01:615:305 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Theta Criterion, Theta Role, Thematic Relation
11 Nov 2016
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Finished x-bar theory and began learning about theta criterion. For exam 1 you should be able to: Know why different structures lead to different meanings. Know the function of parameters (x-bar settings) X-bar alone cannot determine how we structure sentences. X-bar allows certain trees to be drawn that create bad" or ungrammatical sentences. Conclusion: x-bar is too permissive and we need to find a way to constrain it. When we have a head (verb: sleep) The child learns that sleep means to go off to slumber. The child learns c-selectional requirements and s-selectional requirements. In the lexicon, the verb sleep specifies that it needs one argument, which must be a dp (someone who sleeps). This is the c-selection that goes into the vocabulary. The verb hit needs 2 arguments and the categories of these are 2. Let"s find out why john slept the roses is wrong: This has 2: john and the roses.
