The purpose of this paper is to decide whether we need the concept of linearity in the theory of syntax. By introducing Larsonian (1988) shell structure into the structure of noun phrases, we show that linear notions such as precedence can be dispensed with, contrary to what Kuno (1987, 1988, 1993 with Takami) argues. Specifically, we argue that a hierarchically structured configuration of noun phrases dictated by theta role assignment guarantees some fixed word order, thereby obviating the need of introducing ‘precedence’ into the formulation of various syntactic rules as Kuno did. Under the present proposal, preceding terminal nodes on the base structure are always, by definition, higher than other terminal nodes. One theoretical consequence of this proposal is that we might not need another stipulation of Kuno's (1987) such that prepositional node is invisible to command.
1. Introduction 2. Linearity versus Hierarchy 3. PP-Invisibility and Precedence 4. Theta Role Assignment and the NP-Shell 5. Conclusion References
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