Feature Distribution in Swedish Noun Phrases

This book provides a theoretical account of Swedish noun phrases and, in particular, of the distribution of features within them. The account is formulated in terms of Head–driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG) and is based on a detailed discussion of two aspects of Swedish noun phrase; the status of the definite ending and the headedness of the phrases. The Swedish definite ending is compared to similar elements in a number of other European languages. The conclusion is that the element does not have any independent syntactic status, and should be represented in the syntax only in the form of a feature. The book contains a review of the arguments that have been used in the debate on the headedness of noun phrases and finds no compelling evidence in favour of a DP analysis. Instead the book claims that certain properties of Swedish noun phrases can be more accurately accounted for if the noun is assumed to be the head of the noun phrase. The analysis provided within the HPSG framework is then an NP analysis.

1. Introduction. 2. Determiners and Modifiers. 2.1. Previous Studies of Prenominal Elements. 2.2. The Determiner Field. 2.3. The Descriptive Field. 2.4. The Determiner Field vs. the Descriptive Field. 2.5. Conclusions. 3. Definite Feature or Definite Article. 3.1. Previous Analyses. 3.2. What is a Clitic?. 3.3. DEF as a Syntactic Element. 3.4. A Comparison with the Possessive –s in Swedish. 3.5. A Comparison with ′Enclitic Articles′ in Other Languages. 3.6. Conclusions About the Status of the ′Enclitic Article′. 4. The Head of the Noun Phrase. 4.1. Introduction. 4.2. The Zwicky–Hudson Criteria. 4.3. Arguments for D as the Head of a Noun Phrase. 4.4. Arguments Against D as the Head of the Noun Phrase. 4.5. Conclusions. 5. Features in Definite Noun Phrases. 5.1. Introduction. 5.2. Nouns Without Syntactic Determiners. 5.3. Nouns with Syntactic Determiners. 5.4. Nouns with Adjectives and Determiners. 5.5. Some Residual Issues. 5.6. Conclusions. 6. Features in Indefinite Noun Phrases. 6.1. Introduction. 6.2. Nouns with Determiners. 6.3. Nouns without Determiners. 6.4. Conclusions. 7. Conclusion.