ABSTRACT
Mechanism of argument inheritance studied in categorial grammar and introduced by Moortgat (1981) into word formation. Starting with G.Frege’s principle of compositionality, which says that the interpretation of a complex expression reflects the meaning of the component parts and their manner of composition, Moortgat developed a generalized version of functional composition, which was known in logic, in order to explain correspondence in the argument structure between simple verbs and adjectives and their derivations (cf Eng. to rely on him, reliance on him; willing to go, willingness to go). In word syntax the nominal affix (-ance, -ness) forms a constituent with the base verb or adjective. Semantically, however, it takes as its scope the verb or adjective together with its complement. The operation needed to represent this expanded semantic scope of the affix is, according to Moortgat, functional composition. It causes the derivation to take over the argument of the base category, while the base simultaneously fulfills the argument structure of the affix. Generalized functional composition, in other words, represents a complex function that combines two functions into a compound function, which in turn can be applied to the unsatisfied argument of one of the combined functions (=that of the base). Along with the principle of compositionality, this semantic operation guarantees that on him or to go are complements of the bases (and not derivations), although the derivation arises from the structural unit base+affix. This operation was further adapted to the theories of argument inheritance in Di Sciullo and Williams (1987) and Bierwisch (1989).
