The Syntax of the <i>Be</i>-Possessive: Parametric variation and surface diversities (Linguistik Aktuell/Linguistics Today)

This book is the first attempt to provide a unified account of the __be-__possessive syntax and its extension to the modal and the perfect constructions in Russian/North Russian within a generative framework. Apparently diverse constructions are construed as deriving from the __have/be__ parameter, which depends on the utilization of the prepositional complementizer with a Case feature. The __be__-perfect structure provides an adequate environment where ergativity is encoded via verbal nominalization. The relevance of the __be__-perfect structure for a split ergative pattern shows that the ergative system is a syntactically conditioned phenomenon rather than a purely morphological diversity. This volume also offers the diachronic study of the __be__-syntax, investigating the evolution of the __be__-perfect and __be__-modal constructions, which has rarely been explored within a formal framework. Concrete scenarios are proposed for the developmental paths of the __be__-perfect and the __be__-modal constructions, based on textual evidence in old North Russian. This book is the first attempt to provide a unified account of the be- possessive syntax and its extension to the modal and the perfect constructions in Russian/North Russian within a generative framework. Apparently diverse constructions are construed as deriving from the have/be parameter, which depends on the utilization of the prepositional complementizer with a Case feature. The be -perfect structure provides an adequate environment where ergativity is encoded via verbal nominalization. The relevance of the be -perfect structure for a split ergative pattern shows that the ergative system is a syntactically conditioned phenomenon rather than a purely morphological diversity. This volume also offers the diachronic study of the be -syntax, investigating the evolution of the be -perfect and be -modal constructions, which has rarely been explored within a formal framework. Concrete scenarios are proposed for the developmental paths of the be -perfect and the be -modal constructions, based on textual evidence in old North Russian.