Noun phrase in the generative perspective (review)

In the generative tradition, the study of the noun phrase has received as much attention as the research on the structure of the sentence. The very concept of noun phrase has been expanded to contain an indefinite number of functional heads, with their specifiers and adjuncts. As a result, there is a vast structure, including ‘split projections’, that is parallel to clausal ones: an NP-shell (or nP) corresponding to a VP-shell (or vP)—an intermediate functional area formed with an indefinite number of projections related to adjectival modification, similar to adverbial modification in the clause—and a split DP representing different interpretive features parallel to a split CP. All this and much more is what Alexiadou, Haegeman, and Stavrou explore in Noun phrase in the generative perspective, which is dedicated to the memory of Tanya Reinhart. The book is indeed a challenging enterprise: the result is a fascinating voyage through one of the most intricate topics in the study of human language, manifested in an impressive number of languages representing various families, dialects, creoles, and historical stages. It is a comprehensive overview of the major achievements of generative grammar in the course of its fifty-year tradition, with particular focus on the last two decades.

The structure of the book is a masterpiece of conceptual organization. Eight chapters are divided into four parts, each representing a major field of research. The authors are among the most influential European linguists in the study of nominal expressions. This is apparent from the fluent and easy-to-read style of the argumentation that is found in the book, despite the profoundly theoretical level of the discussion. The authors have done a remarkable job in approaching the subject through a wide historical picture.

Nominal structure is as complex as clausal structure, and the labels NP, noun phrase, and DP are no longer suitable to refer to the whole nominal expression since they may also refer to portions of structure formed by split projections. A term parallel to ‘clause’ is necessary to formulate generalizations without taking a stand for a particular analysis. The fully spelled ‘noun phrase’ is too reminiscent of the most internal projection and so is not adequate to refer to the whole structure, while the label DP may refer to the highest constituent or to the highest layer, again leading to ambiguity. For these reasons, I follow Mila Dimitrova-Vulchanova’s (p.c.) suggestion and propose to use nominal expression (NE) to refer to the whole nominal constituent without touching on the very nature of the highest projection.

Part 1, ‘Introduction’, presents the general framework, emphasizing the parallelisms between NEs and clauses. It shows that nominals have argument structure, that they are encapsulated into functional structure, and that A-, A-bar, and head-movements are present in NEs, mutatis mutandis, parallel to what is found in the clause. Competing hypotheses are introduced in an interlocutory fashion that prepare the discussions of the successive chapters. This part will be particularly useful to those linguists who are not completely familiar with the long-term tradition in the study of NEs or to those who are starting their research in generative grammar in general.

Part 2, ‘The functional make up of the noun phrase’, deals with the upper area of the NE (usually called DP, but recently split into a number of projections), which is characterized as having two main, apparently unrelated properties: on the one hand, it makes the NE visible for thematic interpretation through the realization of (abstract) Case, and on the other hand, it hosts the interpretive features relevant to referential interpretation at LF. I particularly appreciate this dichotomic perspective because the studies on this part of the nominal structure usually focus on one of these two aspects and disregard the other.

Ch. 1 of Part 2, ‘The emergence and the structure of DP: Articles and demonstratives’, discusses these two properties in turn. Articles are related to referential interpretation, but are...