22.05.2012Talk by John Payne at the Linguistisches Projektkolloquium

In this paper, I explore the question of the internal constituency of noun phrases. When is a hierarchical description appropriate, and when should flatter structures be postulated? Four basic structural types are identified: (a) hierarchical attribution, (b) integrated appositional attribution, (c) non-integrated appositional attribution, and (d) fragmented attribution. The properties of each type are described and illustrated, and the resulting typology applied in a global description of the English noun phrase.