Feature Distribution in Swedish Noun Phrases (review)

This book provides a theoretical account of Swedish noun phrases, with special emphasis on syntactic structure and feature distribution. The analysis is couched within the framework of head-driven phrase structure grammar (HPSG); however, the analysis relies heavily on empirical observations, and many of the author’s claims can be translated into other theoretical frameworks. Furthermore, the author prefaces her analysis by a brief introduction of the basics of HPSG (section 5.1.2). Börjars focuses on two aspects of Swedish noun phrase syntax: the status of the definite ending and the headedness of the phrase. She concludes that the definite ending does not project its own phrase in syntax; moreover, she argues against the DP-analysis and in favor of the NP-analysis.

The book opens with a short introductory chapter in which B introduces the issues to be investigated throughout the book. Then, in Ch. 2 she presents empirical observations about the distribution and properties of various elements in the prenominal field, including determiners and modifiers. Furthermore, B presents some previous studies of these elements and concludes that there is no need to distinguish between as many classes of elements as has been previously proposed. On the basis of distributional tests, B argues that Swedish counterparts of ‘all’, ‘few’, ‘only’, and ‘such’ are members of the syntactic class of adjectives.

Ch. 3 addresses the question of the nature of the definite ending. Upon an examination of previous analyses, B turns to the discussion of the distinction between clitics and affixes and applies the tests to the Swedish definite ending. The behavior of this ending is then compared to that of the genitive ending -s, which has often been assigned clitic status in Swedish. Finally, the definite ending is compared to the so-called enclitic affixes in other languages, including Balkan languages and other Scandinavian languages. On the basis of this discussion, B draws the conclusion that the definite ending in Swedish is neither a clitic nor a syntactic determiner, but is rather an affix which does not head its own projection in syntax.

Ch. 4 investigates what the head of a noun phrase is. Having established a set of criteria for headedness, based on earlier work by other investigators, B proceeds to evaluate the arguments in favor of the DP-hypothesis and the alternative NP-hypothesis. She then concludes that Swedish provides no evidence in favor of the DP-hypothesis; therefore noun phrases in Swedish can be analyzed as DPs only if the headedness is assumed to be universal. However, B rejects this assumption and decides in favor of the NP-hypothesis.

Chs. 5 and 6 lay out B’s analysis of Swedish definite and indefinite noun phrases, respectively, within the HPSG framework. One of the reasons for the choice of framework is that HPSG allows for an analysis where selection is not restricted to heads. According to B, if the assumptions about the universality of headedness and the restriction of selection to heads are both rejected, there is no reason to analyze Swedish noun phrases as DPs. Rather, an alternative NP-analysis is both possible and plausible.

Overall, the author succeeds in making both the (sometimes quite intricate) data and the argumentation accessible to her readers. Thus, the book is bound to make a strong impact on the debate on the structure of noun phrases both in Scandinavian languages and crosslinguistically.