An Analysis of Locative Inversion in English: Construction-based Approach

조기석 담화·인지언어학회 2023 담화와 인지 Vol.30 No.3

Locative inversion is a special construction in English that moves locative prepositional phrases to the subject position of sentences. Locative inversion is a construction of academic interests in linguistic and educational fields. Previous studies have explored locative inversion in English and have not discovered the unique semantic properties of verbs that allow locative inversion in contrast with other verbs that do not allow locative inversion. The goal of this study is to explore locative inversion and discover the semantic properties that locative inversion sentences may have in common. Based on the basis of the findings of experiments with native and nonnative speakers of English, this article will put forth a conclusion that verbs of departure constructions, arrival constructions, existence constructions, and occurrence constructions allow locative inversion. The findings of this study will contribute to educational application as well as to theoretical developments.

영어의 장소구 도치구문에 관한 연구

양희익 韓國交通大學校 2022 한국교통대학교 논문집 Vol.57 No.-

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze and explain locative inversion in English. This paper is organized as follows. In the 2nd chapter we briefly look at some special properties which the inverted locative PP has. In this paper we think that the inverted locative PP has topicalization property as the most important property among some properties which the inverted locative PP has and we have focused that locative inversion can take place mainly in unaccusative verb sentence which has locative PP as the obligatory PP complement. In the 3rd chapter we have searched some pre-studied researches which are related to locative inversion. In the 4th chapter we accept the most important ideas such as topicalization, Rizzi(1997)’s Split CP Hypothesis, and Chomsky(2005)’s suggestion of interpretation to analyze and explain locative inversion obviously. According to accepting the ideas of topicalization, Rizz(1997)’s Split CP Hypothesis and Chomsky(2005)’s suggestion of interpretation we can suppose that there should be TopP layer (above TP layer) and that the inverted locative PP could move (not to the place Spec of TP) to the place Spec of TopP overtly in order to receive topic interpretation. Finally we assume that locative inversion sentence (31a) have it’s basic tree diagram structure as (31b), given in the 4th chapter.

논문(論文) : 존현문에 출현하는 着의 윤곽 전이 기능

정지수 중국어문연구회 2011 中國語文論叢 Vol.0 No.51

This article aims to analyze the function of ZHE in the locative inversion construction in Mandarin Chinese. Many previous researches on locative inversion construction have focused on the syntactic features of the verbs in this construction. According to Pan(1996), all the verbs in the locative inversion construction are intrinsically accusative, and ZHE deletes the agent role of a verb if certain conditions are met, and allows the verb in question to satisfy the conditions on locative inversion. Pan(1996:416) claimed that ZHE focused on the state after the finishing point and conveyed the idea that the state holds for a period of time. But the recent researches based on the corpus data show that ZHE, as an aspect marker, focuses on not only the duration of a result state, but also the duration of a process. This study explains the role of the aspect marker in the locative inversion construction through semantic analysis. In addition, this study analyzes the selection of subject in the locative inversion and the profiling function of the aspect marker on the cognitive linguistics views.

Subject in Locative Inversion Constructions

Dong-Seok Kim 신영어영문학회 2009 신영어영문학 Vol.44 No.-

This paper reviews Bruening (2008a,b) and Rizzi & Shlonsky (2006a,b) with special reference to the subject in locative inversion constructions, and proposes an alternative account. On the observation of the parallels between locative inversion and presentational there constructions, Bruening suggests that the subject in locative inversion constructions is a null expletive, a variant of expletive there. This account, however, needs explanation for the failure of a [+SP] Infl to license the null expletive. Furthermore, the null expletive hypothesis is dubious considering that English does not usually allow null subject. Rizzi & Shlonsky’s account in terms of Subject Criterion introduces Fin head with phi-features to satisfy Subject Criterion in an interpretively vacuous manner, which, they argue, can capture the apparently mixed subject and non-subject properties of inverted locatives. Their analysis, however, involves non-uniform chains which result from movement via [Spec,Fin] to [Spec,C]. To cope with the problems that might arise in the analyses reviewed, this paper proposes to capture the properties of inverted locatives in terms of parallel movement proposed in Chomsky (2005).

Light and Heavy Locative Inversions: A Lexical and Constructional Perspective

( Chan Chung ),( Jong Bok Kim ) 한국영어영문학회 2003 영어 영문학 Vol.49 No.5

English displays two subtypes of locative inversions, light vs. heavy inversions, depending on the heaviness of the postverbal NP. This paper discusses how to analyze the similarities and differences between these two types of locative inversions under the framework of HPSC (Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar). A crucial device of HPSG for our analysis is the type inheritance hierarchy where constraints on a supertype are inherited to its subtypes when no conflict exists between them. The similarities between the light and heavy inversions are captured by the constructional type hierarchy as well as the lexical type hierarchy. The different properties of the light and heavy Iocative inversions are captured by the assumption that they are separate constructions and thus have their own constructional and lexical subtype constraints. The analysis presented here shows that the intricate and complex properties of these two related types of inversion could follow from the interactions among constructional and lexical constraints.

Locative Inversion and Passivization in Xitsonga

Michael Jonathan Mathew Barrie,Seunghun Lee,Crous Hlungwane 서울대학교 인지과학연구소 2023 Journal of Cognitive Science Vol.24 No.1

We describe and analyze a novel pattern of locative inversion, passivization, and object clitics in Xitsonga, a Bantu language of South Africa. We note that, unlike in most Bantu languages, locative inversion can take place with intransitives, transitives with active voice, and transitives with passive voice. While subject marking is obligatory, object marking is optional and indicates emphasis, although the semantic details are unclear. An interesting pattern emerges with locative inversion. Object marking is possible only with passive voice. We present an analysis in which the subject and object markers are clitics that are inserted post-syntactically. The subject clitic is triggered by agreement between T and the grammatical subject. The object clitic is triggered by theta assignment by V (which raises to Asp) to the thematic object. In locative inversion, the external argument remains in situ and serves as an intervenor between V (housed on Asp) and the object. In the passive, the external argument is suppressed or appears in a by-phrase, and the object can trigger the appearance of the object clitic on Asp.

Focus and Inversion in English

강승만 ( Seung-man Kang ) 대한영어영문학회 2014 영어영문학연구 Vol.40 No.4

This paper delves into some interesting aspects of focus in relation to inversion. In this paper, I argue that inversion in English is a syntactic operation, in which the verb moves into the Focus head across the subject. I try to provide a unified and principled account of Locative Inversion constructions and Subject Aux Inversion constructions by postulating multiple Focus Phrase (FocP) positions: above vP and IP. First of all, by positing FocP above vP, the verb moves into Foc, which in turn attracts the subject into its Spec. Locative phrases are pulled up into Spec, IP to satisfy EPP, resulting in Locative Inversion. Second, positioning FocP above IP enables Aux to move into Foc likewise across the subject. This movement pulls up wh-phrases or negative phrases into Spec, FocP to be focused. The process of focalization in these two types of inversion constructions is established via spec-head agreement in a unified way. (Chungbuk National University)

An In-situ Approach to Sluicing in Locative Inversion

( Seungwan Ha ) 한국외국어대학교 언어연구소 2021 언어와 언어학 Vol.- No.92

This paper addresses an interesting phenomenon with respect to sluicing in locative inversion where a mismatch in grammaticality is observed; that is, sluicing improves grammaticality while its full-fledged counterpart is ungrammatical. To account for the mismatch, the previous research often appealed to either “repair-by-ellipsis” or “evasion” strategies, but I argue that neither of them are legitimate for locative inversion constructions, in that no island violation is involved in the relevant examples or the conditions for making use of evasion strategies turn out not to be satisfied. As an alternative, I propose an in-situ analysis of sluicing, based on Abe (2015), in which no wh-movement is triggered as long as C_[Q] and wh-phrase are adjacent in PF; this can be done by sluicing since PF-deletion on the TP would lead the two to be close to each other. Under the alternative, the wh-subject is focused and remains in-situ, followed by deletion of the TP constituent except the wh-phrase. The ungrammaticality of the full-fledged structure is due to an independent factor. Following Rizzi’s (1997) split CP-hypothesis, I argue that the wh-subject with focus cannot raise to a higher position than the locative PP. Thus, the in-situ approach explains the mismatch between sluicing and full-fledged sentences in locative inversion.

Subject in Locative Inversion Constructions

김동석 신영어영문학회 2009 신영어영문학 Vol.44 No.-

This paper reviews Bruening (2008a,b) and Rizzi & Shlonsky (2006a,b) with special reference to the subject in locative inversion constructions, and proposes an alternative account. On the observation of the parallels between locative inversion and presentational there constructions, Bruening suggests that the subject in locative inversion constructions is a null expletive, a variant of expletive there. This account, however, needs explanation for the failure of a [+SP] Infl to license the null expletive. Furthermore, the null expletive hypothesis is dubious considering that English does not usually allow null subject. Rizzi & Shlonsky’s account in terms of Subject Criterion introduces Fin head with phi-features to satisfy Subject Criterion in an interpretively vacuous manner, which, they argue, can capture the apparently mixed subject and non-subject properties of inverted locatives. Their analysis, however, involves non-uniform chains which result from movement via [Spec,Fin] to [Spec,C]. To cope with the problems that might arise in the analyses reviewed, this paper proposes to capture the properties of inverted locatives in terms of parallel movement proposed in Chomsky (2005)

English Locative Inversion: A Constraint-Based Approach

Jong-Bok Kim 한국언어학회 2003 언어 Vol.28 No.2