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X-within-X Structures and the Nature of Categories
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In: Biolinguistics, Vol 9, Iss 0, Pp 050-073 (2015) (2015)
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Abstract:
This paper discusses the existence of X-within-X structures in language. Constraints to same-category embedding have been the focus in a number of recent studies. These studies follow a long-standing tradition in linguistic theory that assumes a ban on the adjacency of same-category elements. In the present work, data drawn from a typologically broad variety of languages suggest that the postulated constraints are not so robust. It is shown that X-within-X structures do exist in language. In this context, an argument is made in favor of an unrestricted conceptualization of Merge, independent from category distributions, while recursion is taken to be a property of procedures and not of structures. The discussion of X-within-X patterns provides insights with respect to the attested category distributions, the nature of categories, and the language faculty, from a biologically plausible point of view.
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Keyword:
categories; complementizer doubling; demonstrative doubling; Language and Literature; Merge; P; P1-1091; Philology. Linguistics; preposition doubling
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URL: https://doaj.org/article/f35f595e27054827a64eda56993333f9
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