On the Lexical Integrity Hypothesis and its (In)accurate Predictions

The Lexical Integrity Hypothesis (LIH) holds that lexical items are syntactic atoms, which implies that neither their segments nor their semantic components are accessible to syntax. LIH is, thus, a double-faced hypothesis, since its predictions are relevant for both the syntax-lexicon interface and...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor: Bosque, Ignacio
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Recursos:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/72640
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/72640
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Lexical integrity
Morphology
Morphology-syntax distinction
Semantic layers
Lexical structure
Interfaces
Integridad léxica
Morfología
Distinción morfología-sintaxis
Niveles semánticos
Estructura léxica
Integridade lexical
Distinção morfologia-sintaxe
Níveis semânticos
Descrição
Resumo:The Lexical Integrity Hypothesis (LIH) holds that lexical items are syntactic atoms, which implies that neither their segments nor their semantic components are accessible to syntax. LIH is, thus, a double-faced hypothesis, since its predictions are relevant for both the syntax-lexicon interface and the morphology-syntax distinction, and specifically the controversial issue of whether or not morphology is an independent component of the Grammar. Both sides of LIH are addressed in this paper through a series of syntactic tests (movement, scope, modification, anaphora, ellipsis, coordination), which are shown to often give different results depending on whether the grammatical units targeted are semantic components (and lack phonological features) or morphological segments. LIH is shown to be only partially wrong. Its failures, which cannot be dismissed, are shown not to be random, since, to a large extend, they depend on the grammatical properties of the relevant components of lexical items.