LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 22:1 January 2022
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Noun Modification in English: A Syntactic Analysis

Hicham Lahlou, PhD

Abstract

Several classical syntactic frameworks, including phrase structure grammar, have failed to explain a variety of linguistic phenomena, including the existence of intermediary phrases that are smaller than a full phrase but larger than the head of a phrase and the distributional difference between nominal modifiers. The main aims of the current study are to determine how X-bar syntax depicts differences between noun modifiers and how analytical evidence supports such differences. In order to accomplish this goal, the author first compared and contrasted X-bar syntax and phrase structure grammar. Employing X-bar syntax theory, he then compared and contrasted prenominal and postnominal modifiers. The findings of the study revealed that X-bar syntax can explain a wide range of linguistic phenomena that other syntactic frameworks, particularly PS grammar, cannot.

Keywords: constituency, prenominal modifiers, postnominal modifiers, adjuncts, complements, X-bar syntax

1. Introduction

Several linguistic phenomena remained unexplained by the classical phrase structure rules. They cannot, for example, account for the existence of intermediary phrases that are smaller than a full phrase but larger than the head of a phrase. X-bar syntax is one of the alternative syntactic frameworks that can account for such phenomena. The present paper offers a valuable insight into noun modification in English. It adopts the X-bar syntax theory to explore noun phrase structures and differentiate between noun modifiers. The study’s findings support the assertion that X-bar syntax may explain a variety of linguistic phenomena that diverse syntactic frameworks, including PS grammar, cannot explain. In other words, the study attempts to explore how the differences between noun modifiers are expressed in X-bar syntax and how analytical evidence backs up such distinctions.

Given the above, the current study will address two research questions:

1. How are the differences between noun modifiers expressed in X-bar syntax?

2. How does analytical evidence back up these distinctions?

This work is divided into four chapters. The first chapter briefly provides the statement of the problem and research questions. It is worth mentioning that the diagnostics that the researcher will present in the second chapter will serve as the foundational arguments for the complete study. The researcher will next go through some of the fundamental phrase structure rules for generating well-formed sentences. Finally, the researcher will compare and contrast two syntactic frameworks, PS grammar and X-bar syntax, to show that the latter is better than the former.

The third chapter’s goal is to discuss the diverse prenominal modifiers. This chapter is divided into two sections. The first section will mainly contrast predeterminers and determiners, determiners and prenominal APs, prenominal APs and prenominal NPs, and ultimately complements and attributes. In the second section, the researcher will concentrate on illustrating the distinctions between complement clauses and adjunct clauses, as well as complement PPs and adjunct PPs. In addition, in each of these sections, the researcher will begin with a sort of introductory subsection, demonstrating the basic types of noun modifiers, their function, and distribution.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Hicham Lahlou, PhD
School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia
11800 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
hlahlou2003@hotmail.com
Tel: (60)46533342
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