Journal of Universal Language

Sejong University Language Research Institue

J. Univers. Lang. 2012; 13(2):119-144

pISSN: 1598-6381

DOI: https://doi.org/10.22425/jul.2012.13.2.119

Article

Is nP Part of Universal Grammar?

Paweł Rutkowski¹^,^†

¹University of Warsaw

^†Corresponding Author : Paweł Rutkowski, Faculty of Polish Studies, University of Warsaw, ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28, Gmach Polonistyki, 00-927 Warsaw, Poland. Phone: +48225520869; Email: p.rutkowski@uw.edu.pl

Copyright ⓒ 2016, Sejong University Language Research Institue. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Sep 03, 2012; Revised: Sep 15, 2012; Accepted: Sep 18, 2012

Published Online: Jan 01, 2017

Abstract

Rutkowski & Progovac (2005) propose to analyze the postnominal placement of classifying adjectives in Polish as resulting from N-movement. Rutkowski (2007a) modifies this account by arguing for a special structural layer (nP) projected immediately above NP, whose head (n°―‘little’ or ‘light’ N) attracts the noun in classifying structures. The goal of the present paper is to discuss the status of nP in more detail and to extend the nP analysis to other nominal constructions―both in Polish and crosslinguistically.

Keywords: nP; little/light N; classifying adjectives; indefinite pronouns; pseudopartitives; classifiers; diminutives

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