A Generative Approach to the Iconicity in English Complementation

This paper examines minimal pair or set sentences in English that derive from the selection of more than one type of clausal complement by the matrix verb. It is shown that the semantic bond between the matrix verb and its clausal complement varies in strength according to the finiteness of the latter, and that the complement selection is not random but governed by the iconic principle of meaning and form. An attempt is also made to account for this iconicity in English complementation in generative grammar. The following generative principle is then put forward along the lines outlined in Hwang (2003, 2004a): i) the fewer (functional) nodes there are between the matrix verb and its clausal complement, the closer the semantic relationship the two is; ii) the more overt or richer morphology of a functional head in the clausal complement is, the more semantic/cognitive distance exists between the matrix verb and its clausal complement.