Ur Shlonsky
Biographic Data
| ID | 748753 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ur Shlonsky |
| GIVEN NAMES | Ur |
| FAMILY NAME | Shlonsky |
| SIGNATURE | SHLONSKY U |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Geneva |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7147-4794 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 24 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 173 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1988 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 7 |
Rescaffolding the bundle in Afroasiatic inflection: Tamazight and Hebrew
Person, number and gender features in the Afroasiatic verbal system are sometimes prefixes, sometimes suffixes and sometimes both. This paper attempts to derive the Tamazight and Hebrew systems using syntactic tools and eschewing postsyntactic or morphological linearization rules. My point of departure is that syntactic heads contain a single feature and that features can be assembled into bundles and placed to the left or to the right of a stem …
Root infinitives in Jamaican Creole
This paper addresses the question of the existence and manifestation of Root Infinitives (RIs) in the acquisition of a creole language, Jamaican Creole (JC). It examines JC children’s omission of progressive and prospective aspectual markers in the clausal map in order to determine if early JC includes a root infinitive (RI) stage. Non-target-consistent bare verb structures in child JC are shown to have distributional properties which have been c…
A note on the order of constituents in the Mehri Noun Phrase
Data elicited from native speakers of Mehri and, to a lesser extent, Jibbali—two extant Modern South Arabian languages—show that within the extended nominal phrase, the noun precedes adjectives and the numerals one and two, but follows numerals from three up. This yields the following order: Num ≥3 >> Noun >> Num =1,2 >> Adjective . Demonstratives appear between the noun and the numerals one or two, Noun >> Dem >> Num =1,2 >> Adjective , but when…
Covert Movement in Multiple‐ Wh Questions: Experimental and Theoretical Investigations
Results from a new grammaticality‐judgment experiment in French confirm the published finding in English that sentences containing a Superiority violation involving a bare extracted element and a lexically restricted intervener (e.g., ‘What did which student buy?’), a configuration termed inverse inclusion , are more acceptable than those involving a lexically restricted extracted element and a bare intervener (e.g., ‘Which book did who buy’), a …
A note on phrasal movement in Modern South Arabian and its consequences
I argue that the predominance of clause-final negation and the ban on object cliticization on perfective verb stems with a subject agreement suffix in the Modern South Arabian languages ( MSA ) Mehri and Jibbali are both consequences of the fact that in these languages, a verbal projection rather than a verbal head is probed by T(ense) or by a higher functional head. As a result, this verbal projection moves to a position above T and a fortiori a…
Word Order Variation in Lebanese Arabic DPs: In Support of Low Numerals
Refining Greenberg's (1963) Universal 20, Cinque (2005) and Dryer (2009) show that the typological distribution of the order of the four elements Demonstrative, Numeral, Adjective, and Noun is extremely uneven. There are 24 possible permutations of these elements, but only 5 of them constitute the dominant orders across languages (1i). Another 9 orders are attested, but are less frequent (1ii). The final 10 word orders are either unattested or ex…
The Wandering Subjects of the Levant: “Verbal Complexes” in Lebanese Arabic as Phrasal Movement
Lebanese Arabic ( LA ) presents a puzzling word order in non-finite subordination contexts where the subject of the matrix clause comes sandwiched between the embedded verb and its complement (Hallman 2011). We present new facts concerning this puzzle, and argue in favor of phrasal movement of TP , which transports both verbs and intervening material above the subject, along the lines of Kayne (2005:42). Importantly, while the surface position of…
Where's 'Why
Why and its counterparts in some languages are argued to be externally merged in a low left-peripheral specifier of a dedicated functional category and subsequently moved to a criterial position higher in the left-peripheral space. The analysis considers both short- and long-distance construals of why, asymmetries of why-extraction in finite and nonfinite complement clauses, the position of 'why' in a multiple wh-movement language like Romanian, …
The Cartographic Enterprise in Syntax
Cartography is a research program within the Principles & Parameters framework of syntactic theory. Its project is to draw detailed maps of syntactic configurations but its place lies in a broader research project, namely the study of functional (or grammatical) categories, their content, number and order. Cartography is inspired by and contributes to research in comparative syntax and typology. It adheres to the view that syntactic structures ar…
Rejoinder to Pereltsvaig's head movement in Hebrew nominals: A reply to Shlonsky
Clitic Positions and Restructuring in Italian
Verbs can be introduced (merged) in either a lexical VP or a functional head, the latter position giving rise to restructuring contexts. We argue that there are two clitic positions in Italian "restructured" clauses: one associated with the (restructured) lexical verb and the other a clausal clitic position located in the functional domain. While restructuring can be recursive, clitics appear either on the restructured infinitive (no clitic climb…
The form of Semitic noun phrases
The Distribution of a Subject Clitic Pronoun in a Franco-Provençal Dialect and the Licensing of Pro
We study the distribution of null subjects in one Franco-Provençal variety. These are possible in root declaratives, obligatory in embedded subject position, and impossible in root wh-questions as well as in the company of weather predicates. We approach null subjects indirectly, by investigating the distribution of one subject clitic, arguing that its optionality in some contexts is due to the possibility of moving pro to a peripheral topic posi…
Themes in Arabic and Hebrew Syntax
Verbal Complexes (review)
Reviewed by: Verbal complexes by Hilda Koopman, Anna Szabolcsi Ur Shlonsky Verbal complexes. By Hilda Koopman and Anna Szabolcsi (Current studies in linguistics 34.) Cambridge, MA. MIT Press, 2000. Pp. xii, 244. Hungarian and Dutch/German allow the verbs and the particle in a sentence like Louis will begin to want to open up to be ordered in different ways. However, not every combination is allowed: Some are only possible in well-defined environm…
Clause Structure And Word Order In Hebrew And Arabic: An Essay in Comparative Semitic Syntax
Shlonsky uses Chomsky’s Government and Binding approach to examine clausal architecture and verb movement in Hebrew and several varieties of Arabic. He establishes a syntactic analysis of Hebrew and then extends that analysis to aspects of Arabic clausal syntax. Through the comparative lens of Hebrew, Shlonsky hopes to resolve a number of problems in Arabic syntax. His results generate some novel and important conclusions concerning the patterns …
Pronominal enclisis in VSO languages
In this chapter we present evidence that both Semitic (Arabic and Hebrew) and Welsh clitic systems bear striking similarities to each other, and are significantly different from those of Romance or Germanic. We motivate an analysis of both systems which treats them as base-generated syntactic affixes in Agr. Hence these clitics are not in fact pronouns, that is, XPs.
The order of verbal complements: A comparative study
Agreement in Comp
L'A. veut contribuer au debat actuel sur la structure de Comp. Il etudie les complementiseurs finis flamands qui sont dotes de la propriete d'etre declines. Il propose une representation explicite de l'accord dans Comp, introduisant l'idee que l'accord est la tete d'une projection maximale directe
Impersonal passives
Quantifiers as functional heads: A study of quantifier float in Hebrew
Agreement in Natural Language: Approaches, Theories, Descriptions
Preface 1. Introduction Charles A. Ferguson and Michael Barlow 2. Agreement: a partial specification based on Slavonic data Greville G. Corbett 3. On the function of agreement Christian Lehmann 4. Toward a unified theory of agreement Steven G. Lapoint 5. Agreement and markedness Edith A. Moravcsik 6. Agreement in Arabic, binding and coherence Abdelkader Fassi Fehri 7. Agreement vs. case marketing and direct objects William Croft 8. Case agreement…
Complementizer-cliticization in Hebrew and the empty category principle
Government and binding in Hebrew nominals
The form of Semitic noun phrases
Quantifiers as functional heads: A study of quantifier float in Hebrew
Clitic Positions and Restructuring in Italian
Verbs can be introduced (merged) in either a lexical VP or a functional head, the latter position giving rise to restructuring contexts. We argue that there are two clitic positions in Italian "restructured" clauses: one associated with the (restructured) lexical verb and the other a clausal clitic position located in the functional domain. While restructuring can be recursive, clitics appear either on the restructured infinitive (no clitic climb…
The order of verbal complements: A comparative study
Where's 'Why
Why and its counterparts in some languages are argued to be externally merged in a low left-peripheral specifier of a dedicated functional category and subsequently moved to a criterial position higher in the left-peripheral space. The analysis considers both short- and long-distance construals of why, asymmetries of why-extraction in finite and nonfinite complement clauses, the position of 'why' in a multiple wh-movement language like Romanian, …
The Cartographic Enterprise in Syntax
Cartography is a research program within the Principles & Parameters framework of syntactic theory. Its project is to draw detailed maps of syntactic configurations but its place lies in a broader research project, namely the study of functional (or grammatical) categories, their content, number and order. Cartography is inspired by and contributes to research in comparative syntax and typology. It adheres to the view that syntactic structures ar…
Complementizer-cliticization in Hebrew and the empty category principle
Rejoinder to Pereltsvaig's head movement in Hebrew nominals: A reply to Shlonsky
Government and binding in Hebrew nominals
Word Order Variation in Lebanese Arabic DPs: In Support of Low Numerals
Refining Greenberg's (1963) Universal 20, Cinque (2005) and Dryer (2009) show that the typological distribution of the order of the four elements Demonstrative, Numeral, Adjective, and Noun is extremely uneven. There are 24 possible permutations of these elements, but only 5 of them constitute the dominant orders across languages (1i). Another 9 orders are attested, but are less frequent (1ii). The final 10 word orders are either unattested or ex…
The Distribution of a Subject Clitic Pronoun in a Franco-Provençal Dialect and the Licensing of Pro
We study the distribution of null subjects in one Franco-Provençal variety. These are possible in root declaratives, obligatory in embedded subject position, and impossible in root wh-questions as well as in the company of weather predicates. We approach null subjects indirectly, by investigating the distribution of one subject clitic, arguing that its optionality in some contexts is due to the possibility of moving pro to a peripheral topic posi…
Impersonal passives
Complementizer-cliticization in Hebrew and the empty category principle
Government and binding in Hebrew nominals
Agreement in Natural Language: Approaches, Theories, Descriptions
Preface 1. Introduction Charles A. Ferguson and Michael Barlow 2. Agreement: a partial specification based on Slavonic data Greville G. Corbett 3. On the function of agreement Christian Lehmann 4. Toward a unified theory of agreement Steven G. Lapoint 5. Agreement and markedness Edith A. Moravcsik 6. Agreement in Arabic, binding and coherence Abdelkader Fassi Fehri 7. Agreement vs. case marketing and direct objects William Croft 8. Case agreement…
Quantifiers as functional heads: A study of quantifier float in Hebrew
Impersonal passives
Agreement in Comp
L'A. veut contribuer au debat actuel sur la structure de Comp. Il etudie les complementiseurs finis flamands qui sont dotes de la propriete d'etre declines. Il propose une representation explicite de l'accord dans Comp, introduisant l'idee que l'accord est la tete d'une projection maximale directe
The order of verbal complements: A comparative study
Pronominal enclisis in VSO languages
In this chapter we present evidence that both Semitic (Arabic and Hebrew) and Welsh clitic systems bear striking similarities to each other, and are significantly different from those of Romance or Germanic. We motivate an analysis of both systems which treats them as base-generated syntactic affixes in Agr. Hence these clitics are not in fact pronouns, that is, XPs.
Clause Structure And Word Order In Hebrew And Arabic: An Essay in Comparative Semitic Syntax
Shlonsky uses Chomsky’s Government and Binding approach to examine clausal architecture and verb movement in Hebrew and several varieties of Arabic. He establishes a syntactic analysis of Hebrew and then extends that analysis to aspects of Arabic clausal syntax. Through the comparative lens of Hebrew, Shlonsky hopes to resolve a number of problems in Arabic syntax. His results generate some novel and important conclusions concerning the patterns …
Themes in Arabic and Hebrew Syntax
Verbal Complexes (review)
Reviewed by: Verbal complexes by Hilda Koopman, Anna Szabolcsi Ur Shlonsky Verbal complexes. By Hilda Koopman and Anna Szabolcsi (Current studies in linguistics 34.) Cambridge, MA. MIT Press, 2000. Pp. xii, 244. Hungarian and Dutch/German allow the verbs and the particle in a sentence like Louis will begin to want to open up to be ordered in different ways. However, not every combination is allowed: Some are only possible in well-defined environm…
The Distribution of a Subject Clitic Pronoun in a Franco-Provençal Dialect and the Licensing of Pro
We study the distribution of null subjects in one Franco-Provençal variety. These are possible in root declaratives, obligatory in embedded subject position, and impossible in root wh-questions as well as in the company of weather predicates. We approach null subjects indirectly, by investigating the distribution of one subject clitic, arguing that its optionality in some contexts is due to the possibility of moving pro to a peripheral topic posi…
Clitic Positions and Restructuring in Italian
Verbs can be introduced (merged) in either a lexical VP or a functional head, the latter position giving rise to restructuring contexts. We argue that there are two clitic positions in Italian "restructured" clauses: one associated with the (restructured) lexical verb and the other a clausal clitic position located in the functional domain. While restructuring can be recursive, clitics appear either on the restructured infinitive (no clitic climb…
The form of Semitic noun phrases
Rejoinder to Pereltsvaig's head movement in Hebrew nominals: A reply to Shlonsky
The Cartographic Enterprise in Syntax
Cartography is a research program within the Principles & Parameters framework of syntactic theory. Its project is to draw detailed maps of syntactic configurations but its place lies in a broader research project, namely the study of functional (or grammatical) categories, their content, number and order. Cartography is inspired by and contributes to research in comparative syntax and typology. It adheres to the view that syntactic structures ar…
Where's 'Why
Why and its counterparts in some languages are argued to be externally merged in a low left-peripheral specifier of a dedicated functional category and subsequently moved to a criterial position higher in the left-peripheral space. The analysis considers both short- and long-distance construals of why, asymmetries of why-extraction in finite and nonfinite complement clauses, the position of 'why' in a multiple wh-movement language like Romanian, …
The Wandering Subjects of the Levant: “Verbal Complexes” in Lebanese Arabic as Phrasal Movement
Lebanese Arabic ( LA ) presents a puzzling word order in non-finite subordination contexts where the subject of the matrix clause comes sandwiched between the embedded verb and its complement (Hallman 2011). We present new facts concerning this puzzle, and argue in favor of phrasal movement of TP , which transports both verbs and intervening material above the subject, along the lines of Kayne (2005:42). Importantly, while the surface position of…
A note on phrasal movement in Modern South Arabian and its consequences
I argue that the predominance of clause-final negation and the ban on object cliticization on perfective verb stems with a subject agreement suffix in the Modern South Arabian languages ( MSA ) Mehri and Jibbali are both consequences of the fact that in these languages, a verbal projection rather than a verbal head is probed by T(ense) or by a higher functional head. As a result, this verbal projection moves to a position above T and a fortiori a…
Word Order Variation in Lebanese Arabic DPs: In Support of Low Numerals
Refining Greenberg's (1963) Universal 20, Cinque (2005) and Dryer (2009) show that the typological distribution of the order of the four elements Demonstrative, Numeral, Adjective, and Noun is extremely uneven. There are 24 possible permutations of these elements, but only 5 of them constitute the dominant orders across languages (1i). Another 9 orders are attested, but are less frequent (1ii). The final 10 word orders are either unattested or ex…
A note on the order of constituents in the Mehri Noun Phrase
Data elicited from native speakers of Mehri and, to a lesser extent, Jibbali—two extant Modern South Arabian languages—show that within the extended nominal phrase, the noun precedes adjectives and the numerals one and two, but follows numerals from three up. This yields the following order: Num ≥3 >> Noun >> Num =1,2 >> Adjective . Demonstratives appear between the noun and the numerals one or two, Noun >> Dem >> Num =1,2 >> Adjective , but when…
Covert Movement in Multiple‐ Wh Questions: Experimental and Theoretical Investigations
Results from a new grammaticality‐judgment experiment in French confirm the published finding in English that sentences containing a Superiority violation involving a bare extracted element and a lexically restricted intervener (e.g., ‘What did which student buy?’), a configuration termed inverse inclusion , are more acceptable than those involving a lexically restricted extracted element and a bare intervener (e.g., ‘Which book did who buy’), a …
Root infinitives in Jamaican Creole
This paper addresses the question of the existence and manifestation of Root Infinitives (RIs) in the acquisition of a creole language, Jamaican Creole (JC). It examines JC children’s omission of progressive and prospective aspectual markers in the clausal map in order to determine if early JC includes a root infinitive (RI) stage. Non-target-consistent bare verb structures in child JC are shown to have distributional properties which have been c…
Rescaffolding the bundle in Afroasiatic inflection: Tamazight and Hebrew
Person, number and gender features in the Afroasiatic verbal system are sometimes prefixes, sometimes suffixes and sometimes both. This paper attempts to derive the Tamazight and Hebrew systems using syntactic tools and eschewing postsyntactic or morphological linearization rules. My point of departure is that syntactic heads contain a single feature and that features can be assembled into bundles and placed to the left or to the right of a stem …
Linguistics (23 works) · Philosophy (22 works) · Computer Science (18 works) · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation (15 works) · Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis (9 works) · Mathematics (9 works) · Psychology (8 works) · Verb (8 works) · History (7 works) · Linguistic Variation and Morphology (7 works)