Danish Pre-nominals as Specifier Heads

Abstract

This paper deals with the phrase structure of Danish nominal phrases. It is assumed that phrase structure must account for two types of selection wrt. nominal phrases, i.e. external selection and internal selection. By external selection is meant that other categories should be able to select a nominal phrase non-disjunctively. By internal selection is meant that categories inside the nominal phrase should be able to select each other to ensure correct distribution. Modern theories of phrase structure are commonly based on x-bar theory and phrase structure conforms to the x-bar schema proposed by Chomsky (1970), with optional specifier and complement attaching at each their level. This analysis is an NP analysis, or a specifier analysis. Another analysis is proposed by Abney (1987). He assumes that determiners are functional heads, other determiners and the noun functioning as the complement of a functional head. Abney’s analysis is a DP analysis or functional head analysis. In this paper I propose an alternative analysis which I refer to as the specifier head analysis to indicate that it is a combination of the NP and DP analyses.