ABSTRACT
The three symbols θ, τ, and π in (1) stand for the three defining properties of a predicate, namely, (i) argument-taking ability, (ii) temporality, and (iii) conceptual content. Moreover, I have proposed that these three defining properties of predicates are distributed in the syntax, such that there is no syntactic object that can be legitimately called a predicate at the point of lexical insertion. In other words, in the current proposal, predicates are not lexical primitives, but syntactic constructs. To implement this idea, I have proposed a mode of representing predicates in the syntax by means of the following three vP structures:
(2)
a . Single-layered νP
b . Double-layered vP
c . Triple-layered vP
In these vP structures, argument-taking ability is a property of ν. Each ν bears a theta-role feature (i.e., {θ}), which is checked either via Merge or Move, on a par with other formal features exploited in the minimalist program. Temporality τ is localized on ν1, and conceptual content π is localized on ROOT. Taking morphemes that constitute (the predicate portion of) verbal complexes to be syntactic objects that are aligned with the νP structures illustrated above, the preceding chapters have demonstrated that these νP structures provide us with insights into the morphosemantic and morphosyntactic properties of Plains Cree.
