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Abby Kaplan
297-305 (complete pdf)
In "discontinuous coordination" constructions with both...and and either...or, both and either (collectively, "C1") are generally taken to mark the left edge of the first conjunct. However, as is well known, these elements may appear displaced from this position. Two types of analysis of such "unbalanced" coordinations have been proposed: that C1 has moved from its base-generated position at the left edge of the first conjunct, or that ellipsis along the lines of "conjunction reduction" has occurred in the second conjunct. A series of syntactic and semantic facts, including the possibility of rightward movement and the semantic consequences of elided structure, suggests that both mechanisms are responsible for the full range of unbalanced coordinations: ellipsis may occur in the second conjunct when the coordinated constituents are DPs, while C1 may move in clauses. Additional evidence from similar constructions involving comparatives suggests that the clausal case involves not literal movement of C1 but rather base-generation of C1 in its surface position, subject to locality restrictions on how far it may appear from its canonical position at the left edge of the first conjunct; appropriate denotations for the comparative cases can be computed using a modest extension of Hamblin semantics.
Published in:
Proceedings of the 26th West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics
edited by Charles B. Chang and Hannah J. Haynie
Table of contents
ISBN 978-1-57473-423-2 library binding
vii+524 pages
publication date: 2008
published by Cascadilla Proceedings Project, Somerville, MA, USA