Alice ter Meulen, University of Groningen

Title: Incorporation effects on reflexivity: an OT account

Abstract:

This paper addresses some semantic issues in the incorporation morphology of Dutch and reflexive marking of predicates. The common view that [V be - ] incorporates a PP is shown to be too simplistic, for the incorporation allows SE-reflexive marking whereas the PP requires SELF, as in (1).

(1) a. Jan kijkt [PP naar zichzelf / *zich]
John looks at SELF/*SE
John looks at himself

b. Jan be-kijkt zichzelf/zich
John be-look SELF/SE

The semantic effect of be- is analyzed as an economy process which not only incorporates an Adjunct non-argument, turning it into an internal argument, but it also offers an optimal structurefor reflexive marked predicates with implicit existential agents, as in (2) versus (3).

(2) a. Iedere student liet zich bekijken. De dokter vond geen probleem.
Every student let SE be-look. The doctor found no problem.

b. ## Iedere student liet een dokter hem bekijken. Hij vond geen probleem.
Every student let a doctor examine him. He found no problem.

This difference between Dutch and English is seen to relate verbal derivational morphology to argument restructuring within an OT analysis of reflexivization and binding.

References
Burzio, (1997) Anaphora and soft constraints. Reinhart, T. and E. Reuland (1993), Reflexivity. LI 24.4, 657-720.
ter Meulen, A. (2000), How to tell events apart. Light verbs, SE-reflexives, and Dutch verbal morphology. C. Tenny and J. Pustejowski (eds.), Events as grammatical objects. CSLI Publications, Cambridge U.P.
ter Meulen, A. (to appear), Optimal reflexivity in Dutch. JoSemantics.