Email this article 
Mesmo (same) and the structure of determiner phrases / Mesmo e a estrutura dos sintagmas determinantes
Abstract
Abstract: This paper analyzes the Brazilian Portuguese adjective mesmo with anaphoric reading (MOLTMANN, 1993; FERREIRA, 2010). Expanding the functional layer of the determiner phrase (e. g., CINQUE, 2010), this analysis proposes that mesmo has “pronominal” properties and that there is a specific position in the functional structure of DP/NP which hosts both possessive pronouns and anaphoric mesmo, at least in the end of derivation, and such a position is in fact a host for adjectives with pronominal properties. In the last sections the article (using tools of formal semantics: e. g. HEIM; KRATZER, 1998) presents a semantic definition for anaphoric mesmo, arguing that it is a sort of implicit comparative item (CARLSON, 1987), with a “comparison function” as part of its very definition. We propose, taking advantage of insights of the pertinent literature (ALRENGA, 2010; HEIM, 1985; LASERSOHN, 2000; among others), that the semantics of mesmo is composed of an assignment function and a function which establishes a contextual equivalence by means of the sharing of relevant properties between the referent or kind introduced by the DP with mesmo and an individual or kind mentioned in previous discourse. In the end of the paper, we briefly speculate on the semantics of what is here called “explicit” comparative mesmo (that includes a comparative CP after the noun), which, as well as the distributive mesmo (CARLSON, 1987, among others), and as this text intends to show in the following pages, is hierarchically lower, in the syntax of DPs, than anaphoric mesmo.
Keywords: Mesmo; Determiner Phrase; Adjectives; Comparative Semantics.
Resumo: Este trabalho analisa o adjetivo mesmo do português brasileiro com a leitura anafórica (MOLTMANN, 1993; FERREIRA, 2010). Expandindo a camada funcional do sintagma determinante (e. g., CINQUE, 2010), esta análise propõe que mesmo tem propriedades “pronominais” e que há uma posição específica na estrutura funcional do DP/NP que alberga, pelo menos ao fim da derivação, tanto pronomes possessivos quanto o adjetivo mesmo anafórico, e tal posição recebe, de fato, adjetivos com propriedades pronominais. Nas últimas seções o artigo apresenta (usando ferramentas da semântica formal: por exemplo, HEIM; KRATZER, 1998) uma definição semântica para o mesmo anafórico, defendendo que ele é uma espécie de item de comparação implícita (CARLSON, 1987), tendo uma “função de comparação” como parte de sua definição. Propomos, aproveitando insights da literatura pertinente (ALRENGA, 2010; HEIM, 1985; LASERSOHN, 2000; entre outros), que a semântica de mesmo é composta por uma função de assinalamento e uma função que estabelece uma equivalência contextual por meio de um compartilhamento de propriedades relevantes entre o referente ou tipo introduzido pelo DP que contém mesmo e um indivíduo ou tipo mencionado no discurso prévio. Por fim, o artigo especula sobre a semântica do que aqui é chamado mesmo “explicitamente” comparativo (que inclui um CP comparativo após o nome), que, assim como o mesmo distributivo (CARLSON, 1987, entre outros), e como este texto deseja mostrar nas páginas a seguir, é mais baixo hierarquicamente, na sintaxe do DP, que o mesmo anafórico.
Palavras-chave: Mesmo; Sintagma Determinante; Adjetivos; Semântica de
Comparativos.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
ALRENGA, P. Comparisons of Similarity and Difference. In: HOFHERR, P. C.; MATUSHANSKY, O. (Orgs.) Adjectives: Formal Analyses in Syntax and Semantics. John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2010. p. 155-183.
BARKER, C. Parasitic scope. Linguistics and Philosophy, v. 30, p. 407-444, 2007.
BARKER, C. Possessives and Relational Nouns. In: von HEUSINGER, K. et al. (Orgs.) Semantics. De Gryuter Mouton, 2011. p. 1109-1130.
BECK, S. The Semantics of Different: Comparison Operator and Relational Adjective. Linguistics and Philosophy, v. 23, p. 101-139, 2000.
BOCCI, G.; RIZZI, L. Left Periphery of the Clause: Primarily Illustrated for Italian. Willey online Library, 2017 (Available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/9781118358733.wbsyncom104. Accessed on 05/13/2018).
BORER, H. In Name Only. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
BRITO, A. M. European Portuguese Possessives and the DP structure. Cuadernos de Lingüística del I. U. I Ortega y Gasset, v. 14, p. 27-50, 2007.
BRITO, A. M.; LOPES, R. E. V. The structure of DP. In: WETZELS, L. et al. (Orgs.) The Handbook of Portuguese Linguistics. Wiley-Blackwell, 2016. p. 254-274.
CARDINALETTI, A. On the DEFICIENT/STRONG Opposition in Possessive Systems. In: ALEXIADOU, A.; WILDER, C. (Orgs.) Possessors, Predicates and Movement in Determiner Phrase. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1998. p. 17-54.
CARLSON, G. Same and Different: Some Consequences for Syntax and Semantics. Linguistics and Philosophy, v. 10, n. 4, p. 531-565, 1987.
CHOMSKY, N. The Minimalist Program. Cambridge Mass: The MIT Press, 1995.
CINQUE, G. More on the Indefinite Character of the Head Of Restrictive Relatives. Rivista di Grammatica Generativa, v. 3, 2008.
CINQUE, G. The Syntax of Adjectives: a Comparative Study. Cambridge Mass: The MIT Press, 2010.
EMBICK, D. Blocking effects and analytic/synthetic alternations. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, v. 25, p. 1-37, 2007.
FERREIRA, M. The morphosemantic of number in Brazilian Portuguese
bare singular. Journal of Portuguese Linguistics, v. 9, n. 1, p. 95-116, 2010. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/jpl.112.
HALLE, M.; MARANTZ, A. Some key features of Distributed Morphology. In: CARNIE, A.; HARLEY, H. (Orgs.) MITWPL 21: Papers on phonology and morphology. Cambridge: MITWPL, 1994. p. 275-288.
HALLE, M.; MARANTZ, A. Distributed Morphology and the Pieces of
Inflection. In: HALE, K.; KEYSER, S. J. (eds.). The View from Building
Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1993. p. 111-176.
HEIM, I. Notes on Comparatives and Related Matters, 1985 (Available at semanticsarchive.net. Accessed on 05/10/2020).
HEIM, I.; KRATZER, A. Semantics in Generative Grammar. Blackwell Publishing, 1998.
KAYNE, R. S. The Antisymmetry of Syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1994.
KAYNE, R. S. Some notes on comparative syntax, with special reference to English and French. In: CINQUE, G.; KAYNE, R. S. (Orgs.). The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Syntax. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. p. 3–69.
KAYNE, R. S. Expletives, Datives, and the Tension between Morphology and Syntax (Ms.), 2006.
LASERSOHN, P. Same, Models and Representations. In: Proceedings
from SALT X. Ithaca: Cornell University, CLC Publications, 2000. p. 83-97.
LASERSOHN, P. Pragmatic Halos. Language, 75, 3, p. 522-551,1999. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/417059.
LEMLE, M.; MEDEIROS, A. B. “Mesmo: escopo sintático e
pressuposição”. In: Encontro Nacional da ANPOLL, XXIX, 2014,
Florianópolis.
MARANTZ, A. No escape from syntax: don’t try morphological analysis
in the privacy of your own lexicon. In: Proceedings of 21st Annual Penn Linguistics Colloquium, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1997.
p. 201-225.
MIGUEL, M. Possessive Pronouns in European Portuguese and Old French. Journal of Portuguese Linguistics, n. 1, p. 215-240, 2002.
MOLTMANN, F. Reciprocals and “Same/Different”: Towards a Semantic Analysis. Linguistics and Philosophy, v. 15, n. 4, p. 411-462, 1993.
NUNBERG, G. Individuation in Context. In: COBLER, M. et al. (Orgs.). Proceedings of the West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics 3. Stanford Linguistics Association, 1984. p. 203-217.
OXFORD, W. Same, Other and Different: a First Look at Microsyntax of identity adjectives. Proceedings of 2010 annual conference of the Canadian Linguistics Association, 2010.
SCHOORMELER, M. Possessors, Articles and Definite Determiners. In: ALEXIADOU, A.; WILDER, C. (Orgs.) Possessors, Predicates and Movement in Determiner Phrase. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 1998. p. 55-86.
RIZZI, L. The Fine Structure of Left Periphery. In: HAEGEMAN, L. (Org.) Elements of Grammar. Kluwier Academinc Publisher, 1997. p. 281-337.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17851/2237-2083.30.3.1278-1313
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2022 Alessandro Boechat de Medeiros
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
e - ISSN 2237-2083
Licensed through Creative Commons Atribuição 4.0 Internacional