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables ............................................................................................. vii

List of Figures........................................................................................... viii

Abstract ...................................................................................................... ix

Acknowledgements .................................................................................... xi

Abbreviations ........................................................................................... xiii

Key to Symbols used in Transliteration of Kurdish Data ......................... xiv

Key to Symbols used in Transliteration of Arabic Data ........................... xvi

Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1
Introduction
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Background: Spatial Adpositions
1.3 The Main Issues and Proposals
1.4 Theoretical Framework
1.5 Organisation of the Book

Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 18
Adpositions in the Place Domain
2.1 Introduction
2.2 English in/on/above, etc.
2.3 Rel P Projection
PLACE
2.4 Kurdish
2.5 Arabic
2.5 Summary and Conclusion
vi Table of Contents

Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 75
Adpositions in the Path Domain
3.1 Introduction
3.2 Path vs Directional
3.3 Previous and Recent Studies
3.4 The Role of to/from/through, etc.
3.5 Typology and Semantics of Path Relators
3.6 Syntactic Structure: Rel P
PATH
3.7 Kurdish
3.8 Arabic
3.9 Combinations of Rel and Rel
PATH PLACE
3.10 Summary and Conclusion

Chapter Four ............................................................................................ 127
Event Structure and Motion Verbs
4.1 Introduction
4.2 Event Structure and Verbs
4.3 Motion V Projection
4.4 More on Res
4.5 Typology of Motion Verbs
4.6 Kurdish
4.7 Arabic
4.8 Summary and Conclusion

Chapter Five ............................................................................................ 200
Spatial PPs in Motion Events
5.1 Introduction
5.2 [Proc] Vs + Rel Ps
PLACE
5.3 [Proc] Vs + Rel Ps
PATH
5.4 [Proc, Res] Vs + Rel Ps
PLACE
5.5 [Proc, Res] Vs + Rel Ps
PATH
5.6 Kurdish
5.7 Arabic
5.8 Summary and Conclusion

Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 270
Conclusion
6.1 Summary and Concluding Remarks
6.2 Future Research

References ............................................................................................... 275
LIST OF TABLES

2.1 Etymology and semantic function of behind, beyond, between,
above and among
2.2 Summary of differences between AxParts and regular nouns,
adverbs and adjectives in Kurdish
2.3 -(cid:1015)w(cid:1015), -da and -ra: affixes vs. clitics
2.4 Distribution of place-denoting Ps in MSA
2.5 Rel : true vs semi-prepositions
PLACE
3.1 Types of Path Relators in Kurdish
3.2 Types of Path Relators in MSA
4.1 Vendler’s (1957) typology of events
4.2 Ramchand’s (2008) typology of verbs
4.3 Types of verbs in Kurdish
4.4 Typology of motion verbs in Kurdish
4.5 Typology of motion verbs in Arabic
5.1 Motion VPs and spatial PPs in English
LIST OF FIGURES

2.1 The components of a locative relationship ordered logically
3.1 The schematic representations of different shapes of path
3.2 The schematic representation of (one shape of) path and its
components
3.3 Jackendoff’s (1983) typology of paths
3.4 Pantcheva’s (2011) typology of paths
ABSTRACT

This book studies the internal syntax and semantics of spatial PPs, i.e.
phrases headed by words such as (in English) in, on, at, above, in front of,
from, out of, through, around, etc. as well as their role and contribution in
motion events when combined with different motion verbs. I argue that
these adpositions as used in spatial relationships are Relators. They relate
entities, positions or events to specific entities or positions. For example,
in/on/at relate a Figure to specific Spaces with reference to a Ground.
Thus I refer to them as Place Relators. As to the elements to/from/through,
I refer to them as Path Relators. They relate the Figure to specific points in
a path domain.

Based on the way I view these elements, the minimum P projection I
propose is [Rel P [Rel P]]. Furthermore, adapting ideas of
PATH PLACE
Svenonius (2010), I decompose Rel P into [Rel P [AxPartP
PLACE PLACE
[KP]]]. The scope of the materials is extended to analyse equivalent
elements in Kurdish and Arabic for which no full descriptions are
available. The P projection proposed provides a better understanding of
spatial adpositions in these languages. On the one hand, it helps
distinguish the elements that belong to the P category in e.g. Arabic, which
has true and semi adpositions. On the other hand, Kurdish data show that
there is more to the P projection proposed through suggesting another
functional head, namely PLACE.

Furthermore, I investigate the role of spatial PPs in motion events when
combined with different motion verbs. Following Ramchand’s (2008)
first-phase syntax of verbs and based on the availability of a Res feature, I
divide motion verbs into two classes: [Proc] and [Proc, Res] verbs. The
occurrence of different spatial PPs with these two types of motion verbs is
closely examined and discussed in the second half of the book. It is shown
that there are two types of events expressed by such combinations: Process
and (resultative) Transition. Process events can be expressed by [Proc] Vs
and different spatial PPs. The PP in such an event structure mostly defines
the location of the activity. Transition events can be expressed lexically by
[Proc, Res] Vs in general. The spatial PP in such lexical Transition events
does not contribute much to the event structure either, except for PPs
x Abstract

headed by Ps such as in/on/behind/to/into, which can represent the
culmination (upper bound) of the BECOME event involved in Transition
events.

Further I show that resultative Transition events can also be expressed
syntactically by [Proc] Vs combined with specific spatial PPs that denote
an end point (a culmination), such as English into/onto-phrases. In
Kurdish and Arabic, the presence of a bounded GoalRelP headed by an
adposition meaning ‘to’ and a lexicalised AxPart is crucial to give rise to a
resultative Transition event with a [Proc] V. In such cases, since the PPs
can suggest a culmination in the event structure, the combination suggests
a Transition event that involves a BECOME event. Syntactically I present
this BECOME event as a null Res element.