Browsing by Author "Gröndahl, Tommi"

This thesis is a study of the grammatical status of definiteness in the Finnish noun phrase, from the perspective of generative linguistics. I propose that the Finnish definite noun phrase contains a functional head D, hosting the definiteness feature [+DEF]. My argument is based on the noun phrase having numerous properties, which point to definiteness being present as a grammatical feature. In addition, many structural observations demonstrate that definiteness is linked to a functional projection above NP. I also propose that the element "se", which has reduced from a demonstrative into a definite article in spoken Finnish, is localizable to the Specifier position of DP, like demonstrative pronouns. The D-head, on the other hand, is always phonologically null in Finnish, and also present in "bare" definite noun phrases containing no definite determiner (i.e. a definite article, a demonstrative or a personal pronoun). The analysis fits well with a broader diachronic framework, according to which the definite article develops universally due to the semantic reduction of a demonstrative. I argue that the definite article is a consequence of an EPP-feature in the D-head, mandating the Specifier of DP to be articulated. In this regard, D behaves like the T-head in Finnish, where an optional EPP-feature produces a semantically empty expletive to the subject position of verbs with no semantic arguments.