Distribution of Nominals Under Binding Theory
In the tradition of generative syntax, it is argued that all kinds of nouns can be classified by the combination of two features, and, features which are binary. The binding characteristics of a noun (or its corresponding empty category) are determined by the values of these features, either plus or minus. Thus, a noun that is is a referential-expression R-expr, such as a common noun or proper name. One that is is a pronoun, such as English he or they. is a reflexive, such as himself or themselves.
The actual requirements on where a type of noun can occur are given in three conditions A, B, and C (also referred to as principles).
Condition A states that an anaphor (reflexive) must have a local ("nearby") antecedent (expression that refers to the same entity). Thus, John washed himself obeys Condition A: the antecedent of himself, which is John, is nearby, and both refer to the person "John". In contrast, *John asked Mary to wash himself is unacceptable, because the reflexive and its antecedent are too far away from each other.
Condition B states that a pronoun can have an antecedent, as long as the antecedent is not local (i.e. "far away") or doesn't c-command the pronoun. Thus, John asked Mary to wash him obeys Condition B: John is the antecedent of him, and him is sufficiently far away; on the other hand, *John washed him, where John is intended to be the antecedent of him, is unacceptable.
Condition C states that an R-expression cannot have an antecedent that c-commands it. Thus, *He asked Mary to wash John, with the interpretation that He is the antecedent of John, is unacceptable.
Read more about this topic: Binding (linguistics)
Famous quotes containing the words distribution of, distribution, binding and/or theory:
“The man who pretends that the distribution of income in this country reflects the distribution of ability or character is an ignoramus. The man who says that it could by any possible political device be made to do so is an unpractical visionary. But the man who says that it ought to do so is something worse than an ignoramous and more disastrous than a visionary: he is, in the profoundest Scriptural sense of the word, a fool.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“The question for the country now is how to secure a more equal distribution of property among the people. There can be no republican institutions with vast masses of property permanently in a few hands, and large masses of voters without property.... Let no man get by inheritance, or by will, more than will produce at four per cent interest an income ... of fifteen thousand dollars] per year, or an estate of five hundred thousand dollars.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Hate traps us by binding us too tightly to our adversary.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)
“Don’t confuse hypothesis and theory. The former is a possible explanation; the latter, the correct one. The establishment of theory is the very purpose of science.”
—Martin H. Fischer (1879–1962)